All Forum Posts by: Nathan Brown

Quote from @Henry Clark:

We always raise the rent.  Or let them know a month out your not renewing the lease. 

Sorry, what does raising the rent have to do with this dispute? 

I wouldn't think it's too personal. As a professional PM, I can't help but see that as an opportunity to provide "surprise and delight" customer service. Always thinking about that future renewal... As a human being though, it's just a nice thing to do.

CA tenant law requires the landlord to provide temporary housing (like a hotel) when the property is uninhabitable and it wasn't the tenant's causing. Sounds like the tenant caused it this time. That said, what's legal is not the same as what's "right." You've got some negotiation power here to decide what kind of customer service experience to give your tenant!

Hi Joyce, there's very limited information to base an opinion on here, but it looks like there's unfortunately no good way around it; you're an unauthorized occupant. In some jurisdictions that's called squatting, even if the rent is being paid! You've described what amounts to scamming the owner out of market rent. Please don't do this. 

The best course of action for you is to notify the landlord asap that you live there now and take the consequences of potential rent increase or notice to vacate. Letting it go under the radar any longer merely exposes you as well as your father in law to additional legal risks. Who knows, it sounds like they're pretty disconnected from what's going on over there, so it may just blow over.  But that's for the landlord to decide or ignore, not you. But at least you'll be protecting yourself by creating a paper trail of your notice of intentions in case you have to defend yourself in court some day. 

Quote from @Amber Masterson:

I don't want to fork out $7k without the work being done first. Any suggestions on how to respond to my PM? 

Literally just say that to your PM and see what they respond with. As has been mentioned above, check first to see what your management agreement says about your requirement to use this affiliated business in the first place.

I'm no missionary for them, but you might find something like turbotenant.com helpful. The applicant creates their own profile and pays for the credit check themself, then you get a copy of it. Pretty easy.

Your question is a little vague about the timing. If you mean to increase the rent amount for just the extended time after the lease is up, then yes that's quite normal. In most states, you would still need to give 30 days notice before the increased rate could take affect. I have pre-written into my lease that any extensions would automatically increase the rent by +20% until move out or a renewal lease is signed. This way, if they extend at the last minute, the lease agreement satisfies the notice requirement, and the increased pricing can take effect immediately if need be.

Seems like you've already figured out your mistakes. Good, that's how we all learn! 

As for your question, yes you can absolutely negotiate an early move out in exchange for balance forgiveness. As long as you put it in writing and get her to sign the new terms. Of course, you should still file the eviction ASAP since it sounds like she may not even respond anyway. That way, if she does agree to the early move out, she should have the added motivation to scoot before the hearing gets scheduled and official judgement is handed down. Between you me and the rest of this forum though, it sounds like an eviction on her record is the least of her concerns. Good luck my friend!

Quote from @Gustavo Delgado:

just deduct from the deposit and keep the receipt 

This would be an interesting negotiation tactic to offer the tenant if they can't square up out of pocket before renewing. However, I personally wouldn't even bring it up. Chances are if they're struggling now, they'll be struggling at their eventual move out too. Gotta keep that deposit in tact for whatever damages may be found at that time. 

"how do you vet an applicant(s) pets when considering them for your rental?"

petscreening.com is our brokerage's tool for this. We charge the tenant a $299 pet admin fee at move in, and also require a $95 home inspection every 6 months. We have found that by systematizing our screenings, we are able to maintain a solid non-discriminatory process.