All Forum Posts by: Tricia O'Brien

@Gregory Schwartz Good point!

I found out on July 15 that my landlord policy in California on my single family rental home is being non-renewed and the last day of coverage is Aug 1.  The stated reason is that my independent agent is being cancelled by Safeco and will no longer be a Safeco agent. 

I'm going to try to get Safeco to waive their new policy of not allowing any change of broker requests to go through after July 1, 2024 based on the fact that I never received their notice of Non-Renewal (dated May 4, 2024 ) in the mail and only got a copy of  it by email from my agent's office on July 17.  

I've been told that the law requires insurance companies to give  90 days written notice of non-renewal, but if I never received it by US mail from them, do I have a good case that they are out of compliance with that law and need to allow me to switch agents and renew?

How should I approach negotiating with Safeco? 

Does anyone know if the 90 day notice requirement is a California law or federal law? 

Since I've been told the insurance market is really tough right now in California with most of the big companies (Nationwide, Allstate, State Farm)  not writing new policies to new customers, I'm trying to do a change of broker to a different Safeco agent. I found one is Sonora CA who is willing to do this, but I have to negotiate with Safeco to get them to allow this exception to the July 1 deadline; however,  I would not have needed the exception if I'd gotten the Non-renewal notice in time.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions ! :) 

@Ezekiel Cardoso, @Nathan Gesner... thanks for you replies!

Hello!  Can anyone tell me where I can find good forms that are appropriate for Indiana for notices to vacate?  Or templates? I'd like to get one for giving a tenant 10 day notice of lease violation (like non-payment of rent or moving in an unauthorized tenant, etc) where the tenant can stay if they correct the problem within 10 days.  Also, a 30 day notice to vacate for someone on a month-to-month rental agreement.  Any replies would be appreciated!  Thanks

You need to screen tenant applicants better, and it might take 2 months on the market to find a decent tenant.  Find a PM company that will do this or you need to screen tenant applicants yourself. I have a class C house in a class D neighborhood in Indiana. The current fair market value of the home is about $60K.  My minimum screening criteria are:  credit score at least 600, gross income at least 3.5x the rent, no evictions.  My current tenant (just moved in last month) and my previous tenant all had credit scores of at least 650.  I screen the tenant applicants myself, and I live 3000 miles away from the property.  I have a local realtor who does showings and other tasks for me. 

The PM company might be ripping you off regarding the repairs. How do you know it really needed $10K in work?  Do they have maintenance people on staff that they pay $20/hour plus medical benefits but then they bill you $60/hour for their work? That can be a huge source of revenue for the PM company. 

Good luck! 

Great overview of the pros and cons from your experience!

@Theresa Harris

Would you list the 18 and 19 year old as occupants on the lease?  Would you list the 14 year old as an occupant as well?

Hello! I'd like to know your opinions about if  unemployed young adults (ages 18 and 19) should always be required to sign a new lease with their parent? Or do you sometimes let the parent sign and list the adult children as occupants? I have an applicant who is a 38 year old single Mom with 3 kids - ages 14, 18, and 19.  The 18- and 19-year-old have no income currently.  Her gross income is 3.1x the rent.  

She knows the adult children have to do the background check and credit check and is okay with that.  

I've had applicants in the past like this where the Mom objected to me requiring that the adult kid had to sign the lease. 

Just wanted to know people's opinion about this in case I get pushback.  

It's a class C single family home in a class D neighborhood. 

I know it's in the landlord's best interest to have all adults sign as tenants.  But I'm wondering if that should be a deal breaker if they don't want to do that?

Thanks in advance! 

It depends on what type of property it is.  Is it a place renting for $2100/month? Or someplace renting for $750/month

Hello !  I am using Zillow Rental manger to find/screen tenants.  One seemingly well qualified applicant did not post his actual last pay stub, but instead posted something that said he had gone through another service. It is called "Automated Income Verification by Finicity / Mastercard."  The pop-up window says that tenant applicant's data is pulled directly from their bank statements and pulls the "monthly average of regular direct deposits amounts for up to 2 years".  In his case it was pulled from March 2023 to the present.

I am a little bit leery about accepting this because I'm not familiar with it.  Has anyone accepted this service  as proof of income?

How did that work out for you? 

I did call his employer and they said he makes $24/hour and has been working there consistently since Jan 2023.  

So based on the employer's statement he should be making gross income of $3840/month. This is similar to what Finicity / Mastercard says he makes of $3722/month net over the past 6 months.  

Would you still insist on seeing an actual recent paystub? 

He is an electrician who is currently working a remote job and living in a hotel, so I'm thinking I might ask the HR person to send me a copy of his most recent paystub.  He is working 10-hour days and probably doesn't have easy access to a computer and printer.   The phone # I called for the office manager/ human resources manager I believe was someone's cell phone so a little concerning there.  

Thanks in advance!