All Forum Posts by: Sara N.

I think be generic and general as possible. Here in DC we have many young professionals with steady jobs, great scores, references, etc. who want to rent our place (that's in a desirable location, lower priced) and  we get too many great applicants that it's hard to pick from. At the end after all the comparisons and since they all are qualified, we go with our guts and whom ever seem like they cleanest, will keep the place in good condition and likely stay for longer. We send everyone else a generic email saying they were all very qualified but that we picked someone else. 

Regardless of what the circumstances were it just didn't feel right to be doing that.  Would you do that to your tenant?--of course even if your tenant didn't kill anyone! I was really shocked when the live videos were rolling and the landlord letting the media have full access to this property and dig around. 

Hi--this is a re-posting I just wrote on another forum. 

We've been having this problem in one of our rentals/a rowhouse (connected to other houses) and have called 2 different exterminator co. --1st co. came 1 yr ago and in the spring we called a different co. as maybe the 1st co. didn't seal all the holes or what. The 2nd co. said they could not find anymore holes that the 1st co. didn't see. We've set baits, traps, etc. and were still having problems as all the holes that could be sealed were done but still the problem continued. Long story short, our tenant found suggestion to put out peppermint oil on cotton balls all over the house. Make the smell strong and so far so good! No mice noise between the walls, none coming in!

I think by allowing cat, it will open up your list of perspective/potential tenants a whole lot more. And yes, it depends on the individual. We allow cat, but no dog (as dogs are loud and could be disturbing the neighbors/upstairs tenants). One tenant had a cat and he was rather unclean and yes his litter box was smelly but once he moved out, no problem some spray of Clorox bleach did the trick in the areas where the litter box was. Ourselves, we have 2 cats who are not de-clawed, no damage at all, and we keep the litter box very clean. So depends on the individuals but I still think it's better than having a dog that can be loud and disturbing to the neighbors. 

We've been having this problem in one of our rentals/a rowhouse (connected to other houses) and have called 2 different exterminator co. --1st co. came 1 yr ago and in the spring we called a different co. as maybe the 1st co. didn't seal all the holes or what. The 2nd co. said they could not find anymore holes that the 1st co. didn't see. We've set baits, traps, etc. and were still having problems as all the holes that could be sealed were done but still the problem continued.  Long story short, our tenant found suggestion to put out peppermint oil on cotton balls all over the house. Make the smell strong and so far so good! No mice noise between the walls, no coming in! 

@Donald Hendricks

I agree w/the others. Lowe's has actually really nice, better look & quality than Home Depot I think. Really, it's for a rental. Don't spend too much $$ and don't get too stressed out.

As the owner of a rowhouse, over the past yr. we have paid for 2 different pest control co. to come find/seal mice holes and resolve the problem but the problem continues. Unfortunately the 2nd co. couldn't find any new mice holes and we continue to have mice visitors once in a while. We have explained to the tenants that we cannot keep continuing to pay for a new pest control co. to keep coming when there are no more holes they can identify. The tenants have been understanding & have just put out traps, baits, natural remedies, etc. We have done our part. 

gosh tough situation. sorry  I don't have any experience w/that as our tenants are more young professional and all pay online via this excellent site (venmo --free bank to bank, and the $$ arrives the next business day). 

@Christy Glenn

*make sure you are making some $$ profit, even if it's only a few hundred $$ after all the expenses. 

*location, location, location! A well desired location will mean you'll have an easier time attracting more potential tenants and can pick and choose the most qualified. 

* make sure you have an honest reliable, handyman/woman ready & on speed dial. Unless you/your husband can fix it yourself, you don't want to be scrambling to find someone. 

*be a proactive landlord--when things need be fixed, take care of it asap. If the tenant feel  their needs are being met, that you care about them, they will respect you and your property.

good luck! : )

Dillion--If you only have a few rentals, it maybe just as easy and saving you big $$ to just use a generic one you find online for your state. Just be clear and make the changes you want. We use a generic lease (8 pgs. long!) we found online for DC and we alter/change the line time as needed in the copy we have (ex. we pay for utilities vs. the tenant so we just cross out the old out/put in the new text/initial the changes). It's worked well for us and we've been landlords for 4+ yrs now. Just be clear w/the tenant the major points-- we summarize in easy English the main items (in bullet points) in the email  we send to the tenant so they can review before meeting to sign it in person. Good luck!