By Barbara Barnes Getty
Here’s a new one … I got a call about a rental property the other day and the guy asked some appropriate questions about the unit. He sounded like a good candidate. Toward the end of the conversation he asked, “So, do you rent to sex offenders?” Whaaaat?
I hesitated just a moment and said, “Um, I’d have to check with the owner … may I ask, what was the specific violation?”
Silence, then “Deviant behavior.” Hmmm … did he have sex with a goat? Did he expose himself in public? What? I decided to let it be …
“Well, I can check with the owner and you can give me a call maybe some time tomorrow …” He said thanks, and hung up.
First of all, I AM the owner, but I was taken aback and I use this little ploy all the time with my tenants. Most of them don’t know I’m the owner. (It protects me.) Secondly, I’d never been asked that question.
So, do you have to rent to sex offenders? Is it discrimination if you refuse?
The answer is “No” and “No.” You can’t discriminate against anyone regarding race, religion, sexual orientation, age or disability. But you CAN discriminate against people you feel will affect your ability to do business in a profitable manner. Sex offenders might fall into this category, right? Others who would?
People with really loud cars or motorcycles
People who are dirty
People who exhibit a nasty attitude toward you
People who’ve lied on their application or have prior evictions
People who want to squeeze six people into your two-bedroom house
People who smoke, do drugs or have pets of any type
People who have been at their job for a short time
Mr. Sex Offender didn’t call me back. If he had, I would’ve politely told him no and wished him luck as he moved on. Sexual abuse is a huge issue in this country. There’s a Sex Offender Registry that many people check out before they move into a neighborhood and renting to a sex offender would negatively affect my ability to do business. And beyond that, it just wouldn’t feel right.
Onward and upward ………
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Sunday, May 27, 2012
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Strange but True: Tenant Assaults Landlord
A Salem, Massachusetts woman is being summonsed to court by her landlord after she wiped her itch- mite infected arm on him.
The bizarre attack happened Saturday after an argument with the 60-plus year-old man. According to the Salem Police Department log earlier this week, the elder property owner brought over an exterminator to deal with complaints of bugs and mice in her apartment.
The exterminator refused to go in the apartment.
The police report says the infested woman was upset with her landlord and stated that he was treating her “like a leper and she went into the hallway toward him, wiping her arms on him.”
This caused the landlord to defend himself, by slapping her across the face.
Police have advised the woman that she could bring charges against her landlord for the assault. The landlord, in turn said he is applying for a summons for the tenant for assault and battery with scabies on a victim over 60.
Police did note that the tenant had many red scab marks on her arms. In addition, the woman admitted having a severe case of scabies.
Apparently, this is not the first conflict the two have been involved. A few weeks ago, then as now, the argument was about the poor condition of the apartment. The Board of Health has been notified of the property.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
CALL TO ACTION: Support Bill Support for HB2273 Modification of late fees for rent from 30 days to 10 day
Dear Joint Committee on Judiciary Chairs, Vice Chairs and Members,
I would like to see Chris Walsh’s bill HB2273 passed out of committee
and voted into law.
At this time, landlords are not allowed to charge a late fee unless
the rent is 30 days late. This change would allow landlords to
charge a late fee when the rent is 10 days late. Please see attached
study done by the MA Realtors showing how all other states in the
nation have a more equitable position on this matter.
Businesses such as mortgage companies, credit card companies etc are
able to charge late fees. It is unclear why landlords are not able to
do this. Most landlords have mortgage payments to make. If the rent
is not delivered on time, then the mortgage payment is not made and
the landlord is charged a late fee. It is unfair for the landlord to
not be able to charge a late fee to, at minimum, cover this cost.
The late fee can also be a motivator for some tenants to pay the rent.
It is another tool the landlord has to make sure payment is made.
Currently, the only tool the landlord has is the 14 day notice to
quit. This creates an adversarial relationship with the tenant which
is not in the best interest of anyone.
I would appreciate it if you would report this bill favorably and support it though passage into law.
