March 17, 2025 • 48 mins
Thank you to those who have submitted questions and trust in us to answer them! We have listener questions this week that run the gambit, including:
· Who is responsible for paying to eradicate pests when the pests appear after a tenant has moved in?
· How to handle an elderly tenant who doesn’t want to move out of a potentially uninhabitable rental property that was recently inherited?
· What is our best advice when an investor purchases their first rental property?
· How is it best to handle it when a tenant leaves before the lease is up and refuses to return the unit keys?
· And we addressed an email from a listener who had questions and needed clarification regarding an episode we put up a few months ago on tenant screening software.
We also addressed a comment left about our podcast and did our best to clarify this listener’s feeling that our content misinforms real estate investors.
This episode is full of advice on how we would handle certain issues, where others can find assistance with resolving their problems that arise as landlords, and how best to ask us your questions and get a prompt response.
LINKS
👉 Episode 15: Is Holding Your Rental Property in an LLC Right for You?
👉Episode 46: Advanced Tax Strategies
👉 Episode 84: Tenant Screening Software, What Landlords Need to Know.
👉Turbo Tenant Landlord Software, Perfect for new or small rental property investors
👉 KwikSet Smart Key. Rekey your unit locks yourself in minutes for less than $10!
Connect with Us:
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📧 Subscribe to our newsletter.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Stacie (00:00):
I will say that I do appreciate that the listener
emailed us and asked us allabout that.
And this is why in the shownotes we have the information
for how to text us and, and thatwe also give out our emails.
If we say something that doesn'tmake sense or you research
something that we have said andneed more clarification, please
reach out and let us know.
(00:21):
You guys, we're not mediaexperts.
We're not professional speakers.
We are very experiencedlandlords and rental property
owners just doing the best wecan to communicate our
experiences to you all.
And I tell you, being in thisposition is humbling.
We are very happy to be able tohelp other landlords and guide
(00:41):
them on their journey of owningrental property.
But we wanna be clear when wegive advice or discuss our
experiences, that is forinformational purposes only.
We will always recommend thatyou seek professional advice
from your licensed team members.
Welcome to Your LandlordResource Podcast.
(01:03):
Many moons ago, when I startedas a landlord, I was as green as
it gets.
I may have had my real estatelicense, but I lacked confidence
and the hands on experienceneeded when it came to dealing
with tenants, leases,maintenance, and bookkeeping.
After many failed attempts, fastforward to today.
Kevin and I have doubled ourdoors and created an organized,
professionally operated rentalproperty business.
(01:26):
Want to go from overwhelmed toconfident?
If you're an ambitious landlordor maybe one in the making, join
us as we provide strategies andteach actionable steps to help
you reach your goals and thelifestyle you desire.
All while building a streamlinedand profitable rental property
business.
This is your landlord resourcepodcast.
(01:49):
Hey landlords, it's been a minute since we've been on
here.
Uh, thank you for your patiencewith the little break that we've
taken.
I wanna come right out and saythat Kevin and I have taken some
time to reevaluate Your LandlordResource and where we are going
to put our time.
And where we don't wanna cutback on our content.
(02:10):
We are feeling to need to dothat.
Kevin (02:13):
Well think of it more as if we want our content to be
more focused and intentional.
I mean, our lives are gettingbusier and we have family
commitments that are takingprecedence at this time, which
means we have less time to putout social media every day
because that's what thealgorithm wants.
It also means that we will startback with the podcast once a
(02:37):
month until we feel we can domore.
And to be honest, we held on ata very high level much longer
than we actually should have.
But we still have over 90podcasts and I believe over a
thousand social media posts thatare loaded with tips and tricks
and great products specificallyfor landlords.
(02:58):
We also have a newsletter thatwe send to our subscribers,
which is free by the way, andincludes a tip, uh, product
recommendation and threearticles that focus on landlord
specific subjects.
But we do realize some peoplearen't podcast people and wanna
read what they're interested inand that some people prefer to
(03:20):
listen over reading a blog or anews article.
So we're in a place where we areworking to see if we can appeal
to the masses in our own way,not ways that are dictated by
others.
Stacie (03:32):
And in that newsletter, we never really have included
much from us personally, otherthan, you know, the tip, we're
thinking about now, includingsomething that kind of talks
about what we're working on orwhat has gone well and maybe not
so well in our adventures asrental property owners.
And I know that's the purpose ofthis podcast, but we now wanna
(03:52):
share it more in like a letteror a blog format for people to
read quickly, like in a minuteor two.
And where we have beenpublishing that newsletter
weekly, we will now move that tobiweekly and include a small
section on our wins and losses.
If you're not a subscriber, youcan check it out at
yourlandlordresource.comsubscribe.
(04:15):
And guess what?
If you find it something thatyou don't like, you are free to
unsubscribe at any time.
Okay, so in this episode, we aregoing to go over some questions
that have come in and do ourbest to answer them.
First off, we have had a couplepeople suggest that we have
(04:37):
misinformed our listeners.
The first one was left as acomment under our reviews and
addressed episode number 46about advanced tax strategies.
And this listener claimed thatwe gave potential
misinformation.
And the review reads, I am abouthalfway through the advanced tax
strategies episode and haveheard information that is the
(05:00):
opposite of what I have heard onother shows.
I have heard several taxprofessionals say that owning a
rental in an LLC provides no taxadvantages over owning it in
your personal name.
So I'm gonna stop here and I'mgonna address that part first.
At the beginning of the episodeat two minutes and 45 seconds in
(05:21):
and on several other episodes,we give a disclaimer.
We specifically express that weare not tax professionals and to
seek advice from your personaladvisors to determine if, like
in this case, whether or notputting your rental in an LLC is
beneficial for asset protectionor for tax benefits for your
circumstance.
(05:42):
We all have differentcircumstances where yes,
taxation for LLCs and for soloproprietors have very similar
deductions and advantages, thereare advantages to holding an LLC
that can outweigh holding yourrental in your personal name.
And full transparency here.
Mine or our combined propertiesof which we own 10 rentals alone
(06:07):
are worth over$5 million.
