Posts Tagged ‘damage deposit’

The right way to handle tenants who are moving out

Wednesday, November 7th, 2012

Eventually, tenants experience that “feeling I get when I look to the west, and my spirit is crying for leaving,” which Led Zeppelin describes, and they move away.

When this happens, you will want to make the transition of the tenant out of the house as smooth as possible. The best way to do this is by telling the tenant what you expect from them. We send a letter that clearly spells out the checkout process. This way there are no misunderstandings, we are all on the same page, wavelength, sheet of music, or stairway to heaven.

Move Out Information Letter to Tenants

Some key things that we mention in our letter are:

1.) How much of their security deposit will be returned.

2.) There will need to be a review of their check in sheet (and attach a copy for them).

3.) What you expect in terms of house cleaning.

4.) Reminders to contact the utility companies to disconnect services in their name.

5.) Reminders to cancel newspaper and other subscriptions, and to provide the Postal Service with a change of address form.

6.) Reminders to contact us when they are ready for the final house inspection.

7.) A note that if keys are not returned, they will be charged.

8.) Any costs that we must pay to repair the house will be taken out of their security deposit, and we will refund the money due them within 10 days.

Download a copy of my “move-out” information letter to tenants.

(The link to my letter may not work on Internet Explorer. It seems to work fine with Google Chrome.)

Why be lenient with the damage deposit?

In general, we are pretty lenient when it comes to charging tenants for little things on the checklist. If they move out, and they have been good tenants, we are going return to them most, if not all of their security (or damage) deposit back, barring some obvious big broken item.

Our perspective is that we made a lot of money from the tenants over the years, and we don’t want them to leave on a sour note just because they thought we might have overcharged them on some ticky-tack repair.

 

Men of the World Unite!

John and Todd over at FearlessMen.com are staging a mustache and beard growing contest to help raise funds for charity.

I have confidently signed up to participate in the contest, and I have every intention of winning!

I invite you to join me.

The rules are simple:

1. Starting November 1st, start growing you mustache or beard. In the process they will encourage others who see them as they selflessly promote this great cause, to donate to the selected charities.

2.December 1-16 the contestants will have their photos posted at Fearlessmen.com so everyone can vote on said mustaches and beards. On Dec. 17th, the winner will be announced

3. The winner will receive prizes.

For complete details, charge over and read John’s article:

Fearless Men’s Beard and Mustache Competition | Movember 2012.

 

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Coming VERY Soon!

How to Turn Your Home into a Rental House, Instead of Selling It
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Do tenants pay utilities, and how much for damage deposit

Saturday, October 16th, 2010

Here is another letter that I recently received that asks some pertinent and common questions related operating a fixer upper house business, that I would like to share with you.

Dear Terry,

We’re moving along towards renting out our first rental house…and I was reading your month-to-month lease agreement from the Never Sell Your Home book– it looks very good and we plan on using much of it, but I did have a few questions:

1) What % of the monthly rent do you require as a security deposit?

2) Should the Lessee(s) be responsible for all utilities, or should I pay the utilities for them?

Thanks for your help – !

Steve Klausman
Santa Fe

Dear Steve,

Congrats on your progress in preparing to rent our your first house. Don’t get discouraged if it’s rough sledding at first, the first house is the one that you learn the most from.

Security Deposit

In answer to your first question, the amount that I charge for security deposit is the amount of one month’s rent. So if the monthly rent is $900, the security deposit is also $900.

Some tenants may have trouble coming up with both the rent and the security deposit at the same time, in this case, a tidy sum of $1,800. So, I sometimes let them pay the security deposit over the course of 2 months, to make it easier on them.

Since you are just starting in the business, something to do from the beginning is to keep the security deposit and the monthly rental money from your business in a separate bank account from your personal bank account. The IRS doesn’t like to see the funds mixed together.

Who Pays Utilities?

In answer to your second question. I always have the tenants pay all the utilities themselves. Not only does it encourage them to conserve, but it vastly simplifies the process for you. Also, I have the tenants put the utility accounts in their own name, so that I’m not liable for their expenses.

In most states, you can sign up for a “Landlord Agreement Account” with the utility companies that allows you to switch the accounts to the tenants and back, with less paperwork and expense.

As you move along feel free to send me more questions as they arise.

Your (self-appointed) personal rental-home consultant,

Terry

Letter on Selecting Tenants