Bill Text for HB2273 (HD2135) of 2011-2012 Session
An Act relative to the modification of late fees
Prime sponsor: Representative Chris Walsh (D)
04/30/2012 - H Extension order filed until 06/08/2012
Section 15B-1C of Chapter 186 of the General Laws, as apprearing in
the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by deleting the word
"thirty"; and inserting the word "ten" in line 26.
I would like to see Chris Walsh’s bill HB2273 passed out of committee
and voted into law.
At this time, landlords are not allowed to charge a late fee unless
the rent is 30 days late. This change would allow landlords to
charge a late fee when the rent is 10 days late. Please see attached
study done by the MA Realtors showing how all other states in the
nation have a more equitable position on this matter.
Businesses such as mortgage companies, credit card companies etc are
able to charge late fees. It is unclear why landlords are not able to
do this. Most landlords have mortgage payments to make. If the rent
is not delivered on time, then the mortgage payment is not made and
the landlord is charged a late fee. It is unfair for the landlord to
not be able to charge a late fee to, at minimum, cover this cost.
The late fee can also be a motivator for some tenants to pay the rent.
It is another tool the landlord has to make sure payment is made.
Currently, the only tool the landlord has is the 14 day notice to
quit. This creates an adversarial relationship with the tenant which
is not in the best interest of anyone.
I would appreciate it if you would report this bill favorably and support it though passage into law.
Bill Text for HB2273 (HD2135) of 2011-2012 Session
An Act relative to the modification of late fees
Prime sponsor: Representative Chris Walsh (D)
04/30/2012 - H Extension order filed until 06/08/2012
Section 15B-1C of Chapter 186 of the General Laws, as apprearing in
the 2008 Official Edition, is hereby amended by deleting the word
"thirty"; and inserting the word "ten" in line 26.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Getting Rid of Bad Tenants, Finding and Keeping Good Ones
by Brendan O'Brien
When you're a landlord, most of your time is spent dealing with maintenance and tenant issues. If you're lucky (and you've done your homework), your tenants don't cause too many problems - and the problems that do crop up are minor.
However, despite your best intentions, the person who looked like a great tenant on paper can become the tenant from hell. Bad tenants cause real headaches, for a number of reasons: Evicting and replacing them is aggravating, costly, and time consuming Their disruptive and noisy behaviors can drive out your good tenants
They can cost you big money if they damage your property
Before I give you my hard-earned advice about how to find and keep good tenants, let me first describe the four types of bad tenants.
Deadbeats - Simple - these are the people who don't pay their rent.
Demanders - These types of tenants drive you crazy with their incessant demands. On the other hand, demanders are usually the best bad tenants to have because they have high expectations for themselves as well and are usually well-behaved and neat.
Disrupters - The worst kind of tenant: These people drive everyone else in the building crazy by playing loud music, arguing, or exhibiting other disruptive behaviors.
Destroyers - Not to be confused with a renter who accidentally breaks something, destroyers are the type that repair their motorcycles on your new carpeting or get drunk and break your windows.
So how do you weed out the deadbeats and destroyers? In addition, how do you work with the demanders and disrupters so they don't drive you and everyone else insane? What follows are my six tips for finding and keeping good tenants:
Check all references
As with job references, a prospective tenant's previous landlord won't give honest feedback because they're afraid of being sued. When conducting your reference checks, instead of asking questions regarding a prospective tenant's character (e.g.: "Was this person a good tenant?"), ask questions based on facts that can be documented.
You can ask, for example, if the tenant paid his rent on time each and every month and whether he had any late payments. You can also ask for any incidents of property damage or disruptive behaviors.
It also pays to verify job and income history to ensure your potential tenant can pay the rent each month.
While still useful, a credit check is less important. Due to divorce or medical issues, people find themselves having to sell the family home and become renters. Such events can kill someone's credit in the short-term - which is why it's much more important to verify job and income history. A person who is working and making good money will often be grateful for the opportunity to help put his life back together by being a good renter.
