All Forum Posts by: Tom Dunivin

Hello all,

I work as a property manager in San Diego and have a few tenants who have recently elected to terminate their lease early that are not protected by the Military Clause. I understand that some people need to break their lease early as life does change, but it still got me thinking as I have not had any issues with these tenants in terms of payment, maintenance, neighbor issues, etc. 

Per the lease agreement, the tenants are responsible for rent up until I find a new tenant (which may be until the end of their lease term) but in a market like San Diego this never happens. Besides the rent and the costs normally associated with move out (cleaning, paint, etc.) the tenants are also responsible for marketing costs (which are basically zero as I do all the work myself and do not pay to advertise) and commissions that have already been paid, but these again are usually very minimal fees that are not really making any of my tenants think twice about leaving early. Has anyone had success with a flat rate early termination fee in the past? I am thinking at least a month as I should be able to fill my vacancy well before then and therefore keep the "Penalty" fee and increase my revenue if a tenant chooses to leave early. In an ideal world this will never happen, but just wanted everyone's input. 

Your realtor should be able to provide you with comps from the MLS. Ask for recent sales as they actually show what the market is, not just current asking prices.

Hi Leonard, I work as a property manager in Southern California and have used AppFolio since 2014. I have managed up to 400 units using AppFolio and am currently using it to manage approximately 50 properties and highly recommend it. They are constantly updating the software with user suggested features and the support team is great. You can create any report you like if one of the many already set up reports does not tell you exactly what you are looking for. Your tenants can email in maintenance requests that you can email directly to contractors, stream-lining the maintenance process (and ensuring nothing is forgotten). It also makes tenant application, screening and payments very easy to process in an orderly manner. It keeps detailed records of your emails and texts with residents which is great if more than one person will be working on the management. 

That being said, I am not the actual property owner so the monthly fee for the service was not something that played a factor in my decision of services. I am not sure if another program may be set up better for your purpose, but AppFolio can definitely do everything you are looking for! 

Did you not notice this issue during your move in inspection?