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Re: Security Deposit letters - Landlord Forum thread 361575

Re: Security Deposit letters by lpadave on September 24, 2021 @09:07

                              
just to chime in here.

as a LL i tend to be a bit more gracious than many here.
i also believe in karma and trying to be objective.

there is dirt and wear and tear on a 5 or 10 year tenancy,.........and then there is that on a one year tenancy.

how long were your tenants there and were they otherwise good, low maintenance, prompt payers ??

over the many years of doing this, I have been fortunate in only having two or three PITA tenants or no pays.
I screen brutally and reject anyone even close to marginals.

I cut off the sob stories at the second sentence.

I try to maintain friendly, arms length, professional relationships and expect rent to be paid in full, on time, without me having to come looking for it. I expect tenants to properly take care of my property.

there is always going to be some (of what the Judges love to refer to as) '''tenant residue'''.

I do not view security deposits as an additional revenue
source.

that being said, if yours is an A B or C / D property you should be looking at it and your tenant pool accordingly.

turnovers and make ready are a part of this business

and agreeing with Garry here,...get it cleaned up and re rented. Don't get stuck in the mud hunting down coins.



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Re: Security Deposit letters by Bette on September 26, 2021 @14:07 [ Reply ]
I've had some 5 yr & this is my only 10 yr tenant - I expected some "residue", which I overlooked - my hubby who is much more particular than I has cleaned - but she's not being charged for that. However, an oven that hasn't been cleaned in yrs, well. and urine smells near the back door from an unauthorized puppy. I think she felt putting those plug in scent things would take the place of good ole soap & water - not so.
Yes, we've been lucky having to have someone stay that long as it's a pain in the neck to find qualified renters. However, in her case we kept the rent low because she did pay. And, we overlooked a couple of issues.
We're on the home stretch of cleaning & believe we can show it.
I still don't know why she never replaced the batteries in smoke detectors & CO alarm.
    Re: Security Deposit letters by lpadave on September 26, 2021 @15:37 [ Reply ]
    10 yr tenant is basically a gut and full re work on turnover.
    having kept the rent low was your business decision.
    having kept the rent below market values was your decision

    tenants in place for a long time tend to acquire a sense of ownership and entitlement, which sometimes results in great maintainance and housekeeping,....and sometimes results in slobs and total neglect / hoarding.

    after 10 years, your smoke detectors were expired and should have been replaced by YOU,....long ago.

    if there was a fire, the cause and origin investigators would have come in and cited YOU AS LL,......and you'd have been having quite the conversation with your insurance company and the lawyers.

    INSPECT YOUR PROPERTIES AT LEAST TWICE A YEAR.

    bring the unit up to market conditions and re rent at market rent.

    add up your net profit over the last 10 years minus the (now) make ready costs,......and say thank you. !
      Re: Security Deposit letters by Bette on September 27, 2021 @10:20 [ Reply ]
      SHE chose to stay close to 10 yrs. no one forced her. SHE rec'd good living conditions with no hassles - except the unauthorized additional puppy. She had any repairs promptly. As far as smoke detectors - I don't believe it's the LL job to go in and replace batteries every year.
      Having been both a tenant & and LL I believe tenants have responsibilities to keep the home in clean condition. And replace light bulbs & batteries.

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