Set clear expectations from the get-go
Many tenant problems can be traced back to the landlord's failure to set clear rules and consistently stick to them. In addition to stating when the rent is due, the lease should also state any rules about modifying the property, acceptable noise levels, any building-wide rules (e.g. no on-property vehicle repairs, no pets, etc.), and contacting the landlord. During the lease signing, you should go over these rules and expectations in detail to be sure your tenant understands them.
Learn how to "read" potential tenants
As with anything, you cannot pre-judge people based on appearance. One of my best tenants has long hair, biker boots, and tattoos. One of my worst tenants was a gentleman in immaculately pressed slacks, tassel loafers, and a designer polo shirt. When meeting potential tenants, watch for the following:
Over-eagerness - Your landlord "antennae" should be humming if someone wants the place right away - like now. This could mean that they need to get out of their current situation fast.
Lateness - If a potential renter shows up to the appointment late, doesn't return calls, or seems unreliable, pay attention. Usually this type of person will be unreliable in terms of paying the rent, too.
General weirdness - Always pay attention if someone makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up or if he or she just seems "off" in any way. Often times we dismiss our suspicions, only to find out later that we were right about our instincts.
Turn "bad" tenants into good tenants
As I said, demanders are the best type of bad tenant to have - they demand things because they have such high expectations, which means they want to keep a property looking nice and well-maintained.
To keep demanding tenants at bay, especially those who expect you to rush out at midnight to fix a broken light switch, give all your tenants a cell phone number they can call to report any problems, rather than your home phone or business number. Let them know what hours they can expect to reach you, then be sure to check for messages regularly.
Give disrupters the benefit of the doubt at first. People used to living in detached homes forget how noise travels through the walls of apartment buildings, so they may not be aware that their loud music or late night guitar playing is bothering others. Often, just asking them to turn down the volume is enough, but if the problem persists, they've got to go.
Enlist the help of tenants you can trust
As a landlord, you want to know immediately if there's a real emergency with your building - for example, if it's on fire or a water main is busted. However, you don't want to give out your home or business numbers on the lease - because then you have those pesky demanders calling you night and day.
In this case, you'll want to find the most reliable and trustworthy tenant you have and give him or her your personal phone numbers - with instructions they're to be used for emergency purposes only.
Be a great landlord
The best way to minimize bad tenant problems is to be a good landlord to begin with. This means staying on top of things and keeping your promises. Be proactive about maintaining your property, promptly fix things when they're broken, and ensure contractors and repair people arrive when promised.
In short, treat your tenants they way you would want to be treated. You wouldn't want to sleep in a bedroom with a broken storm window in the middle of winter - and neither do your tenants.
Finding and keeping great tenants takes some time and due diligence, but your efforts will pay off. State your expectations and rules up front, conduct full reference and job/income checks, and maintain your rental properties as if you lived in them. Your tenants will thank you.
When you're a landlord, most of your time is spent dealing with maintenance and tenant issues. If you're lucky (and you've done your homework), your tenants don't cause too many problems - and the problems that do crop up are minor.
However, despite your best intentions, the person who looked like a great tenant on paper can become the tenant from hell. Bad tenants cause real headaches, for a number of reasons: Evicting and replacing them is aggravating, costly, and time consuming Their disruptive and noisy behaviors can drive out your good tenants
They can cost you big money if they damage your property
Before I give you my hard-earned advice about how to find and keep good tenants, let me first describe the four types of bad tenants.
Deadbeats - Simple - these are the people who don't pay their rent.
Demanders - These types of tenants drive you crazy with their incessant demands. On the other hand, demanders are usually the best bad tenants to have because they have high expectations for themselves as well and are usually well-behaved and neat.
Disrupters - The worst kind of tenant: These people drive everyone else in the building crazy by playing loud music, arguing, or exhibiting other disruptive behaviors.
Destroyers - Not to be confused with a renter who accidentally breaks something, destroyers are the type that repair their motorcycles on your new carpeting or get drunk and break your windows.
