Landlord Protection Newsletter - September 2, 2014

Dear Fellow Landlord,

In this newsletter:

• 6 Ways to Turn Good Tenants into Better Tenants
  
• Free Form: Rent Deficiency Notice
  
• Landlord Tip
  
• Ask the Attorney, Real Estate Attorney, John Reno
  
• Wealth Secrets & 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

By John Nuzzolese
We already know that the key to a successful tenancy is to first find a good tenant. Haven't we often secured good tenants only to find they drift to the wayside and gradually become bad tenants? Why is that? There are a combination of reasons that this happens. Those reasons are what I refer to in The LPA's article, "The 6 Biggest Landlord Traps". Let's explore how to make good tenants even better and how to keep them that way.

Now that you have a good tenant you have already screened, accepted and signed a lease with, you may be tempted to feel like your job is finished for now. The property is rented! Now you can take a vacation, right? Wrong. The job is never over unless you sell your rental property and retire somewhere nice, never to see or speak to another tenant again. Are you going to do that anytime soon? OK, so lets talk about making good tenants even better.

1. Emphasize the most important lease clauses. If you haven't already done so when you carefully went over the lease personally and emphasized the important items to your tenant, do it as soon as possible. (I hope you used my LPA Lease - I'm personally biased.) You can even do it with a follow up letter welcoming the tenants to their new home an reminding them of those key elements in your lease that are most important to you. Some landlords even send the tenant a spare copy of the lease with certain clauses highlighted.

2. Tell the tenants that you report to "National Tenant and Credit Reporting Bureaus". The reason I phrased it like that is because I don't want you to feel like you may be telling a lie. Reporting to a "National Tenant and and Credit Bureau" could mean the LPA's "National Tenant Rating Bureau or Deadbeat Database"". Or it could also mean that you are ready to use The LPA site to "prepare a delinquency report" to the major credit bureaus. I have achieved outstanding results by advising new tenants not to pay late because it can affect their credit rating. I inform them that they may not qualify for a car loan or mortgage in the future if they are not careful about their rent payment. I warn, "PLEASE DON'T RENT FROM ME if you think you will have trouble paying the rent on time. You seem like such a nice couple. I'd truly HATE to ruin your credit and damage your financial future". By the way, The LPA has a free members only tenant credit reporting feature that may help you collect delinquent rents.

3. Enforce your lease with "Essential Landlord Forms" that will support your lease. When a tenant gets out of line, correct the situation with a professional form. Nip the problem in the bud before a small problem becomes a disaster. If you do not send a late notice as soon as the rent is late, the tenant will continue to be late. If you are inconsistent with sending the late notice, the rent may consistently be late. Have you ever heard the old adage "Familiarity breeds contempt" ? Well, when a tenant becomes comfortable enough to think the landlord is a friend, he often loses the professional respect he may have once had. So, enforcing the lease with professional forms is the way to go.

4. Enforce penalties such as late fees. Using a professional form is great, but ...

click for the full article...

Some tenants insist on paying the rent in bits and pieces. Sometimes, they'll even "forget" about little things like unpaid late fees and other charges. Unfortunately, getting the rent paid in full is not as important to some tenants as it is to us landlords. That is why we have to make this lifestyle of partial payments a thing of the past.

Like a late rent notice, the LPA Rent Deficiency Notice will inform the tenant that the rent was not received in full. It will ask for the balance due along with any applicable late fees, reminding the tenant of the growing balance thanks to our daily late charges in your LPA Lease.



Rent Deficiency Notice (fillable PDF)

Lease Renewal Clause
The Account Status Notification to update the tenants of their account status. Remind them of any past due balances such as unpaid late fees, repairs you made that the tenant was responsible for, etc. Update them on any adjustments of how you may have applied the latest payment to past due charges.

This is especially handy in pre-eviction cases when we classify tenant responsibilities as Added Rent, which later become collectable as Past Due Rent. - John @ TheLPA

***********************************************
Ask the Attorney

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 had a renter that stopped paying. By the time the eviction process forced the tenant to evacuate the property, the rent owed was about $2000. The ex-tenant have not established another address which prevents the execution of a court ordered property sale to recoup the funds. Pennsylvania does not have a garnish law therefore I do not have that option. Attempts to add the negative comment on the credit report has not happened. Are there any additional options available under Pennsylvania landlord-tenant laws that will assist with rectifying this issue?
R. Wayne, PA

A: Probably more than 75% of landlords who evict do not collect on their money judgments. So you are not alone in your situation. The first thing we usually do is freeze their bank account. Unfortunately, they're usually broke. There's a reason these people got evicted for not paying their rent.

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.

Read more from John Reno, Eviction Attorney

***********************************************

Wealth Secrets and Success Quotes

"It is better to have NO tenant than it is to have a bad tenant." - John Nuzzolese

"People with goals succeed because they know where they are going... It's as simple as that." - Earl Nightingale

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

"How much did your last tenant problem cost you? Was it less than $89.99?" - John Nuzzolese, The Landlord Protection Agency

***********************************************

LPA Membership Expiring?
Take Advantage of our low 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
   

*Your Membership Expired? No Problem!


***********************************************

FREE Tenant Credit Reporting
(LPA Membership Bonus Feature)

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 bright side, remedies are available. 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

***********************************************

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!

Look-up Associations
Attorneys
Businesses
Rentals Available
Rentals Wanted
Classifieds
Tips & Advice
Realty Brokers
Tenant Histories

Other Areas Q&A Forum
Landlord Tenant Law
Essential Forms
Free Forms
Credit Reports
About Us
Help