Move-In Move-Out Checklist

Move-In Move-Out Checklist. In an earlier post I talked about my walk-through process with tenants (coming and going) – here’s a great checklist (http://www.rentlaw.com) I found that you could use during your walkthroughs with tenants. It’s comprehensive and well formatted and can be modified to suit your unit. The focus on this particular checklist is the tenant, but it works particularly well for the landlord or property manager too.

 Be sure to check our Forms Page for other forms you may need.

What to charge?

What to charge? Once you have found a tenant, your unit’s rent rate will be reviewed by your local Public Housing Authority (PHA) to determine whether the rent you are asking is reasonable. The proposed rent amount will be compared to the rent of other similar units in the area. Although, there is no HUD “ceiling” for the rent an owner can charge, rents must still be approved as “reasonable” when compared to those rents charged for similar non-subsidized (non Section units in your local rental market.

Often the PHA will quote an owner a Payment Standard when setting a rent price for their unit. The market, not the PHA’s payment standard, is what determines the maximum rent you can charge – this is also known as “Rent Reasonableness”.

In the Section 8 HCV (Housing Choice Voucher) the maximum amount the PHA will pay is an amount equal to the Payment Standard minus the total tenant payment. It is possible for the market rent to be more or less than the PHA’s payment standard. The Payment Standard should not be used to set a rent rate.

GO8 TIP: A HCV tenant’s income impacts the rent you can charge for your unit. The family you select can not pay more than the Payment Standard set by your local PHA if their share of the rent exceeds 40% of their adjusted monthly income. As a result of this limitation, market rent rates of a luxury nature are not suitable for the Section 8 program.

In order to help guide you in setting a realistic market rent you can use www.GOsection8.com Market Rent Analysis feature. This service will give you an average rent rate for other similar units with the same number of bedrooms in the city and area surrounding your listing. We hope you find this feature useful!

“What a dump!”*

“What a dump!”*   What’s wrong with landlords these days…it seems that all they do is complain about what pigs their tenants are and how they don’t ever respect ‘their’ property.  It doesn’t matter whether these “pigs” are Section 8 or high-rolling investment brokers; nobody treats their property with appropriate respect!   My question to you landlords is “what are you thinking”? Complaining about ‘furniture’ dents in carpet that’s reached even the IRS’s definition of ‘end-of-life’…just trying eek one more year or three out of a nasty piece of carpet that was low-budget when installed a mere twelve years ago…not to mention that the ’upgraded’ pad has now turned to dust from deep-cleaning with store leased wet-vacs.   What exactly do you expect from your tenants?  So, this is an opportunity to snag some of the SD for damage to the carpet? And, let’s not forget the “No, you can’t have pets - they’ll tear up the carpeting.”The auxiliary locks on the front door have been replaced so often there is no more solid wood moulding in which to install the chain, deadbolt, hook & eye …  Would it be too much to replace the door moulding once every 20 years … especially when the screws simply fall out of the wood?Oh, and let’s not forget the charming toilet seat.  No, you don’t have to replace the entire toilet but a new toilet seat might be a gracious addition when you notice that the existing seat is cracked, has been scrubbed so frequently that the paint is missing in spots and it’s being held on by only one hinge… why this is perfectly acceptable…of course, reseating the toilet itself might be a good idea and, gee, just might prevent some catastrophic and costly event involving water and wood. Perhaps, at least, keep the sealer fresh around the base which might prevent the floor from rotting through - or encouraging a new location for the burgeoning roach population that’s outgrowing the non-functioning icemaker fitting in the landlord furnished refrigerator (let’s that was new in … 89!)

