TheLPA.com forum postings

uncertain

Anonymous — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:38:16 -0400

I moved into an apartment on Oct.1, 2008. Before the month was over my kitchen floods 3 times. I spoke to the landlords about the problem. Keep in mind I have two Babies and the water was black. He fixed the pipe in one week but the tiles on the floor were buckling and molding. I also told the landlord about it. It took him till May of 2008 to change the floors. After numrous written letters attached with my rent payment. I had to live through the winter with no heat because the gas heater was leaking and he wouldn't fix it. I can go on and on but I have a new problem. On June 4th, 2008 I woke up at 7am the smell of gas was so bad. I called the gas company and they said get out now with your children. The gas company sent someone out. They turned my gas off and said the heater, stove, and a gas line in the wall was busted and leaking. And that the landlord had to have a state permit to have my gas turned back on. So I was placed in a new apartment while moving part of the ceiling in my old apratment started falling out and water was everywhere in the bathroom. there is a 250.00 differences in the rent and he wants me to pay for the month of June he says I owe him. I feel like I was displaced and I never wanted to move. He now wants me to sign a new lease I don't want to my lease is up in October i may want to move. Can he do that to me? I have been very patience. Can he treat me like this? Can I fight back? He now wants to throw me out for not paying the extra money. My rents was 650.00 now he wants me to pay 850.00 do I have to? I have letters from the gas company stating that I have to move out of that apartment. I'm a great tentant I have never paid rent late and I have been very patience. What can I do?

1 of 3 tenants moved out

Anonymous — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 10:39:26 -0400

Ok, heres my scenario. Since our tenant moved in , in August of 2007, he has been late 9 out of 10 months. He has never bothered paying the late fee. So he owes us like 900 in late fees. Also, (by mistake) took it on his word that he would pay the security amount a few months down the road . He never did. Now the roommate, who pays 800 of the 1900 rent has moved out ahead of schedule. We most likely wont see that 1600 from the 3rd roommate. Yet the other 2 tenants are paying like 400/week. These are cash payments (not check or money order). We very soon will be taking them to small claims to evict based on the fact of habitual late rent & a violation of the lease by the third person moving out. I wanted to know, by accepting these cash payments, is that in any way non-verbally agreeing to the partial payments , which in fact will make us have no case for eviction?

Considering renting my home

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:35:58 -0400

I live 40 miles from my job, and am considering renting my home, which has a mortgage, and renting an apartment closer to work. My daughter and two friends are considering being the tenants. Do you know of legal/tax implications, and whether this is a good idea?

Where to report bad tenants?

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 18:36:08 -0400

I have a tenant who broke the lease, left the place a mess, cost me money. I can't put that on a credit report (or can I?), so where do I post this information? Is there a national tenant reporting site? Thanks!

keys/inspection

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:50:11 -0400

Our tenants broke lease and paid early termination fee, however, we set date on legal form for keys to be returned and inspection of house to be made. Tenants have not met that date? Do we have any legal recourse (besides keeping deposit) for them breaking that part of the agreement because they have still have not given keys back or done inspection with us?

Tenant has recent DWI

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:13:11 -0400

I had a nice young man (24)apply for my 1 bedroom apartment. He comes from a nice family, is an accounting major, has good clean credit. He is well mannered and a little shy.
I feel very comfortable, but was very disappointed to learn that he was convicted of DWI.
He insists that it was a one time mistake ad he was barely over the alcohol limit. He works in an accountant's office and waits tables while going for his accounting degree.

I don't want any trouble. Can anyone give me some advice please?

Septic Tank overflow

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:30:29 -0400

I am a tenant on a month-to-month 'lease'. About a month or so ago, the toilet overflowed twice in one week. I cleaned the mess up, but after the second time, my landlord called in plumbers and had the septic tank de-sludged. I have been renting for a year now - and they have given me the bill to pay.

Am I responsible for this? Surely not?

