TheLPA.com forum postings
The most recent 50 theLPA.com forum postings

• Will you rent your house to exotic dancers???
  My house is currently empty and looking for renters, I received a call tonight from exotic dancers, who want to rent my house which used to my living house and is beautiful and super clean. My concern is if the exotic dancers will do in-call escort business in my house and my house will become a whorehouse. Is my concern valid? will they do that?
• What Software Would You Recommend?
  I only have two rental properties, a condo and a separate fourplex. However, I'd like to organize all of my finances relevant to the rental business in the computer so that I can track and analyze all of my expenses. In your experience, what software is most suitable for this?

  Many thanks for any advice you might have!

• Tenant letting water run 24/7
  Tenant is in a rent control apartment and is letting the water run 24/7 at the expense of the landlord? Water Bill has increase significantly in 2 months. Attempts to evict tenant has been unsuccessfull. Now researching the installation of individual meter reads for each unit, but its expensive, so I can prove its this one tenant. Any suggestions?
• Craigs Lists Keeps Deleting Ad
  I have two SFH one is 1200 sq feet and the other is 600 sq feet. Ads are very different, but CL tells me only 1 ad allowed. This is the only place I advertise because it's free. Any suggestions to remedy this situation? Thanks
• Fix it question...
  My ex-tenants ran direct-tv throughout the ENTIRE house which consisted of putting holes in each room and running cable as well. There are also holes to run the cables from the roof inside the house as well. Do I deduct the cost to patch these holes from the deposit....? They were not there prior to their moving in.....also, there is a bleach stain in the middle of the carpet that was brand new when they moved in. Do I have it replaced in its entirety or is there a way to fix the spot that I might be unaware of......ugh.....I think I need to know where to draw the line on what I charge them for.....any input?
  Thanks.
• Wow, I forgot this part.
  I am considering renting a house to somewhat risky tenants. Given the winter months and the possibility of not finding a tenant better qualified in the next 2-3 months. However, no pets & don't smoke, good trade.
  She has prior evictions for 1999 & 2000. She works, has steady job for last 4 years, he is self employed, does not claim or file taxes for his income. He collects pallets from multiple places and sells them to other businesses, he did get a statement for me from his biggest buyer for verification. I Spoke to current landlord, good reference except she was surprised that they were moving. Other background is fine.
  My question is, would you charge an extra $100.00/mo. rent for a riskier tenant? Is there anything wrong with this? Does anyone already charge more for risky tenants?
• 
  What do you think of charging an extra $100.00/mo. for rent to less than qualified tenants? Considering that you would possibly rent to them, but they would not be your first choice. Giving that this is the middle of winter, would you wait it out for someone better? Do you see anything wrong with hiking the rent an extra $100.00 a month for a risky tenant?

  She works, he's self employed, cash under the table,Paid their rent on time with current and previous landlord, however current landlord is surprised that they are moving. She shows evictions for 1999 & 2000.

• late fees
  I would lik eto start charging late fes. My tenants are always late and I never charged late fees before.Can I start now? I have month to months. or should I get rid of them and start with new tenants?
• Suggestion for John Nuzzolese - LPA
  John,

  Thank you for hosting this wonderful forum.

  Currently lot of valuable information is flowing through this forum. Sometimes it is not easy to find the information quickly. Not everyone is savy enough to do a search.

  I was wondering if it were possible to create Topics, instead of having one main forum. Some of the Topics which I was thinking about is as follows:

  - New Landlord tips
  - Eviction
  - Collection
  - Lease Purchase
  - Rental rate comparison
  - Security Deposit
  - Background Checks
  - Tenant with Roommate
  - Pets
  - Early Termination
  - Non Payment / Bounced Checks
  - Appliances
  - LPA form questions

  That way, it is more easy to post and browse information pertaining to a topic.

  I have noticed on some other forums (not real estate related), where they have created sort of sticky threads (valuable advice/tips) for each of these topics. These sticky threads always float on the top. It helps prevent posting of questions that have been answered earlier.

  You can check with the company who maintains your site, to see it this is something that can be done without spending too much.

  Thanks again for this forum.

  Pete.

• Legalizing an illegal aprtment
  I have a 3 family unit that is legally 2. Any way I can legalize it? Should I go through an atty?
• Contractors
  Hello everyone and merry christmas! I don't know about the rest of you but I'm finding my contractors to be more and more less reliable, any suggestions and how to keep these folks on schedule (hate to lose them because their pricing is so good)
  Thanks
• Lease Purchase Option
  I wanted to know more about Lease Purchase option.

  Has anyone ever done this? Cae to share the experience.

  I found out that another property nearby is doing this with a law enforcement person.

  There is an LPA Lease with Purchae option. Given this fact, does it make sense to involve a Real Estate Agent to help you or is an attorney just enough.
  

• Handyman/Maintenance Fees....question
  My husband does all the maintenance (lawn/snow) and repairs on the rental (electrical, plumbing, carpentry, anything!). Do we get to write-off any of this labor? If so, how does he go about "paying" himself. Of course, being new landlords, we "keep" no money at all from the rental. It all goes into a separate account and we are letting it build up a bit in case of emergency repairs or are without a tenant so we'll have money for the mortgage. Just wondering if/how he gets credited for his labor?

  How do all of you handyman/handywoman landlords do deduct for it? Specifically, I would like to know for tax purposes.

  Thanks in advance,
  Tina

• Merry Christmas!
  Just finished assembling the last gift. The wrapping is done. Stockings are filled. And I'm finally headed to bed. But I thought I'd pop by here for a sec just to wish all the wonderful LLs on this site the Merriest of Christmases. I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday!
• Update
  So we had court today. My tenant showed up....I was shocked and so was the attorney. The tenant agreed that they were in the wrong (DUH!!!) and stated that they had vacated last week. That was news to everyone! They had no money for payment today (shock!) but agreed and signed (here's the kicker....) to pay me $200 a month until the almost $7400 balance is paid off. We signed everything - it was virtually painless. The tenant claims they have no job - interesting. I was instructed to change the locks TODAY! I went directly to the property and changed the locks.....having to pay a holiday rate of course - Merry Christmas. The house stunk so terribly I didn't think I was going to be able to stand it. They are PIGS in the worst sense. I believe they had people living in all 4 bedrooms and the garage.....as they had satellite tv run throughout every room - including the garage. I was shocked to find a BLEACH stain in the middle of the brand new carpet in the living room and nail polish (I think) in the wall and wood floors of one room. My kitchen tile (tan with tan granite) is BLACK!!!! Don't get me wrong, I know it could have been worse but it was indeed worse than I thought it would be. I just feel overwhelmed and need some direction.

  They left a refrigerator.