I explained to him last night that from now on every day the rent is late it will be a 50 dollar fee. It costs me 75 dollars every time i have to make a late payment and it's stupid that I should have to cover it. That being said i can make the payment a few days late and get away with it but i don't want to push my luck.

I also found out that his roommate bailed on him... that being said the contract doesn't state who pays the rent only that it gets paid. However I am wondering if he roomie truly bailed on him and he's stuck with all the rent is that somthing that me and the renter can pursue legally? I mean both the tenats are responsible for the rent correct? I mean I'm not an asshole if he's in a bind cause of an asshole and it means I might not get paid I think it's important that somthing is done about it.

=HPSF=Master wrote:

I explained to him last night that from now on every day the rent is late it will be a 50 dollar fee. It costs me 75 dollars every time i have to make a late payment and it's stupid that I should have to cover it. That being said i can make the payment a few days late and get away with it but i don't want to push my luck. I also found out that his roommate bailed on him... that being said the contract doesn't state who pays the rent only that it gets paid. However I am wondering if he roomie truly bailed on him and he's stuck with all the rent is that somthing that me and the renter can pursue legally? I mean both the tenats are responsible for the rent correct? I mean I'm not an asshole if he's in a bind cause of an asshole and it means I might not get paid I think it's important that somthing is done about it.

I am unsure how you did your lease but I am pretty sure it matters if they are both on the lease. If you only got the one guy to sign the lease for the whole house then I believe he is SOL. If by chance you got them both to sign a lease (or the same one) then the bailer is still responsible for the time frame the lease covers.

Also I hope you have a late fee designated in the lease because 'technically' if there is no late fee in the lease then you cannot legally charge one.

I am no landlord but I have friends that are and this is what they do regarding their houses. They have each roommate sign their own lease with the various parameters and time frames. They tell their tenants if they plan on moving out or have to leave before their lease is up they will let them find another person to take over for them as long as they approve of the new tenant before it goes through. From there if they get a new tenant that they approve of they then sign that person to a new 1 year lease and they do not have to go and find new tenants.

I do have other friends that allow for 30 days notice but IMO this can screw the landlord since you then have to scramble to find the new tenants.

They are both on the lease... and it doens't specify which has to pay what amount so my interpretation is that it doens't matter who pays it just that it gets paid.

the courts will probably see that as a 50-50 liability.

Just remember in this whole thing that the courts are not your friend.
You better have all your ducks in a row and do everything to the letter of the law. One TINY little screw up on your part will = a bad day in court if it gets that far.

=HPSF=Master wrote:

I also found out that his roommate bailed on him... that being said the contract doesn't state who pays the rent only that it gets paid. However I am wondering if he roomie truly bailed on him and he's stuck with all the rent is that somthing that me and the renter can pursue legally?

I would not plan on doing anything with the renter, he is the counter-party to your deal. The reality is that whoever signs the lease is responsible for the rent. It is generally set up as a 'joint and several' type relationship, which usually winds up being a whoever stays behind is responsible (but you can try to chase down the roomate). Trust me when I say this, you are better to cut your losses now, screen your tenants better next time, and kick him out - otherwise you are taking a large risk. There is very little room for sympathy when you are in business (a sad truism, but a truism nonetheless), except when it is convenient for YOU.

that basically means that they are each responsible for half the rent. You can sue both of them for the full amount or one of them for half. However, if you bring this up now, your current tennant could stop paying half the rent.

If you are only getting half of the rent, you can still start the eviction process and sue for the remaining rent due, however I don't know how much money you are realistically going to get out of someone without a checking account. (based on what has happened with my friends in california)

I'm guessing that your best bet is to suffer through this the way you currently are, and do not renew their lease agreement. Once they are gone, you can sue for whatever damages they owe you. But if you jump into a court situation right now, there is a good chance they would respond by stopping payments entirely until the court makes a judgement.

You can also ask them to leave, and if they agree, you can mutually terminate the lease without going through evictions.

Good Luck man..

Also in the future Id make sure to have them pay one full months rent in advance as a safety deposit. Make sure you do background checks on all people you will potentially rent to. Last find out the specific laws of wherever the property is.

I found out from a friend that different places have very large differences in the law. In San Fran if someone is living on your couch for a month and pays no rent then they then have the right to continue 'living' on your couch rent less since a precedent was already established. There are some extreme squatters rights there that sound ridiculous but I guess that's how it works there.

I have a baseball bat for those types of situations...

So yesterday i decided i would chat with a lawyer just to see if their was any legal recourse i could take against the bailed renter. Turns out as long as they pay the rent on time weather one or both of them is contributing to it there is no legal recourse for me. However if the current renter *the one whose is still living there* feels his roommate left without just cause/signing contract he can sue his roomie for half the rent owed.

BTW my renter did finally deposit the 1500 for his rent and I swiftly paid my mortgage payment. So all is well on my end for at least another 30 days. Gah I can't wait for my tax return to get here so I can start saving some $$$. I'm still deciding what i want to do maybe I'll let him out early assuming he stays until i can find a new renter.

So any ideas on how i should word my next contract? I've got several ideas I'm just debating how i should word it. I want air tight and solid

=HPSF=Master wrote:

So any ideas on how i should word my next contract? I've got several ideas I'm just debating how i should word it. I want air tight and solid

Sure...

Dear Fuck-stain, it you are ever late on your fucking rent again, I will personally come by and visit. Upon my arrival, I will make use of the closest broom like object, and proceed to shove it so far up your ass that you will then be able to write the fucking cheque that you should have written on time with the handle of the broom. Then I'll break your leg.

Funny, I always have my rent paid to me on time.

Or maybe a better suggestion:

www.lectlaw.com/forms/f091.htm

I don't know about the contract, but I would make sure any rental candidate shows you their last W-2 form and last 3 pay stubs. I would also run a credit check on them. This is all fairly common where I live. As a general rule of thumb, a renter should earn a monthly income that is 3x the ammount on their rent, or at least 2x if they have good credit.

I always think about picking up a 2nd property (like the house next door).. but I think you've reminded me why I don't.

Doing rentals isn't all bad... when you do get the good family that you NEVER have to call and their checks laways clear the bank it's not to bad. Last girls I had in my house here in lincoln were never late on their rent and they took fairly good care of the place. When you get renters like that it's great. It just blows when you get crappy ones and you live hundreds of miles away.

I was in a position to rent out a house less than a mile from where my new one is, and still elected to sell it.

It's just too much of a hassle and pain in the ass. More so when you travel for work.

The last thing I need is to be out on some major customer issue and get a call from cranky renters that their water heater is broken, they burned the place down, etc.

=HPSF=Master wrote:

So any ideas on how i should word my next contract? I've got several ideas I'm just debating how i should word it. I want air tight and solid

PM me your e-mail and I will send you one of my leases.

Oh, and Gunny, renting is market driven. I am down to just one full time rental now, but I have made a fortune over the last 10 years on those buildings. The trick is to make them indestructible and then everyting turns out ok. Oh, and buy and sell for either under 6 months or over 5 years, then you can do really well.