So for us, having the legalprotection of all of our assets
was worth it.
Again, that was for us.
If you own a duplex and you livein one side and you rent out the
other and the total value ofthat property is worth$300,000,
then no, maybe for you it is notworth protecting that asset.
(06:30):
Maybe your income stream is suchthat you get no tax advantage
one way or the other fromholding your rental in an LLC.
We have our reasons and theywork for us.
Which is why we give thedisclaimer recommending to our
listeners to research what isbest for their situation.
Kevin (06:47):
And let me jump in here real quick and say that we are
also in California, which is ahighly litigious state that
favors tenants.
Stacie and I have a lot to loseif one person gets injured or
worse.
And yes, we do have a sizableumbrella policy to cover us as
well.
Stacie (07:07):
Right.
All right.
Let me finish the review now.
He goes on to say, they alsostate that the losses from the
rental property can offset yourW2 income, which is partially
correct.
It continues with, there arelimits to the losses you can
take unless you are a realestate professional in the eyes
of the IRS, and you can't be areal estate professional if you
(07:29):
have a full-time W2 income.
All right, I'm gonna stop again.
And yes, this person is correctand if they had continued to
listen to the remainder of theepisode, they would've heard a
very long and detailedexplanation all about becoming a
real estate professional and howyou qualify and, and how it
(07:50):
works, and we give some tips on,on how to do that.
The comment goes on to discussLLCs as disregarded entities and
may not offer asset protection.
So I'm not sure where thisperson is getting their
information.
We cannot find anything tosupport this.
As an LLC, all of your financialdealings, registered paperwork,
(08:11):
et cetera, are in the name ofthe LLC.
If you run your business cleanand do not co-mingle funds from
personal accounts and the LLC,then there should be no question
that the LLC is a separateentity from the person's
personal assets.
And we could be completely wronghere, but for us, this is what
we have been advised by ourattorney.
(08:32):
And the comment finishes withthat it's important to note that
owning property in an LLC canlimit financing options, and we
completely agree with this.
I believe we did discuss this indetail in episode 15, Is Holding
Your Rental in an LLC Right ForYou.
So if you guys wanna check thatepisode out, we're gonna link it
in the show notes, or you can goto your landlord
(08:54):
resource.com/episode 15.
You wanna spell out the wordepisode.
I think the one thing I wannasay is that if you feel we have
misinformed you on a subject,please email us and ask us to
explain why we said what we didbefore you question us publicly
without even finishing the wholeepisode.
(09:16):
Our emails are linked in ourshow notes for every single
episode.
That's Stacie with anie@yourlandlordresource.com or
kevin@yourlandlordresource.com.
Kevin (09:28):
Yeah, so where we appreciate that this person
wanted to warn others tobasically take what we say with
a grain of salt.
Yeah, please do.
I mean, we have a lot ofexperience with being landlords
and buying and sellingproperties, but that experience
only applies to what we want outof our rentals and how we run
our business.
(09:49):
You do you.
We are here to give youinformation so you can take that
as inspiration to process andresearch on your own, on how
that would work for yoursituation.
And hey, we do appreciatecomments, especially the nice
complimentary ones.
They really help our podcastgrow and we hope we would
receive more of those.
(10:11):
Just remember, you are receivingthis information and guidance
for free, like I said, use it asinspiration to see if something
might work for your own rentalproperty business.
On that note, we did receive anemail recently from a listener
who was asking for moreclarification.
And you guys, they were correct,we misled you on this one
(10:33):
recommendation.
The email reads as follows.
I started listening to yourpodcast a couple weeks ago on a
couple episodes I listened totoday, you mentioned the lease
guarantee through Tenant Alertfor$200 per year with a$10,000
protection.
I went on the Tenant Alertwebsite and it appears the cost
(10:55):
for lease guarantee starts at$299 a year for$2,500 worth of
protection and ranges up to$1,196 a year for the$10,000
protection.
Am I missing something?
Is there a different rate once Iuse their service for tenant
screening as well?
(11:15):
I would think that would beadvertised.
Your episode seemed fairlyrecent as well, less than six
months ago.
I love your podcast, but feel itis important to receive accurate
information.
Okay, in episode 84, TenantScreening Software, What
Landlords Need to Know, we werediscussing different options for
(11:36):
tenant screening.
We were discussing that we useTenant Alert to process our
background checks and that theyoffer a lease guarantee.
And here's what we said.
They rate the applicant on ascale of a hundred and offer a
lease guarantee for up to$10,000of protection against damages,
lost rent, or legal fees.
(11:57):
And that starts at$199 a yearthat you or the tenant can pay.
And you know, it did come outlike you can purchase$10,000 of
coverage starting at$199 a year.
So when this listener went on tocheck it out for themselves,
they found the pricing muchhigher.
And that is because we failed tosay that one, when you just go
(12:21):
on to buy the lease guaranteecoverage without going through
the process of tenant screening,the cost is significantly more.
You can just buy coverage at anypoint in the lease at the
highest rates.
And two, if you use a tenantscreening software that offers
lease guarantee coverage it canoffer you a discounted rate that
(12:42):
is determined by the outcome ofthe screening report.
And that coverage is only validfor 10 days after the background
check was processed.
After the 10 days, the cost goesback up to the regular published
amounts, which is what thelisteners would see if you went
on to the screening app andchecked it out.
The tenant background check thatStacie had run was spotless, so
(13:05):
she was offered the bestcoverage at the lowest rates.
During that episode she justspoke about her experience and
should have been more clearabout the different options.
Stacie (13:16):
Yeah, and I will say that I do appreciate that the
listener emailed us and asked usall about that.
And this is why in the shownotes we have the information
for how to text us and, and thatwe also give out our emails.
If we say something that doesn'tmake sense or you research
something that we have said andneed more clarification, please
reach out and let us know.
(13:37):
You guys, we're not mediaexperts.
We're not professional speakers.
We are very experiencedlandlords and rental property
owners just doing the best wecan to communicate our
experiences to you all.
And I tell you, being in thisposition is humbling.
