All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

This is a difficult situation.  Are there any clauses in your lease regarding leaks.  My leases state "TENANT agrees to notify LANDLORD of any water leakage and/or damage within 24 hours of the occurrence. TENANT understands that TENANT may be held responsible for any water and/or mold damage, including the costs of remediation of such damage." Although the water company stated the leak started 4 days after the tenant moved in, when did the tenant notice the problem?

Taking three weeks for the contractor to correct the issue seems extreme.  Did you check around for another contractor to repair the problem sooner? Is it proper to hold the tenants responsible for the additional water charges because you couldn't get it repaired in a timely manner?  Is there another toilet in the property the tenants could use?  Did you suggest that the tenant shut off the water to the leaking toilet until it got repaired? 

If your lease specifies that the tenant is responsible for the water utility bill, it is their responsibility, and prudent, for them be attentive to any running wasteful water on the property. You may want to stand strong on this but any tenant would have an issue with being responsible for this type of problem after just moving into the property.  As landlord's, we have a responsibility to maintaining the property as well as moral and ethical responsibilities to the tenants. 

If you explain the situation with the water company they may credit some of the water bill as a courtesy. If you didn't fulfill your responsibility as landlord in resolving the problem as soon as possible, and it resulted in a larger expense to the tenant, consider splitting the water bill with the tenant.  

Typically, most state laws, you should check yours, requires landlords to maintain all supplied appliances.  You may not be required by law to replace the ice maker but then it comes to a question of character.  I have an appliance contractor that replaces my rental property ice makers for about $125.  This is a very low cost versus getting the bad reputation as a Slumlord.  

As owner of real property you have a bundle of rights.  When you lease the real property to another you are giving up and transferring some of the bundle of rights to the tenant(s).  Some of the rights you transfer are: Possession - the right to occupy the property, Exclusion - the right to choose who can enter (visit) the property, Enjoyment - the right to participate in any activities he or she finds pleasurable without outside interference (baring any criminal activities, excessive noise, etc.) and Control - the right to legally use the property as the occupants see fit, again, baring any criminal activities. As landlords, we don't have any authority on telling tenants how they live their lives. If the tenants use an empty bedroom or any other room as storage, that is their right. 

Typically, any liability of how tenants live in the property is theirs.  Hopefully you require Renter's Insurance and have Landlord Insurance yourself. When the day comes that the tenants vacate the property, it is their responsibility to return the property to the it's condition when they originally rented it, minus any normal wear and tear. Unless your tenants are performing criminal activities or willfully destroying the property, don't stress yourself out over the individual choices of how your tenants live.  

Unfortunately, since you signed a contract you are stuck, at least until the contract ends.  There are a lot of brokers/property management companies that charge a list of fees, one being a lease renewal fee.  Here is a list of commonly charged fees by some management companies, even here in Las Vegas.  

Admin and/or Setup Fees - Personally, I don't believe in charging a fee just to hire a management company.

Lease Renewal Fees - It is both your and the management company's advantage to keep tenants long term. I consider this a junk fee. There is no laborious work involved to support this fee.

Maintenance Surcharges - Check with your state laws on this one as here in Nevada it is illegal, yet some still get away with it.  I find it immoral to add a charge on top of the actual repair costs. Scheduling maintenance is a part of the property management job.

Vacancy Fees - By charging this fee there is no urgency to find a tenant. It's the management company's job to keep the property rented. Who else would you be willing to pay for not doing their job?

Marketing Fees - Typically agents use the MLS to list properties for sell or rent. Granted, they pay a fee to utilize the MLS but that is a business expense. It doesn't cost anymore to list 1 or 100 properties. Yet, another junk fee.

Annual Fees - This one really ruffles my feathers. Continuing services should be based on performance, not how much you pay.  The word "Greed" comes to mind.

I am a successful professional property manager and I don't charge my clients any of these greedy fees, yet there are a lot of property management companies, brokerages, that do.  The reason they charge them is because people keep paying them.  I am sure any of them reading this will be very upset with me. They'll get over it.

A property management company can easily keep your property from profiting by charging you unnecessary fees to line their greedy pockets. I suggest you shop your local market and find a management company that isn't going to nickel and dime you in fees. 

Typically people looking for a home, to buy or rent, are not going to invest any funds or effort into buying/renting without seeing the property first.  The number of pictures is good as a representation but quite often one's perception of a home from images will be different when they actually view the property; room sizes, personal feel, etc.  With COVID I can understand why you wouldn't want a bunch of people walking through the unit but your current approach isn't getting any traction. 

