Comments on: Landlord Tenant Relationship – “Hard-Nosed” Landlording: Keep Your Tenants In Line

By: wayne denn

wayne denn — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 01:36:49 +0000

would love to get a copy of your lease

By: Heidi

Heidi — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 16:07:38 +0000

I have a question for you. I am a renter and I am responsible for paying the HOA fees. I am also required, per lease, to maintain the landscaping. I was just informed by the HOA that the very tall queen palm in the front yard must be trimmed or there will be a fine. I let my landlord know because the trimming of this tree must be done professionally and costs about $50. My landlord informed me that because I am responsible for the maintenance of the yard I have to pay to have it done. And if I don’t I will have to pay the fines from the HOA. He never mentioned this when I moved in 8 months ago. I also specifically remember that it looked as though it needed trimming when we moved in. I feel like this type of maintenance should be the responsibility of the Landlord. Am I wrong?

By: Angella

Angella — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:57:38 +0000

Here’s an example of a “Professional Renter”, as Bob mentioned above:
A friend of mine rented his house to a well-spoken gentleman, who showed up in a suit. My friend didn’t run the background check as he should’ve, collected the 1st, last, and deposit, and let the guy move in. The following month the tenant couldn’t pay the rent, but said he’d upgrade the landscaping on the house in exchange for the rent, since he owned a landscaping business. He ended up delivering 10 Queen Palms to the property, so my friend thought he was at least getting some kind of a service in exchange, and postponed filing the eviction. In the end, this tenant ended up dragging the eviction out for 9 months, and turned out to be a professional scammer.

Had my friend done his due diligence up-front and pulled the tenant’s credit report, he would have known that from the start. My friend’s only consolation, after 9 months of court and eviction fees, was that he at least ended up with 10 potted palm trees. Well, until he had to pay someone to move those palm trees to his personal residence and plant them, which cost him even more money.

P.S. Food for thought – How well do you think this tenant was taking care of the property, while he was dragging out the eviction?

By: Bob Wilkinson

Bob Wilkinson — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:47:27 +0000

Very nice Blog Angella!

One can never be too careful on the Tenant Screening. There are tenants who I call “Professional Renters” who will give you false information on the rental application. Believe it or not there are tenants who inform themselves on techniques on how to get free rent for 6 to 9 months. Their skills are so honed at scamming Landlords I would venture a bet that they attended a seminar on “How to live Rent Free”.

Oh, and having a very precise lease agreement always provides the best legal protection for the Landlord. Leniency & flexibility should only be given verbally and sparingly. Being hard nosed is simply good business. We are not running Charities in the investment business. When a tenant treats your property right, which is entrusted to them for use, one can always be charitable on the back end.