We are very happy to be able tohelp other landlords and guide
(13:57):
them on their journey of owningrental property.
But we wanna be clear when wegive advice or discuss our
experiences, that is forinformational purposes only.
We will always recommend thatyou seek professional advice
from your licensed team members.
What we discuss happens here inCalifornia, or with our Idaho
property, applies only to ourexperiences.
(14:19):
City landlord tenant laws maydiffer from county laws and can
be absolutely different fromstate laws.
Everywhere in every state thesize of your rental property
matters'cause laws andordinances for single family
homes may differ from duplexesor triplexes and fourplexes.
And five units or more may haveand usually do have much
(14:42):
stricter landlord tenantregulations that you need to
follow.
Kevin (14:46):
And let me jump in here again and say that if you have
real estate questions orquestions about laws regarding
landlord tenant laws, tryreaching out to your Realtor.
If they don't have the answer,usually they'll know a Realtor
who specializes in propertymanagement, who does.
Go that route before you engagewith a lawyer.
(15:06):
I mean, they are expensive andwill charge you hundreds of
dollars regardless of what youask.
So do what you can to get asmuch local legal information as
you can before you employ yourlegal counsel.
Also, many rental propertyassociation groups have points
of contact for you.
Now we've mentioned before thatwe're members of the California
(15:28):
Apartment Association, and yes,this membership costs us several
hundred dollars a year, but youknow what we get?
We get free state and countyspecific leases that can be
filled out online and have theoption of electronic signatures.
For us it makes leases andrenewals easy peasy.
(15:48):
We have electronic files foreach property and tenant where
we can keep all the leases andaddendums.
Not the signed versions, but theoriginals, which we often will
refer back to.
We get notifications, multipleones, when there is a landlord
tenant law change.
When there is a bill on thebooks that is not in favor of
(16:09):
landlords, like changes to ourrent control laws, we are given
information on how to contactour local congress person and
express our concerns.
And usually it's just the clickof a button and it's sent off.
We also get free legal guidance.
They have actual real estatelawyers that answer the phone
and advise you on how to handlea situation.
(16:31):
And usually they can advise whatform or what law applies to your
situation.
Now they do not do the work foryou, but can direct you on if
there is a legal issue and youneed to contact your lawyer, or
if you can handle it yourselfwith a specific form following
certain guidelines.
I think there's a limit on howmany calls you can make during a
(16:54):
calendar year, but that rightthere pays for itself if you
only use it once a year.
So don't sleep on those rentalhousing associations, there is
usually some good value there.
Stacie (17:06):
Yeah, we fell into that CAA membership years ago from
when we were part of theSacramento Rental Property
Association, and many of thelocal associations were merged
into this one CaliforniaApartment Association.
And for us, it's been verybeneficial.
All right.
Next question we can answer.
(17:26):
This was a texted question thatwe received from Cherie.
She inherited a 1978manufactured home that needs a
new roof and septic system, aswell as other work.
It was paid off, but has beenseriously neglected.
She feels the house is notsuitable for housing, but the
elderly tenant loves it thereand doesn't wanna move.
(17:48):
They had just renewed the leaseshortly before she had inherited
the property, and the tenant hasnine months left on the lease.
Cherie was stressed out andlooking for advice regarding how
to deal with his tenant, whodoesn't want to leave.
So I did fire back somequestions about the condition of
the property and you guys, sheis correct.
(18:10):
From what she's saying the roofleaks and is sagging.
There are water stains on thecarpet.
The flooring is certain areas issoft, so the tenant avoids
walking on them and the toiletclogs up every few weeks.
The tenant was told by theprevious owner to not flush any
toilet paper.
When she first texted she saidthat there were blackberry
(18:31):
bushes growing up and around themobile home and those
blackberries were complicatinggetting that septic repaired.
She has since removed much ofthose bushes and was able to get
an inspection by the city, whichto no surprise failed.
So Shari is in a position whereshe's housing a tenant in a
rental that potentially has moldand even asbestos.
(18:52):
She considered purchasing a newtrailer to replace the old one,
but with the new noiseordinances in Washington, I
believe she's near or under aflight path, the one she would
have to purchase is$180,000.
So I will give her this, she'sdone her research and has
options, but the bottom line ishow does she handle the
situation with the elderlytenant in a rental that she
(19:15):
feels is uninhabitable?
It appears that there are notreally renovations that could be
completed while the tenantremains in the unit.
She did share that the tenantonly pays a thousand dollars a
month for rent, and for them tofind a comparable home, would
cost them much, much more thanthat, so there's that dilemma as
(19:36):
well.
And the bottom line is how doyou get a tenant to move out of
a dilapidated property?
So in this case, I would do oneof three things.
If you need to get the tenantout in order to do necessary
repairs or even remove thetrailer completely, you can buy
them out of the lease.
And you likely would have to notonly give them the rent that
(19:58):
would be owed on the remainderof the lease, but an additional
amount to help offset theincreased rent that they would
face.
Clearly this elderly tenant doesnot have the means or capability
to find a rental that they canafford, so I would do whatever I
could to help this person find anew home.
They clearly love the area andthe openness of the land around
(20:19):
the trailer.
So is there another trailerrental in the area that you
could work with the landlord tosecure for the tenant and help
them move?
The other thing I was going tosuggest was having them move
temporarily, do the minimumrepairs needed, and then allow
them to move back in.
But I would imagine in order torecoup those repair costs,
you're gonna need to increasetheir rent to more than a
(20:41):
thousand dollars a month.
If they have family, maybe youcan discuss the issue with them,
although if they know she'sliving there and have visited,
they can see that the shape thatthe place is in, and if they
haven't tried to help yet, it'sunlikely they're gonna help now.
Another thing to consider is,are there any public programs in
(21:03):
the area that can help?
You know, sometimes there aregroups to assist the elderly
that can provide low-incomehousing.
And the third thing would be toallow the tenant to continue
living in the rental until theirlease is up.
Giving them notice now that youwill not be renewing the lease,
potentially condemning that homecome September when that lease
expires.
(21:23):
That gives them nine months tospeak with family and friends
and to find another rental.
