Landlord Newsletter April 2010

Dear Fellow Landlord,
Once again, I'd like to thank you for supporting The LPA! If you're not already an LPA member, why not look into it? Just avoiding one small tenant problem makes it more than worth it!

In this issue:

• NEW LPA State Specific Leases are now available to download from Essential forms
• FREE Download: Carbon Monoxide Addendum
  
• New FREE Feature for LPA Members: Heads Up! E-mail Reminder Notice Collection
• Ask The Attorney! Q&A with Eviction lawyer, John Reno
• Landlord Do's & Don'ts concerning the Rental Application
  

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

Heads Up! E-Mail Notices and Reminders Collection
FREE New Feature for LPA Members!

Banks do it, utility companies and management companies do it, and you can too! You don't need a complicated program to be able to send your tenants a simple e-mail reminder notice. You can simply copy and paste these Heads Up! E-Mail Notices and Reminders into your e-mails and send them as needed.

You can easily customize the existing notices for your tenants and even create new ones for other situations.

The fact is, e-mail reminder notices are effective. In today's society it is often easier and faster to reach someone by e-mail than by phone or postal mail. The simple reminder of a payment coming due or other obligation can sometimes make all the difference.

Please keep in mind that The LPA does not suggest these email notices as a replacement for printed official forms and notices. Official notices should be served to the tenant legally as described in your lease agreement, usually by certified mail and/or personal service. The e-mail reminders are merely a "Heads Up!" Friendly E-mail Reminder to let the tenant know of an upcoming event such as:

• #1 Heads Up Pre-Rent Due Date Reminder
• #2 Heads Up Rent Due Reminder
• #3 Heads Up Early Discount Reminder
• #4 Heads Up Rent Past Due Reminder
• #5 Heads Up Renewal Reminder ...

  click for the complete article...
  
  
  

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  FREE LPA Essential Form DOWNLOAD
  Carbon Monoxide Addendum

  Carbon Monoxide Addendum
  
  Carbon Monoxide Addendum
  

  The Carbon Monoxide Addendum is a safety form which helps make sure the tenant complies with local carbon monoxide safety practices and also reinforces the maintenance responsibilities of the tenant to keep your carbon monoxide detector in working order with up to date batteries.
  
  

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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
  Please try to keep your questions as short and to the point as possible.
  
  
  

  Dear Mr. Reno:
  My house is in escrow and will be closed end of this month. I am renting out 2 of my rooms (they are living with me) to a family since March last year. It's a month-to-month basis, no lease agreement or deposit (I live in CA). Their 30 days is on the 17th. They were paid until March. Was supposed to prorate their rent for April, but decided not to let them pay for it. Now, I wanted to remove my washer and dryer out of my house a week before the 17th, is it legal? I also read the California LL/Tenants Rights and Responsiblities and looks to me that they are categorized as lodgers not tenants? Please correct me if I am wrong. Thank you in advance for your prompt response.
  Riley Smith, California

  A: They've been there a year; They're tenants. You can't take their appliances. Sorry.

  Dear Mr. Reno:
  The tenants have not paid the rent since October and their rental contract ended on March 1st. They stayed over the contract. What are the options I have? Thank you.
  Monica, IL

  A: Well you can evict for nonpayment and also as a "holdover", but I think nonpayment is better because it's quicker and the worst thing that could happen is they pay all the back rent to stay, which is not such a bad outcome anyway.

  Dear Mr. Reno:
  I have recently been told that the way I charge late fees is illegal, what is the best way to charge late fees in Chico CA.
  Rafael, Chico, CA

  A: Late fees are allowable, if it's in the lease, and if they're not excessive, which we call "punitive" in the law. What's the objection to yours? You say "the way I charge late fee is illegal". What's the beef?

  Read more from John Reno, Eviction Attorney

  
  
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  Landlord Do's & Don'ts
  The Rental Application

  What The LPA says you should do and what you shouldn't do:
  
  

• DO Give the potential tenant a copy of his signed rental application after he has applied for your rental. It contains a commitment to rent and landlord protection wording to allow you to keep the deposit if the tenant breaks his commitment.
  
  
• DON'T rent to anyone without first verifying the complete rental application and obtaining a credit report and references.
  Use the LPA Rental Application.
  
  
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  FREE BONUS - FORMS DISK
  comes with all 2 - 5+ year LPA Memberships
  Be a more powerful landlord - able to handle just about any landlord / tenant situation in a professional way, saving you time and money.
  ALL FREE with LPA Membership!
  
  
  Yes, this offer also applies to LPA membership renewals!
  Having all the forms all on disk is a handy time saving convenience.
  
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  NEW SITE FEATURE: PICTURES!
  Worth A Thousand Words!
  The LPA's Rental Advertising division,"Landlord's Corner" allows you to include up to 6 pictures (thumbnails and full size pictures) in each rental ad.
  (UNLIMITED FREE ADS come with LPA membership!)
  

  LPA members: FREE!
  Non-members: only $5. per ad.
  

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  FREE LPA Gift with Book Purchase! Fellow LPA Member, Dr. Danielle Babb is a national real estate expert and author of the new Landlording Book, "The Accidental Landlord". Get your copy now... with a FREE BONUS! from theLPA.com

  
  
  
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  LPA Membership Expiring?
  Take Advantage of the Renewal Prices!

  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
     
  
  
  

  NEW! Save Money with our Promotional Membership Renewal Prices! *Your Membership Expired? No Problem!

  
  
  
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  Electronic Rent Collection

  LPA members have been asking me for a while now about how to set up automated rent payments with their tenants. I'd like to bring your attention to “ClearNow, the leader in electronic rent collection.” ClearNow enables you to have your rent automatically withdrawn from your tenant’s bank accounts and directly deposited into your bank account.

  If you haven't done so already, please check out
  
  

  
  
  *********************************************** Interested in past LPA Newsletters? Feel free to view the LPA Newsletter Archive
  
  What are people saying about The Landlord Protection Agency?
  

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