All Forum Posts by: Tim Miller

Russell is 100% right, sell it! In Maryland, it's not the city so much as the state and the laws you have to watch out for. Now you have the Tenants Bill of Rights and every tenant now gets a free lawyer if you try to evict them. In Cumberland, a good 60+ % will qualify for this service. I'm sure the property was built before 1978, meaning in must have lead testing done before any tenant moves in and at every turnover.

Some of the new laws in the state house will require you to provide Air-Conditioning. Give fair housing testers the right to secretly record your call, trying to trap in a fair housing issue. Giving counties the right to pass law for Good Cause Eviction. Providing for the disposition of certain personal property following an eviction. Meaning you'll have to store their property. Not allowed to use software to set your rent. Prohibiting a landlord from using criminal history prior to a conditional offer.

We're seriously considering selling and buying in another state. Which brings up another issue, you must give your tenant the First Right of Refusal when you want to sell.

Maryland just past RENTERS’ RIGHTS AND STABILIZATION ACT (HB 693). You can not do a pet deposit unless your security deposit is less then 1 months rent. It's also in the wording, the state will look at a Fee to be the same as a deposit. Most pet fees are refundable in their eyes. Don't use the word Pet, use animal. We say, their is "An Animal Charge" of $300.00.

Now if you advertised your rent at $1,000 but for a animal you charge $50.00 you don't want to call this pet rent. You simply say, to have an animal your rent is $1050.00.

This came for our landlord association lawyer. You'll want to read Maryland new requirements for landlords.

https://dhcd.maryland.gov/TurningTheKey/Documents/HB693-Land...

Baltimore is too tenant friendly! Talk this over with a lawyer because under current state law, you will not be able to evict due to the cold. Who's name is the lease in, tenant or insurance company?

I would immediately send a certified letter to get rid of the cats and state the damage that is already done. I would also send the insurance company this same letter and tell them they are going to be responsible for the cleaning and repair cost.

You may get one more year from them with a $75 increase but that's about all. With their low income and it's unlikely they'll get a better paying job. I would give them their non-renewal notice as soon as I possible. Not sure what your local law requires, you'll want to check on that. Good luck!

This isn't going to end well, been there, done that! I would let the tenant know that he is not authorized to live there. Period! End of story! NY is a very tenant friendly state, so if he doesn't leave and she's on a month to month. Give proper legal notice of non-renewal and get them both out. Going forward, make sure you convert your lease agreements to PDF and have them backed up. Good luck!

In Maryland for a year lease, you have to give 90 day notice of non-renewal. On month to month, it's 60 days. Give the 90 day notice now and prepare to possibly go to court for a hold over tenant. Which is easier to deal with than a non paying tenant.

Once they're gone, you'll need to tighten up your screening process or find a PM to take over. Good Luck!

Any programmable thermostat that has the ability to lock the screen with a pass code should work. You don't want to rely on your tenants for WiFi service, it's not a good idea. We used a Hotspot from Verizon. The unit cost $100 and it was just $10 a month. You don't need gig speed for this, just enough to connect and control from your phone. 

If the only issue is with who pays attorney fees, that doesn't void the whole lease agreement. You have 3 options, 1. Do nothing & wait till May. 2. Have them sign a lease addendum that covers this issue. 3. Have a whole new lease drawn up and hope they will sign.

My advise is do nothing and have a new lease ready to sign at lease renewal.

@Cherilyn Williams Welcome to the school of hard knocks! These are lessons you'll never forget! Your problem wasn't that they were unmarried, the problem was he had good credit and she didn't. He was responsible and she isn't.

Nathan is spot on as always! Get her out now. Tell her to be out by the end of October and you'll waive the remaining lease, as long as the unit is the same condition as when they moved in.

Tighten up your policies and procedures and stick to them. If you don't, the next tenant could bankrupt you. Good Luck!

Montgomery county is a rent control county and they are very tenant friendly.

First things first, did you provide written notice? Maryland requires this and for M2M you must give 60 day notice of the increase or 90 day notice for yearly.

Next you'll want to make sure your rent increase does not exceed the rent control amount set by Montgomery county. If it does, he doesn't have to pay it.

Double check everything before filing for any non payment of rent or to evict. Good Luck!