And listen, Cherie, we knowyou're a good person.
You clearly care about thewellbeing of this tenant, and
you do not wanna put'em in ahard place by making them move.
So kudos for that.
Unfortunately, you are puttingyourself at risk of something
(21:43):
happening to that tenant whereshe gets injured stepping on
that rotten floor, or if theceiling drops in from dry rot or
excessive water.
This is what you have to expressto the tenant, and maybe the two
of you can reach a mutualagreement and outcome that
satisfies both sides.
FYI.
We just had a similar issue withan elderly tenant in Idaho.
(22:08):
His wife had passed and thespace was much more that he
needed, and he vacated recentlybecause his granddaughter
decided that it was best for himto go into a home after he had
lived in our unit for nineyears.
When we got there to evaluatethe upgrades that we wanted to
do, we were shocked at thecondition of the flooring and
the appliances.
(22:30):
You guys, his dog had urinatedeverywhere and some people just
don't mind living in what wewould all consider filthy
conditions.
And we have learned, this isespecially true of the elderly.
The stress of packing up andmoving to a new clean home is
more than they can handle.
For reference, we did have thecarpets clean last year, and
(22:51):
they were just so bad and neededto be replaced.
You know, the appliances allworked fine, but they were small
and they were dirty, there wassome rust on'em, so they did
need to be replaced.
You know, inspections of theunit showed everything working,
and when the tenant wasquestioned, if there was
anything that they felt neededto be addressed, they always
said no.
Kevin (23:12):
Yeah, and that's one of the units we just did a bunch of
work on back in December.
Alright landlords, we need totake care of our elderly
tenants.
Often they don't have familychecking in on them and making
sure they're okay.
So make sure you're doingsemi-annual inspections to see
that everything is in workingorder.
(23:32):
Do things like change the airfilter for them as well as the
batteries in their smokedetectors.
Stacie (23:39):
Oh lord do not allow the elderly people to get on ladders
or chairs to do that.
Kevin (23:44):
Right.
You know, you might wanna bring'em a cupcake on their birthday
and make sure they have a mealon the holidays.
A little kindness goes a longway, especially for our elderly
citizens.
Okay, we have a couple morequestions to get through.
This one also came through ourpodcast text system.
And a quick reminder, if youprefer to text us, you have to
(24:07):
give an email for us to respondto directly.
When you text via the click totext button on our show notes,
that is a one-way texting onlysystem.
Buzzsprout, which is who we useto publish our podcast, offers
the service, but unfortunatelyit doesn't allow us to text
back.
(24:28):
So if you text us, regardless ofwhether you use the link on the
top of the show notes or if youtext the phone number we have
listed, please give us an emailaddress to respond to.
Okay, moving on to the nextquestion.
The person asks if a tenant islong-term renting my entire
house, am I responsible foreradicating a cockroach
(24:50):
infestation, or is the tenant?
The short answer is, as alandlord, you are generally
responsible for eradicating acockroach infestation, even if
the tenant has been living inthe house long term because it
falls under,"implied warranty ofhabitability", which requires
(25:12):
you to maintain a livable spacefor your tenants.
And that includes addressingpest issues like cockroaches.
However, the specifics may varydepending on your local laws and
lease agreement.
Now, most jurisdictions considerpest control, including
cockroach infestation, to be thelandlord's responsibility,
(25:33):
meaning you should take actionto eliminate the problem if it
arises.
And while you're responsible foreradication, tenants should
promptly notify you if theynotice a cockroach infestation.
With all of that said, we alwaysrecommend to check your lease
agreement and see if there areany specific clauses regarding
(25:55):
pest control responsibilities.
Some states will haveinformation on how to handle
pest control and who isresponsible for payment, should
it be determined whether thetenant is the one who caused the
infestation.
Like California has done thiswith bedbugs.
In certain situations, if attenant's poor hygiene practices
(26:15):
significantly contribute to theinfestation, you might be able
to argue that they share someresponsibility.
So if you encounter a cockroachinfestation, here's what to do.
One, immediately arrange for aprofessional exterminator to
assess and treat the problem.
Two, inform your tenant aboutthe infestation and the steps
(26:38):
you are taking to resolve it.
Communication is the key here.
Always have written notes andemails of exactly what was said,
to whom it was said, and when.
Three, investigate potentialentry points for cockroaches and
take steps to seal them up toprevent further infestations.
(27:00):
Let me tell you, with any pestinfestation, you need to take it
seriously and act quickly.
Do not ignore it, or you couldface charges should your tenant
contact the authority saying youwere allowing them to live in an
uninhabitable unit.
Stacie (27:15):
Kev, do you remember when we got reports of
cockroaches in Sacramento?
I mean, I remember going in tolook for leaks under the sink
and finding a dead roach therewhen, and I totally freaked out
and I think that's when westarted using the pest control
company to come and spray theperimeter of the property.
Kevin (27:32):
I do, and what I remember is when our long-term tenant,
he'd been there for what, likenine years at that point when he
contacted us and saidcockroaches were coming up
through the shower drain.
Stacie (27:45):
Oh my God, that was a deal breaker for me.
I cannot believe he called andvery calmly told us about that.
Kevin (27:52):
The thing is, we had nothing we could do about it
because they were coming upthrough the sewer.
I mean, we did call the city, asdid he, and complained, and it
might have happened once ortwice again, but eventually it
did go away.
Stacie (28:06):
No freaking way.
I mean, if I was in that showerand one of those things crawled
out, I would've screamed likethe lady in the shower from that
movie Psycho.
Kevin (28:14):
Well, maybe Alfred Hitchcock should have made a
movie about cockroaches.
I mean, he did make one aboutbirds, right?
Stacie (28:20):
Yeah.
No, no, thank you.
No, thank you.
Kevin (28:23):
Alright.
All right.
Let's get uh, back to talkingabout our answer.
Now, we usually don't do this,but we do wanna address this
from a tenant's point of view,so that you can all understand
how this could become a legalproblem.
If a landlord fails to address asevere cockroach infestation, a
tenant can sue for damagesrelated to the uninhabitable
(28:45):
conditions.