If you remove the apply first, view second policy, I would expect you to get interest in the unit.  You can require masks and limit the number of people per visit.  You can also control the scheduling of when and how often the unit is viewed. Providing hand sanitizer to the potential tenant just before entering can also be helpful. 

When you make any agreements with a tenant that is different than the signed lease, its always good practice to have a lease addendum. This protects all parties on the agreement should one party not comply.  If you eventually find yourself needing to evict the tenant, a lease addendum will hold up in court better than an "unwritten" agreement.

This arrangement favors the tenant as it delays any actions against the tenant, should they not pay their rent.  To help balance it out, you could work with the tenant to pre-pay two weeks of rent.  This way when they continue to pay on the 15th, they are paying from the 15th to the 15th and the 1st to the 15th is already paid. 

My understanding of the ADA laws is that you must make reasonable accommodations. If reasonable, disabled tenants may modify a rental unit to make it safe and comfortable to live in. If the modification will create an inappropriate living condition for the next tenant, the landlord may agree to the modification upon the condition that the tenant restore the unit to its original condition prior to leaving.  In this circumstance, the landlord may require the tenant to pay an additional security deposit to cover the expenses of restoring the unit to its original condition.

All modifications are subject to approval with the landlord. The landlord may ask for a description of the proposed modification and any necessary building permits. Common modifications include wheelchair ramps, lowered countertops, and special door handles.

Bottom line, you should allow the tenant to have a wheelchair ramp installed by a licensed contractor, with permits, and all the expenses, both installation and restoring, are the tenant's expense.

First, and foremost, it is important that you follow your state landlord-tenant laws.  As replies are posted from individuals from different states, their recommendations may differ from your state laws. For example, in Nevada if you hire a Property Manager the landlord, owner, can no longer access the property and ALL repairs must be completed by a licensed contractor.

If you, yourself, don’t know or understand the laws, I guarantee that your tenants will. A professional property manager needs to know the federal, state, and city landlord-tenant laws, and they change frequently. It’s their responsibility to keep up on the laws.

Maintenance requests are often the biggest pain for landlords. No matter how ideal the tenants are, appliances break, systems wear out, and little things will need attention. A professional property manager will eliminate these hassles by proactively handling tenants' requests or complaints, including after-hours emergencies, solving maintenance issues, and preventing any HOA violations.

Labor and parts are expensive. Property managers build relationships with vendors. Often, these relationships provide a lower cost for maintenance and repair services that save you money and protect the value of your rental property. Another legal example, it is illegal in Nevada for a property manager to add, pad, any charges to a contractor's repair invoice. 

Being able to screen applicants well is an important task. This may be the most valuable skill professional property managers offer. You want to make sure the tenants occupying your property are of high quality and will take care of your investment. Property managers put every applicant through a criminal background check, credit and eviction check, as-well-as employment and financial verification to protect you and your property.

Your time is valuable. A professional property manager saves you time from having to deal with tenant requests and complaints, or maintenance and repair issues. Most times the needs aren’t big or expensive, but the timing and urgency is. You don’t have to go out and find reputable vendors, your property manager has already done the work for you. You can be off having a great time with family and friends, or be at work without having to worry about your property.

Property managers — specifically good ones — are worth their weight in gold. It is entirely possible for a truly great property manager to save or make investors more money than their initial fees. That said, the cost of property management is more of an investment than an expense.

If your property manager isn't providing these quality services, at a minimum, then you should consider hiring another or managing the property yourself.

@Raquel Zanoni, If you don't have a 20% down payment on the purchase of real estate, you will need PMI. It is good to also note that when buying for investment purposes, banks typically want 25% to 30% down along with proof of liquid cash to cover all your real estate mortgages for six or more months. It is always best to speak with your financial institution and find the one that fits your needs and delivers you the best plan.

As long as you meet the credit requirements, going with a Conventional Loan may be the least expensive option. Sure, only doing a 3.5% down payment with the FHA means less money out of your pocket today but it also means you will have to pay Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). PMI rates can add a few hundred dollars to your monthly mortgage payment, which continues for the life of the loan unless you refinance to a Conventional loan at a later date. With 20% down, you shouldn't need PMI. Also, typically FHA loans have higher mortgage rates than Conventional loans and a lower down payment will usually result in a higher mortgage rate.

Your banker, or other financial specialist, should be able to assist you with which financial road is best for your situation and goals.