All Forum Posts by: Nancy Molinari

Hello all,

I really need your expertise on this question. I own a duplex and live in 1/2, renting the other side out. I will be moving to Boston for a new job and at 57 years old, crunching the numbers doesn't make sense to rent out both sides - upside down by 30K. I went through bankruptcy because I was laid off over a year ago and couldn't keep up with my 6K income and expenses. I didn't reaffirm the mortgage with the lender during the bankruptcy.

A CT attorney advised me that the best thing to do was to do a short sale, and then I am able to continue to collect rent from the tenants and work with the bank through the attorney and a real estate agent on selling the property. The tenants lease is up 6/30/13, so we are only taking two months here.

I know the laws can vary from state to state, so if you can provide any feedback on this, especially if you are familiar with the CT landlord/tenant laws, I would really appreciate any and all advice. Thanks for your help. Nancy

Hi Adam - I would like to weigh in based on my own experience, in addition to some of the great advice you have already received from the experts! Best to either go new (never high end - I go middle of the line) or with used from a reputable used appliance dealer. My ex sells used appliances and has a strong customer service following including landlords that repeatedly use him for their multiple properties. If they are reputable, they usually offer some type of warranty, usually 30 days. I always provide a refrigerator, stove, never smooth top for the same reasons others have given you and dishwasher, only in white or black. I did have one tenant that preferred to always wash their dishes by hand, in which case the seal will go bad if the dishwasher is not run at least once every couple of weeks. Also consider that if they have a dishwasher installed themselves, it may not be installed properly and you might wind up with a flood in the kitchen. Regarding the washer and dryer, I don't provide those, because if anything goes wrong, such as the hose breaking and filling the basement with water, washer constantly being overloaded causing the motor or pump to eventually burn out, or the dryer also being overloaded causing the heating element to need replacement or the tenants never changing the lint filter which can also cause damage or even worse, a fire, and they will be looking to you for the repairs, replacement and damages. I hope this is helpful! Nancy

Hello all -

In the past, have never rented to anyone that needs Section 8 housing but am now contemplating whether I should consider it because of the guaranteed payments from the government. So I am looking for your advice, opinions, suggestions, pros and cons on whether I should consider Section 8 renters or not. This is for my duplex that is owner occupied on one side, so I still have the ability to be selective about who I rent to, as I would prefer if the renters had older children since I have a German Shepherd who has access to the entire yard. I searched the forums, but haven't seen much information on this.

As always, thank you in advance and looking forward to your input!

Nancy

Never ending tenant issues. I just renewed the lease another year for the tenants, yes, the same ones that brought bed bugs in but I thought it would financially be cheaper than going without rent for a month and repainting and cleaning that I footed 1/2 the bill for which by CT state law they could have forced me to pay the entire bill for. Their toilet just clogged and so of course, I had to get a plumber over there. Come to find out, there was too much of something stuffed into the toilet which the plumber will document on his bill that I have to pay $145.00 for.

Would your recommendation be to tell them that they need to pay for it or should I just tell them that if it happens again they will be responsible, or do something else?
I now have another year to go with these people because they just signed the lease again for 8/1/12 until 7/31/13 so now I worry about 12 more months of potential problems with.

Thanks for your advice in advance everyone, Nancy

First, I am so thankful to have this site to ask questions, since I am only a duplex owner and live in one side - so many of you are real pros and you have all given me great advice before. So my question is, I offered my tenants a renewal on a lease that expires 7/31/12. They had just recently called me about a hot water heater issue, so I arranged for the gas company to come out and find out what was wrong. In doing this, I had peaked in the basement (for the first time since they moved in a year ago) where the tenant was, to let him know the gas company was coming out and noticed piles of "stuff" all over the place. My concern is whether their entire basement is filled with stuff and what the inside of the property looks like. I also just noticed from the outside today, a broken blind. Since I haven't provided them a written lease yet (still outside of the 30 day requirement), would you recommend I tell them I want to do a walk through before presenting another year's lease? I hate to have to go through the unpleasant task of taking applications and going without a month's rent again, but I'm concerned about what the inside looks like. Also, please know this is in CT, which is a tenant friendly state, not landlord friendly. Is it normal to ask to walk through before renewing a lease? Thanks everyone! Nancy