And this would includecompensation for the cost of
pest control services they hiredthemselves, relocation expenses
if forced to move due to theinfestation, medical bills, if
the roaches caused healthissues.
Property damage from theinfestation, emotional distress,
(29:07):
and potentially even thetermination of their lease
without penalty, which dependson the jurisdiction and severity
of the issue.
Like we are suggesting to youguys, tenants will also be
advised to keep detailed recordsof all communications with the
landlord regarding theinfestation, including dates,
times, and photos of theroaches.
(29:30):
Most jurisdictions have a quoteunquote warranty of habitability
law that requires landlords tomaintain a dwelling in a
habitable condition, whichincludes controlling pest
infestations.
Tenants know this and will haveno problem contacting the
authorities if you are notresponding, communicating, or
(29:51):
acting fast enough to resolvethe issue.
The good news is that beforetaking legal action, most
authorities will advise thetenant to try to resolve the
issue directly with the landlordby giving them a reasonable time
to address the problem.
Some locations, this time limitcan be a couple of weeks to up
to 90 days.
(30:11):
It all depends on where yourrental is located and what the
pest is.
And you should all absolutelyknow that if the infestation is
severe and you as the landlordare not taking action, tenants
will be advised to consult withan attorney to understand their
legal options and potentialclaims.
Let me tell you, you do notwanna get to this point.
(30:34):
Sometimes regardless of whosefault it is that there is a pest
infestation, it's just cheaperto pay for the extermination
than fight it out in court.
Once it reaches the point whereauthorities question whether the
unit is uninhabitable or not,usually the tenant is no longer
required to pay rent until theissue is resolved.
(30:54):
So no rent coming in andastronomical legal bills is what
you'll be facing.
Just go in, resolve it, andshould it be determined that the
cockroaches or any other pestfor that matter was caused
because of lack of cleanlinessyou can absolutely require them
to sign an addendum saying thatif the issue arises again, they
(31:16):
will be responsible financiallyand otherwise for the
eradication.
You might have to wait untiltheir renewal to add that in, if
you decide to renew their lease,but you can use an addendum to
add that in.
Stacie (31:30):
And you guys, that's exactly what addendums are for,
to include information specificto your unit that is not covered
by the main body of your lease.
All right, we have one morequestion and then we have one
that's a really quick one.
So this was a question that wereceived on our DM's from
Instagram and the followerasked, what advice would you
(31:53):
give to someone buying theirfirst rental?
But funny you should ask.
Kevin and I just flew back toIdaho to meet with and walk
through a duplex that our middleson is buying as his first
rental property.
Kevin (32:06):
Yes.
Very exciting times.
Stacie (32:08):
Yeah, I mean, he's nervous as hell, but super
excited to get that first rentalunder his belt.
But here was our advice to him.
Obviously run the numbers andhave a really good hold on what
the expenses are gonna be.
Know what the county or theprovince is gonna charge for
property taxes and get quotes onliability insurance.
(32:28):
Being a duplex and an investmentproperty, the insurance rates
are gonna be higher than for anowner occupied single family
home.
With the mortgage, those will bethe three biggest expenses to
account for.
Know about utility costs.
So for this property it waselectric only, no gas, and both
units had their own meters, sohe will not have to deal with
(32:50):
paying the electric bill ontheir behalf.
Same goes with garbage or trashservice.
With two units, you can havethem each get their own service
or pay, and you can add that asa fee in the lease.
So one expense he wasn't sure ofwas landscaping.
This particular property has alot of grass, and I believe it
(33:11):
also has two large trees.
So there's gonna be a need tomow and blow every couple weeks.
Depending on what level ofservice you want, that can cost
upwards of a hundred dollars amonth or more.
So understanding how much timethat you're willing to spend on
regular maintenance is importantto know.
We also told him don't expect alot of cash flow right off the
bat.
(33:32):
If you can earn a few hundreddollars after accounting for
expenses and reserves, you'refine.
You're not gonna retire or quityour nine to five off one
rental.
As time goes on, your mortgageshould stay the same, but you'll
benefit from rents increasing.
And expenses will also increaseas well over time, but usually
(33:52):
rents will outpace those costincreases.
And a quick side on reserves,don't sleep on those.
So unless you set aside a largeamount of money at the time of
purchase for emergencies, youwill need to use rent money and
profits to build reserves up forthose unexpected expenses.
And they absolutely will happen.
(34:13):
So make sure you have a way topay for'em.
When looking at the property,see if it has potential for
added value.
You know, it doesn't need to besomething you jump right into,
but this particular propertysits on a larger lot.
It's located on a court and isin the back corner of the
circle, so it has a bit moreland than its neighbors.
(34:34):
And why does that matter?
The city of Boise is encouraginginvestors and homeowners to add
ADUs or additional units totheir property if the zoning
allows it.
And this property definitely haspotential to add one or two more
units to it.
Which is something that he mightconsider down the line, but to
(34:56):
be able to increase rentswithout having to buy a whole
new piece of land, and obviouslydepending on the construction
costs, it might be worth it ifhe can create a fourplex out of
that.
The next thing that we talked tohim about was about knowing the
area, you know, what's aroundthere that might be a benefit to
the tenant.
Are there schools nearby forfamily tenants or a large
(35:17):
hospital, like a medicalfacility, government offices, or
large corporate businesses sothat tenants can live close to
work.
And in this case, the duplex isabout a half mile away from a
large hospital and medicalfacility.
It's also only about a 10 to 15minute drive to downtown Boise,
which is the capital of Idaho,and it's close to Boise State
(35:40):
University.
Not close enough for students,but for faculty and staff to be
able to get to work within 10minutes.
His Realtor, who's also ourRealtor, suggested that because
of the proximity to the hospitaland the medical center, he might
be able to convert a unit into amidterm rental and earn more
rent.
Again, maybe down the road, butdefinitely a possibility of
(36:03):
added value.
And the other thing is there's alot of other rentals in the
neighborhood, so he's able toget a really good idea on the
rent comps for that area aswell.
