All Forum Posts by: Aaron Corleone

I have a tenant who we are in the process of evicting. Just waiting for the paperwork from the local magistrate. However, we just got a water shut-off notice saying water was shut off on the 12 of October (today is the 14th). The tenant is responsible for all utilities. I've been told by a work associate (obviously, not an expert! But he has been through this before) that you can change the locks and use this to get the tenant out since not paying since it's something that is lienable. Is that true? His stuff is still there and I know I also need to give him 10 days to get his stuff out. But he's been dodging me and I'd love to change the locks so that he'll contact me. Just want to talk to the dude and work something out. 

I live in Pennsylvania and just refurbished a home. It's near Penn State and I don't want students in there partying and damaging the property (because that is why I had to refurbish it!). I'm wondering if I can ask my property manager if they can not accept applications from students. 

Hello everyone,

I'm in the closing stages of purchasing my first investment property! Thanks to all of you who have helped me so far. It is much appreciated. I have a question on home insurance. Here is the link from what was recommended to me:

http://map.onlinehsa.com/Default.aspx?state=PA

What are the best practices when it comes to home insurance? She asked what package I want and if I want any add ons. Not sure what option/s are the best.

@Lisa Doud Yes, I've definitely done my homework. I have a property management company picked out. Mostly wondering if there are any rules/laws preventing me from hiring a property manager while the property is still listed for sale with another agent.

@Jassem A. If I do go the property management route the company I picked out does offer full-service management. They have in-house maintenance and focus just on property management. They don't do sales at all. 

@Dawn Brenengen I'm expecting it to be the same here in Pittsburgh. Definitely leaning towards renting it out. 

Thanks for the input everyone! 

Hello everyone!

I'm wondering if I can hire a property management company to rent my home out while my property is still listed for sale. Can I just hire them to rent it out and go with whoever sells/rents it first? Not sure how the contracts work. The home has been on the market for awhile now so I'm thinking I just want to rent it out. I'd take either at this point. 

I don't want to talk to my agent about this. Obviously, I would be getting very biased answers. 

@Jon Thank you.

Hello everyone,

I have a friend who lives overseas and is having a hard time finding a property manager for his property in Pittsburgh, PA. Apparently, for tax reasons, there is more difficulty in managing properties for people overseas. Not sure if it's not as profitable for the management company, or exactly what the issue is. He's been confused with the answers he's received. Does anyone know of a good residential property management company in Pittsburgh, PA that would take on a property from a foreign investor?

Should the property owner or the property management company/property manager sign the lease with the tenants? My property management company is wanting me to sign it but I'm a little concerned about this. Would I be liable if the management company did something wrong?

Hello everyone!

I'm a new landlord and I'm having some questions about responsibilities of tenants vs. landlord. I know there are certain things I need to do before the tenant moves in (like smoke detectors, fire extinguisher, etc). But there are some things I'm wondering if I'm responsible for. Something like a porch light. Right now there is no porch light. Am I required by law/regulations to have a working porch light? Does anyone have a good place to read about all this stuff? Maybe a checklist of things I am responsible for? I've looked through PA landlord-tenant laws and can't find anything about porch lights. And the porch light thing just made me wonder what else I'm not doing that I should be.

Also, I know Section 8 has different requirements, but I'm not planning to rent to Section 8 tenants.

Thank you in advance. Look forward to being a part of this community.

Thank you everyone for the replies! This really helped me a lot.

Thanks for the heads up @Steve Babiak and @George Paiva I'll look into these issues. Is there a good website you would recommend that will inform me on all laws similar to this? A website that would help me learn tenant/landlord law 101 without all the legalese?

@George Paiva