Cleaning

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:41:36 -0400

My lease for a condo began July 1st, 2008 and after I retrieved the keys from my landlord I noticed that the bathrooms were pretty dirty and that it was almost impossible to air out the smell of curry from the residence. My primary question is WHO is responsible for cleaning before the new tenant arrives and when is that cleaning supposed to be completed by? The residence is fully carpeted but I fear that the curry odor is trapped in the carpets and I would also like to know if the landlord is required to change the carpets in such cases or if I could request for a carpet change and not be charged? I would also like to know if the landlord is required to repaint the residence before leasing it to new tenants. The odor of curry is extremely intense to the point where there has been build up on the walls.

Access To The Tenant's Apartment

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:11:39 -0400

I inherited this tenant long time ago. He denies my access to this apartment for maintenance and repair work. The only times, I got into his apartment was when there's an emergency leak in the bathroom or the kitchen sink. His apartment looks horrible. Today he told me he would move out by the end of this month, so he would not pay the rent for July. He would pay the rent on August 1st if he could not move out the end of July. Should I wait until the end of this month to see if he moves out or will pay me rent for July? He is a month to month tenant. If eventually I have to take him to the court, will the judge rule in favor of him because of his living condition? I really need advice from anyone who has dealt with tenants like mine. Thank you so much.

Property Management Software

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:09:19 -0400

I typically use spreadsheets to stay on top of my rental property finances, and I keep a separate file for each property. I used to use Quickbooks, but it's too much work to stay organized. I don't need much - just my cashflow, and being organized for taxes is a plus. I'm willing to try anything that's easy to use. Something web-based would be ideal - so I can update from anywhere. Any good solutions out there? Something cheap would be nice.

PreScreening Card

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:24:31 -0400

I plan on listing my rental on CL and will use the prescreening questions, but what do you do if someone won't or refuses to answer the questions?

multiple leasers

bporter001 — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:35:15 -0400

Hi there.

Anyone have any suggestions for handling multiple leasers? We have a couple +1 adult interested in our unit and arent sure how to handle....credit checks on all listed on the lease is what we are assuming.

Thanks.

Evicting Tenant and Open House

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:19:57 -0400

Hi all,
I'm in the process of evicting the problem tenant and at mean time I am selling the house. Long story in short version, my agent would like me to do an open house. How should I approach this tenant? Should I post a notice on his door or... How should I notify him? What if he won't open his door at the open house? Thank you so much.

Security Deposit

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:16:45 -0400

I can't tell you how many times I have heard this question. My rental is $950/month and the security is the same. The question I get is I have the $950 for rent can we work off the security? How do I politely say no? I don't want someone moving in trash the place and then leave. Then I'm stuck with paying.

Warning to all Landlords

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:01:13 -0400

This ad was posted on the Catskill NY CL and I wish I had seen it before I showed him my property. He responded to my rental ad on the Hudson Valley CL. The man was angry, arguementative and it was his way or no way. He tried to write me a check and I told him I had others to show the rental to. He got so angry at me because he wanted it then and there.

So please beware all upstate NY landlords!

Surviving 2012.

Hello, My Name Is Barry Fischel.
I know of the coming doom, planet wide destruction, but, non-the-less, I also know how to survive, or try the best I can, means to prepaire.
I am looking for someone upstate with resedence. I want to stock pile food and water, I will pay for this. I have many other things to stock, but this is for private.
NO TIME. I want to begin NOW.
Call me, NOW.
917-685-3481 Barry F.

Extra Tenant for Two Months

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:31:39 -0400

Hi,

I had someone view the house we are renting. He was actually looking for his mother, her husband, and his sisters. They are from another country, and he is moving back in November. Before he leaves, he wants to make sure his family is living in a better neighborhood.

We have a two bedroom home so we can only rent to 4 occupants (by code). If we were to rent to them, he would be a 5th occupant until he leaves beginning of November.

My concern, obviously, would be if he doesn't leave although he assured me he's going home he apparently still has a house there that he rents out). Should we decide his family is the best of our applicants (and there have been a few doozies!), are there any suggestions on how to handle this?

His mother would be the lease holder. Should we have an addendum to the lease agreement that stipulates he is a guest for two months? Any other ideas? Thank you.