So how do you weed out the deadbeats and destroyers? In addition, how do you work with the demanders and disrupters so they don't drive you and everyone else insane? What follows are my six tips for finding and keeping good tenants:
Check all references
As with job references, a prospective tenant's previous landlord won't give honest feedback because they're afraid of being sued. When conducting your reference checks, instead of asking questions regarding a prospective tenant's character (e.g.: "Was this person a good tenant?"), ask questions based on facts that can be documented.
You can ask, for example, if the tenant paid his rent on time each and every month and whether he had any late payments. You can also ask for any incidents of property damage or disruptive behaviors.
It also pays to verify job and income history to ensure your potential tenant can pay the rent each month.
While still useful, a credit check is less important. Due to divorce or medical issues, people find themselves having to sell the family home and become renters. Such events can kill someone's credit in the short-term - which is why it's much more important to verify job and income history. A person who is working and making good money will often be grateful for the opportunity to help put his life back together by being a good renter.
Set clear expectations from the get-go
Many tenant problems can be traced back to the landlord's failure to set clear rules and consistently stick to them. In addition to stating when the rent is due, the lease should also state any rules about modifying the property, acceptable noise levels, any building-wide rules (e.g. no on-property vehicle repairs, no pets, etc.), and contacting the landlord. During the lease signing, you should go over these rules and expectations in detail to be sure your tenant understands them.
Learn how to "read" potential tenants
As with anything, you cannot pre-judge people based on appearance. One of my best tenants has long hair, biker boots, and tattoos. One of my worst tenants was a gentleman in immaculately pressed slacks, tassel loafers, and a designer polo shirt. When meeting potential tenants, watch for the following:
Over-eagerness - Your landlord "antennae" should be humming if someone wants the place right away - like now. This could mean that they need to get out of their current situation fast.
Lateness - If a potential renter shows up to the appointment late, doesn't return calls, or seems unreliable, pay attention. Usually this type of person will be unreliable in terms of paying the rent, too.
General weirdness - Always pay attention if someone makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up or if he or she just seems "off" in any way. Often times we dismiss our suspicions, only to find out later that we were right about our instincts.
Turn "bad" tenants into good tenants
As I said, demanders are the best type of bad tenant to have - they demand things because they have such high expectations, which means they want to keep a property looking nice and well-maintained.
To keep demanding tenants at bay, especially those who expect you to rush out at midnight to fix a broken light switch, give all your tenants a cell phone number they can call to report any problems, rather than your home phone or business number. Let them know what hours they can expect to reach you, then be sure to check for messages regularly.
Give disrupters the benefit of the doubt at first. People used to living in detached homes forget how noise travels through the walls of apartment buildings, so they may not be aware that their loud music or late night guitar playing is bothering others. Often, just asking them to turn down the volume is enough, but if the problem persists, they've got to go.
Enlist the help of tenants you can trust
As a landlord, you want to know immediately if there's a real emergency with your building - for example, if it's on fire or a water main is busted. However, you don't want to give out your home or business numbers on the lease - because then you have those pesky demanders calling you night and day.
In this case, you'll want to find the most reliable and trustworthy tenant you have and give him or her your personal phone numbers - with instructions they're to be used for emergency purposes only.
Be a great landlord
The best way to minimize bad tenant problems is to be a good landlord to begin with. This means staying on top of things and keeping your promises. Be proactive about maintaining your property, promptly fix things when they're broken, and ensure contractors and repair people arrive when promised.
In short, treat your tenants they way you would want to be treated. You wouldn't want to sleep in a bedroom with a broken storm window in the middle of winter - and neither do your tenants.
Finding and keeping great tenants takes some time and due diligence, but your efforts will pay off. State your expectations and rules up front, conduct full reference and job/income checks, and maintain your rental properties as if you lived in them. Your tenants will thank you.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
How Cut Your Utility Bills in Half
During this the Greater Salem Landlord's May meeting Matthius Bohler of Next Step Living provided some great information on how to access the FREE programs that National Grid is offers consumers. You may already be familiar with program the MASS SAVES Program. But by using an agent such as Next Step Living it just got easier to navigate the energy savings.
