Anyone who works in the field will probably agree that managing property is a series of little crises in any given week. It's enough to drive you nuts, but only if you let it.
The hardest part about writing this week's blog post will be picking which crises to write about!
First of all this past week was a doozey in the complaint department! I'm so glad we've been working on Systems – the tenants have one number they can call or text for maintenance issues. My husband and I both get the notification via Grasshopper, a phone system designed for small business people who do everything from their smartphones. It also automatically populates the project management app we use – Podio – and that gets sent out to our maintenance guy Todd. Todd was already on his way to a backed up toilet before my husband even saw the little Grasshopper icon pop up on his phone. Brilliant!
We had a new tenant move-in this weekend that was just one thing after another – from ants in the bathtub to a bum fridge. We had neighbor fights – the 3rd floor was accusing the 1st floor of drunken revelry in the parking lot, almost taking out the dumpster and a parked vehicle. The 2nd floor of another building was accusing the 1st floor of putting their garbage into 2nd floor's can to avoid the pick-up fee from the Township. 1st floor then accused 2nd floor of moving in two extra people and a dog. And away we go!
I'll focus on the garbage crisis, because this is one area where I'm pausing to find a solution rather than jumping in with guns blazing.
I texted the 1st floor garbage offenders – apparently they never went to the Township to get their sticker and their can as they were required to. Their story – to me – was the 2nd floor neighbor gave them permission to just use their can. The 2nd floor said she offered that to them if they would PAY for it, but they did not. So 2nd floor tenant went to the Township to report the delinquent 1st floor tenants. Then she left me a rambling text – “I'm sorry I didn't mean to get you in trouble Kelly but they're going to be sending you a letter...” WTF!
OK. Pause. Don't blow my top. Don't throw out my schedule for the day to deal with this. I was driving back from a workshop in the Poconos so I had time for a phone call.
I called the Township business manager, very nice lady. I told her I wasn't trying to be a scofflaw landlord, that my tenants have it right in their lease that they are responsible for their own garbage removal, and of course I will pay for it myself if they do not.
The 1st floor tenant was late with the rent, and we were supposed to meet Friday to settle up. I told her I would waive the late fee if she would just PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE go to the Township and get the garbage straightened out. When I met with her on Friday I told her the violations she reported on her neighbor upstairs – the extra people and the dog – were being addressed.
They haven't really been addressed, yet. The 2nd floor tenant said she was “dog sitting” for extra money just a couple days a month, and her grandmother and sister are just staying there a few days to help out with the kids. She's pregnant again, congratulations! And by the way do I have any four bedroom units available?
Don't worry, this situation is unacceptable and it will be addressed. But I'm going to do it in such a way that I'm not forced into a messy eviction leaving me with a trashed out empty going into October, with electric heat. I'll let you know in future blog posts how that goes.
This is that empty half-double that's been a pain in my ass since the tenants moved out unexpectedly on July 31st, demanding their security deposit back on top of it. I've devoted several blog posts to this drama:
http://thisgingerjustsnapped.weebly.com/blog/text-from-a-tenant-file-under-security-deposit-issues
http://thisgingerjustsnapped.weebly.com/blog/musings-over-social-media
http://thisgingerjustsnapped.weebly.com/blog/tweaking-the-rental-system
I am on my third prospective tenant with a deposit to hold since that unit went on the market. I thought this one was a winner – they saw the place before, but somebody beat them to the deposit. When that deal fell through, they were the first ones in line with cash. Good jobs with good income. Nothing more serious on the background check than a couple speeding tickets and a bar fight. One good landlord reference. Then one very bad one.
I have a question on my application, “How many evictions have been filed against you?” If people answer honestly that they've had an eviction, I ask them to tell me about it. How long ago? What were the circumstances? Have you ever tried to make good on the amount owed? It's not an automatic deal breaker, although I take evictions very seriously. Having to evict a tenant usually ends up costing me a lot of money, after all.
One of the three roommates applying for my half-double answered “none” to that question. Her reason for moving? “A quieter environment for my child.”
I was disgusted. She lied. Fine, I get to keep the deposit then, $750 cash for me. No judge in the world would disagree if they tried to make a stink of it. Then I just have to find time in my schedule - with the tax filing extension running out and my daughter going back to school – to show the apartment. Again.
I paused.
When Steve came home that night, I talked it over with him, glass of wine in hand. These are all young girls – early to mid-twenties. The evictee experienced the horror of the Constable coming to escort her out the door, perhaps it's an experience she won't want to repeat. She did set up payment arrangements with the management company – probably because she knew I'd be calling them, but still. The other two roommates – one of which is the evictee's sister - have good rental histories. My guess is the evictee is staying with them now, prompting their search for a larger place.
Steve came up with a great solution – charge them “last month's rent” along with the standard first month and security. He did this for one of our other tenants with an eviction record, and so far she's been great. OR – and this is from Philadelphia rental guru Mr. Landlord – if they don't have all that money up front, simply jack up the rent. They pay more to mitigate our risk.
Steve wanted me to call her right then, but I paused. I express myself much better in writing. I decided to sleep on it. And early this morning, I crafted this e-mail:
Good morning ladies,
I finally heard back from XXX Management yesterday afternoon. I'm afraid the news isn't good, but I talked to my partner and perhaps we can make this thing work.
S**** was evicted from her last apartment. We specifically asked on our application "How many evictions have been filed on you?" and she indicated "None." Honesty is a high priority in my life and my business.
XXX did say that S**** had contacted them about payment arrangements. That shows maturity and a willingness to right a wrong, so I talked it over with my partner. We agreed that we would still rent to you, but that we'd need to mitigate our risk.
Here's what we came up with:
Option 1: You would pay an extra month's rent up front before you move in. This would be your "Last Month's Rent." You would get it back in the end - when you give your notice to move, you would not pay rent for the final month you live in our place because you pre-paid. Taking this option would mean you would need to come up with $1500 cash to move in on September 1st.
If that's too much to come up with, there's Option 2: We raise your rent by 10%, so instead of paying $750 you'd pay $825. You would need $900 to move in September 1st - $75 of that goes to increase your security deposit to $825. You would get the $825 security back at the end of the lease but not the extra rent.
Hopefully this is something we can work out, and we can be 100% honest with each other from this day forth.
And that is how I got $825/month for a $750 apartment. Just about everybody deserves a second chance, don't you think?