Rent Payment

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 23:01:17 -0400

What are the options on how to collect rent from tenants if I didn't want to have a personal check mailed every month?

Is there any way to have check deposited directly to a bank account? Or is there anyway to have electronic rent payments?

I am out-of-state, but don't want to have tenants mail the checks to my out-of-state address.

opinion needed

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:56:48 -0400

I have had a fantastic tenant for several years now. They now have a baby and need more room. Since I do not have a larger apartment available they have looked and found a new apartment. They called and told me they would be out of my apartment by the end of July. I have found a replacement tenant who is definately interested in this apartment when they move out. Now the current tenant called and told me that they might not be able to get the new apartment and may have to stay. What do I do? I am sure that they will keep looking for a bigger place. Do I let them stay and lose the new tenant that would be signing a year lease?

Eviction Notice

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:52:06 -0400

I have wrote a couple of times regarding my situation, its been over a week now and my LL and still not given me an eviction notice after telling me to be out in 7 days. Even though I am already planning on being out on or by the 10th, I want my notice or something in writing so it doesnt make it look like I am breaking the lease. Is this what I should do in order to keep them from making it look like I broke the lease and then them going after me for money? Please advize. If they do not come up with one, then do I still need to pay rent.

What Next? Part 3

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:20:58 -0400

I got a call today from the locked out tenant demanding to get in to get her property. She doesn't get it that the world does not revolve around her. I informed her that if she got her stuff out in time she would not have to wait for me to have someone other than me and a paid detail officer to let her move the stuff out. She was furious that I would not come immediately. She does not get that it is another month without rent due to her behavior. She has a new apartment so she used the money she did not pay me to move into some other LL's property. I have a filthy trashed apartment which will take $$$ to make rentable.

My Lease has no early termination clause in it

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:43:49 -0400

I inherited a home due to a death in the family and am trying to break my lease early. There is no early-termination clause in my contract, and the leasing agent is telling me that if I want to move out I need to pay all the money until the end of the lease period. It was an 18month lease, and ends in december.

From my understanding, if there is no early-termination clause in the lease, all I need to do is provide the Leasing Agent a 30 day written notice. Is this correct?

Expenses per unit

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:22:39 -0400

What is the average per unit to assume for expenses not including the debt service? Please give estimate for 1bd/1bath and 2bd/1bath.

Invasion Of Privacy?

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:29:38 -0400

These tenants claim I invaded their privacy while inspecting my property. I don't think so. What do you think?

The lease allows me to enter the property at any time for many purposes including inspections. However, it states that a 24 hour notice will generally be given. I gave them 3 days notice that I needed to be in the home with the air conditioning serviceman when they were not present. When I was in the house witn the a/c guy, I decided to inspect the interior to check for any problems and/or violations. They had locked the three bedroom doors so that I could not enter the rooms. I opened the doors and inspected the rooms. They had rigged a stick to fall if I opened the doors so they would know I had looked inside. No lease violations were noted but a problem with a wall in one room was noted and was scheduled for repair before it got any worse. They had not told me about this problem. Nothing was disturbed and the rooms were left closed.

I got a nasty email from them that I had invaded their privacy. These tenants had been late on paying the rent several times and had bounced a check. They also regulary called to complain about dumb issues when they had nothing better to do. TX.

breaking a lease after having problems with leaks

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:22:02 -0400

I moved into this home oct of 2007. In December the main sewage pipe broke.Had lots of water in basement.Took landlord about a week before someone was sent out for repairs.Now I have new leaks coming from the chimney cleanout and water is all over.Water has gotten under tiles and need to know whether I can break my lease due to health problems.

Tenant Abandonment

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:36:09 -0400

I have a tenant that has completely moved all of their property and belongings , but the rent is paid up till July 12th, can I legally change the locks now that they are gone , when there is no sign of them returning. Also, they have not returned the keys. Does anyone have a good answer ?

