All Forum Posts by: Rizwan Halim

So finally after evicting the tenant I have spent almost $8000 refurbishing the place to get it ready to rent out again. For e.g. all the doors were ripped out and the walls were filled with pen marks. I am going to pursue this tenant through the civil courts for whatever that's worth.

I also got stiffed for the last 2 months of rent, which was not even covered by the security deposit.

I did not even know this was an option but how feasible is it to pursue criminal charges against this tenant now that everything is almost repaired and is it even worth it? I have plenty of photos and a video documenting the damage.

Thank you everyone for your input

@Nicole A. I'll definitely have a separate discussion about the do's and dont's of smoking when and if we sign the lease.

1) Would it be legal to take a separate deposit for smoke damage, like say $500, in case there is a damage to the carpet? Already taken the maximum NJ limit of 1.5 month.

2) Can I asses a $50 fine if I happen to see a cigarrate butt thrown outside the townhouse during a regular inspection?

The last thing I was thinking of is to ask to see his current rental place and see if it reeks of smoke, good idea?

Great advice guys. Thanks, and I'll keep the rent as is and focus on a quality tenant instead for the long term.

I have a prospective tenant apply who seems a great fit and is a friend of a friend. I recently found out he is a smoker. I did not even think to ask but instead saw him smoke. I was all ready to rent to him.

1) Should I rent to him?

2) If I deny him, can I tell him that it is because he is a smoker?

Thanks.

Suzie, thanks for the great advice. What do you do for a pre-screening application?

So my old tenant is finally moving out and I am dealing with the turnover right now. I thought I'd get a jump and start advertising when the place is not even ready yet, thinking I'd schedule the showings a week out.

I've been getting 8 - 10 calls/inquiries per day for the last 6 days. I've stopped picking up the phone because everyone wants to see the place ASAP. Someone wanted to pay for the rental application without even seeing the place. I know this is hot rental market but didn't expect this kind of craziness.

This leads me to wonder, have I set the rent too low? Any advice as to what I should do or if I should do anything at all would be appreciated. Thanks.

I recently had to go to court and get an eviction judgement against my tenant, who has otherwise been great. This was all documented here:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/98182-my-first-eviction-in-nj

Here in NJ you file a writ of removal after the judgement which I never did as the tenant promised me that she will be leaving this Sunday. I didn't really want to call the sheriff to evict her.

1) Should I get her to sign paperwork that she will be forfeitng her security deposit?

2) Should I get her to sign any other paperwork saying that she has left and has no other property in the house?

Thanks.

Thanks everyone. Based on the responses to the rental I think I covered them for the most part.

So ready to rent out my property and posted it through postlets on various sites such as yahoo, trulia and zillow. Also put it separately on craigslist.

Any other major sites I am missing?

Also should I list this on my facebook?

Thanks.

Indeed Dawn, I should've included that in my OP.

So I tried to call her yesterday and there was a message saying this phone is not accepting any calls.

So at this point I was going to go down to the property and leave a note for her asking her to call me whenever she gets a chance. Will also mail this note to her. Basically want to discuss any alternative options.

Speaking of which should I offer her some kind of cash for keys, whereby I can avoid the hassle of an eviction and damage to the property? I was thinking of making an offer for $500 to leave by 9/1/13.