All Forum Posts by: Albert Johnson

I am surprised how concerned people are getting over mostly driving violations. 

Yes, it could be the signs of a certain personality defect, but it just as likely could be the sign of a young 20 something being "young n dumb" making poor choices. 

Odd's are he already lives there, that's just how these things go. So I would start by asking myself how long is left on her lease, how much I want to keep her or how happy I am to end this lease term and search for a new tenant. 

If it matters to any degree to retain this tenant, if listing for new tenant is a pain, I'd simply call this guy up, I'd be upfront and ask him about all this. I'd be direct, saying I don't put up with any BS, and I see a lot of BS on his record, recent BS, tell me about this, is this just you being you or are you turning a page realizing poor choices lead to poor results and a poor life. And weigh him by his response. 

Some people just don't have good mentors in there life, and/or need to learn through mistake. I assume he has some redeeming qualities is this women would have him in her life. I'd at least give him the opportunity to explain himself. 

Now keep in mind he at least did 1 correct thing, applied to be added to lease. Many never make that attempt, so there might be redemption there, maybe. 

Pretty much every time I talked myself into making a compromise on our minimum standards I regretted it later. This could be the exception, that proves me wrong, but I would not take the risk. Let her out of the lease so they can move in in his place.

Hi.  How long has she been a tenant?  When does her lease expire?  We've been down this road a few times.  Female tenant moves in.  Boyfriend soon appears and starts living there. They play this game because the guy has a criminal record so the woman applies for the apartment alone.  I don't care what my tenants do in their personal lives and they can have an occasional guest but when the "guest" is staying there on a regular basis, they are no longer just a guest.  Do you have language in your lease about guests and how long they can stay?  We also have a strict policy that anyone 18 or older living on the premises must be properly screened and approved.  How recent are the charges?  Although they may seem like only driving violations, it shows a pattern of disrespect for rules and responsibility.  ALL of the times we have given people the benefit of the doubt and overlooked similar things, it has come back to bite us.  Remember this is not personal, this is a business. 

Best advice:  Keep strict screening requirements and stick to them.  

Be prepared that if you tell her he does not qualify to live there, she will probably sneak him in anyway.  If you can prove he is living there (which can be difficult), you can then serve her with a notice to quit based on your state's laws.  If you can't prove it but he continues to live there, do not renew her lease.  They can always move into his apartment!  Wink wink!  

Good luck!  

How recent were these incidents?

If they were over 10-15 years ago, finances checked out, and he has landlord references, I might consider overlooking the incidents.

 How do the cattle and gate being open relate to the camera?  Are you using the camera to make sure the gate is closed so cattle don't come onto the property?

the parking is a landlord issue if tenants are not parking in their assigned spots. For the camera, can they reposition it so it doesn't point at the other door?  Is the camera set up to point at their car (ie the tenant who owns the camera is using it to monitor their car) or to point at the other tenant's car?

So the camera is facing the tenants assigned parking space and it happens to get the other tenant unit in it as the same time? So he wants a camera on his car for safety reasons and it just happens to get the other unit in the picture.... I assume a common area, front porch etc, i.e no a private area like back yard .... then I dont see that as an issue 

No, this is a landlord issue. Because you're going to lose one tenant due to the actions of another tenant. 

If it is assigned parking, contact the tenant in writing and let them know that they are not to park there and next time they will be towed without warning. Make sure you have proper signage up in the parking lot. Follow through on the towing if it happens again. 

Don't know your location, but generally cameras are not allowed to face into others private areas. What a private area is, is debatable, but is generally areas not viewable from public areas. Where is the camera pointed at?