Screening Fees

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:49:01 -0400

Does anyone know the average screening fee in PA? We are Landlords who ended up with a property through an inheritance (lucky us). I will be showing the home open house style, since I don't have time for individual appointments at all hours. I plan on advising those who show up that they are welcome to fill out an application if interested, providing a non-refundable screening fee with their application, as I thought this would weed out those who couldn't afford it. We have done background checks before for two previous tenants and they were fine. Never a problem collecting rent; however, they have continuously broken rules and left a mess when they left. And you would have never guessed from their background checks. It's taken us 3 months to clean up from the last one. You just never know.

What charge seems fair in PA? $25?
And do landlords with only one property (not an apartment complex) charge?

Mold and misc complaints from tenant

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 08:24:08 -0400

I'll try to make this as brief as possible. We received a 3 page letter with our rent check yesterday. Mr. & Mrs. Tenant are having some problems with the house they are renting from us. We have owned the house for 5 years and have never had any major issues. Mr. & Mrs Tenant have lived their since Dec. 2006. They are claiming they have mold in the closet in the family room. They also claim they have carpenter ants, spiders, that the dish washer isn't cleaning their dishes, that the gutters to the house need cleaned, and that the faucet in the kitchen leaks.
In Mrs. Tenants words "We really need a new faucet. It is making my water bill high and my nerves bad" Most of the things that they are complaing about aren't such a big deal. It's just, about every other month we receive a note about something wrong. We will replace the faucet, as my husband has tried to fix it on several occasions. We've had an exterminator there at least 3 times, because of ants and spiders. My main concern is the "mold" problem. They are hinting around about health issues. At the end of her letter she states that they really like living there and don't want to move. Except for their minor complaints (we also make a point of responding to and addressing these complaints within a day or so) they have been pretty decent tenants, meaning they pay their rent on time and when we've been there the house looks decent. I'm just concerned mainly about the "mold". They are M2M. Any suggestions as to what we should do?

Considering becoming a LL, concerned about safety

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 08:15:50 -0400

My husband and I are considering purchasing a rental townhouse in our area, as an investment. I am researching all the various aspects of this to see what is really involved. I'm thrilled to find this forum (and organization) and to be able to read some of the real life trials and tribulations of LLs.

It seems that the biggest thing to consider (assuming one can afford the cash flow/risk of a real estate investment) in entering into this business is whether one is really cut out for the job (we've already decided that if we do this, we want to do it ourselves with no management company, because we're in it to make money). It's clear to me that even with just one rental property, I would be looking at having a part-time job.

I'm an at-home mom with 2 homeschooled kids, and I do have time to commit. I am good at handling details, writing letters, and have a history of being dogged in pursuing my rights when I've been wronged in a financial situation (and winning). I am comfortable researching my state and local law, etc. My concerns are more about safety, privacy and security. I would certainly never enter the rental property alone with a stranger, and I would research all applicants and do background checks before meeting anyone in person (and my husband would likely be there too at that time) but I am concerned about tenants and potential tenants knowing where we live. I suppose that sounds paranoid, but there are plenty of nutty people, and the thought of disgruntled (or just plain insane) tenants or former tenants showing up at my house really concerns me.

It occurred to me that one option might be to set up a P.O. box and a separate cell phone (or second home phone line) specifically to use in our rental business. If our home # was unlisted, then hopefully this would make it hard for anyone to track our address. If we had to file any kind of legal forms (eviction, etc.) -- the most likely scenario in which a tenant would get really angry -- I'm thinking a P.O. box wouldn't be acceptable, though.

Sorry to ramble, but I'd appreciate your input. I think from a business standpoint I could handle being a landlord, but I'm not sure if my (perhaps irrational) security concerns can be overcome. Any thoughts?

Thank you.

Pool liability

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:33:34 -0400

Just watching the 10 o'clock news. 3 yr old twins drowned in one of those temporary (30" deep) pools that people put up in their backyard. The yard had no fence, and the kids wandered in. The residents had just put the pool up this week. Don't know if these people were tenants, but they looked awfully young to be the owners. This is why you should never allow a tenant to install a pool, especially in a yard with no locking fence. This tragedy may have been prevented with a locking fence. They interviewed these people on camera and they were upset, of course. The children's pictures were shown too. I can see a lawsuit coming.

