All Forum Posts by: Sandy G.

You are most welcome!  

Hi.  You definitely have a leak somewhere and need to find it ASAP!!  We had this happen to us last year.  $1,500.00 bill.  Google water leak detection for your area and you will find someone that will come out and find it.  I believe we paid around $500/$600 here in Miami, Florida.  They had a device they hooked up and could listen to the sound waves.  They were able to find the leak location and luckily, the it was not under the house!  Find someone right away!  Don't wait for the water company to come out.  They will only check the water meter and tell you "yep, you've got a leak."  The water will keep leaking and racking up more $$$ while you are waiting.  Miami-Dade County gives you a one-time leak forgiveness for the bill.  If by chance you are in Miami, let me know and I will look for the company's info and post it.  Best of luck to you!

Whirlpool is a much more reliable brand.  I have heard that LG appliances typically have a lot of problems.  We stick to Whirlpool and Frigidaire.  

You can find great deals around various holidays like 4th of July, President's Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, etc.  Also, check out Home Depot, Lowes, etc. for scratch n dent deals.  They also reduce even further during the holidays.  You can find some with barely any damage and at a great savings.  Besides tenants will always end up denting and scratching them anyhow.  

Be sure to take photos when tenants move in and let them know they will be charged for any further dents/scratches that they cause.  We also try not to install fridges with water dispensers or ice makers but if we do, we put in our rental agreement that tenant is responsible for any repair to water/ice makers.  Most repairs are do to misuse.  Also include that tenant is responsible for replacing water filters in the fridge.

Hello.  I ask for previous landlord info but I personally have never called a previous landlord for all of the reasons @Kevin Sobilo mentioned.  You could be calling their friend or relative.  I once hear someone say they call the "previous landlord" and instead of asking for a tenant reference, they say they are inquiring as to their apartment for rent.  If they say what apartment? you know they gave a false reference.  Seems like too much trouble so I have not bothered trying this out.  

We generally use TurboTenant to run background, credit and eviction reports.  I also check the court records (civil, criminal & traffic) myself, just in case something was missed.  

We also ask for 2 months worth of most recent paystubs & bank statements in order to qualify tenants.  

Monthly income must equal 3 times the rent.   

Best of luck to you!

Yep I totally get not being hung up on driving violations.  And yes people can turn their lives around.  It’s just after being burned several times you find it harder to take that risk.
In this case, it seems that this guy only asked to be added to the lease after the landlord served a notice because they were caught.  If he’s on the lease, tenant is no longer in violation.  
Depending on the amount of months left on the lease, you could add him and if it doesn’t work out, serve a non-renewal notice.  
We had a woman move in her (multiple offenses) registered sex offender (of minors) boyfriend so not everyone looks for good qualities in a man.  Be glad it’s pretty much only traffic violations in this case.  Plumber went in one day and reported back there was a guy there with ankle monitor playing video games all day.  Dude was wearing shorts.  Guess he thought no one would notice ??
Tenants eventually tell you who they are by their actions. 

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!  

Agreed.  Let her out of her lease and deal with the inevitable vacancy now instead of later.  It will give you time to exterminate and find a better tenant.  If not, she will eventually find a new place, stop paying rent, string you along, and then move out in the middle of the night leaving you with a vacancy, past due rent and most likely a mess and damage to the unit.  

I have learned:

Leases only protect the tenant not the landlord.  

Tenants will break a lease whenever it is convenient for them.

Is this for real??  I keep waiting for the punchline...  I have a brother that is always telling me these stories and then they end up being a joke.  After falling for those for years, I am now a bit skeptical when I hear those "too good to be true" tales.  If this IS true, congratulations to you!  Best of luck with the baseball card.  Hope it is a rare find!  Cheers!

Agreed.  Definitely, contact water the company most have a one-time leak forgiveness policy or one-time pool fill.  This happened to us but the water bill was in our name. We do this since the county can put a lien on your property for unpaid water bills.  It was for over $1,500.00!!  We are billed quarterly and if it would have been monthly, we could have caught the leak sooner.  Just needed to fill out forms and prove leak was fixed and the bill was forgiven.  I would think most cities would have the same.  Best of luck to you!