If the units need work, do theminimum that you need to do to
get them rented and startearning income.
So in this case, one tenant willbe moving out with the sale of
(36:23):
the property, so he will havethe chance to work on that one
unit and prep it so he canmaximize the rent.
So when you buy a property, yourfirst mortgage payment can and
usually is included with yourclosing cost.
So this means that your firstpayment may not be due for up to
six weeks after the close.
And that gives him time to go inand paint, replace flooring, and
(36:47):
give the place a real goodcleaning before putting it on
the market for rent.
Which leads us to finding atenant.
You won't wanna hear this, butsometimes it's better to have an
empty unit than one with aproblem tenant.
So make sure that you take thetime to properly vet and do
background checks on anytenants.
(37:10):
You wanna pre-screen, do a fulltenant screening and have a
solid lease.
Kevin (37:15):
You know, we'll be helping him out with that,
right?
Stacie (37:18):
Yeah, I mean, I'd hope so.
I mean, I, I do want him to dothe work so he can learn, but I
wanna be able to show him what'sgood and what's bad and you
know, what to look for.
I'll share with him all of ourtenant screening templates as
well.
He mentioned he wants to get aTurbo Tenant account going,
which I think is very smart.
You know, you wanna automateyour rental property as much as
(37:40):
possible from the beginningbecause it's actually kind of
hard to switch once you're doingit manually.
Kevin (37:45):
Yeah, and we've been partners with Turbo Tenant for a
while now.
We love them for newer rentalproperty owners, just like the
situation with our son, becausemany of the services are free.
These would be expenses that alot of landlords do not include
in their budget, like some ofthe costs associated with
finding a new tenant.
(38:07):
Advertising your rental propertyis completely free and it goes
out to dozens of rental propertysites like uh, rent.com,
apartments.com, Redfin, youknow, like that.
I mean, you create one ad andturbo tenant gets it out to all
those sites for free.
Those are sites you normallywould have to have a
(38:28):
subscription to, and that's alot of money actually.
They handle tenant applicationsand screening.
Also, no cost to the landlord.
They have an option where youcan have the tenant pay for this
service, so you never have tohandle reporting or recording
the receipts of these fees.
Collecting rent is always freefor landlords.
(38:51):
Only tenants will pay if theychoose to use a credit card for
payment.
Otherwise, ACH, which is ourrecommended method, is no
charge.
He did mention he wanted toupgrade to a premium account
because they provide unlimitedpersonalized leases for less
than$10 a month.
I mean, this is huge for DIYrental property owners.
(39:12):
Regardless of the state whereyour property is located, you
are covered by state specificleases and addendums.
He could use them on an asneeded basis too, because they
offer custom leases for$29 each.
Now, if he was in California, wewould give him the lease and
addendums to use, but we do nothave access to Idaho State
(39:33):
specific leases, so that's whyTurbo Tenant would be good for
him to use.
Stacie (39:39):
Yep.
And I also like how you canmanage your rentals and organize
your documents all in one place.
You don't get a website, butthey have a cloud space where
you can organize your files andkeep those documents for easy
access.
I mean, efficiency is key withTurbo Tenant and he will be able
to streamline his rentalproperty business because they
(39:59):
now have features such as in-appmessaging with tenants.
That's, you know, a really goodway to handle maintenance
requests.
Plus he can upload and storetheir rental insurance
information as well.
I believe those are availablewith the upgraded version, which
I think you pay an annual feethat comes to just shy of like
10 bucks a month, like you said.
And if he wants to have tenantscreening services and
(40:21):
electronic signatures, I thinkit goes up to around 12 bucks a
month.
You know, listen to you guys,Turbo Tenant is perfect for
newer investors like our son.
They offer really great servicesthat are easy to navigate and at
a cost that does not break thebank.
So we'll link them in the shownotes if you wanna check'em out
and see if they're right foryou.
(40:42):
All right, the last bit ofadvice that we had for our son
and for others looking to buytheir first rental property is
to set your policies for eachproperty and stick with it.
If you want a policy of no petsor no smoking, don't let someone
sweet talk you into changingyour mind.
Also, you wanna set yourself upwith a CPA who knows and
(41:04):
understands real estateinvesting and the tax laws, more
importantly, the tax benefits ofowning them.
So this is something that ourson did last year when he first
started looking for his firstrental property.
He actually met with his CPAthis week to do his taxes and
discussed the property with himand was able to get some good
sound advice on how to handle afew things.
(41:27):
We also suggest that you doregular inspections.
Semi-annually is what werecommend.
Just get in there and you wannalook for leaks, evidence of
rodents or unauthorized pets,and even unauthorized roommates.
Make sure that the air filtersare being replaced'cause this
alone can extend the life ofyour heaters and air
conditioners.
Make sure the smoke detectorsand carbon monoxide detectors
(41:50):
are working.
Shockingly enough, hand on aBible, neither of these units we
walked through had working smokedetectors and they didn't have
any fire extinguishers in themor on site.
And you guys, that is a majorviolation.
You know, if it's possible, hireyour contractor to do
(42:10):
inspections with you for an houror two because they know exactly
what to look for, especiallywhen it comes to leaks or
anything like that.
And they can estimate what needsto be done to remedy an issue
and also estimate the cost.
All right, we're almost done.
If you can find a Realtor thatspecializes in rental
properties, even better.
(42:31):
You know, for us in Idaho, ourRealtor owns his own rentals and
is a flipper.
He's a licensed contractor whonot only knows the market, he
has a whole Rolodex ofsubcontractors for us to call on
when we need to get work done.
And we used several of them backin November and December when we
did renovations to our fourplexback there.
(42:52):
You know, he's a great resourceto have.
Lastly, join local associationsto meet other landlords,
tradesmen, Realtors, CPAs, etcetera, to build up your team if
you don't really have any othercontacts.
Often meetings will be heldwhere you can network and meet
others who are either in thesame place as you, or they might
(43:15):
be able to get you where youwanna be.
Be careful to research theassociations though,'cause some
are there to profit from you andlure you in with their own
dealings.
Uh, we learned that one the hardway.
