Posts Tagged Tenant
ALWAYS . . . GET A CREDIT REPORT
Posted by patandkrislarkin in Uncategorized on February 14, 2011
Screening prospective Tenants can be difficult but here are a couple of tips that will help you to minimize your risk of getting a bad Tenant.
One of the main elements in screening your Tenants is to get a credit report. There are many other ways to check out your tenants but a credit report will do the best job of surfacing potential issues in their ability to pay rent and in general will help you to sort through your applicants. You can get a credit report in a couple of different ways; First, is to have your prospective Tenants run their own credit report. But be careful, free credit reports are available but rarely have a credit score. A credit score is key. Without the credit score you are subjected to reading through reams of credit information… some good and some not so good and having to figure out if this applicant is a good risk or not. The credit score will do all of that for you. Secondly, you can find many companies on the web that you can sign up with to run credit reports for your applicants. These companies will of course check you out first to be sure that you are trustworthy enough to be dealing with such sensitive information and that you will get the proper authorizations from your applicants.
As to what credit scores are good and bad; that depends on your market but I can give you some very rough ideas: a stellar credit score is 800+ and a score in the 500 range is going to be due to a lot of late payments, possibly judgments or even a bankruptcy. If you are renting high-end properties, you probably would not want a Tenant with a credit score below 700. If you are renting blue collar properties or low income properties scores in the 600’s would be “golden”!
In summary, a credit report will “tell the tale” about your Tenants. Be careful though not to be too restrictive; these are tough economic times we live in and you need to hear everyone’s “story”.
To view a short video on this subject go to: http://bit.ly/eCprVn
24 HOUR NOTICE OF ENTRY
Posted by patandkrislarkin in Property Management on February 14, 2011
What do you do when need to access your rental property but are unable to coordinate schedules with your Tenants? There are times when you need to get into your property to make repairs, show it to prospective Tenants, show it to prospective buyers or just to inspect the property and you can’t get a hold of your Tenants. We suggest that you go by the property and post it with a “24 Hour Notice of Entry” This is a legal document which tells the Tenant that in approximately 24 hours, you will be coming into the property to; and then you state your purpose.
Now you have to be judicious with the use of the 24 hour notice and not use it every week to go into your property. Your Tenant is entitled to the quiet use and enjoyment of the property. If you are using the notice to have repairs done… always accompany your workmen into the property. Also, it is a best practice that if/when you enter a Tenant’s property, that you have someone accompany you. In our our litigious world, this is for your own protection. It is also a good idea to try to contact your Tenant “one more time” before you enter the property. Also, document all the attempts you made to reach them or access the property.
You will be amazed at how when your Tenant receives their 24 Hour notice, they are miraculously available to meet you there!
In conclusion If you can’t reach your Tenant for access to the property, post a 24-Hour Notice of Entry, document all attempts to communicate with them and be sure that you accompany your workers when you/they go in.
For our 24 Hour Notice of Entry form or more down-to-earth tips on how to effectively manage your rental property, visit our web site at: http://www.ManageToMakeMoney.com or call at 949-689-4344.
To view a short video on this same subject go to: http://bit.ly/fiFr1T
WHAT IF SOMETHING WITH MY RENTAL CHANGES?!
Posted by patandkrislarkin in Property Management on February 3, 2011
I remember the first time I heard the statement “The only thing in life that is constant is change” it was quite an epiphany for me. After all, in many cases, we would all love to keep things the way they are and in managing rental properties it is no different.
We all know that changes will also come along when it comes to our rental properties . . . changing of Tenants (typically in a roommate situation), extending the lease, allowing a pet and requiring a pet deposit or changing the amount of rent (typically along with the extension of the lease.) What about taking care of the legal side of these changes? Do you have to completely re-write the lease and all the documents that go with it (gee, I hope not!)? Well, the answer is NO! In fact, we strongly recommend that all of the original documents stay just exactly as they were when they were first executed. Changing everything only increases your chance of making an error or an omission . . . there are simply too many little check boxes and blanks to fill in to hope to get them all exactly as they were on the original. So what to do? We have found a document that makes dealing with all of these changes literally a “piece of cake” and it is a “Change of Terms”.
