All Forum Posts by: Rich Schmidt

Ditto. Hinge pin door stop put a hole in a hollow core door. Only this was at church, in the elementary kids room, not at one of our rentals. I'd never use one of those on a hollow core door.

 If you post them here, I bet someone could translate them for you. :)

I always try to have a more meaningful answer for that question. Around here, it's a simple matter of calling the utilities and asking what the average bill has been over the past 12 months. It doesn't do the tenant any good to know what the utilities are when the unit is empty. 

The lease I've been using for years with our SFH properties includes the abandonment clause pasted below. I don't remember where I got the lease, but I'm in a situation now that fits the criteria listed in it. He moved most of his stuff out 2 weeks ago, hasn't lived in it since, and hasn't paid rent in over 2 months. He doesn't have a vehicle to come get the rest (keeps saying his brother is going to help him & then nothing happens), and he's VERY spotty on answering/replying to calls/texts. I'd like to just move all his left-behind furniture into the basement for him to get later and rent the place out to someone new.

But... is it legal? I haven't run this past an Indiana attorney yet (would have to find one). Have any of you used a clause like this?

Thanks!

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32. Abandonment. If at any time during the term of this lease Tenant abandons the demised premises or any part thereof, Owner may, at his option, enter the demised premises by any means without being liable for any prosecution therefore, and without becoming liable to Tenant for damages or for any payment of any kind whatever, and may, at his discretion, as agent for Tenant, re-let the demised premises, or any part thereof, for the whole or any part of the then unexpired term, and may receive and collect all rent payable by virtue of such re-letting, and, at Owner’s option, hold Tenant liable for any difference between the rent that would have been payable under this lease during the balance of the unexpired term, if this lease had continued in force, and the net rent for such period realized by Owner by means of such re- letting. If Owner’s right of re-entry is exercised following abandonment of the premises by Tenant, then Owner may consider any personal property belonging to Tenant and left on the premises to also have been abandoned, in which case Owner may dispose of all such personal property in any manner Owner shall deem proper and is hereby relieved of all liability for doing so. *Abandonment is defined as any absence of Tenant from the demised premises for five (5) consecutive days while all or any of the rent or other amounts payable and due is unpaid.

I'm a pastor. What you're talking about is usually called a "housing allowance." It's more common now that fewer churches own parsonages for pastors' housing.

It's outside of salary, when it comes to W-2s and income taxes, but it's definitely income (it's included in our self-employment taxes). It's as dependable as salary, since it's part if the agreed-upon compensation.

I should add: if the church you're talking about pays his rent directly... that's unusual. Typically the housing allowance is paid to the pastor, who then pays his or her own rent, mortgage, utilities, etc.

Is there a reason that there are two threads with this exact same starting post? I'm inexperienced enough with the forums here that I don't know how to ask that they be merged, or whatever.

Agreed. In fact, I came to this thread thinking it was going to be about the pain involved from the other side. I was recently shopping around for a loan to refinance one of our rentals. I kept getting calls for days and days from different representatives from one or two companies who got my information through LendingTree.com... even though I'd already talked with another representative, heard their terms, and told them no. Other reps kept ringing my phone multiple times a day for over a week. When I'd talk to them, they'd apologize and say they didn't know I'd already spoken with someone else. What a pain!

Corey, what that person did to you was absurd. I hope that's not what lenders think of everyone who is shopping around to find the best available rate for their loan.

It's an interesting idea. Unfortunately, I don't know how I'd ever use it. The one time I had a tenant move out early, they didn't leave a forwarding address. Fortunately, the damages were less than the deposit, and it was quickly re-rented. But if not, I would have had no way to notify them that I was about to do this, which means it loses its potential to motivate them to just pay me.

Wow! That's some good timing! :)

What ever happened with this? I stumbled across this thread while searching for something, and it's kind of left hanging. :)