by Debbie Vornholt | Jul 26, 2021 | Landlord
Tenant Parking Issues – Parking Where They Are Not Allowed
This is a fairly common problem that landlords have to deal with. But, it can be difficult to stop your tenants from parking where they shouldn’t.
I don’t know about the area where you live, but most areas do not allow parking in the grass. To make matters worse, some areas do not allow parking on the street for very long or at all. Don’t ever assume that just because you see cars parked on the street where your rental is located that it is allowed.
Tenant parking issues are something that I deal with from the start of the lease term. All of my tenants are told when they sign the lease to only park in designated areas, which does not include the yard. I usually find out that a tenant is parking somewhere other than the driveway when I get an official notice from Metro Housing. It is usually a warning at first and a fine will follow.
Tenant Behaving Badly
I had a tenant who would not stop parking in the grass and the fines totaled $600. I went by the property and spoke to them in person and that didn’t work so I sent a cease and desist. That didn’t work either. The tenant ended up having to move because he and his family would not stop parking in the grass.
Parking in the front yard caused a lot of damage. There were deep tire ruts all over the yard and the grass was mostly dead.
A truck load of dirt had to be brought in and along with a bob cat to spread the dirt out and level the yard again. Then, grass seed and straw were put down and the yard had to be watered. It was expensive and a huge hassle. A collections case has been filed against the tenant but who knows if the money will ever be collected.
How To Protect Yourself
Be sure and address tenant parking issue sin the lease.
- Clearly state where the tenant is allowed to park.
- Clearly state that any and all fines issued will be billed to the tenant.
- I would further state that rent will not be accepted until the fines are paid.
- State that the tenant will be responsible for paying to repair the yard if necessary.
When this issue crops up, immediately send out a 14 Day Cease and Desist letter or whatever notice is appropriate in your area. Consult your attorney to find out what you have to do.
It is very irritating to send out the notice only to either talk to your attorney or get to court and find out that you did not do this correctly. It takes to send out the proper notice and will end up costing more money.
Know The Rules In Your Area
Know the rules about parking for each of your rental properties.
- Is parking allowed on the street?
- Does your property have a short driveway?
- No garage?
- Is the garage likely to be just used for storage?
Do not assume that even when you cover the rules with the tenants that they will listen. Many of them will just ignore you. Many tenants can’t figure out why this is such a big deal! They are completely blown away that this is such a big issue. Do not assume that just because there is a garage your tenant will use it to park vehicles.
Start With The Application
Tenant parking issues usually do not crop up over night. When you starting having issues with a tenant, you may find that when you go back and look at the application, you could have identified this problem before this tenant ever moved in.
When you are reviewing an application, one thing you should always do is have the applicant list how many occupants and how many vehicles will be kept on the property.
If your applicant has 4 or 5 cars, and the rental property has a short driveway and/or no garage parking and street parking is not allowed, I can guarantee that parking is going to be an issue.
Here, you are only allowed to have 3 cars on the property. Police and Metro Housing are loose about enforcing this rule unless it becomes an issue. Once this has popped up on their radar, it is not going to go away.
You may have to disqualify the applicants if there are too many vehicles. This may sound extreme but I have had that happen once.
Common Tenant Issues
This problem will come up from time to time and is not at all uncommon. When this problem does occur, deal with your tenant quickly and firmly.
- Have policies in place and enforce them.
- Be sure that your applicant / tenant knows what the rules are and that they will be enforced.
- Be prepared to evict the tenant if the issue is not resolved.
Your tenants need to understand that you will enforce the rules and that you will bill them both for the fines and any resulting damage. This is a big deal and you need to make sure your tenant understand this. Once your property has been called out for this violation, or any violation, it will be on the radar of the local housing department and they will continue to check on it.
