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Landlord Newsletter August 25, 2009

Landlord Mini Newsletter August 25, 2009

Dear Fellow Landlord,

Do you ever wonder why some people are successful and some aren't? In today's day and age it seems that kids DO NOT WANT TO WORK. "Work" is a 4 letter word! For many years since I first read the "Results of Initiative", I've related the short story to what I see in real life. I've made copies for my kids and hope it's made an impact on them. I hope you like it- and if you've read it in the past, I hope you enjoy it again. In this issue:

Article: The Results of Initiative
Free Tenant Screening Form Download!
Ask the Attorney Q&A with John Reno
Landlord Tip
Tenant Rent Excuses

The LPA on Twitter Tweet us , stay in touch.

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

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Essential Landlord Form

"It is far better to have no tenant than to have a bad tenant."

I've been asked dozens of times in the last year to create a new form to help landlords ask the right questions on the telephone to help determine if the caller is someone you'd like to set an appointment to show your rental to. The LPA's new Tenant-Finder™ Pre-Screening Telephone Worksheet has developed from a simple prospect card into a handy and more complete screening tool for telephone interviews.

Limited Time Only: Free Download for LPA Newsletter subscribers.(Exp. 8/31/09)

Tenant Finder™ Pre-Screening Telephone Worksheet

Tenant Finder™ Pre-Screening Telephone Worksheet

Have you ever met prospective tenants at your rental property, shown it to them, had them fill out a rental application only to find that they were nowhere near qualified? A simple pre-screening telephone interview can be a major time saver. Why not focus your attention on the most qualified prospects?

Before giving out the address of your rental property and committing your time to a doomed appointment with an unqualified renter, you have a chance to more carefully evaluate which prospects are worth meeting with.

I feel very strongly about strict tenant screening, which begins at First Contact with the tenant. First Contact is when you speak with the potential tenant for the first time, usually when they respond to one of your rental ads. At that point, you have the opportunity to learn what you can about this person's current situation. Are they employed? Can they afford your rental? Do their moving dates correspond with your rental's availability? Is their credit rating acceptable? And so on.

After completing your Tenant-Finder™ Pre-Screening Telephone Worksheet, you can use the scoring area to evaluate your new prospect. Print up a pile of them to screen your next tenant!

Eliminate bad tenant risks before spending your valuable time on them.
"Eliminating a bad tenant before I even have to meet him is what I consider the cheapest eviction I can have!" - John@theLPA

Click here to purchase or to read about LPA Essential Landlord Forms and descriptions.

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The Results of Initiative

Some years ago, three brothers left the farm to work in the city. They were all hired by the same company at the same pay. Three years later, Jim was being paid $500 a month, Frank was receiving $1,000, but George was now making $1,500.

Their father decided to visit the employer. He listened to the confused father and said, "I will let the boys explain for themselves."

Jim was summoned to the supervisor's office and was told:

"Jim, I understand the Far East Importers has just brought in a large transport plane loaded with Japanese import goods. Will you please go over to the airport and get a cargo inventory?" Three minutes later, Jim returned to the office. "The cargo was one thousand bolts of Japanese silk," Jim reported. "I got the information over the telephone from a member of the crew."

When Jim left, Frank, the $1,000 a month brother, was called...

Read the full article

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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:
I have an experience with in one of my rental units. The air conditioning unit gave up and does not blow cold air anymore. The tenant is calling me and demands that I fix it right away. She is also demanding that I pay/deduct from the rent payment all charges that she paid for hotel lodging. Am I under obligation to refund her for the hotel lodging just because the air conditioning unit broke and I can't get it fixed until the end of the week? Where can I find more information about this issue?
I thank you for your prompt assistance with this matter.

Jose Alarcon, CA

A: Number one. Get the A/C fixed ASAP. Then negotiate a settlement. He's going to withhold rent- If you can't settle it, you'll be evicting him for non-payment- and then the judge will settle it. He wont get Hotel lodging, I don't think, but maybe some rent abatement, 10 to 20 percent maybe.

Dear Mr. Reno:
I just received a water bill of approx. $600.00 for a duplex I own - single water/sewage account. There happens to only be one tenant in the building and there is no leak in the vacant apartment whatsoever. Can I present the bill to the other tenant if water & sewage charges are not (as far as the responsibilities section of the lease are concerned) her responsibility? Typically the bill runs about $100-$150 with both units occupied.

Edwin, PA

A: You can try it, but I doubt it would hold up in Court. I think it's worth confronting them. They probably know it's their fault and will pay.

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Landlord Tip

Giving proper legal notice to tenant:

(This applies to month to month tenancies or if your lease allows you to make unilateral changes to the tenancy as the LPA Lease does.)
* It is important to remember that proper notice must also be given by the tenant or the landlord for the Intention of Non - Renewal. Even though the lease has an expiration date, the landlord must still require a written notice to vacate from the tenant.

If it is a 30 or 60 day notice, be sure that the written notice is served before the beginning of the next rent period. That means if the rent is due and payable on the 1st of the month, have the notice served before that date. Serving a notice in the middle of a rent period will not change the fact that the 30 or 60 days notice period starts on the first day of the next rent period. An official dated notice should be delivered / "served" to the tenant,

in person (preferable)
sent by certified mail- return receipt requested
regular first class mail combined with the above. We recommend getting a certificate of mailing receipt from the post office whenever you mail an official notice by 1st class (regular) mail.

John N., NY

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Excuses

Month 1: "We are late because we had to pay the movers to move in." - Mary G., Kansas

Month 2: "I was out of town with the cash. Thank God I had it because my car broke down and I luckily had that money with me to fix it." - Mary G., Kansas

Month 3: "My daughter rear-ended an off-duty police officer while drunk-driving last night. I had to use the money to bail her out of jail." - Mary G., Kansas

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

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for New 2 -5 year LPA Members

This offer also applies to 2-5 year Membership Renewals!
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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!)