Uh, for one group that we paidto join.
Kevin (43:29):
Yeah, luckily we didn't pay too much, but one meeting in
and we were like, uh, yeah, Idon't think so.
All right, that was all goodadvice on buying your first
property.
And to be honest, we have beenmentoring our son for some time
now.
We flew back for a quickovernight trip to do the initial
walkthrough with him and showhim what to look for.
(43:50):
But this property in particularhas a new roof, newer siding,
and new air conditioners, so alot of the big ticket items are
covered for a while.
It had really good bones andvery good potential.
So he has moved on to theofficial inspection by an
outside source, so we'll seewhat that brings in.
(44:11):
The numbers worked.
We just need to see if there'sanything structural that was
going on.
One last real quick question toanswer.
Someone asks, my tenant isleaving before the lease is up
and he's refusing to give me myhouse keys.
What do I do?
I'd ask the tenant via email ortext when they are leaving, so
(44:34):
you have something in writing.
Then on that day, I'd go to theproperty after he has left and
do an exit walkthrough where youassess the condition of the
property to see if there is anytenant cause damage or issues.
Then since he is refusing toturn in the keys, I change the
locks.
But I would suggest you contactan attorney that specializes in
(44:57):
landlord tenant laws in yourarea first, because if they are
still under a lease contract youmay not be able to change the
locks and essentially lock themoutta their unit.
Of course, if all theirbelongings are gone and they
have clearly moved out, youshould be fine.
But always check to make surewhen a move out happens before
the lease is ended.
(45:18):
It should be written in thelease that they have to return
the keys or else they have topay to replace them.
And this includes re-keying thelocks.
If it is indeed included in yourlease, you can take the expense
you incurred from their securitydeposit.
We get it.
It's a total pain in the neck,especially when there are
multiple keys for the mainentry, gates, mailboxes.
(45:41):
I mean, we had a tenant takethem upon move out by accident,
and then when we asked him tomail them back, they were lost
in the mail.
I mean, not a real big deal forthe unit because we changed the
locks anyway, but he did have amailbox key that was lost and
those aren't easy to replace.
Stacie (46:00):
Yeah, there's something with that unit and lost keys.
I mean, it's happened like fourtimes so far, and that's just
that one unit.
The other five units, knock onwood, never had we had an issue
or lost keys or returning'em oranything.
Kevin (46:15):
I know, right.
One quick aside on how we handlere-keying our locks.
We used to call a locksmith outto the tune of about$75 a lock,
but our contractor showed usthat if we use Kwikset locks, we
can use their rekey system andrekey the locks ourselves for
like six bucks.
We will link the Kwikset SmartKeys in our show notes so you
(46:37):
can see what we are talkingabout.
We even are converting tokeyless entry systems.
They still have a key but allowsus to give access to contractors
and subs without the worry of akey walking off or getting lost.
Stacie (46:52):
Which is exactly what happened multiple times in Idaho
when we were using the lockboxback there.
The painter took it one time andthen we couldn't get in.
The floor guy took it anothertime and then the painter
couldn't get in.
It was a freaking hassle.
Kevin (47:04):
Oh man, yeah I forgot about that.
Maybe because they were callingyou, huh?
Stacie (47:09):
Yeah right.
Kevin (47:11):
But the keyless systems we are installing are by Kwikset
and they have that easy re-keyoption also, so we can rekey
those easily after a tenantmoves out.
Stacie (47:22):
Yeah, I mean, I'm looking forward to getting all
those on the units.
Uh, you do need internet to usethem, so that's kind of what the
delay is at this point, butwe're getting there.
All right, you guys, that's ourepisode for today.
We will go ahead and link allthe information we discussed in
the show notes for you,including the ways that you can
reach out to ask a question viatext or email, sign up for our
(47:43):
newsletter and to check outTurbo Tenant Landlord Software
and the Kwikset Smart Rekey setthat we use.
We would love it if you'd leavea kind review letting others
know what you like about ourpodcast.
There's a link in the show notesfor that as well.
We will be back with anotherepisode soon, definitely within
a month.
(48:04):
So until then, you've got thislandlords.
I will say that I do appreciate that the listener
emailed us and asked us allabout that.
And this is why in the shownotes we have the information
for how to text us and, and thatwe also give out our emails.
If we say something that doesn'tmake sense or you research
something that we have said andneed more clarification, please
reach out and let us know.
(00:21):
You guys, we're not mediaexperts.
We're not professional speakers.
We are very experiencedlandlords and rental property
owners just doing the best wecan to communicate our
experiences to you all.
And I tell you, being in thisposition is humbling.
We are very happy to be able tohelp other landlords and guide
(00:41):
them on their journey of owningrental property.
But we wanna be clear when wegive advice or discuss our
experiences, that is forinformational purposes only.
We will always recommend thatyou seek professional advice
from your licensed team members.
Welcome to Your LandlordResource Podcast.
(01:03):
Many moons ago, when I startedas a landlord, I was as green as
it gets.
I may have had my real estatelicense, but I lacked confidence
and the hands on experienceneeded when it came to dealing
with tenants, leases,maintenance, and bookkeeping.
After many failed attempts, fastforward to today.
Kevin and I have doubled ourdoors and created an organized,
professionally operated rentalproperty business.
(01:26):
Want to go from overwhelmed toconfident?
If you're an ambitious landlordor maybe one in the making, join
us as we provide strategies andteach actionable steps to help
you reach your goals and thelifestyle you desire.
All while building a streamlinedand profitable rental property
business.
This is your landlord resourcepodcast.
(01:49):
Hey landlords, it's been a minute since we've been on
here.
Uh, thank you for your patiencewith the little break that we've
taken.
I wanna come right out and saythat Kevin and I have taken some
time to reevaluate Your LandlordResource and where we are going
to put our time.
And where we don't wanna cutback on our content.
(02:10):
We are feeling to need to dothat.
Kevin (02:13):
Well think of it more as if we want our content to be
more focused and intentional.
I mean, our lives are gettingbusier and we have family
commitments that are takingprecedence at this time, which
means we have less time to putout social media every day
because that's what thealgorithm wants.
