All Forum Posts by: Wesley W.

Very pitchy.  What are you trying to sell us?

 100%

If they are asking you to lower the rent and you acquiesce, then you just trained them that everything in the contract is negotiable.  be prepared for a negotiation on everything if you accept this party as a tenant.  As others have said, if your unit is in line with the market, hold firm and don't panic.  Oftentimes, in the past, when I have gotten worried and lowered the rent, it just attracted lower-quality applicants, not "bargain shoppers."

I think your fear is without basis.  There is a mutual benefit to MTM contracts.  I challenge someone to show me its shortcomings.  If someone wants/needs to move, they are going to move, contract be damned.  The only exception I could see would be with high-end A-class assets, where those tenants might have incentive to pay if they got a judgement against them.  But I can assure you that judgement will still be less than the total amount owed (at least in tenant-friendly jurisdictions).

Regarding turnover, portfolio-wide, my average tenancy is 23 months amongst those whom I have placed and have since vacated.  However, if I counted my current tenants the average would skew much higher; some have been with me for several years, and I have one that has been with me since the beginning on a MTM for 11 years).  I have C+ class, mostly 1BR units.  I am sure my vacancy is not any less than my market competitors offering term leases.  I can also assure you I have had less trips to eviction court (or small claims), as well.

Remember to ask yourself why would a tenant not want that flexibility of a MTM?  If you ever have anyone challenge you on that, I would ask them what their concern was?

I have been using this model since 2014, have placed dozens of tenants, and shown my units to over 600 prospects, and only a single candidate ever gave me any pushback on the month-to-month.  Needless to say, they were not offered the apartment (self-screening for the win).

I ONLY offer MTM leases.  45 days notice to vacate.  If you are in a tenant friendly jurisdiction, I would strongly recommend considering it.

I've always found that the term leases (anything over 30 days) always obligate the landlord, but never the tenant. I only offer month-to-month (MTM) leases in my properties. Here's why:

Let's say I sign a tenant to a one-year lease, and 3 months in, their personal/professional situation changes, and they break their lease and move out after a 30-day notice (or maybe less).

I am required, by law in most areas, to mitigate my loss by remarketing the unit, making it rent-ready, and starting up my lead generation machine to get applicants, funnel them into my screening system, identifying good candidates and ultimately leasing them up. This takes a LOT of my time.

If I went to get a judgement against this tenant for the balance of the lease (if I could even find them to serve court papers), the judge would tell me to go pound sand, absorb it as a business expense, go re-rent the apartment, move on with my life and quit bothering him with this "nonsense."

Another situation. Joe "pain in the a$$" Tenant just moved in after signing a year lease. He is noisy and obnoxious and leaves trash in the common areas. I get numerous complaints from my "good" tenants, complaining about Joe. Joe's lease has provisions against this, so I properly serve him a "10 day notice to cure" using a process server ($$). He gets better for a bit, then goes back to his old ways. So, I serve him again ($$). This goes on.

I finally get so fed up that I serve him ($$) with an eviction notice for breach of lease. I spend time and money getting the petition and go to court. Joe tells the judge he "promises" not to do it again and shows receipts from all his on-time rent payment, so the judge gives him "one more chance. " Invariably, I'm back in court AGAIN. I may or may not get a warrant for eviction this time, but meanwhile two of my good tenants have moved out, exasperated by their neighbor, Joe, and his reprehensible lifestyle.

Sure, my lease states that Joe is financially responsible for my expenses associated with the enforcement of the lease provisions, but good luck with that.  As many are aware, getting a judgement is one thing, but collecting on it is quite another.

In each of these examples, the lease favors the tenants, and at the same time limits my rights as the landlord.

My month-to-month leases give me the right to terminate the lease for no reason or any reason, including being an "a$$." If they don't leave, I get a holdover eviction warrant on them. I find this is a MUCH easier judgement to get than for breach of lease or even non-payment, since the tenant can "cure" his non-payment by showing up to court with the unpaid balance. Meanwhile, next month he starts neglecting rent payments all over again, planning to "catch up" after I've spent more time and money to get him back into court.