Be sure and join the Commonsense Landlording Facebook Group for more tips. Join Here
by Debbie Vornholt | Jul 8, 2020 | Landlord
Landlord Entry Rules
I was talking to someone who was interested in renting a unit the other day. She asked what our policy was on entering an apartment that someone lived in. I explained our policy (which is detailed below) and she then said that the reason she was moving out was because her landlord has used the key to enter her unit twice after knocking. The tenant was home both times and was startled and a little scared. No advance notice was given and she said there was no emergency. The landlord stated that the reason for entry was to make sure the tenant was OK. This obviously made the tenant feel very uncomfortable. Her lease is up and she is now looking for a new place to live.
Know The Laws
Responsible landlords in Kentucky know that they are required to give at least 2 days of advance notice before they can enter an occupied rental. This is for situations that are not an emergency and entry of the unit must be at a “reasonable” hour. This includes instances where a landlord intends to make a requested repair or show the unit to a prospective renter. It is up to the landlords and tenants in Kentucky to work out what constitutes “reasonable” hours in the lease agreement.
Emergency Situation
However, if there is an emergency situation, landlords in Kentucky are usually allowed to enter an occupied unit without prior notice when the situation threatens the unit’s inhabitants. The lease does not need to specifically state this. An example of this would be a water leak in an upstairs unit that is flooding the lower units. You would be able to enter the unit to stop the water leak and then schedule the repair.
Notify The Tenant
Tenants have rights even though they don’t own the property. You can notify the tenant by calling them, emailing or texting them. But, if the tenant objects, you will need to give them 48 hours notice by sending them a certified letter stating the date and time you are going to enter the unit.
Landlord Rights
If the tenant still refuses to allow you to enter the unit on the date and time stated in the certified letter, in Kentucky, you would then send a Cease & Desist. I am not an attorney, so if you are faced with this type of situation, please be sure and get advice from an attorney familiar with real estate laws in your area so that you know how to proceed.
by Debbie Vornholt | Jun 22, 2020 | Landlord
How To Find A Great Tenant For Your Rental
All landlords want great tenants. How do you find a great tenant for your vacant rental property though?
Searching for a great tenant can seem like an impossible task. I have found that you have to talk to a lot people to find one or two who will fit your description of what a great tenant is.
The first step is to list your rental requirements on your listing so that you discourage those who don’t qualify not to contact you. The second step is to conduct a thorough pre-screening of every interested party before you show the property. Why bother to allow people to see your vacant rental property if you on’t know if they would even qualify to rent from you? The third step is meet interested parties in person.
Pre Screening Potential Tenants
We are going to talk about Step Two of this process which is the pre-screening step.
Advantages of Pre-Screening:
- Find out more about anyone interested in your property
- Eliminate a lot of people because they don’t qualify
- Only show your property to people who meet your qualifications
Keep in mind that at this point, you will only have verbal answers to your questions. Hopefully, no one lies to you but you will find that out when someone actually submits an applications. That would be grounds for immediate denial.
What Questions Should You Ask?
For Fair Housing reasons, always ask the same questions of every person that calls. Going through this process will help you identify people who can potentially be a great tenant for you.
The longer you do this, the more rhythm you will have. If you notice that you are getting mostly through the list of questions and keep reaching one that is disqualifying, change the order of questions.
For example, if you do not allow pets, ask that question close to the beginning. There is no reason to ask a lot of other questions if this person has a pet.
It is amazing how much information someone will tell you when you ask open ended questions! Depending on how much information you want to know, you can add to these questions or change them however you want.
Some basic questions that I start with are listed below. Be sure to customize them or rearrange the order to suite you. If you don’t accept pets, move the pets question up closer to the top. I can’t tell you how many times I asked that towards the end and had to tell them I was sorry.
Examples of Pre Screening Questions:
- How many people will be living in the home?
- Where do you live now?
- How much is your rent?
- Why are you moving?
- If you’ve been at your current residence for less than two years, why do you move so frequently?
- What type of pets do you have?
- Where do you work?
- How long have you been in your current job?
- How much is your gross monthly income?
