Landlord Newsletter October 4, 2011

Thank you again for all the great responses and feedback on last week's Landlord Test Part 1! Also, thank you for all the birthday wishes -- and those of you who took advantage my 50th birthday "LPA Hat & Book Special", may you wear the hat in good health and profit greatly from the book! Today I have Part 2 of the "Landlord Test". I hope you enjoy it at least as much as you did part 1 !
Thanks again!

In this issue:

• Landlord Test - Situations Part 2
  
• Free Form Download
  
• Ask the Attorney, Real Estate Attorney, John Reno
  
• Where's the Rent? Excuses
  

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

Answer the following multiple choice questions by selecting the most correct answer for the situation.

Instructions: Click on the answer(s) of your choice to see if you are correct.
(Some questions may have more than one correct answer)

1. The tenant has given a forwarding address on his written notice to vacate and moved out of the rental property by the date stated in the notice. Two weeks more have passed and you see that the utilities are turned off, clothes are gone, but there are large amounts of junk and debris still in the rental. You are unable to reach the tenant and the keys have not yet been returned. You may:

a) charge another month's rent
b) use the security deposit to pay for the clean up.
c) issue a Pay Rent or Quit notice
d) send the tenant a filled out security settlement statement.
e) hire a hit-man to find and rough up the tenant to teach him a lesson.
f) all of the above except "e".

2. Mr. and Mrs. Jones are renting a home built in 1999 from Landlord Bill. The Jones' three year old son, "Bam Bam" puts everything in his mouth, including sheetrock, wallpaper shreds that he peals off the walls, thumb-tacks and paint chips.
The Jones' are very upset about the boy's unruly behavior and believe it is due to an environmental issue the landlord is responsible for.
Bam Bam's behavior problem is most likely due to:

a) lead paint                                       more information about lead paint
b) chinese drywall
c) A.D.D. (Attention Deficit Disorder or Hyperactivity)
d) bad parenting

3. Kevin and Lisa are constantly clogging their toilet and complaining about it. Each time, your plumber tells you there is nothing wrong with the toilet ....

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:
I recently had a call from a woman who is married to an illegal imigrant who is going throught the process of "getting legal".
He does not have a SSN yet.
1) Is it legal to rent to them?
2) How do you say no and stay out of trouble with HUD laws etc.
I have to meet this person in the morning and would appreciate some insite. Thanks. Brad Thomson, Missouri

A: 1. Yes
2. Just say "no" (no explanation given.)

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.

"I can't pay you because I have been so stressed. I will have a doctors note to explain why I can not pay the rent." - Renee D., Sonora, CA

"The A/C is broken again." - The tenant was required to maintain a service contract on the 5 year old appliances including the air conditioner. It's in the lease. - George L., Tampa, FL

"My husband is an alcoholic and he has been having blackouts. We don't know what happened to the rent money." Like this is a legitimate excuse for not paying rent? I think I will include the question of whether the applicant drinks or has done drugs on the rental application next time. - Jesse U., Seaford, NY

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
   

If you haven't already, please take the opportunity to sign up for The LPA's Quick Check Credit Reports! Quick Check is a simple, fast way to access online credit reports while saving you money!

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