I always found that GOOD tenants love the flexibility that the MTM lease affords them if their personal or work situations changes. I tell them I don't want anyone living in my properties that doesn't want to be there, and that is precisely what would happen if they signed a year lease and their situation changed.

I explain to them I am not in the business of whimsically kicking people out, because that costs me money (see the lead generation paragraph earlier in my post), and my goal is to find really good people to call my properties home and then take good care of them so they want to stay a long time. In contrast, bad tenants don't like the MTM leases (another form of self-screening) because they know they'll be out on their ear in 45 days. So, if a tenant pushes back on the MTM, to me that's a red flag, because there really is no down side for them unless they are up to no good. If they are good tenants, they don't worry about it for a single second because they expect to follow the rules, and they rest easy at night knowing their neighbors will have to do the same or be made to leave.

I would get a quote from a contractor to see how much it will cost you.  Then, weigh that cost versus the time and additional red tape you'll have to endure to get it done by the government, not to mention ceding temporary control of your asset to them.  I have no idea what something like this costs, but if it were me, if it were less than 10K I would probably pay to get it done and move on with your business.  Get several quotes because I can see something like this being used by unscrupulous vendors to gouge panicked property owners.

What I do for common areas & security lights is I move that circuit onto one of the tenants' electric panels.  With our utility provider, it is allowed as long as there an executed contract between lessor and lessee (I use an addendum) and what the utilities are being used for is disclosed.

It can get a little tricky if its extensive use, espeically if there are receptacles that are accessible to other tenants, so in that case I would use a house meter.

Here's an example of an addendum:

Both parties to this agreement acknowledge and understand that the heat and electric service for the building’s basement as well as two exterior security lights are tied to the aforementioned rental unit. The basement is directly under this rental unit, and is not accessible or used by tenants nor is it a common area of the building. The only use of basement electricity would be occasional use by landlord for maintenance and/or repairs. The monthly impact on the tenant’s electric utility bill is expected to be de minimis.

A $10.00 credit in monthly base rent will be established to offset this use of electricity.

The basement heating is served by the rental unit’s high-efficiency gas-fired furnace, and aims to keep the basement crawlspace above freezing during periods of extreme cold in the winter months (typically December, January, and February) to avoid freezing plumbing pipes. The crawlspace will receive small amounts of warm air whenever the rental unit’s living room thermostat calls for heat, which is exclusively controlled by the tenant.

In addition to the aforementioned monthly credit for the electricity use, during the months of January, February and March, a $50.00 reduction in monthly base rent will be established to accommodate for the use of gas to heat the basement during the winter. This additional credit is issued if the utilities were in the tenant’s name on the preceding month. (i.e. January’s credit is for December’s usage, etc.)

The intent of this agreement is to provide transparency for the tenant as to the utilities assigned to the rental unit. Please note that the reduction in rent exceeds the expected impact of the shared utilities on the tenant’s utility bill.

If you have a basement common area as you describe, you could install a timer on the light switch, and enclose/lock receptacles that would be for your use for repair or maintenance.  You could hardwire in washer/dryer.  Key is to avoid receptacles that could be used by other tenants, which creates a shared metering situation, and if a tenant complains, it's a big headache with the provider as they will launch an investigation and could require you to install a house meter as well as reimburse all of the tenant's utility bills since move-in.  I have seen that situation occur.

Looks like yet another example of the "you always get paid" myth with Section 8, eh?

This is one reason why many landlords shun Section 8 - so much so that some jurisdictions now legally manadate that lessors accept it.  The extra superfluous link in this chain has screwed you out of a month's rent.  There is probably nothing you can do about it.  Unfortunately, the S8 contracts are written so unilaterally you do not get much agency in the relationship. It's interesting to note that S8 did not respect the part of your contract that their client violated, but if it were the other way around they would taken you to task and eviscerated you in a heartbeat.

