All Forum Posts by: Olivia Grabka

@Tonia Butler Kinsey

Tenant. If they use ACH the fee is $1, if they pay with a credit card it is 3%. We cover the fees up front in our marketing & outline it again during our walk through.

@Brittney Wright

Issue a written rent increase notice

1. We typically give tenants 45 - 60 days notice

2. We have them sign extension paperwork with specifics on new rent

We do not typically provides specifics, other than to let them know we are adjusting to be in line with the market

@Jason Hanson

Rentredi is easy & worked for us until we got over 150 units.

@Brett M.

1. Keep rent escrowed

2. Let them know it will be used at the end of their new lease and that they will need to pay the difference between the amount escrowed and the new rate

Issue this in writing

@Sridhar D.

I am dealing with something similar, here are my suggestions:

1. Make sure you have your move in checklist

2. Make sure you have pictures reflecting the condition at time of move in

3. Pull the listing

3a. You will lose a month's rent

3b. IF you lease the unit now, you are likely to get a lower quality tenant & quality of tenant is everything

4. Follow your state's process in withholding security deposit

4a. Get quotes for clean out

4b. Get quotes for cleaning

4c. Get quotes for repairs

In MA, we have up to 30 days to return deposits.

@Rajib Bahar

1. You are unlikely to recover the money

2. Judgement - Execution

If you obtain a garnishment it is likely to be limited. In, Massachusetts garnishment orders have to be renewed every 4 to 6 weeks.

Your Attorney is providing you good advice, it is in their interest to continue the process and bill you. By advising you about the likelihood of failure they are leaving money on the table; they're saving you money and frustration.

@Sendil Thangavelu

You should issue a master lease to the company, transfer all requirements & liability for the operations to them. This will create a situation where all you are responsible for is owning the property and the master tenant assumes responsibility for everything else.

My partner has this arrangement.

@Devin Scott

Difficult situation, but do not deviate from your standard process (whatever that may be). We dealt with similar situation, our mistake was that we were too lenient and it became a problem. Be direct, be honest and stick to your process, if it you need to go through an eviction process it will take a long time if they are seriously and you are better starting early.

@Mica Moore

1. Self manage

2. Try Rentredi, it is affordable and works great for small landlords

3. Do not use FB marketplace for listings, FB market place is full of scams

@Autumn Brooke

First, attempting to divide an electric is very messy, as you have no real way of determining use per unit without individual metering.

Second, be very cautious about attempting to sub meter service because 3 & 4 gang meters are required to make this happen and there is a huge backlog (took us 18 months to get one for one of our flips in Massachusetts). The backlog is a nationwide problem due to the surge in EVs.

IF you decide to proceed with the manual bill split:

1. Make sure your lease specifies that you will be sub dividing the bill manually

2. Make sure you specify this in your listing