LOST WAGES

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:53:16 -0400

WHILE I WAS REPAIRING A BROKEN LINE FOR WATER MY TENANTS DIDN'T HAVE WATER FOR 12 HOURS MY ONE TENANT DIDN'T GO TO WORK FOR UNKNOWN REASONS. AFTER I FIX THE WATER AND TURNED IT ON, HE TOLD ME THAT HE LOST WAGES BECAUSE OF NO WATER HE WENT TO WORK 4 1/2 HOURS LATE, HE DEDUCTED THE 4 1/2 HOURS FROM HIS RENT. CAN HE DO THIS OR SHOULD I SEND HIM A PAY OR QUIT LETTER.

security depo amount

tangoray — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 19:00:39 -0400

Hello, I'm renting my home to 3adults at $ 1,200.00 including utilities for 12months. What is the normal security deposit. When I said 1200.00 (1mo rents) they bulked. Any advise? Thanks! Michelle

Whats with this?

PortlandLL — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:09:10 -0400

I've been seeing a lot of tenants asking about breaking their leases on this site lately. Anyone know if this is an increasing trend these days? Luckily my tenants are staying put right now, but what is up with this? Don't they realize that in this day and age breaking a lease is a really bad thing to do?! It's so easy for us LLs to check into our applicants former housing, credit and background. You would think that this would encourage people to live up to their contracts.

Is it just the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence? Is it renters remorse? Is it a job loss trend? Personally, I'm geting sick of seeing people trying to weasel their way out of leases. If it was reversed, they would be all over us with lawsuits and complaints to the city.

Just my little rant for the week...

Breaking lease

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:33:43 -0400

I have a 1 year lease agreement which expires on Sept 30th, 2008. In february I had a dispute with my landlord over making necessary repairs. We resolved the issue, but in am email she said she would let me out of my lease as long as I gave a 60 day notice and allowed her to show the property in meantime. We opted to stay. My question is now I wanted to break the lease and she is giving me mixed info. On the phone she again mentions that she said she would let us out with a 60 day notice. She later emails me saying as soon as she finds someone to take over my lease I can move out. She has a habit of saying one thing and then changing her mind the next minute. It feels like I am dealing with 2 different people.
So my question (finally) is: I have in writing that she will let me out of my lease with a 60 day notice, is that valid since it was via email? At this point I just want to get away from her.

Water leak

rstasiak — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:15:10 -0400

Apartment style condo.Upper unit.Washing machine malfunctioned and over flowed. Water ended up running through the floor and down the walls of the unit below causing drywall damage???
This occurred 1 time and was stopped shortly after the overflow. At the time of the incident the tennant casually spoke with her neighbor stating that it was her washing machine causing the water. Afterward tennant notifies me (landlord) and I make the repair to the washing machine.
From that point I did not speak with the neighbor. 30 day s later I receive a 750 dollar repair bill for the Management company. They state that the water was indeed from my unit with out any real proof. Management co never contacted me regarding a damage assement and just went ahead with said repairs. Am I responsible to pay for the repairs without ever actually seeing any damage?
I do have home owners insurance and tennant has renters insurance?

Scared

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:56:37 -0400

I made an appt to show rentals this morn while husband was still home. They did not show up until 1 hr after husband left for work. They drove 2 1/2 hrs to see place. I felt obligated to show it. I opened the door to rentals but did not go in with them. Stayed outside. If you saw them you would actually cross the street to avoid them. I locked up the rentals and they said they needed a minute to talk. I went back to office and could not shake this feeling. They came to office said they forgot cell at rentals & if I could let them back in. They tried to get me in van to go back. I said no I would take my own car. This seemed to anger them. I stopped my neighbor to go back with me. We went back & attitude changed once they saw I had a man with me. All of a sudden cell turned up in van & not in rentals. He tried to give me a check to rent one. I said no that I had to do credit check & still needed to show it to one more person. He blew up at me & said he was there first & why should I show it to someone else. I asked him politely to leave property & he did just as another neighbor pulled up. Any suggestions how I should have handled this?

