Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex from Montreal
You must live in a Pro-landlord State. Where I live, the tenant have more rights the the landlord.
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As sly said I am in California which is very pro tenant. So you must know the laws inside and out and of course have very strong contracts. With the right rental agreements and signed walk through sheets it allows for nearly anything that is not illegal, that also will always land in your favor in court. I also do video taped walkthroughs with each new tenant, as well as video visits every few months.
One can just never allow the tenant to get the upper hand as you said the laws are in their favor. Big example is that my rents are due on the 2nd to last day of each month, payable in cash or money order only, late fee on the last day of the month, eviction proceedings start on the 1st of the month. I have NO grace period. Rents must also be received by that day and not just postmarked or whatever.
I made the mistake long ago about being nice and being understanding. I was always looking the other way with small damages. Had a no problem if your a few days late with rent. Was typically a very nice landlord. All that ever did for me was make me loose money, have people walk all over me, and end up with me redoing rentals way to often cause they did not respect my property.
Though some of that is really off topic. Most of my rentals is in the price range of those that work pay check to pay check with minimal savings. They are not "poor" nor are they moving up much on the financial ladder. Guess you would call them normal working American families. This demographic has proved to be the most stable for me and they really do not demand that much as far as "improvements or upgrades" go. Since turn over and vacancies are one of your biggest money looses in rentals, only beaten by a bad tenant and or lots of uncollected damage.