If it were me, I would have begun marketing the unit immediately upon proper notice (which they did not give, btw), and sought out new prospects.  When they did not follow through on their move out date, they made their problem become yours.  If it were a paying tenant, if you did not have anyone moving in for April, you could have made a deal with them and collected April's rent in cash right then, and created a win-win situation.  

Unfortunately you have a contract with two parties: one that has no skin in the game, and one that makes and enforces the rules to their sole benefit.  Most of us have had similar experiences with these government subsidies, and this is why they cannot find enough housing providers to participate in their program.

If they are asking for a "reasonable accomodation" under the ADA, then I believe they are required to pay for the change, and - if necessary - pay for its removal after they vacate.  There is something in the law that says reasonable accomodations cannot place a finanacial burden on the property owner or something similar - search it up to see the exact wording.

So, unless your municipality has a statute that places more responsibility on you (based on where you are, that would not surprise me one bit), I think it's on them.  Again, do your research before answering them because if you misstate your obligation they will probably legally rub your nose in it.

I have not spent a day in law school, so take my advice with that caveat.

As long as you are not recording a tenant in their unit (or have the camera aimed at their window to look inside, for instance), then I think you are fine.  There is no expectation of privacy in common areas or outside on the premises.

However, I am reading between the lines here and it seems like the tenant is the real issue here.

Here's what I would do if I were you (in order):

(1) Issue a notice of termination to this tenant, and make sure you comply with your state statute for doing so.  As a self manager, life is too short to put up with this.  This is your property and you make the rules!  There are plenty of qualified applicants that would appreciate an attentive and responsible lessor.  Hopefully they are MTM.  If not, hopefully their lease term is coming up soon.  In most jurisdictions (besides a few left-leaning pockets), you can terminate (i.e. not renew) a lease for any reason (excepting discrimination based on protected class) or no reason.  Do not give them a reason.  The less you say, the less fodder you give them to argue with you ad nauseum.

(2) If you are still offering term leases, consider offering MTM henceforth.  I have written extensively here in on BP about the benefits of MTM and the liabilities with term leases .

(3) Tighten up your lease language regarding cameras.  Here are two excerpts from mine that are germane:

22. SECURITY: We do not provide security services to protect you, others, or property. You must look solely to public law enforcement for such protection. We will not be liable for failure to provide security services or for the criminal or wrongful acts of others. Exterior doors should be locked at all times. We have no duty to you to provide security services or devices other than the duty to provide you with (a) an operable lock on each main swinging entry door of the Rental Unit and (b) operable window locking devices for windows that are designed to be opened. After you take possession of the Rental Unit, we will have no obligation or duty to inspect, test or repair any lock or other security device unless you request us to do so in writing. There should be no expectation of privacy in the common areas of the Premises. We reserve the right to place security cameras in those locations at our sole discretion as we deem necessary. Any cautionary measures that we take (whether applicant screening, security cameras, security devices or courtesy patrol services) which may presently exist or later be installed on the Premises are neither a guarantee nor warranty against criminal acts of others on the Premises or otherwise. Your personal safety and security are your personal responsibility. If criminal activity occurs, you should contact the appropriate law enforcement agency.

AND

(n) Cameras may not be placed by you (or at your direction) in common areas or anywhere on the outside of your Rental Unit. Doorbell cameras are permitted on your exterior door(s).

Lastly, regarding the concern about audio recording and its legality, if you find it is not legal in your area, then just disable the audio portion of the recording via the app.  It should be just a toggle on the UI.  But...as I stated...your REAL problem is (1), above.  These other things are red herrings; you are spending time on managing the effect, rather than dealing directly with the cause.

Good luck!

I would offer that agreement to her ASAP.  That way, if she declines you have more time to market the unit in anticpation of the upcoming vacancy.