- Do you have any credit issues that we need to know about?
- If you have Section 8:
- How long have you been on section 8?
- Have you met with your caseworker yet?
- Do you have a voucher and how much is it for?
- How many bedrooms are you approved for?
- How soon do you want to move in?
Again, customize the questions to meet your needs. Your questions should always be open ended in order to encourage everyone to tell you more. Be prepared to ask more questions as needed and ask for more details.
This process is easy to implement and allows you to easily see who doesn’t meet your basic guidelines. A qualified list of pre-screened people will start you on the path to finding a great tenant!
by Debbie Vornholt | Jun 11, 2020 | Landlord
Tenant Not Paying Rent Due To Covid 19
As of the date of this post, courts are beginning to open back up in many areas. So, this answer will fit what is going on right now.
Times are tough right now for landlords and tenants. Everyone has a different idea on how to proceed. There is a lot of debate about what is “right”. To say the least, this is a very hot topic. Most tenants do not understand that landlords are not wealthy and there is a mortgage on the property that the tenant is living in. So, when the tenant can’t pay, the landlord can’t pay the mortgage. Many landlords are struggling just like tenants.
The bad news is that, unfortunately, there is not a lot you can do right now about non paying tenants. This is going to be disastrous for many landlords who depend on the rent to pay the bills. It can be very frustrating to watch the news and hear so many people insisting on rent forgiveness. It seems like a lot of people are painting the landlord as the bad guy. The bottom line is that no landlord decided to have rental property just so it could be rented for free. Owning rental property is a business. The income is counted on by most landlords just to be able to keep the property.
I am lucky. Most of my tenants are paying. The majority of my tenants who couldn’t pay contacted me and explained their situation. Most were waiting on their unemployment and/or their stimulus check. It is much easier mentally and emotionally to help these tenants out as they were proactive.
When reviewing the non paying accounts, I realized early on that many tenants who were not paying were the same ones who either paid very late every month or were tenants I had to send 7 day letters on to actually get paid.
Dealing With A Non Paying Tenant
Communication is key with non paying tenants. When this first started, I made sure that I spoke with every tenant not paying rent. If you have not done this yet, then I recommend you do it today! The good paying tenants were very embarrassed and there were a lot of tears. But, they are at least making an attempt to pay something.
As for the few tenants that are not paying at all, they literally have no money to pay their rent with. Some are not eligible for unemployment and used their stimulus money to pay utilities and buy groceries. Others, especially my commercial tenants, have tried to get business loans but have either been denied or have not received the money yet. I have both residential and commercial tenants so their ability to pay the rent depends on a number of things. The commercial tenants who have restaurants or other businesses are hurting the most. There is nothing I can do until evictions can be filed. I am staying in touch with them though.
I have one tenant who has indicated that he doesn’t intend to pay until I make him. I have reminded him that the rent will have to be paid eventually. I told him that if he doesn’t, once I can file an eviction, I will be filing on him. He told me to go for it.
Two of my tenants had heard on the news that they didn’t have to pay rent. They really thought that the moratorium on rent meant that they didn’t have to pay at all! Once I informed them that what they heard wasn’t reality and that they would owe all of the rent eventually or be evicted, they paid. One laughed and said he thought that was too good to be true!
For the tenants who are chronic problems, you either have to figure out how to get them back on track or evict them them once you can. That is something you will have to decide. Sometimes it is cheaper to work with these tenants than to evict them but if they are four to six months behind on the rent, there is really no way they will be able to get caught up.
Can I Evict For Issues Other Than Non Payment?
The answer is that yes, you can. If you have other issues that are related to tenant not paying rent, find out what the rules are in your area first. In my area, I can send them a Cease and Desist and then file an eviction if the situation has not been rectified. I am in the process of doing this with tenants in an apartment building. They have been disturbing all of the neighbors with their cussing and fighting at all hours of the day and night. I sent the Cease and Desist notice and they were shocked that they received it. After talking with them, I was able to get them to agree to move out. I got lucky. Stay tuned though because they aren’t out yet!