Did you know:
The program offers a NO INTEREST 7 year loan for up to 25,000 in building upgrades
You qualify every year for the program?
You do not need to convert from oil to gas to qualify. If you have outdated gas furnaces you can upgrade
It all starts with an initial energy assessment. So make that appointment today with Next Step Living
Should you decide to particpate in the Mass Saves program using Next Step Living as an authorized agent for the energy assessment. Next Step Living will gladly contribute $10 for every assessment that is completed through the Greater Salem Landlord Association partnership.
All assessments completed through this link will drive a $10 contribution to GSLA. Just click on the link below and let the savings begin: http://nextsteplivinginc.com/gsla
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Right of Entry: PART 2
Previously, I wrote about the specific Massachusetts law that does not allow a landlord to enter the leased premises without the tenant's permission. However, you should be aware that the same law lists specific situations in which landlord may enter the property legally.
The first circumstance is if you have a tenant with a fixed term lease and the term is coming to an end, you may enter the premises in the last thirty days of the tenancy to inspect for property damage. The same holds true in the case of a tenancy-at-will if either party has given proper notice to terminate the tenancy (which is commonly 30 days notice).
The reason the law allows landlord access to the premises in this thirty day period is to assess damages to the unit before the tenant moves out. In case damage is discovered, the cost to repair would be deducted from the tenant's security deposit. (Security deposits will be discussed in a later blog.)
But even if the landlord has a right to enter and inspect, it is prudent that the landlord talk to the tenant and agree on a time for the inspection to occur, if possible. Remember, a tenant's feelings towards their privacy should be handled carefully.
A word of caution for all instances of landlord entry: Even with the tenant's consent, it's generally not advisable for the landlord to enter the premises without the tenant being present. In doing so, the possibility arises for the unscrupulous tenant to make allegations that valuables disappeared while the landlord was inspecting the apartment when the tenant wasn't home. Better to be safe than sorry.
The second circumstance allowed by Massachusetts law is if the landlord has a court order enforcing his right to enter. For example: A troublesome tenant may block your path and simply not let you in. If this occurs, do not force your way in or you may be facing assault charges from the tenant. In that case, the only way to gain access to the property is to go to Housing Court and get a court order that affirms your right to inspect.
And to answer an often asked related question: In Massachusetts, never, ever change the locks or remove the tenant's property under any circumstances, unless you have an Execution issued by the court giving you the right to repossess the property
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Do you have the Right of Entry?
There are some mistakes that can snare even some of the most savey landlords. A fairly typical example is the question regarding a landlord's right to enter the leased premises:
Landlord: "I want to go into the apartment to look around at what the tenant is doing. I think he has a cat when the lease has a no pet policy. From the street I can see that he painted one of the rooms blue, which the lease does not permit. I also want to make sure the fire exit isn't blocked. I'm going over there tomorrow to let myself in to inspect the property."
The landlord has legitimate concerns. There may be lease violations to address. She is also concerned about an important safety issue. Her assumption is that because she owns the property, she has a right to enter if she wants to. She couldn't be more wrong.
In Massachusetts, when a landlord rents an apartment to a tenant, she gives up her right to enter. The law forbids her from entering the property - even to inspect for defects or make repairs - without the express permission of the tenant.*
The lawful course of action to take here is to contact the tenant and obtain consent to enter the property for an inspection. The landlord and tenant should agree on a mutually convenient time for the inspection to take place. It's always a good idea to contact the tenants well in advance of an inspection; seven days or so.
Landlords are often dismayed by this news, but the spirit of the law might be better understood from the point of view of the tenant's right to privacy. When a tenant leases an apartment, it becomes their home in which the tenant has a reasonable expectation of privacy from the government and - as inferred by the Massachusetts law - the landlord as well. In effect, the law balances the tenant's right to privacy with the landlord's interest in the property.
*** Please note there are specific instances in which a landlord may enter the leased premises that I will discus in a future post.
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