All Forum Posts by: Martha T.

Thanks, Nancy. The tenant who signed the M-T-M agreement paid rent for September, not the unauthorized occupant. The tenant is boarding random people without prior notice, which he was given notice of in August. We will consult an attorney. Thanks for your input.

Hi All, hoping to get some advice. We're new landlords and this is a unique situation for us. We have a tenant that had an authorized occupant to which we gave Notice to Quit just a couple of weeks ago. He remedied it immediately and then paid rent for September. He has the same unauthorized occupant back! We had a clause if the same situation occurred within 6 months that he would get an eviction notice. Question is - do we give him the remainder of the rent back when he leaves?

Thanks all for taking the time to respond. I seemed to have a struck a nerve here and incited a couple of diatribes. There was no mention of a vacation. Anyway, onward with the learning process for me.

Thank you all again for your input. I realized I may have not been clear on my question. I meant to say asking them to "pay early" as in post-dating checks for March, or such arrangements. I will look into other options for accepting payments.

@Michael Herr - my question may be idiotic to you now that you must be a seasoned landlord. I'm sure when you started out you must have appreciated advice from other landlords, possibly someone said your questions were idiotic at some point. I don't think it's necessary to respond to newbie posts with such a condescending tone. I'm not here to battle wits or make anyone feel stupid. I just asked a question. Have a good day. 

Thank you all for your advice - much appreciated!

Hello all, I've searched the forums on this topic but can't find it. We are newbie landlords going on 3 months now. We have a planned trip during the first week of March - can we ask our tenants to pay rent early? How much notice would they need? If they can pay during the last week of February that would be ideal. Otherwise we don't have a way of collecting.

Thank you all for your input. I have scheduled a consultation with a real estate attorney. The last paragraph in the lease states "Termination upon sale or renovation of premises...the landlords may terminate this Rental Agreement upon 30 days written notice to the Tenant that the premises have been sold or are to be renovated." This gives me some hope.  And yes, the tenant with the drunk bf has the 6-month lease.

@Brad M.  - thank you for the advice. That is something we'll definetely use in our next purchase! ;)

Hi Joe - thank you for the advice. I think it will be well worth it to spend that couple of hours with a real estate attorney. I know it will protect us and our investment. 

Hi Michele - thank you for your reply. We have the original agreements from the seller and when we took it over we gave them an intro letter along with an info sheet for them to fill out (name, contact info, any pets). When we got the forms back they do list an additional tenant/roommate so I think that would suffice as evidence. I like your idea of adding fines, it gives us some structure to add in future agreements.

@J. Martin - thank you for your reply. The leases are general, stating: name of tenant, amount of rent and when due, and some responsibilities of the tenants. We are going to add specifics in future agreements. Our issue is the one person listed on the lease but they obviously have a roommate. Our approach will be keeping tabs on any disturbances and/or violations. Thank you for your input - it gives us a better handle on this situation.