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Landlord Newsletter July 2008

The LPA Newsletter July 2008

Dear Fellow Landlord,

I hope you had a safe and happy 4th of July. If you find yourself facing a difficult rental market, please keep in mind. "It is better to have NO tenant than a BAD tenant." It is worth the careful screening to get a better qualified tenant. Have faith. You can do it. There are still a lot of good prospective tenants out there!

In this newsletter:

Article: by Dr. Danielle Babb, "How to Determine a Fair Management Fee"

Ask the Attorney, New Questions & Answers with Eviction lawyer, John Reno

Free Landlord Form download

Landlording Mini Quiz True or False

A few Tenant Excuses

Success 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

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Sneak Peek!

The following is another excerpt of Dani Babb's soon to be released new landlording book, "The Accidental Landlord"!

How to Determine a Fair Management Fee

By Dr. Danielle Babb

If you’ve decided not to rent out a house for yourself, one question you may be asking is, “is the management fee fair?” Remember in many cases you’re going to get what you pay for. You may ask for a multi-property discount if it applies to you. I always ask potential property managers for this; some will give it to you and others won’t. Expect to pay between 6% and 10% of each month’s rent collected, and expect to pay between 50% of one months’ rent to a full months’ rent to find tenants. This usually covers advertising costs, but be sure to ask if you’re footing the bill for those costs on top of the fees. If you are, you might want to consider going elsewhere. Find out how much they charge for finding a tenant, and what their monthly management fee is. Find out if they require you list your property with them if you decide to sell (if they do, I recommend eliminating them from your list).

Find out what the management fee includes. How can tenants deposit funds to them?.....

click for the full article...

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Ask the Attorney

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

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

Dear Mr. Reno:
Hello, I was wondering what rights do renters have if they find out that the landlord is in foreclosure.
Lillian Alston

A: A lot of tenants stop paying rent when they find out the landlord is in foreclosure- THAT'S A MISTAKE! You can still be evicted because the landlord is still the owner until the foreclosure sale. After the SALE, you can ignore the landlord.

Dear Mr. Reno:
I have a tenant in Oregon who is one month behind in his rent. He has promised to pay in full next month (don't they all) with bi-monthly installments to get caught up. Is it legal for me to take the title and spare keys to his car as collateral if his misses installment payment? Thanks!! Steve Rissberger

A: Yes, it is legal, but you wont be able to do anything with the car unless he signs the title over to you- so that's a problem because he says he's gonna pay you. It might work as a tactic, but in the end, you're not getting that car.

Dear Mr. Reno:
I have a tenant who is renting a mobile home from me. she moved in 05/01/09 with 1/2 deposit and 1st months rent. then 5/09 filed bankrupsy and says she doesnt now owe the other 1/2 of the deposit because it was a past debt. However, we have no lease with her because it never got signed. Can I evict based on landlord wants property back?
Kim Carroll, Texas.

A: Yes, you can evict, but you'll need a bankruptcy attorney first. The bankruptcy includes an "automatic stay" of court proceedings. You need an attorney to lift before you can proceed.

*********************************************** Landlord Mini Quiz

A lease can continue to be enforceable even after it expires.
True or False
It is illegal for an owner to discriminate against bad credit.
True or False
A tenant who assigns a lease to another remains liable for the rent.
True or False
The maximum number of people in a house is 12.
True or False
Failure to pay rent does not automatically constitute termination of the tenant's lease.
True or False

For answers and more test questions, click here... ***********************************************
FREE LPA FORM DOWNLOAD

Lease Expiration / Renewal Notice
Lease Expiration Notice (to renew or vacate)
This lease expiration notice is a combination form which can be used as a lease renewal form or a tenant's notice to vacate. The form provides for a rent increase, as well as the preservation and extension of all the terms and conditions in the lease. The landlord should send this form to the tenant at least one or two months before lease expiration to give the tenant an opportunity to consider any rent increase and to respond with enough notice time to vacate or renew tenancy according to lease requirements.

Click here to purchase or to read about LPA Essential Landlord Forms and descriptions

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Tenant Excuses

"Please just pretend that I'm up to date with the rent. My young daughter would be so disappointed if she knew I couldn't pay the bills." - I almost felt sorry for him. Then I remembered I was facing foreclosure because this piece of garbage wasn't paying his rent and had been stringing me along for about a year. I evicted him. His wife and daughter left him. And then after another year of collection and excuses, I finally seized his wife's savings account to settle matters. - John, NY
"Don't you come around here trying to collect rent on a Sunday, I don't pay no rent on the Lord's Day!" This tenant was already seriously late in her rent payment, which means she also did not pay rent on non - Lords days. Shortly there after she did not live in my property on the "Lords Day". - Jay in MN
"Man, is it a new month already? Wow." Hey- Get a calendar and pay the rent. A late charge is being added on. - Jack Klein, NY

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Quotations...

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face... The danger lies in refusing to face the fear, in not daring to come to grips with it... You must make yourself succeed every time. You must do the thing you think you cannot do." - Eleanor Roosevelt
"I know the landlord business can be a tough job, but easy jobs don't pay well." - Lou C., LPA Member
"Confidence is preparation. Everything else is beyond your control." - Richard Kline
"How much did your last tenant problem cost you?"
- John Nuzzolese

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Books by LPA Members
The Landlord Protection Agency is proud to recommend the following landlord books written by LPA Members, Dr. Dani Babb, Robert Irwin, Timothy Spangler, Tony & Sandy Midea and Dan Auito. Just click on the book for more information about it.

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