Posted on 08/10/2018 7:21:39 PM PDT by George from New England
I take 1st,last and security dep.
Once I did not demand last month, lived to regret it.
Everytime I took last month, we had a good run. They all stayed past the 12 month lease and let them continue month by month, keepin glast month rent, until they gave me notice. Never went up in rent even into the month to month.
“Check what your home insurance states about dog bites.
My insurance doesn’t cover if a trained dog bites. Don’t know if ESA falls into that category.”
Hmm — I can’t and won’t fund lawyers ...
What if I put in lease ...
“Tenant with any pet will maintain tenant insurance.
Policy must show where coverage for dog bites and protects the landlord in that event.”
You cannot accept Section 8 unless joining the Section 8 program. This requires paperwork on your side and government inspections. I will not join Section 8, both from the government involvement in the management of the property and the general quality (low) of tenants. Because I’m not in Section 8, I cannot accept those vouchers.
Do not let someone claim SNAP, food stamps and other government non-cash benefits as offsets of their “income”. How much do you earn from your job, alimony, child support and other cash sources? If my rent to income ratio is capped at 33%, you don’t get to claim childcare and food subsidies as justification I should consider your income higher ...
You can say “no pets”, that means no pets - including service animals. If you accept pets, you can accept service animals. It is reasonable to say “no more than X pets” regardless of the “service” designation. Too many people are lying about the “service animal” category. It isn’t a seeing eye dog or carrying your insulin, it is a pet you want to take into the store.
Anyone lying about a bouncy little dog being a service pet should be rejected as a tenant.
I would not ask about the type of disability, since that could lead to lawsuits by the sue-happy. Note - I have rented to at least one disabled adult as part of a family unit.
I’d be reluctant to accept anyone admitting they have ‘Judgment proof income’. Are you unable to pay your bills now? Then I shouldn’t rent to you. If you’re being sued for unpaid bills, you may not be able to pay your rent next month because of a court garnishment.
You can weed out the purple martians (certain to need eviction) by requiring a credit check and references. And actually CHECK references. Don’t ask the current landlord what they think of the person - they may lie to get the troublemaker out. Ask the landlord before THAT.
Ask detailed questions on whether police were called, disturbances, not just “did they pay the rent on time?” What was the condition of the property when they moved out? You may catch someone pretending to be a reference when they can’t answer these questions.
Verify their employment. Yes, really. A corporate HR phone number is reliable. If talking to a human, ask if the person is full time or part time, contractor or employee.
Setting rental rates somewhat higher than Section 8 voucher limits or simply investing in single family detached homes in middle class areas tends to weed out the people who are least likely to be able to pay the rent.
In my state we do not have to pay interest on the deposit.
And, if they do not pay the last month's rent, we just take it and a late fee out of the deposit. I have only very rarely had a tenant reuse to pay the last month's rent once this is explained to them.
Yes, there usually is a fee. But it is so worth it.
Because we have only three properties and manage them ourselves there are different rules for us. Knowing this has saved us both time and money.
There is generally a monthly meeting where you will find out the latest and greatest rules and regulations. They can point you to the correct lawyer if you need to evict someone and tell you what is required, what is nice and what is a waste of your time.
When you have to use the deposit to cover rent, there is little or nothing to cover damages
Been there
Ah, that does make a difference. I think I saw someone upthread reference out-of-state and when I looked at your name it seemed to confirm that. I still think it’s valuable to put each property to the “would I buy it again” test from time yo time. I have no first hand experience with section 8. I personally do not want to jump through government hoops. We are currently testing with good results a 2 year lease-to-own and carry back financing program. We get great tenants and full to above market price when they exercise their option. The trade off is, of course, having to continually replenish the portfolio.
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