The biggest issue is that the courts are backed up. A real estate attorney attended our local Real Estate Investor group meeting (online) at the end of May and said that while the courts are opening back up, there is a 6 to 8 week back log of existing court cases. But, at least you can do something and put them on notice to straighten up or they will be evicted.
Also, make sure your lease has a “peaceful enjoyment” clause in it. This makes it easier to evict tenants who are loud and are disturbing the neighbors.
Action Steps
Keep in mind that most tenants are not bad people. Many have been blindsided by the furlough or loss of a job. Some are literally frozen in place and have no idea how to move forward. Sometimes you can help them by talking with them and being empathetic. That doesn’t mean you turn a blind eye to your business!
- Review all non paying tenant accounts and those with balances
- If you have not done so already, contact all of them
- Keep detailed notes about what each one said
- Set up payment plans when possible
- Follow up monthly to see what is going on
- When you know the date courts open back up, notify your tenants that eviction filings are resuming
- Schedule your 7 day letters to go out when appropriate
- File your evictions as soon as you are allowed to
Resources
Did you know that Covid 19 relief funds are available to tenants? If you haven’t already done so, find out what resources are available in your area. Compile a list of resources with phone numbers and either email or physically mail them to your tenants. When I talk to tenants on the phone, I give them the resources I have and instruct them to also go online and see what they could fine.
I found out about some programs when representatives from local organizations called me to verify information for a tenant. I then got the information I needed from that person to pass onto my other tenants. In my area, local churches offer rent and utility assistance year round. Many of my tenants were able to pay their rent with these resources.
Trust me when I tell you that it is well worth your time and effort! The last time I checked, I had received over $7,000 in rent!
Finally . . .
Hang in there. This won’t last forever. Work with the tenants you can and evict the ones who cannot get caught up. Keep in mind that unless the tenant has kept the property in great shape, you are going to have to make repairs at the very least. If the tenant has been there a long time, you may have to completely redo the unit. Can you afford to do that? I don’t know the answer to that, only you do. You need to weigh the cost of working with a tenant with the cost of evicting this person and having a vacant unit needing repairs.
by Debbie Vornholt | Jun 1, 2020 | Landlord
Calculate Debt To Income
When screening applicants, do you use calculate the Debt To Income ratio?
If you don’t, then you should!
I just had someone apply for a rental home. He currently owns a home and will be closing on it in a couple of weeks. He told me told he tried to buy a house but had been turned down due to an old bankruptcy. That didn’t make sense to me but I told him to fill out the request to see my vacant property and to answer the pre-screening questions that would be emailed to him. Once he did that, I told him I would get him in to see the home.
This happened Friday late in the day. I checked for his responses over the weekend but he didn’t request to see the property. I assumed he had moved on. Monday morning, I received a notice that I had received an application for my vacant property. When I looked at it, the application was from the person I spoke to on Friday.
Keep in mind, he did not follow directions and fill out the request to see the property and he didn’t answer the pre-screening questions. He also has not seen the property.
I reviewed his application and ran his credit. It is interesting to note that the credit screening report listed him as APPROVED. There were only two items in collections, one item past due and the rest of his debt was paid on time. His credit wasn’t terrible and his credit score was 601.
Calculate The Debt To Income Ratio
When I reviewed his application, I noticed right away that he had four bills listed that he owed. I ask every applicant to list what they owe monthly for bills.
- Car payment: $400
- Car Insurance: $133
- Cell Phones: $120
- Child Support: $425
- Monthly rent: $1,200
Total Monthly Debts, including the rent, are$2,278. This does not include gas, electric, water, fuel for his vehicle, food and entertainment.
His monthly gross income was listed as $3,900 and his net was $2,859.40
When you subtract the debts from the net income, you are left with $581.40 to pay all other bills for the month.