“The nasty smell, hmmm, yeah that’s wood rot from a leaky sink in the kitchen/bathroom/laundry.  It’s been repaired - no it doesn’t leak anymore.  Yeah, it will smell for a while.  Oh, about 5 years ago…!”   The nastiest stuff I’ve ever found in rental homes that were advertised as “move-in ready” (and I am not making this up):Mouse droppings & the dead owners (this would be the mice)Mildew covering every wooden surface, including the back of the front door Grease covering every surface in the kitchen and the windows

Cooking grease stalactites dripping from the exhaust fan

Cooking grease oozing from open weave curtains that came with the rental property

Dead scorpions

Live snakes

Brown water from faucets

No water from the faucets

Dead litter of kittens (nope, my mistake, that was on our sail boat)

Used unflushed toilets

Carpet & vinyl flooring that was original - this would be a 1945 SF - the vinyl was actually in pretty good shape, but the carpet crunched when walked on…it sounded like rice crispies had crawled under it…

Food in the refrigerator

Food in the pantry

Clothes in the washer 

So, my point with all of this ranting is…this is a business.  Once we move property from our private domain into the public/commercial domain we become landlords and are in the business to make money. We will make money…but making money and offering marginalized housing for our tenants is counterintuitive.  If we expect our tenants/clients to take care of the property/our investment, then we need to invest in the maintenance and care of the property as well.  We won’t make any money if the property is sitting empty because we can’t be bothered to make the simplest improvements - we’re sending the message to prospective tenants that we don’t care about the property, so why should they?  * Famous line of dialogue spoken by Bette Davis in the 1949 film, Beyond the Forest. Probably best remembered when delivered by Elizabeth Taylor in the opening scene of the 1966 film Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

Don’t let one bad apple spoil the barrel

Don’t let one bad apple spoil the barrel.  Make sure that you’re proactive on behalf of your ‘good’ tenants, if they find that you don’t have their best interest at heart they will begin to leave.  Whether the location is the high-rent district, a mobile home park, or a four-plex, the result will be the same.  Bad behavior is not driven by income level - it exists everywhere and unless you act, you will compromise your income stream by allowing the ‘bad apple’ to ruin the rest.  Sorry.  I got a bit carried away with the apple metaphor, but if you’ve been in the landlord business for a while - you definitely know what I’m talking about.  So, what can you do?  Does the bad behavior result in direct violation of the lease?  If so, begin the eviction process.   Is this behavior putting other tenants safety at risk?  Call the police.  File a complaint.  If this is a Section 8 tenant, contact their caseworker and have them explain the consequences of their behavior (their S8 voucher could be rescinded).  Note:  This is NOT the time to get to know the caseworker…knowing the caseworker is part of Section 8 due diligence…you’ll learn the process for reporting violations before they occur. Be resourceful, be responsive, and be legal…because it is your responsibility.   

Finding new tenants and advertising

Finding new tenants and advertising. Finding tenants to fill vacant units can be a real dilemma when the market is slow or the tenant pool is diluted, however there are lots of ways to advertise an available unit - some cost a little, some cost a lot, some don’t cost anything at all. One of the easiest ways to advertise for tenants when you have a ‘pet’ friendly’ unit is to post the information at the local vet’s office or with the ASPCA.  Allowing pets is a great way to expand your tenant pool.

My favorite is the old fashioned way - simply putting an “Available Soon” sign (I never say Immediately Available or Vacancy) in front of the unit with a PVC tube or covered box that includes information on the unit.  The flyer helps filter prospects that aren’t a good match - I include: floor plan, number of baths, bedrooms, what is/is not included in the monthly rent, pets not allowed/allowed (additional pet deposit & monthly pet rent & pet addendum to lease), security deposit and length of lease. 

I’ve found that this information really weeds out those individuals that ‘think’ they might be interested but, in fact, cannot afford the rent, deposit, etc.  Additionally, by making the information available, the prospects that are truly serious have already driven by the unit, are familiar with what the exterior looks like, the location, the schools, and come to the appointment prepared to apply for tenancy.  This really saves me time, headaches, and phone calls from unqualified renters. Another excellent and cost-effective way of getting new tenants is by referrals - particularly from my ‘good’ tenants. 

