All Forum Posts by: Martine Ayers

I currently have 3 people on a year lease that is ending soon. The 2 original tenants have lived there for several years. Near the end of the first lease a 3rd tenant moved in. I did a background and credit check and when it came back good I added them to the lease thru an "additional tenant addendum". 2 of the tenants are moving out to buy a house together but the other one wants to stay. She found someone that wants to move in and sign a lease with her. 

What is the best way to deal with this situation? 

Should I just add the new tenant to the new lease through an addendum? I don't necessarily want to end the original lease and deal with the deposit since the tenant will still have all their stuff in there and I won't be able to see any major problems if there is a strategically placed piece of furniture.

Thank you! My Brother-In-Law wants to be as hands off as possible. If it were up to him he would just get a check from me every month minus 10% for my work (i'm not charging a finding fee) and any expenses or repairs that had to be done to the rental that month. To do this, could I open up a joint checking account (and savings for the deposit) at my/ his bank and then deposit the rent checks on his behalf? This would allow me to know when the rent is collected (and whether any notices need to be mailed) and also keep his address private from the tenants (the checks would be mailed to our PO Box)....this would be so much easier if we lived in the same town...let alone state!:)

Is there a different way of doing it? I was hoping to sign the lease on the 30th so I can't just run out and get a licence...

So much to learn and such little time. Thank you for helping me out everyone!

I found this website useful when I was in a similar situation:

http://realtormag.realtor.org/tool-kit/personal-assistant/article/what-unlicensed-assistants-can-do-in-your-state

Is this what I would be considered?

OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Property management assistants

Unlicensed assistants who provide property management brokerage services for the owner, designated broker, or managing broker may perform the following tasks and duties:

Unlicensed assistants may…

• Deliver lease applications, leases, or any amendments.
• Receive lease applications, leases, amendments, security deposits, rental payments, or any related payment for delivery to, and made payable to, the owner or real estate firm.
• Show rental units.
• Execute leases or rental agreements, rental payments, or any related payment for delivery to, and made payable to, the owner or real estate firm.
• Act as a scrivener, completing blanks on preprinted and preapproved rental agreements with the exact language provided by the property owner, designated broker, or managing broker. The unlicensed assistant may exercise no discretion over the language used to complete the blanks on a rental agreement, but may only write words dictated by the property owner, designated broker, or managing broker.
• Provide information about rental units, leases, lease applications, security deposits, and rental amounts to prospective tenants.
• Assist in property management functions by carrying out administrative, clerical, financial, or maintenance tasks.

Unlicensed assistants may NOT…

• Advertise that they are engaged in the property management business.
• Hold trust funds.

Hi everyone,

A couple of questions for you guys... but here's some background first. My husband and I bought our first property ( a duplex about an hour away but still in Oregon) last September. I am acting as the Owner and Property manager for the duplex. I was able to get new tenants in, settled and paying their rent on time (night and day difference from the inherited tenants!). My brother-in-law just bought a bigger house and is having me manage the old one (30 minutes away but in Washington). 

Ok. Here's the questions:

I am ready to sign a lease but realize all our paperwork says "landlord". Can I sign these and have it legally binding to the tenant or do I need to have John (the owner, my BIL) sign them? I would prefer to do it but also don't want to make a mess of things. 

We would like to use the same lease that we used for the duplex in Oregon but there are a few things that we need to add since it is in the state of Washington (ie mold education materials and a receipt for their deposit). Can I just add these on as addendums for now until I draw up a lease that I can edit or should I go with RHA's WA State Lease Agreement (right now we buy the form from oregonrentalhousing.com.

Many thanks,

Martine Ayers

 Do you process multiple applications at a time? I usually do one at a time so I don't waste anyones money but I am finding usually it is the credit and background checks that are making me deny applicants which then sets me back several days.