Landlord is being forclosed on

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:28:13 -0400

I am the tenant of a privately owned condo. In May, I had papers served to me letting me know that the owner of my condo was being foreclosed on. I spoke with a friend of my mother, who is an attorney, on what I should do. He told me to no longer pay any money to this man, so I didn't. I've made plans to move as of August 1st and let them know as much. I got a give rent or give possession notice Wednesday of last week, saying to respond to them by today. I've been scrambling to figure out legal counsel, so I was unable to respond in a timely manner. In Florida, where I live, I believe you have 30 days after an eviction notice to leave the property. I just want to know exactly where I stand with everything. Will I owe him money? He has been HORRIBLE about this whole thing, not making contact with me or the management company that handles this property for weeks at a time so we didn't know where we stood and then coming out of the blue with this without giving anyone any warning. This whole eviction was out of the blue, when I called to ask what I could do to just avoid the eviction proceedings, he is trying to get me to pay his legal fees + this that and the other. It amounts to about $1,000, what he wants from us in total. If he would have made contact with us, he would have known that we are out on the 1st anyway, there's no reason to bring about eviction proceedings, we would have put it on paper, notarized it, whatever we needed to do...

I just can't bring myself to pay rent still when he would just be pocketing the money, like he had been for at least 3 months prior to the actual foreclosure notice!

I just feel like he's taking us for fools and I have no way to get legal services and ... I don't know, I just feel boxed in.

eveiction

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:22:02 -0400

I recently won my case in court to evict a tenant, I am filing for a writ of possession which will give the tenant 11 addt'l days b4 the sheriff comes to physically evict. The tenant has no possessions at all in the room, everything was stolen, by people that were staying there illegally in her room with her, so the room is completely empty. Couldn't I just change the locks and if the tenant called the police, tell them that the tenant moved their things out yesterday and told me they were leaving? The way I see it, they have no way to prove that they didnt do that. It's essentially my word vs. theirs, which is not good considering she has been in and out of jail and taken away by the police 3 times in the last week and a half.

Problem solved

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 05:26:24 -0400

I searched and searched.
I am so glad I found and joined the LPA!!!

I am now screening tenants with your credit report service and already avoided 2 nightmare tenants that I normally would hvae accepted!
That just saved me thousands of dollars +++ all the STRESS.

I just have one question,
On the LPA Rental Application, can I take a full month nonrefundable deposit (its says $500.) AND the screening fee?

Thanks so much!

Costly Tenant

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:15:06 -0400

My inherited tenant is costing me a bagload of money. When I purchased the 4-unit, it was 50% occupied. This tenant has screamed at my property manager and threatened to beat her her up (all while completely nude). She could not figure out how to open one of the windows so she did what any sane person would do... she shattered the glass and left the apt open to the elements. The other current tenant refuses to sign a lease and is actively looking for someplace else to live.

I've begun the eviction process, but I can't fill the 2 (maybe 3) other vacancies while she is still there. It would be easier to swallow if she was only having an affect on the cash flow from her apt, but she's effecting every apt in the building. She's a cancer on the whole property.

I hope the eviction process in SW Ohio is quick.

COMMON DAMAGE

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:01:35 -0400

CAN YOU CHARGE TENANTS FOR COMMON DAMAGE SUCH AS A PLUGGED SEWER LINE THAT BOTH TENANTS SHARE SUCH AS THE MAIN SEWER

Property Management/Landlord Software

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:10:26 -0400

Just curious as to what software you would recommend for 10-20 rental units? I am currently using RentRight Version 3. I'm overdue to upgrade as they now have a web-based version but I'm just not overly happy with the original product.

I don't need a lot of bells and whistles but would like to track rent, maintenance, tenant details and make tax time easier. Something that would allow me to upload records from my checking account would be nice as well.

Any advice as to what programs you've used and what's good/bad would be much appreciated!