My good tenants are familiar with how I run my business, what I expect from my tenants and what my tenants can expect from me as a landlord and, by extension, my rental properties.  This doesn’t mean that you can overlook the screening process simply because they were referrals from good, long-term tenants – but this is always a great place to start the process. When a referral turns into a tenant, I make a point of thanking my existing tenant for their help…gift cards to grocery stores, cinema, restaurants, bookstores, or greenhouse/nursery, and in one instance I bought a month’s pass for the public transport system for an existing tenant who took the train to and from work.  The one thing I never do is offer rent credit.  Other advertising venues include the local weekly paper or using internet-based sites such as www.GOsection8.com, or the Real-Estate section of your daily paper.  Results vary as will advertising costs and the more you pay for advertising does not necessarily translate into a better pool of prospective tenants.  Remember to keep track of your advertising costs and use whatever provides the biggest bang for your advertising dollar and gets the best results.

Barter for rent?

Barter for rent?

Never!I’ve been approached by tenants asking to barter for their rent or a portion of their monthly rent. Whether they offer to paint, ‘do’ electrical work, shovel snow off the walkways, or maintain the landscaping, I always decline their offers. Regardless of their bartered skill level – it’s simply easier and more cost effective for me to hire my own contractors or do the work myself rather than risk having a tenant presume that a ‘barter approach’ would be acceptable any time they find themselves short of cash when the rent is due. Also, there is the risk of injury and a lawsuit and Section 8 tenants could lose their vouchers by working undeclared ‘side jobs’. Although some of my landlord friends do barter with their tenants for rent credit – the quality of the tenant’s work never quite matches the landlord’s expectation.

Open Waiting Lists

Do you know of a waiting list opening soon… please let us know.

Help me find a home

Let us know where we should focus our marketing efforts…

Moving with a Voucher

See the Questions Tab Above for More on “Ports”

Things to consider when renting to a tenant with a dog…or cat

Things to consider when renting to a tenant with a dog…or cat

A landlord may not want a dog or cat on a rental premise. It is legal for a landlord to deny a tenant’s application if they have an unwanted pet.  However, in many states it is unlawful for a landlord to deny a tenant’s rental application if a dog is assisting a blind, deaf, or otherwise disabled tenant.  In addition to causing unwanted property damage, a landlord may be liable for injuries caused by a renter’s pet.  Although it is not easy to hold a landlord responsible if the pet does not belong to the landlord, there are certain things every landlord should consider when leasing to renters with a pet.

Home Owners Insurance & Renters Insurance

Your home owner’s insurance policy may have a dog exception in it. Always check your insurance policy for restrictions that apply to dogs in rental housing. Unfortunately, dog attacks are a growing and serious problem. Since the 1990s, dog attacks have become one of the biggest single reasons for home insurance claims, with claims running to more than $300 million a year!  Some dogs are almost uninsurable and breed and weight restrictions are common. If your insurance policy does not cover you for your renter’s dog, then require any tenant with a dog, and possibly a cat, to obtain adequate Renters Insurance and add yourself to their renters policy as an additional insured.

Decreased Turnover

On the other hand, allowing a pet can actually decrease your turnover in tenants.  Tenants with a dog or cat often have a hard time finding a “pet friendly palace” and this can discourage them from moving. There is nothing better then a long term renter and, if allowing pets decreases turnover, it makes sense to allow them as long as you are adequately protected from liability and damage.

 

 

GO8 Tip:  Personally, as a Section 8 landlord, I do allow pets with some restrictions. I do not accept any pet that is banned by insurance….no dangerous or banned breeds and a 40 pound weight limit. To protect myself, I add the specific type of pet, the breed, the animal’s weight, and even the name to the pet agreement.  A sample Pet Agreement form that includes indemnification language and covers most of the basics is available from in FORMS.  I also require a $200 non-refundable pet fee, not a security deposit.  Finally, I do require proof of Renters Insurance naming myself as an additional insured. The unit I am renting also has a lot to do with my decision on whether to allow a renter to have a pet.  Obviously, a $200 fee does not cover new carpeting and damage to wood floors.  For this reason, I typically don’t allow pets in homes with wood or carpet flooring.  I have found that limiting pets to rental homes with fenced yards and tile flooring greatly minimizes risk and headache.