All Forum Posts by: Nathan Brown

Nope, terms of a contract can't override written law even if all parties agree. However, you can stay ahead of this eventuality by stipulating an early termination fee. I go with 2x the rent amount in my lease and it's due in full before move out. As it's not called or considered rent, it doesn't interfere with their continued obligation to pay the rent until you re-lease it. 

My recommendation: don't give access to any security deposits or personal property until someone gives you a court order appointing that person as the personal representative of the estate. The last thing you want is to let someone walk away with everything only to have the rightful heir/executor come knocking. In Arizona, we have a law that permits the landlord to request the name, address and phone number of the person the tenant pre-authorizes to enter the rental property and remove the tenant's personal property if the tenant dies during tenancy (we add this clause in our standard lease). It completely releases us from any and all liability. This may be too late for you today, but see if your state has anything similar you could add to your next lease.

Totally normal for the ADU to be omitted from total square footage of the home. That said, you should disclose the breakdown in your listing for what square footage goes to which spaces, because it'll matter to the buyer's lender.

Adding to the great answer above, this is the risk tenants take when they put roommates on a lease. Either the remaining tenants requalify to carry the lease themselves moving forward (however you defined that be begin with), or they all must continue to be treated equally. This means motivation for the departing guy to sign an addendum removing himself, because if the two remaining default in the future, he can and should still be pulled into the eviction judgement. The only exception I can think of to this rule would be if one of the parties were to obtain an order of protection, or whatever you call it in your state.

For sure. If they're non-responsive (i.e. derelict in their duties) then they're not performing their obligations of the agreement. That's grounds to issue notice to the PM. It's not technically you cancelling; it's you giving them an opportunity to cure their breach. Formal complaints to the state's real estate board are affective as well...

Doesn't matter who paid it or from where. The deposit goes with the contract, not the people per se. You're obligated to return it one way or another regardless of what one of them instructs you to do. You're already 15 days late per FL tenant law, so to avoid further legal liability, send the check for the full amount with both names on it to the "primary" resident and let them settle their matter between themselves. If no address is provided, your remedy is to send it to the "last known" address. Which I guess would be the rental property. Hopefully they have mail forwarding set up through the post office.

A lot of knee-jerk reactions in here. You know your tenant and your business better than us. I personally have negotiated deposit forfeitures before for various reasons. The best way to do it is as mentioned above; verify it's a legal option in your jurisdiction, then if you're okay, write a simple addendum to the lease agreement. It doesn't have to be wordy. "All parties agree resident forfeits security deposit of $x." I think they may be entitled to any interest earned too in New Jersey, right?

Totally understandable line of reasoning. Thanks for your thoughtful response. I was licensed before I discovered investing for myself, so it wasn't much of a choice for me. Now, as a broker, I avoid most of the downsides you've pointed out. More power to you, mate. 

I'm genuinely curious, you've found NO good reasons to get a license in your years of searching? I bring my bias to the conversation, so I'll refrain from offering my reasons. What kind of investing are you into that makes having a license a bad proposition?

To echo the above, your first mistake was bending the rule. It's a slippery slope from there, so getting back to strictness will only get harder and more complicated the longer you let it slide. If she's serious about staying, she'll figure it out. Sending notice only means the process of eviction is starting. These things usually take lots of time, so she has ample opportunity to square up before the threatened lockout actually occurs.