All Forum Posts by: Thomas B.

Did your lease automatically become month to month after the initial term? Did your lease require 30 days written notice? If so, based on what I have from you, it does not sound like your tenant gave full notice to me. At that point they would be responsible for all of April rent or until I can get it rented which ever comes FIRST. 

I would not release the security deposit until this issue was resolved and the property can be inspected.

Qualified is the key word. Unfortunately, as you are finding they can be very hard to find and the closer to the airport you are the harder they will be to find. Craigslist and a sign (you may want a large banner) have worked very well for me in similar areas of Memphis. I always put my qualification requirements in my adds I will weed out the worst of them. Best of luck!

@Stephen White

Would you mind PMing me the link I would like to see what our buddy had to say. Thanks!

Hi Mar,

"Lets just say I am VERY tempted to charge a $50 fee per person JUST to get interested only parties!" This is the type of business practice that I am trying to bring to light. Application fees created on a whim and not on principle. If you don't like being a Landlord find a different job that doesn't involve people.

You did not read what @Elizabeth Colegrove wrote and you took the time to respond to it. She is not considering a $50 application fee on a "whim" it to weed out the people that aren't really interested as vetting applications cost time and money. 

While I don't know Elizabeth personally she seems very friendly and helpful on this board, so I would say she probably does like people.  

All of your questions were very open ended and in my mind impossible to answer with any really accuracy. You must also understand Agents are held to an impossible standard by the board of realtors and are open to huge liability issues for even giving a "leading" opinion. In this day and age of I will sue you if you sneeze in my direction how would you answer open ended question. 

It's a competitive market, that's life. Open up craigslist and start looking on your own if you don't like using an agent. I have never rented a property in over 20 years with a RE Agent.

Again, reviewing and vetting applications takes both time and money. Should the agent bare the cost for you? I think not. Look at it this way, if 50 people are willing to go threw the process with a fee think how many he would have to go through with no fee.

If none of this is getting through I understand. Why don't you open a business where you take, process, store, and reply to rental applications for free. I am sure you would have a line out the door.

Hello Mar,

I will take the bait!

I am a property owner and as such I see the application process differently than what the Renters tell you. So here is the other side of the coin.

I will agree that an application fee in excess of $100 may seem excessive in some areas of the country.  However, as you stated it is legal and nobody is making you pay it. You can choose to look at other properties with out the "high" application fee. The fee is for more than pulling reports though it takes time and resources to properly vet an application and with out a fee in my area I would get 10 tire kickers for every 1 real applicant with out charging a marginal fee for the application. 

• People can have bad credit and still pay their rent every month.

Very true BUT if we do not learn from history we are doomed to repeat it.

• People can have past criminal records and still pay their rent every month.

See above: People with criminal records tend to make poor decisions and increase the property owners risk / cost in the long run.

• People with a prior eviction could still pay their rent every month.

See above. Prior evictions also show poor decision making and increase the property owners risk and cost in the long run.

• Plus, an eviction report is the only report that’s specific to the rental industry.

Yes, because you cant evict a person from a car.

Your funny! This is a business not a "scam" where people invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to collect application fees.

@Jundong Ma Where is the list of toxic flooring?

Fill the tank 100% charge the tenant for the 1/4 tank as it is the lower of the 2 amounts you think it was. If they don't pay take it out of the security deposit. 

Tighten your lease going forward adding the additional charges for service if you have to arrange it for tenants in the future as @Jimmy S. suggested. Document the level in the tank at lease signing (should be full) and I would also go with the rental car system. Tank must be at or above the level you moved in with (if it was not full).

@Michael Hicks Not funny you and I may be paying for their cell phone. Our government gives them out like cheese!

@Javier Marchena  The market will fight you on charging a larger deposit in several ways.

 Off the top of my head.

1. Many landlords will not even know about the added risk until they get hit with a $1000 water bill and wont ask for the larger deposit. When you do tenants will go where they dont have to pay it.

2. Some states limit how much you can take in the form of a security deposit. Maybe this would be different if it were carved out as a water deposit I don't know.

In the end it will hurt tenants in one way or another.