Financing Advice

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:58:11 -0400

I own 12 units (4 duplex and 4 single family). Most were purchased on a 30 yr fixed interest only 1st (80%) and seller financing (5 year balloon) for the 2nd (20%). All but one property is rented to students 100% of the time. I've owned the properties between one and three year and bought at the top of the market. There has not been a drastic decrease in values - 1-3% across the board. The problem is this - I have to pay about $300,000 back when the seller financing balloon payment becomes due in three years. I had planned to refinance around this time but now that lending restrictions have gotten so tough I'm having an extrememly difficult time getting anywhere with conventional lenders. Basically I have no equity (or very little) in any of the properties.

I have an excellent credit score, but obviously my monthly payment obligations are extremely high. Although everything cash flows (slightly) on paper, banks are only willing to account for 75% of rental income making my debt to equity scary.

Can anyone offer any advice as to other financing options than traditional mortgage lenders? It would be ideal to get some sort of "blanket" loan and get all of the properties consolidated into one loan. I know that's a stretch but any advice or details as to how others have financed rental properties would be much appreciated.

Another thought...all properties are "owned" by their own LLC. All individual property LLC's report to a "parent" LLC. Is it possible to get financing for the "parent" LLC and have the debt go to my "business" credit report rather than my personal credit report?

Sorry for the long post...most is thinking out loud! Thanks in advance!

Rent

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:41:26 -0400

This is a michigan landlord/tenant question also. I was just recently looking at me lease and noticed that in my lease it states we are to pay a monthly rent of $705 a month, when you look down and see the break down it is completely different, market rent $870, Carports $60(for three, and pet fee $25 for total of $955. Which fee am i supposed to be paying. Also in my lease there is no clause stating early termination fees so does that mean there isnt any?

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:40:41 -0400

30- day notice process server due deligence

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:27:32 -0400

I had the process server served my tenant the 30-day notice. The tenant was not home when he served the notice. Is it ok for him to slip the paper through the door? He told me he would sent the certified letter anyway. What if the tenant won't pick up the certified letter?

tenant breaking lease early because buying a house

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:16:46 -0400

My tenant just gave me 30 days notice that he's breaking the lease 4 months early, because he's buying a house. He is assuming he'll apply his last month rent (already paid) for the upcoming month, and is asking about getting deposit back. I have not yet responded to their correspondence, and am not sure how to handle this mess. Should I just wait until next month's rent is past due and proceed with eviction? Should I consult with an attorney and to what extent? Incidentally I used LPA's lease form so am hoping I am somewhat protected. Thanks for any advice, anonymous

eviction of tenant

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:39:21 -0400

I have been on here before and have told my story about my tenant.
Bottom line is that the sent her a pay or quit letter last week and she has to pay by July 1st. If she doesn't come thru with the rent (which I doubt) and I have evict her.
Does anyone have any options on how I can get rid of this townhouse w/o losing a ton of $$$ or having it effect my credit?

light bulb whine

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:33:47 -0400

What is it with tenants not paying for their own light bulbs?

Love my current tenant. A few weeks ago, she called said her basement light wasn't working. I went down, took a bulb out of another fixture on her electrical wiring, and put it in the "not working" socket. Voila! light! Told her to check the light bulbs 1st when lights don't go on. I did't give her a new bulb as her lease says she has to replace her own bulbs.

So Sat., I notice the owner's light in the basement doesn't go on. I get a new bulb and go down ready to take the old one out. No old bulb! The tenant's socket that I had left empty, per above, had an owner's bulb in it!! (Some years ago, I had a tenant whom I suspected was taking the owner's bulbs, replacing them with their dead ones. So I started marking bulbs with a big black, Sharpie "O" for owner. Haven't had problems since until now.)

If this wasn't such a good tenant (otherwise) and if I hadn't recently gotten rid of the tenant from hell, I'd say something. But it bugs!!

end of whine. Thank you for listening.

Easement

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 08:52:33 -0400

Hey everyone. I'm wondering if anyone here has a letter for the creation of an easement between two property owners. My boss wants to get an easement from two properties to lay a sewer line to connect his building with the main town sewer line. I'm just curious if anyone here has one or knows maybe a good layout for going about this.

Payment Methods

Anonymous — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 23:54:47 -0400

What payment methods are appropriate to accept? I would very much like to accept Paypal in addition to checks and money orders, but what do you guys think?