Tenancy Must be Terminated

Obviously you cannot take something from a tenant while they?re living in your unit, that?s obvious theft, but what if they?re gone? Even if the tenant is gone you can?t take their property until the lease has officially been terminated, this may require written notice, verbal notice, an eviction proceeding or a certain period of time.

Wait for Abandonment

Also, if a tenant vacates their place and leaves something behind you have to wait a predefined period of time to officially declare it abandoned.

Notification of Property

One would think that the tenants know they left stuff behind but the landlord is still required to send written notice to the now ex-tenant that they have left property behind. This notice also informs them of their legal rights and the predefined waiting periods for your region. You also can inform them (or bill them) for any storage fees while you hold their property.

Storage

Yes, it is the landlord?s responsibility to store property safely throughout the entire waiting period. But as mentioned above, you can recoup any losses for this or you can charge a reasonable storage fee of your own.

Disposal

Finally when you?ve completed all steps of notification and proper storage and the property is still abandoned after the waiting period it is your responsibility to dispose of it. You can sell or donate the property or you can throw it away.

It?s essential that you research your local and state laws for abandoned tenant property because if you handle the situation you can actually be held accountable and sued by the tenant for the value of their property.

photo credit:?Indigo Goat

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If a Tenant Leaves Stuff Behind

Late Notice?

The first step is letting them know immediately that the rent is late and how much the late fees are in a late notice.

Phone Call?

Follow up the late notice with a phone if you haven?t received some sort of response within a couple of days after the late fee notice.

Eviction Notice or Legal Notice?

Some people are loathe to jump into the eviction process and prefer to send a legal notice from their attorney and many tenants are threatened enough by that step that they respond. Other tenants need the threat of eviction and some landlords prefer moving right into eviction mode.

Eviction Process?

A landlord can simply not let tenants slide on the rent or they?ll never get paid which means they in turn will never be able to pay their bills. So eviction is the eventual outcome if your tenant is still delinquent with the rent then you have to move through the eviction process.

Credit Bureau

Don?t forget to report your delinquent tenants to the credit bureau, this will prevent others (at least those who are diligent in their background checks) from falling into this tenant?s trap.

photo credit:?longlostcousin

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What to do if Tenant is Late with Rent

Lower Income Tenants?

If you?re not opposed to having lower income tenants who get assistance from the state or county, the local government does pay promptly as long as you keep up with your end of the paperwork.

Maintenance?

Make sure to keep up with maintenance around the property, even though the expense may seem a little much at the time it will prevent you from larger, more expensive repairs in the future.

DIY?

Do whatever repairs you can yourself to avoid third party costs. Its time consuming but it can be very cost effective.

Tenant Allowance?

Like many parents do with their children, offer a discount on rent for some tenants who perform maintenance tasks around the property. You will need reliable tenants who you can regularly count on but if they?re having financial difficulties they may be more than willing to shovel snow or mow lawns for a discount on rent.

Priority List

Constantly keep a priority list of things you?d like to do around the property and their order of importance, this way when a little extra money does come your way you can tackle them one by one.

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Budgeting Tips for Landlords

Advertise

No one will know that you have property available if you don’t advertise. Today there are many different ways of advertising, internet, television, money savers, newspaper and don’t forget the old standby ?a sign in the yard. Word of mouth is also an effective tool so get the word out that you?re looking.

Price Right

You’re not going to get tenants if you price yourself out of the market and you’re not going to get good tenants if you offer too much of a bargain. Learn what the going rent rates are for similar properties in your area and align your rent with the average.

Curb Appeal

Curb appeal for a rental is almost as important as it is for someone trying to sell a single family home. Many potential renters do a drive by before they make an appointment to see the property, so make sure your property looks appealing from the street.

Check References and Backgrounds

If you’re trying to up the caliber of your tenants then you’re going to have to pick the cream of the crop, so to speak. Follow through with all reference checks and background searches on prospective tenants. Make sure to select tenants with spotless credit reports, no criminal background, good work history, and glowing recommendations.

photo credit:?Living in Monrovia

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Finding Tenants

Find a Tenant

Because your name remains on the lease (typically) and you are ultimately responsible, you are basically the landlord so you need to do your due diligence in finding a responsible tenant who will pay the bills on time and stay through the length of the sublease.

Get it in Writing

Like a landlord you should get a lease agreement in writing with the subleaser. Make sure they have a copy of all of the rules your landlord stipulated when you signed your lease and that they agree to abide by these rules as well as any you may impose. And don?t forget the signatures.

