All Forum Posts by: Tricia O'Brien

@Nathan Gesner

When I sign the 30 day notice to vacate, should I NOT put down the name of the property manager or their PM company name? Just sign my name and date it and state that I am the owner?  Thanks again!

@Peter McKernan. 

Hello Peter, Do you recommend I just sign the 30 day  notice with my own name and title (owner) and not say that I am signing for the PM ? Thanks

I am considering putting my occupied single family rental home in California on the market.  I have a sellers agent realtor that I have talked to (but I have not signed any agreement with yet ).  I agreed that he could drop by the property on Monday 7/25/22 to knock on the door and try to call the tenant on her cell phone and ask if she has any interest in buying it.  This is his standard procedure for dealing with occupied rental properties.  He wants to try to be the good guy , the nice guy, and try to get people pre-qualified to buy before just helping them get kicked out. 

My property manager, to whom I pay a monthly fee, has been pretty unresponsive to my calls and emails in the past 7 days. My plan is that, if the tenant is not interested in buying it or if she does not respond to the realtor's "meet and greet " attempt, I will probably want to give her a 30 day notice to vacate no later than 7/30/2022.  I'll decide by 7/28. 

However, I want to know -  can I do this 30 day notice directly myself since the property manager has been pretty unresponsive? I am worried if I leave it up to the PM, He will not get it done until after Aug 1, and at that point it will have to be a 60 day notice rather than 30 day notice because of the California law.

I've looked up this question in the California Landlord's book by NoLo press and it does not address this issue.

I was going to use the 30 day notice to vacate form from the NoLo press book, and where it says "Manager signature / Date"  I was going for sign my name  "Patricia O'Brien (owner) for Kyle  ******* (manager)". Then have it delivered by a process server.

I was going to use Kyle's name since he is the managing broker who signed my property management agreement . However, another realtor, Matt, signed the lease with the tenant. 

What are your thoughts? Suggestions?  Thanks in advance!  :) 

Typo alert... I meant to say "exceeds my minimum income qualification. "   Lol...:)   

I have 3 roommates (all in their early twenties) who have applied to rent my house.  Two are recent college graduates and have okay jobs. The other is still in college and only makes about $7,000 per year plus has student loans. The one who is the student offered that her Dad could be a co-signer.  

What do you think is the minimum documentation I should require from the co-signer to move forward?  Is it enough if he gives me a copy of his driver's license and 3 month's of paystubs to verify his address and his identity and current income? Or should I require he pay the $55 fee and do a formal application with credit check, eviction  history, and criminal background check?  

The two who are working full time (and not going to school) have income that exceeds my minimun income qualification.  But these 3  people have been roommates for 2 years now and are used to having co-signers , so I thought I would add the co-signer for extra security for me.  

Thanks in advance! 

I would be very cautious about buying something in a town that small that is over 25 miles from a major city unless you can find at least 3 property management companies that do business there currently.   It can be very hard to find property managers in small towns and there might be only one in a town that size.  

@Colleen F. I made the qualification  4x rent because the utilities for the house usually run $280/mo to $400/mo and I thought that if a household only makes $2250/mo (3x rent) in gross income, then their rent plus utilities could easily be more than 50% of their net income.  Could be too much for people to handle and pay rent in full and pay on time every month.

Does Indiana limit the amount you can charge for security deposit?  I want to charge a potential tenant with a german shephard a security deposit of $1,000 for a place that rents for $750/month.  Does Indiana limit the total security deposit to a maximum of 1 month's rent like some states like New York do?  The property is in Muncie IN . Any replies would be appreciated ! :) 

I'm thinking about offering a lease to an applicant using a strategy done by a local PM company in my area.  I would like everyone's opinion if this seems like a reasonable and/or smart way and/or legal way to handle pre-paid rent.  This single family home is in Indiana. 

Property's advertised rent amount: $750/month

Minimum Rental Qualification in the ad:  gross income $3,000/month (4x the rent)

This applicant's income:  $2680 to $2700/month

Applicant doesn't meet income requirement. If tenant is willing to pay 1 month pre-paid rent  ( $750) in additional to the first month's rent ($750)  and security deposit at move in, then this pre-paid rent can be spread out over 11 months to lower their monthly obligation from $750/month to $681.81 so they can meet or almost meet the rental qualification of income being 4X the rent.  

It's an alternative to asking for additional security deposit.  

What do you think?  Pros / Cons?    Here are the details ...

Total Obligation- 1 year lease - 12 x $750 = $9,000

Paid at move in (2 months rent) - $1,500

Remaining rent obligation:  $7,500

$7,500 / 11 months = $681.81 per month for 11 months 

Hi @Joseph Cacciapaglia, How do you market your rentals on the MLS ? My place in Indiana is listed on Zillow and Realtor.com and a few other places but I do not have a real estate agent. Is it on the MLS through Realtor.com right now if I do not have a real estate agent? The address is: 504 South Elliott Street Muncie Indiana 47305. Thanks!