Landlord Newsletter March 13, 2012

Dear Fellow Landlord,

In this newsletter:

• 3 Simple Screening Steps before spending money
  
• Free Rental Form
  
• Ask the Attorney, Real Estate Attorney, John Reno
  
• New Interactive For Rent Signs
  
• Tenant Credit Reporting
  
• 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 and an even more successful year ahead.
John Nuzzolese
John@theLPA.com

The Landlord Protection Agency® suggests the following simple steps to take before you spend any money on credit reports:

1. Pre-screen your prospects before showing the rental. It eliminates unnecessary appointments and saves you time. Use a free LPA Pre-screening Prospect card.

2. After showing the rental, have your interested prospects fill out and sign an LPA Rental Application. Be sure to collect a non-refundable screening fee and deposit as provided for in the application.

3. Verify the employment and tenant references contained in the application. Use LPA Landlord Reference Qualifier form to evaluate the legitimacy of the landlord reference.

If you feel confident the tenant passed all your screening inquiries so far, run a credit report with a major credit bureau to review the prospect’s credit history on the payment of bills, delinquencies, address history, employment history and judgments.

Remember: "It's better to have no tenant than a bad tenant."

Many landlords and real estate agents across the US use a basic Rental Binder to secure their rental deals. Although the Rental Binder is often used as a basic rental agreement, it is not and should not be used as a rental agreement or rental application. It is a pre-contract form, a binder receipt, proof that an offer has been made with an earnest money deposit.

Upon written acceptance of the offer by the owner/agent of the rental, it becomes a binder, whereby it is agreed that the rental will not be rented to anyone else before the agreed lease signing date. It is a good idea to use a rental binder form as a first step to solidify your rental deal with a non-refundable deposit, while also settting up the proposed details of your pending lease agreement, such as time, place, date and what the tenant will be expected to bring to the meeting.

Although the binder receipt is included in the LPA Rental Application, this form is especially helpful to rental agents who collect their real estate commission from the tenant because it also provides for a written agreement of the rental commission.

Rental Binder Agreement

As a landlord trying to rent out a vacancy, have you ever thought about how backwards the process is? You're the landlord. Why do you become a secretary answering phone calls all day every time you slap a 'For Rent' sign in front of a unit or place a classified ad?

The answer is pretty obvious. When you only list a phone number and some very basic information, you don't give the prospective tenant a choice. The only option you've given them to learn more about your property is to call you up and ask more questions. What are they supposed to do really?

As you know though, the problem is that most of those people end up not being interested in your property, are not qualified, or are "just looking." Some people enjoy this process and interaction, but for many of us it's a tremendous waste of time and energy.

Wouldn't you love to streamline the process ...

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:
Can a tenant sue me if a property they are renting is foreclosed on if I am not the one on the loan? He's threatening to sue me for fraud. The lease is in my name only. I am on title but not on the loan. My husband is on the title and the loan. My husband just learned there is a foreclosure date at the end of march (he had been attempting to do a loan modification). The tenant is refusing to pay his march rent. I've already sent the pay or quit notice to him and if he doesn't pay by saturday I will file an unlawful detainer in court. What are my rights and what are his?
Marie, Fairfax VA

A: You're still the owner and can do your eviction right up until the foreclosure sale, then, no more. Don't worry about the fraud suit. It's bogus.

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.

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

"A mind stretched to a new idea never goes back to it's original dimension." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

"Everything in your life gets better when you get better, and nothing is ever going to get better until you get better." - Larry Winget

"Believe you can and you're halfway there." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Without knowledge and a workable plan, you are gambling, with little or no chance of success." - Robert G. Allen

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." Plato

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

Not only is Danielle Babb our county's most knowledgeable real estate analyst, she's also an LPA member!

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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