The Change of Terms actually relies on and embraces the original lease documents and it’s language is very simple. The Change of Terms state: “All terms and conditions of the lease for the property: 123 Change Street, Beautiful California, (your property’s address), Dated January 1, 2020 (original date of your lease document)remain unchanged except for the following: (this is where you spell out the change): The term of the lease has been extended until December 31, 2022, and the rent amount effective January 1, 2021 will be $2,050.00 per month.” Everyone signs and dates and life is great!
In summary: Change is nothing to be feared with your rental property. With the “Change of Terms” you can deal with the change handily and focus your efforts on something more productive like . . . looking for that next property!
If this tip has been helpful to you, please visit our website at: http://www.ManageToMakeMoney.com where you may find the “Change of Terms” I spoke of as well as many more tools, tips and techniques for managing your rental property profitably.
DEALING WITH “CHALLENGING” TENANTS
Posted by patandkrislarkin in Property Management on February 3, 2011
When Kris and I were traveling and staying with some friends, we walked into the room they had prepared for us and on the lamp was an antique looking sign which read: “Our guest bring us great joy . . . some when they arrive . . . and others when they leave!” I felt that way about our Tenants . . . it’s the waiting for the joy at the end!
In the meantime, we are all challenging people to live with . . . some more than most! We categorize our challenging Tenants into three primary categories: 1.) Students 2.) Entitled Tenants and 3.) Those Tenants who upset the neighbors around them. In a way, they all have similar attributes . . . they want to live their lives . . . regardless how disruptive to others around them . . . any way they choose. Many of these Tenants “bully” their way through life . . . pushing their way through. Our tip for dealing with all types of challenging Tenants is to show respect to them, but also show your resolve. Be assertive in requiring that they go by the same rules that most others on the planet go by. One strategy we have developed is our “No” letter. Very basically it just says very respectfully: “Thank you mister Tenant for sharing your concern with us. At this time however, we will not be able to meet your expectation due to (and state your practical or legal reason from their lease). Another approach if they are disturbing their neighbors or causing damage to the property is to threaten them with a notice to comply with their lease or move and I can promise you that they won’t like either approach. But with your resolve . . . you will get this challenging situation under control.
If this posting has been helpful to you, please visit our website at: http://www.ManageToMakeMoney.com where you can find our “No” letter as well as many more tools, tips and techniques for managing your rental property profitably.
DO YOU HAVE A GOOD PET CLAUSE?!
Posted by patandkrislarkin in Property Management, Uncategorized on February 2, 2011
We recommend that you include a “pet clause” (pun intended!) in every lease or rental agreement you enter into. It doesn’t matter whether or not you allow pets in your property . . . always include language concerning conditions for having a pet. If you don’t allow pets and you lease it with that condition, Tenants have been known to bring pets in anyway (say it isn’t true!). Seriously, a Tenant may get the emotional tug at their heart strings by a cute, sad-eyed puppy and they simply can’t resist. They buy the dog and decide to hide it from you. If that dog . . . especially if it is a puppy, causes damage to your rental property, and you have no terms and conditions the Tenants have agreed to, recouping costs for repairing damage caused by the animal can become fuzzy at best. If you allow pets and your Tenant signs your agreement regarding pets all the better!
For our lease addendum form including a pet clause with “teeth” (sorry, I couldn’t resist) or more tips on how to effectively manage your investment property, visit our web site at: http://www.ManageToMakeMoney.com or call 949-689-4344.
See the Video: http://bit.ly/fwdptV
ALWAYS Collect Move in Funds in “Real Money”
Posted by patandkrislarkin in Property Management on February 2, 2011
Always collect move-in monies from your Tenant in “Real Money” When you have a Tenant getting ready to move into your property, typically you will trade them the keys to the property for their final balances due; deposits and first month’s rent. Always collect these funds in what we call “real money” . . . cashier’s check or money order. Unscrupulous Tenants have been known to pay their move-in funds with a personal check, get their keys and stop payment on their check. Then the Landlord (you) have given possession to the Tenant, have no money, no income and a couple of months of legal wrangling to look forward to before you can get your property back. And don’t forget about the make ready costs to market your property again!
See the video: http://bit.ly/ba3i8W
For more tips and forms and educational tools to help you to effectively manage your rental property, visit our web site at: http://www.ManageToMakeMoney.com or call 949-689-4344.
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