All Forum Posts by: Matt Lindsey

Thank you Amber!

Hello everyone,

I interviewed potential candidates for one of my rentals and here's the situation- a mom and her 19 y/o daughter are going to move in first, then eventually the mom's fiance will move in once they're married. I put down in the description that everyone over the age of 18 has to pay for the application process through Zillow (including credit and criminal history). The mom already submitted hers and everything is great. I'm going to have the daughter submit hers and put her on the lease. How do I handle the fiance? They didn't give me a date for the wedding/move in for him. Should I have him submit an application with the checks now? Do I wait and then add him to the lease later? Thank you for the help 

This is what my tenant just sent me:

BTW - I kept meaning to ask you…based on the water issues we’ve had since last year’s move in and more recently with the ceiling leak, was the inside of the house tested for mold? I ask because pretty soon after we moved in, (the other 2 tenants) have had recurring, if not regular sinus problems and generally, off and on, not feeling particularly healthy. Both of them have asthma issues and they are both experiencing far more intense symptoms with it. Do you think it might be wise to have the house tested - either for the first time or again if it had already been done. I would really like to see the two of them feeling better and ruling out mold is a good first step.

The water issues they're referring to are:

1. Busted sprinkler pipe that caused water to come inside and ruin the floor. I ran it through my insurance and they verified no mold was present.

2. Bathroom upstairs sprung a small water leak and caused us to remove a significant portion of the ceiling and wall. When everything was opened up, there was no mold seen by my friend (retired contractor) who did the work. He also said that he sprayed hydrogen peroxide on the remaining portions of the drywall and rented a blower for several days, letting it dry all the way out. 

With all of the information, how would you proceed with a request like this? I'm pretty confident there's no mold but I'm not sure from a legal standpoint what I should do, especially if they continue to get "sick" and we eventually find mold. If I offer to pay for the entire inspection or half, the mold inspection industry seems a little shady- how would I find a reliable one?

 Thank you so much for the reply.

Hello everyone,

I had my first claim through my insurance company (AAA) for my rental property. This involved replacing the flooring downstairs. I was given about $8K for the damage to the flooring, wall, baseboard, etc. I still haven't completed the process of getting money back for lost rent (I had to send them a copy of my signed lease). I'm expecting an increase to my insurance when it comes to renewal. What amount should I expect? Should I try to get lost rent (about $1-1.5K) or should I just eat that so I don't go over a certain amount? Thanks for the advice