Main Menu, Landlord Protection Agency homepage

Membership With The Landlord Protection Agency

Landlord Newsletter | Lease Clauses that make me Thankful

The LPA Newsletter
November 23, 2010

Dear Fellow Landlord,

In this issue:

Lease Clauses that make me Thankful
LPA Thanksgiving Speacial
FREE FORM Download Settlement Charges Guide
"Wealth Quotes"

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

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

Lease Clauses for Thanksgiving
By John Nuzzolese

Thanksgiving is a time for being grateful and giving thanks. I thank God that I have been blessed with a wonderful family, great children and health. I am grateful I was given the strength to keep getting up when I was knocked down, to face the odds whenever they are against me, and for the faith, help and support I always seem to find when I need it.

There’s something else I am grateful for: the following 13 clauses in the LPA Lease, which make it possible for me to be an effective landlord and property manager. Each and every one of these clauses have saved me repeatedly from the situations in which they apply. I've included links to related articles and forms I use to enforce these clauses.

Late Fees, Added Rent & Bounced Check
LPA Lease Clause # 3, Late Fees is one of the most active clauses that frequently need to be enforced for most landlords. Without this clause, you are not legally able to enforce collecting a late fee, so it is very important to have in your lease. I am thankful for this clause because it not only covers us for an initial late fee, but it also provides the tenant with an incentive to hurry up and pay the late fee and the rent by imposing a "Daily Late Fee" that starts one or two days after the initial late fee is due.
The clause also provides for a "bounced check" or NFS charge, which covers the landlord for fees in the event of a dishonored rent check.
A very important detail that is often left out of many leases is "Added Rent" or "Additional Rent". You should always classify unpaid late fees and other charges like bounced check fees as "Added Rent". That makes makes those charges legally collectible as rent. If you really wanted to, (I'm not saying you should), you can evict a tenant for unpaid late fees classified as "Added Rent" even if they've paid the rent each month.
Early Payment Discount
Many landlords don't like to give the tenant a discount for paying the rent on time or early. The sentiment is: "Why should I reward the tenant for doing something they agreed to do anyway?" I agree with the sentiment, but I have to disagree with the reality of it. I would rather have the bulk of my rents come in a week to 5 days before the first of the month. I usually build a $5. or $10. early payment discount into every lease.
Good responsible tenants want that discount and have a reason to pay early. It sure beats sending late notices and chasing the rent each month. More importantly it saves my valuable time and gives me peace of mind too.
If you don't have this clause already in your lease, you can also present your tenants with an Early Payment Discount Voucher.
No Pets
In the words of the late Nick Koon, a landlord guru and mentor of mine, "No pet ever improved a rental property." The LPA Lease has a standard No Pet clause.
In the event I decide to accept a tenant with a pet, I require a Pet Agreement Addendum to spell out the specific rules of conduct and care needed to protect the rental property. The Pet Agreement explains that the privilege of having the pet may be revoked if the tenant does not uphold his responsibility.
Maintenance & Repairs
LPA Lease clause #9 instructs the tenant on maintenance and repairs in detail. This clause has saved me many times in various ways. It includes policy concerning how presentable the property must be for the purpose of showing once notice is given to vacate. A messy or damaged property can prevent you from re-renting.
The clause also requires the tenant to be responsible for minor repairs under a certain determined amount of money. Painting is not allowed without the owners approval. If I find the tenant is not upholding his responsibilities, I will notify him with a Lease Violation Notice.
Grounds
Do you maintain the grounds or does your tenant. The Grounds clause makes the tenant responsible for the exterior maintenance of your rental property. Part of being my tenant means taking on many of the responsibilities of a homeowner. Taking care of the property with pride is one of them. The clause states that if the grounds are neglected, the landlord may correct any problems or hire a landscaper at the tenant's expense.
I use the Grounds Violation Notice to enforce this clause.
Appliances
I am thankful for our appliance clause in the LPA Lease. It makes the tenant fully responsible for all the appliances. This clause has saved me countless time over the years, because appliance are sometimes high maintenance items. Especially washers and dryers! My policy is to explain this clause to the tenants when they sign the lease. I tell them many tenants bring their own appliances. We are not in the appliance business, and all of the appliances are in excellent working order and we expect them to be returned that way. If the tenant wishes to replace our appliance with his or her own, we will remove our appliance and they can take their appliance with them when they leave. Most of the time they leave their appliance. If your lease doesn't have an appliance clause, The LPA's Appliance Agreement can come in handy.

Plumbing Stoppages
A common call you hear from your tenants might be about toilets or plumbing stoppages. I love the plumbing stoppage clause because it has practically eliminated plumbing stoppage calls for us...

Click here for more clauses to be thankful for.

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

CD of landlord forms contains rental agreement, rental application, eviction notices, free landlord forms

SAVE MONEY with our Thanksgiving SPECIAL!
FREE LPA Membership Year

Join for 5 years and we'll give you the 6th year for FREE!
Includes the LPA Forms disk and immediate download access.
Offer Valid until 11/30/11!
(9¢ a day = having the edge on tenants for 6 years!)

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

FREE LPA FORM DOWNLOAD

https://www.thelpa.com
Alerts the tenant before or after tenancy what kind of move out charges he or she can expect for damages, cleaning or neglect caused as a result of tenant's occupancy. Some landlords send this form along with the Security Deposit Settlement to show how certain deductions from the security were calculated. What many tenants consider "normal wear & tear" are really damages and neglect that they should pay for.

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

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

Landlord Wealth Quotes

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill

"You affect your subconscious mind by verbal repetition." - W. Clement Stone

"The trick is to make sure you don't die waiting for prosperity to come." - Lee Iacocca

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

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

Quick Check Credit Reports, Inc. is proud to announce its affiliation and partnership with The LPA in helping landlords protect their interests by better screening tenants at lower costs!!

NO sign-up or set-up fees,
NO membership fees,
NO compliance fees
Just lower prices!

Special Tenant Screening Discounts for LPA members. See our price list!

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

FREE LPA Gift with Book Purchase!

Click here to order Dani Babb's Book,The Accidental Landlord

Fellow LPA Member, Dr. Danielle Babb is a national real estate expert and author of the new Landlording Book, "The Accidental Landlord".

Get your copy now... with a FREE BONUS! from theLPA.com

Not only is Danielle Babb one of our county's most knowledgable real estate anylists, she also shares excellent landlord information and advice in her book, "The Accidental Landlord". Plus she's a super nice person! - John Nuzzolese

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

FREE BONUS - FORMS DISK
comes with all 2 - 5+ year LPA Memberships
Be a more powerful landlord - able to handle just about any landlord / tenant situation in a professional way, saving you time and money.
ALL FREE with LPA Membership!

Yes, this offer also applies to LPA membership renewals!
Having all the forms all on disk is a handy time saving convenience.

***********************************************
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!)

LPA members: FREE!

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

LPA Membership Expiring?
Take Advantage of the Renewal Prices!

How to Check your LPA Membership Expiration Date:

Be logged in with your LPA username & password
On the "Main Menu" (top right), click on "Your Orders" (right below your name)
The beginning date of your membership will be listed to the left of your membership order # in this format: YYYYMMDD

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

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

Electronic Rent Collection

LPA members have been asking me for a while now about how to set up automated rent payments with their tenants. I'd like to bring your attention to ClearNow, the leader in electronic rent collection. ClearNow enables you to have your rent automatically withdrawn from your tenant's bank accounts and directly deposited into your bank account.

If you haven't done so already, please check out