Please e-mail us if you have any questions or would like to add or share any material / information. I hope you find this month's newsletter helpful and enjoyable. Best Wishes and have a Happy, Healthy & Successful New Year ahead.
John Nuzzolese
John@theLPA.com

LANDLORD SPECIAL REPORT: #19

The Top 5 Ways to ...

...Ruin a Good Tenancy

Imagine having the perfect tenants in your rental property. Maybe you already have them now. What we really hope is that these perfect tenants will remain perfect. To continue doing all the right things and not doing any of the wrong things. We want them to obey the lease agreement religiously, take care of the property and pay the rent on time or early. Imagine a tenant who leaves the rental better than it was found. Is this idea from the The Twilight Zone or something you can really have?

Most of the time, when we actually have a tenant that seems "too good to be true", something happens either suddenly or gradually turn our tenant to the dark side.

These are what I feel are the top 5 ways landlords ruin perfectly good tenancies

1. Are They Friends or Tenants? Failure to maintain a professional distance from the tenants. Too often a landlord will fall victim to one of the oldest Landlord Traps by lowering his guard and allowing the tenants become personal friends. Rarely does this end well.
2. Broken Promises Failure to fulfill certain promises made to the tenants in the begining of the relationship is a leading cause of the breakdown of the tenant's trust and respect in the landlord.
3. Greed In the real estate business for many years, I have found one thing to be universally common among sellers and novice (and many pro) landlords. It is the belief that their property is somehow better or worth more money than comparable listings that have sold or rented. It is this squeezing every dime out of a property that causes the tenant to resent the landlord. Even a good tenant can not help but dislike a greedy landlord who is overcharging the tenant. Overcharging? How can anyone say it's overcharging if the tenant agrees to the price?? There are many reasons a person will agree to pay a higher amount.
   • tight rental market
   • family crisis
   • tenant not qualified for another rental
   • many other reasons
   Having resentful tenants is not a recipe for a good long lasting tenancy.
4. Neglect Being a landlord is a business. For a business to do well, it must be maintained and run properly. That includes caring for rental property. As much as we try, we can't always make the tenants responsible for everything on a property. Some responsibilities blong to the landlord. It is important to nip small problems in the bud before they become major catastrophies. Besides, if you keep the tenant satisfied, your property will be more rentable/salable.
5. Conduct Unprofessional conduct can range from rudeness to overly friendly. Try to refrain from arguing, using profanity or gossiping with tenants. It will come back and bite you. Let your attorney be the bad guy. He's the guy who tells you to use all those "anti-tenant forms". Keep a professional, polite attitude to retain the respect of your tenants. Tenants respond better to a pro who knows what he or she is doing.

Landlord Do's & Don'ts
Rent Increases

What The LPA says you should do and what you shouldn't do:

• DO Increase the rent each year. Do it in writing with the proper notice period. Be ready to use one these forms to raise rent:
  
  1. Notice of Rent Increase
  2. Lease Renewal Option
  3. Notice of Change in Terms
  4. Rent Increase Reminder
  
  
  
• DON'T
  • Overcharge tenants you want to keep
  • Raise rent orally.
  • Wait years to do a big increase. Gradual small increases work much better
  
  
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  Rent Excuses...

  
  

  Excuse of the Day for 1/06/05:

  "My husband booked a cruise. It's more expensive than we thought it would be. This will be our first real vacation in I don't know how long. We'll catch up on the rent somehow."

  I think I may win the judgement for eviction before they even go away. Dummys.- Submitted by Joey B., NY
  
  

  Excuse of the Day for 1/04/05:

  "I have to make up rent and deposit for another place, can't you use the security deposit for this month... And by the way I won't be out at the end of the month, I'll be out of the first of the following month and you can pick up keys then, since my deposit covers me until then."

  Evicting this one on Friday!! - Submitted by Lynde F.
  
  

  Excuse of the Day for 12/28/04:

  "I heard you died or were really really sick."

  Well the rent is still due and you owe a late fee. Your rent would still be due if I were sick or dead. Happy Holidays. - Submitted by Eddie W., Burnt Store, FL
  
  

  Excuse of the Day for 12/23/04:

  "There was a mix up at the bank with my moms identity being stolen and now they have the FBI working on it - it should be cleared up in a couple of days - but for now she can't get any money out."

  - Actually, this was the excuse for why the tenant still didn't have the security deposit from her mom (long story - young tenant - Section 8 housing voucher - most don't have deposits at all - but rent is paid by Housing Authority): - Submitted by Mfmook
  
  

  Excuse of the Day for 12/21/04:

  "The roof has been leaking for the last 3 weeks!"

  Mid Nov- Tenant took it upon himself to tear off the existing roof because he didn't like the color. The roof was fine - no leaks. Told me he was replacing it at his own expense. Now when asked for the rent claims he is waiting for me to purchase the roofing materials. Said "You didn't expect me to BUY the materials TOO?" If he had asked me in the first place I would have said NO because I can not spare the money. I'm through playing games. I am joining LPA and am contacting an attorney to evict. Thanks. - Submitted by William W., OH
  
  

  Excuse of the Day for 12/17/04:

  "We cleaned & fixed a lot of stuff."

  Well, its seems that I have 3 guys that hang out together and all 3 of them don't want to pay their rent. They wanted to try to deduct the rent because they cleaned and fixed stuff in their own dwelling. stuff that they destroyed and messed up. All 3 are in the process of being evicted. they all have these great paying jobs too. Well, if that is the case, then pay your freaking rent.- Submitted by JLW
  
  

  Excuse of the Day for 12/12/04:

  "If I paid you the rent, I wouldn't have any money to buy Christmas presents for my kids..."

  - Submitted by DT, New York
  
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  Quotations...

  
  
  
  
  

  "As a matter of principle, I never attend the first annual anything."
  - George Carlin

  "An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest."
  - Benjamin Franklin

  "Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value."
  - Albert Einstein

  "Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em, 'Certainly I can!' Then get busy and find out how to do it."
  - Theodore Roosevelt

  "How much did your last tenant problem cost you?"
  - John Nuzzolese
  
  
  

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