Landlord Newsletter - Rent Statement

Dear Fellow Landlord,

In this newsletter:

• The Rent Statement Mailer
  
• Free Bounced Check Form
  
• Ask the Attorney, Real Estate Attorney, John Reno
  
• TransUnion SmartMove with The LPA
  
• Wealth Secrets and Quotes
  

Please e-mail us if you have any questions or would like to add or share any material / information. Have a great month!
John Nuzzolese
John@theLPA.com

Whether you mail your tenant a monthly statement the same way your bank mails you your credit card statement, or supply your tenants with a Payment Book with pre-printed payments slips, the results are the same. The tenants are reminded of what they owe, when it is due, and what the penalties are for not paying on time.

Most landlords have positive results and more timely payments when using a Rent Statement mailer. It helps tenants Want to pay their rent on time and preserve their credit record with their landlord.

The Rent Statement displays the key monetary terms agreed in their lease. That's important because the tenant is reminded of these key items every month when they fill in the amount of their payment before sending it.

Tenants find it a little intimidating and a little more official when their Social Security # is on a document. This part is optional and need only be included at your discretion.

On the top right below the rental address is a payment breakdown area which includes:

• the rent due date
• the rent amount
• the late date and late fee
• the daily late date and daily late fee
• early payment discount date and amount of early payment discount (optional)
• Added rent incurred (any current or past due charges in addition to the rent)

The top tear off slip instructs the tenant to whom to make the rent payable...

One fact of being in the landlord business is that rent checks will occasionally bounce. When that happens, you, the landlord will probably not find out the rent check was returned until 3 or 4 weeks later, depending on how efficient your bank is.
How does that concern the tenancy? It means the rent is approximately 3 -4 weeks late, plus you’ve incurred bank charges on top of it.

Like a late rent notice, the LPA Dishonored Check Notice will inform the tenant that the rent check was returned for insufficient funds. It will ask for the balance due along with any applicable bounced check charges, late fees, and daily late charges as agreed in your lease.

Remember, a bounced check can cause the rent to be extremely late, thereby placing you at a point in time where you may normally begin eviction proceedings, so it is important to jump on this immediately. The LPA recommends that you check your bank account often to discover bad checks as soon as possible.

FREE LPA Form Download! LPA Dishonored Check Notice See more Essential Forms

The LPA Dishonored Check Notice also contains a checkbox for the option to inform the tenant that personal checks will no longer be an acceptable form of rent payment and that they must now pay the rent in the form of postal money order, certified bank check or cash (cash only if you collect rent in person).

The LPA also recommends that when you send a notice like this to the tenant, it is a good idea to copy and paste the late fee and bounced check clause from your LPA Lease to the bottom of the form to show the tenant the penalty fees they agreed to in their lease.

The Landlord Protection Agency® presents John Reno, Esq., a highly experienced Landlord - Tenant attorney based on Long Island, NY.

John Reno also does Mortgage Loan Modifications (Nationwide).
(Mention The LPA for a 10% discount!)

Dear Mr. Reno:
Tenant gave me a notice she was leaving on 2/29/12. I already rented it to someone else got payment and security for new tenant and now she refuses to leave stating her new apartment is not ready she offered me money to stay for whatever time but i want her out cant lose my new tenant what can i do and if i have to go to court can i charge her use & occupation instead of rent? im in nyc thank you. - Vincent, NYC

A: I hope the new tenant is patient. Very patient. NYC is landlord bizarro world. Lunitics running the asylum. Right is wrong, wrong is right. Evictions: 3 mos.? 4 mos.? 6 mos.? I've lost track. Average cost: one million dollars. But on the 1st, if old tenant doesn't leave, you should at least look into starting a proceeding.

If you have a landlord tenant problem you'd like to ask a question about, please feel free to e-mail me your question.
Submit a landlord / tenant question for Mr. Reno
Please try to keep your questions as short and to the point as possible.

TransUnion Credit Bureau has partnered with The Landlord Protection Agency to provide an alternative option in on-line tenant screening. Private landlords who choose to avoid the qualifying process required for establishing a direct access account for credit reports now have another way. TransUnion gives LPA Members discounted access to LPA Members $5.00 lower per report than what TransUnion charges directly.

How does SmartMove work?
SmartMove is used when someone is interested in applying to rent a property. In order to begin the process, the potential renter MUST provide an email address to the landlord. Once the email address has been provided, the process generally goes as follows:

• Landlord initiates a screening request using the email address provided by the applicant. (If the landlord is new to SmartMove, he or she must create an account and add at least 1 property.)
  
• Rental applicant is sent the application request via email and chooses to accept or decline the screening. (If the applicant is new to SmartMove, he or she must create an account in order to accept or decline the request.) ...

Have you ever been beaten by a tenant on the rent? Most of us have and unfortunately, it is one of the costs of doing business as a landlord.
On the brighter side, remedies are available for many. If you have documented your tenancy with the proper paperwork including a rental application, lease agreement, late notices, etc., you may have a chance of collecting.

Credit bureau reporting is an option in which many modern landlords are beginning to participate....

Click here for the full article

"Perhaps the very best question that you can memorize and repeat, over and over, is, 'what is the most valuable use of my time right now?'" - Brian Tracy

"Failure to recognize my opportunities is the greatest mistake I made. " - J. Garrett

"Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me... Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful... that’s what matters to me." - Steve Jobs

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

How to Check your LPA Membership Expiration Date:

1. Be logged in with your LPA username & password
   
2. On the "Main Menu" (top right), click on "Your Orders" (right below your name)
   
3. The beginning date of your membership will be listed to the left of your membership order # in this format: YYYYMMDD
   

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