Well, I learned alot from this experience and hope I never have to deal with it again - but I guess there's always going to be issues in one way or another when you have tenants. Most of you really gave me an eye opening awakening - you were right on the money. State of CT is one of many states that requires the landlord to pay for the extermination of any pest or rodent treatments REGARDLESS of how they got in the unit such as by existing tenants. I was off on my calculation - they have been here 8 months not 7, not that it makes any difference. I spoke with my attorney - CT is NOT a landlord friendly state. I have to pay, BUT suprise! My tenants acknowledge they brought the bedbugs in and are willing to foot the cost. At the advice of my attorney, I am getting this in writing from the tenants. I can't wait to get out of the landlord business - anyone want to buy a duplex in CT?! Thanks all! Nancy

I appreciate all of your great advice, but some of your responses are that I should just pay to have the extermination done, which I was suprised to read. The tenants obviously brought the bedbugs into the house, so are you all telling me that they have recourse through the courts that I would have to pay for the extermination of the situation they caused?

I own a duplex and live on one side. The tenant came over last night to tell me they found bedbugs in his son's room and he was having someone come over today (Monday) to check out the situation. I felt like he was implying that they were there before he moved in 7 months ago, which I would find hard to believe that they would just now decide to start "feeding". I have the unit steam cleaned between ever tenant, but I realize that wouldn't kill any bedbugs from previous tenants. I've never had a problem before. I'm guessing one of his 3 kids brought them home from school or somewhere else. I don't want a legal issue. If they have tenant's insurance (as stated in the lease), shouldn't the insurance should cover it? Any suggestions or advice on this in case he tries to claim they were there before he moved in? I'm also concerned about those creatures coming over to my side, even though I have a fire wall.

Bryan, here in CT we can't appeal small claims decisions. If I had known how this works, I would have opted for a higher cout instead where you can appeal. So I don't believe I can bring it to a higher court since there was a ruling in small claims.

Thank you to all of you who replied with great feedback and it did help me understand why the judge might have ruled the way he did even though I completely disagree with the decision. He didn't give any explanation during the hearing, only said he would send his decision (he was very arrogant), which when I received it was that there was insufficient evidence that they had caused damage. Also, the tenant gave supposed written proof that it didn't smell when they moved out, which I'm sure was from someone they know. We even did a walk through on move-out but it was only afterl I closed the windows during some rainy weather after they moved out that the smell became apparent. The judge never asked me if I had seen their evidence which they never brought up before the trial which they were supposed to have done, but he admitted it as evidence anyway. When it came to my evidence which they refused to look at and included a section of the carpeting I brought to trial, along with pictures, he refused to take the evidence since they refused to review my evidence so it couldn't be admitted. I have since filed a complaint against the magistrate because he accepted their evidence and not mine, which is currently under investigation by the court system (CT), but it doesn't change the outcome of the trial so I will have to pay. The carpet was older, but not worn to the point it needed to be replaced, only the amonia smell from the urine was so bad I couldn't re-rent the way it was. I even had a professional carpet cleaner come in and clean all rooms including having the room the dog was in deoderized, but it didn't help. I did give them a timely (within 30 days)itemized list of what was deducted for damages but I guess dog urine is normal wear and tear?! I have my own dog and couldn't stand if my dog urinated and I didn't have someone come in the next day to clean the carpet. I charged a pet fee (not a deposit)to let them have the dog in the house and it wasn't for the purpose of damages, only to allow the dog which the funny part as I advertised "no pets" but they begged and pleaded to allow me to let them bring their dog and I caved in. I'll never do that again. Hope the tenants I have now are better than the last! Any more advise any of you have with this information is also appreciated - just don't tell me the magistrate can come after me for filing a complaint about him, then I'll really be thinking about whether I should be standing up for my rights and hope I don't get him again if I have problems with the tenants I have now....thanks everyone.