Inform the Landlord

Your landlord should know everything that happens with your sublease so send them copies of your signed agreement and contact information for you and the new tenant just in case someone needs to be contacted. You should also make sure the new tenant has all pertinent contact information as well.

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How to Sublease your Apartment

Typically a notice to quit is asking you to cease doing something that is a violation of the lease or the law. If you wish to resolve the situation and stay in your current home then you will have to ?quit? and inform the landlord or property manager that you will resolve the situation and expect to stay in your home.

If there is any legal or medical reason you cannot quit an activity, then you should probably contact a lawyer or a tenant?s rights advocate to help you plead your case. I know of a case where a woman?s medical condition caused her to scream at night while sleeping. Because this is a medical condition then she could not be evicted for routinely disturbing the peace. Also if you are handicapped and have a pet trained to help you, you obviously would not be subject to lease rules regarding no pets. So there are situations where you do not have to quit an activity even if you have received a notice to quit.

If you wish to stay and you have not ceased the activity which caused the notice to quit and you have not found representation to defend yourself then you will receive a summons and complaint from the court requiring you to make a court appearance. This means that official eviction proceedings have begun and you will most likely be asked to leave your residence.

photo credit:?jonfeinstein

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Eviction: Notice to Quit

Obviously renting to students isn’t all peaches and cream as there are some downsides. One of them is that most of them don?t want to live there the entire year so you have to figure out a way to deal with rent during summer months or possible subleasers. Another problem is students have a well earned reputation of being irresponsible and hosting parties. This is where screening and hefty security deposits can be useful.

The upsides of renting to students is they are often willing to share which can actually prove to be a windfall financially for you. They also have parents which you can typically require to cosign on their lease agreement, which gives you a backdoor if there is a problem with rent that you typically wouldn’t have.

So if you’re looking to infuse your property management business with some new energy and income, try renting to students.

photo credit:?dcJohn

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Renting to Students

Make sure you do a thorough background check and don?t skip any portion of it.

Credit Check

Getting a credit report on prospective tenants is actually very easy and ridiculously packed with useful information. You?ll learn about their payment history, their financial responsibility, their loans, their credit rating and many more important pieces of their financial background.

Criminal History

Most states have online criminal background histories and searching for the background on your prospective tenant is just as easy as plugging their name into the query page. There is no rule that says you can?t rent to someone with a criminal background BUT you could have serious problems if your prospective tenant is a registered sex offender and you have children living on your property. There are no national criminal registries so try to get information on where the applicant lived in the past.

Rental Past

The Credit Check and Criminal History will actually give you information on the prospective tenants rental past if there was a problem as legal actions against them by tenants will be in the criminal check and any collection issues will be on the credit report. But it?s not always this easy, call their past landlords to get a reference and a better feel for their rental past.

Remember to get the prospective tenant?s permission, in writing, before performing any sort of background check.

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Tenant Background Checks

A property background check gives you the background on the property you are considering purchasing, letting you know who owned the property, rented it, any accidents that occurred there which created insurance claims, and any deaths on the property. You can also find out what the assessed value is, prior assessments, purchase prices and any features that have changed throughout the years.

With this information you get a better idea of the home?s value and if you think it?s really priced fairly. Sometimes what seems like a good deal may actually be a bad purchase because of some ?hidden? aspects of the home that make it undesirable. A property background check can help you find those defects.

In the past you had to go to the local courthouse to find records on the property but today they?re readily available online and you can typically get a full background pretty quickly without much hassle or expense.

Now that property background checks are really easy to obtain you should always get one before your purchase a property, it could actually help you make a decision whether to buy or not to buy.

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Property Background Check

If you?re doing the property management yourself you should research what rules are common and what rules are discriminatory. You want to establish fair rules that fit with your standards but ones that do not discriminate any renters or potential renters.

For landlords who?d rather have a property management company handle the ins and outs of the business you?ve got an easier road ahead when it comes to establishing rules for your renters. As long as you get an experienced property manager they?ll know the ins and outs of renter rules. The only work you need to do there is make sure you agree with their predefined rules and if you?d like to add a couple of your own you?ll have to iron that out as well.

In addition to establishing your rules there should also be a written explanation of how rule violations will be handled and the process for dealing with complaints from other tenants regarding rule breakers.

All of this information should be presented up front and in the lease. This ensures that the tenants and the landlord and/or property manager are on the same page and should make things go more smoothly.

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Apartment or House Rules