When I ran the numbers, his debt to income ratio was too high. This applicant could not afford this rental home and was denied.
I run across too many landlords who don’t follow all of the steps when screening applications. This guy seems very nice but he is desperate to move and isn’t using his own good judgement. If I let him move into this home, the chances are high that he would not be able to pay the rent.
If you want to find great tenants, follow a system and don’t make exceptions. Follow a process and follow every single step.
When you calculate the debt to income ratio, you get a better picture of what the applicant can afford.
by Debbie Vornholt | May 27, 2020 | Landlord
Rental Listing Scams
RENTAL TIP: Rental listing scammers are on the rise. Keep a close eye on your vacant properties.
Many of you know that there are people out there who will copy your listing and put it on other sites at a reduced rate. These thieves can be located anywhere in the world and with internet access, they can easily locate listed properties.
Once favorable listings are identified, these people copy your listing, paste it into their account, change the rental amount and then hit “Post” on their site.
Then, renters looking for a new place to live run across these ads and contact the scammer to see the property. The scammer will tell interested parties to drive by and look at the house. Then, if the potential tenants like it, they are instructed to send the money for rent and the deposit through an app. Once the scammer receives the money, a locksmith is hired to go out to YOUR property and change the locks. The locksmith meets the new tenant at the property and then gives the keys to them.
The new tenant has moved into your property. You have no knowledge that any of this has happened. You also don’t have a lease or any money from them.
COVID 19
These scammers are using COVID 19 as a reason to not allow access to the house and to not meet anyone in person. This seems to make more sense to potential tenants right now and they may be more willing to take a chance.
Tips To Protect Yourself:
- Type up a note, preferably with your letterhead on it, and tape it in the window by the front door as well as at any other doors in the property. The note needs to state who manages the property, along with your contact information. This will prevent a locksmith from changing the locks. A note identifying the real owner also lets anyone who has been told to go look at the house who they should call because your contact information will be on the note.
- Leave your business cards inside the house just in case. You might consider adding a flier holder to the property as well.
- At least once a day, search for the address of your home in the Google search bar to see if it comes up anywhere else. Make sure the listing is yours and that nothing has been changed.
- Physically visit your vacant property at least once a week to make sure no one has moved in and to check all windows and doors to make sure they are locked.
- Make friends with your neighbors and let them know the house is for rent. Ask them to contact you if they notice any unusual activity. Also let them know when the property has been rented.
- If you use a lock box to grant access, aggressively change your lock box codes. I am changing mine every 48 hours.
The Victims
There are two victims here: The Tenant and The Landlord. I know of more than one case where a landlord showed up to check on a vacant home only to find that someone had moved in. These people who moved into the home fell victim to the scammer and paid someone else the reduced first month’s rent and the deposit.
This left the real owner of the home with a lot of issues. This owner didn’t get any of the money. The people who moved into the home hadn’t been screened and were probably paying less than what the owner wanted. The new tenant didn’t have the money to pay the real owner any more money.
This is a bad situation all around. Take the necessary precautions now so that you don’t become a victim as well.
How Do You Deal With This?
If you are faced with this situation, you will have to make some decisions.
Your options are:
- Try to make this new tenant work.
- Give them notice to vacate and see if they will voluntarily move out.
- File and eviction and have them removed from the property.
Sometimes you can work with the new tenant. This will require a new leas and in most cases, a rent increase. I would strongly recommend running a credit report on this tenant and following your normal process for approving a new tenant. If this tenant meets your guidelines, then work with them. If not, then the tenant will have to move. It is then a question of whether the tenant moves voluntarily or is set out.
Watch Your Properties
It is your job to keep a close eye on your properties but it is impossible to watch it at all times. A security system would be ideal but is expensive. Again, your neighbors can be your allies so be sure and enlist their help. They almost always know what is going on and are usually happy to spy for you. Have them contact you if they notice anything suspicious. Be sure and let them know when the house has been rented.