It also means that we will startback with the podcast once a
(02:37):
month until we feel we can domore.
And to be honest, we held on ata very high level much longer
than we actually should have.
But we still have over 90podcasts and I believe over a
thousand social media posts thatare loaded with tips and tricks
and great products specificallyfor landlords.
(02:58):
We also have a newsletter thatwe send to our subscribers,
which is free by the way, andincludes a tip, uh, product
recommendation and threearticles that focus on landlord
specific subjects.
But we do realize some peoplearen't podcast people and wanna
read what they're interested inand that some people prefer to
(03:20):
listen over reading a blog or anews article.
So we're in a place where we areworking to see if we can appeal
to the masses in our own way,not ways that are dictated by
others.
Stacie (03:32):
And in that newsletter, we never really have included
much from us personally, otherthan, you know, the tip, we're
thinking about now, includingsomething that kind of talks
about what we're working on orwhat has gone well and maybe not
so well in our adventures asrental property owners.
And I know that's the purpose ofthis podcast, but we now wanna
(03:52):
share it more in like a letteror a blog format for people to
read quickly, like in a minuteor two.
And where we have beenpublishing that newsletter
weekly, we will now move that tobiweekly and include a small
section on our wins and losses.
If you're not a subscriber, youcan check it out at
yourlandlordresource.comsubscribe.
(04:15):
And guess what?
If you find it something thatyou don't like, you are free to
unsubscribe at any time.
Okay, so in this episode, we aregoing to go over some questions
that have come in and do ourbest to answer them.
First off, we have had a couplepeople suggest that we have
(04:37):
misinformed our listeners.
The first one was left as acomment under our reviews and
addressed episode number 46about advanced tax strategies.
And this listener claimed thatwe gave potential
misinformation.
And the review reads, I am abouthalfway through the advanced tax
strategies episode and haveheard information that is the
(05:00):
opposite of what I have heard onother shows.
I have heard several taxprofessionals say that owning a
rental in an LLC provides no taxadvantages over owning it in
your personal name.
So I'm gonna stop here and I'mgonna address that part first.
At the beginning of the episodeat two minutes and 45 seconds in
(05:21):
and on several other episodes,we give a disclaimer.
We specifically express that weare not tax professionals and to
seek advice from your personaladvisors to determine if, like
in this case, whether or notputting your rental in an LLC is
beneficial for asset protectionor for tax benefits for your
circumstance.
(05:42):
We all have differentcircumstances where yes,
taxation for LLCs and for soloproprietors have very similar
deductions and advantages, thereare advantages to holding an LLC
that can outweigh holding yourrental in your personal name.
And full transparency here.
Mine or our combined propertiesof which we own 10 rentals alone
(06:07):
are worth over$5 million.
So for us, having the legalprotection of all of our assets
was worth it.
Again, that was for us.
If you own a duplex and you livein one side and you rent out the
other and the total value ofthat property is worth$300,000,
then no, maybe for you it is notworth protecting that asset.
(06:30):
Maybe your income stream is suchthat you get no tax advantage
one way or the other fromholding your rental in an LLC.
We have our reasons and theywork for us.
Which is why we give thedisclaimer recommending to our
listeners to research what isbest for their situation.
Kevin (06:47):
And let me jump in here real quick and say that we are
also in California, which is ahighly litigious state that
favors tenants.
Stacie and I have a lot to loseif one person gets injured or
worse.
And yes, we do have a sizableumbrella policy to cover us as
well.
Stacie (07:07):
Right.
All right.
Let me finish the review now.
He goes on to say, they alsostate that the losses from the
rental property can offset yourW2 income, which is partially
correct.
It continues with, there arelimits to the losses you can
take unless you are a realestate professional in the eyes
of the IRS, and you can't be areal estate professional if you
(07:29):
have a full-time W2 income.
All right, I'm gonna stop again.
And yes, this person is correctand if they had continued to
listen to the remainder of theepisode, they would've heard a
very long and detailedexplanation all about becoming a
real estate professional and howyou qualify and, and how it
(07:50):
works, and we give some tips on,on how to do that.
The comment goes on to discussLLCs as disregarded entities and
may not offer asset protection.
So I'm not sure where thisperson is getting their
information.
We cannot find anything tosupport this.
As an LLC, all of your financialdealings, registered paperwork,
(08:11):
et cetera, are in the name ofthe LLC.
If you run your business cleanand do not co-mingle funds from
personal accounts and the LLC,then there should be no question
that the LLC is a separateentity from the person's
personal assets.
And we could be completely wronghere, but for us, this is what
we have been advised by ourattorney.
(08:32):
And the comment finishes withthat it's important to note that
owning property in an LLC canlimit financing options, and we
completely agree with this.
I believe we did discuss this indetail in episode 15, Is Holding
Your Rental in an LLC Right ForYou.
So if you guys wanna check thatepisode out, we're gonna link it
in the show notes, or you can goto your landlord
(08:54):
resource.com/episode 15.
You wanna spell out the wordepisode.
I think the one thing I wannasay is that if you feel we have
misinformed you on a subject,please email us and ask us to
explain why we said what we didbefore you question us publicly
without even finishing the wholeepisode.
(09:16):
Our emails are linked in ourshow notes for every single
episode.
That's Stacie with anie@yourlandlordresource.com or
kevin@yourlandlordresource.com.
Kevin (09:28):
Yeah, so where we appreciate that this person
wanted to warn others tobasically take what we say with
a grain of salt.
Yeah, please do.
I mean, we have a lot ofexperience with being landlords
and buying and sellingproperties, but that experience
only applies to what we want outof our rentals and how we run
our business.
(09:49):
You do you.
We are here to give youinformation so you can take that
as inspiration to process andresearch on your own, on how
that would work for yoursituation.
And hey, we do appreciatecomments, especially the nice
complimentary ones.
They really help our podcastgrow and we hope we would
receive more of those.
(10:11):
Just remember, you are receivingthis information and guidance
for free, like I said, use it asinspiration to see if something
might work for your own rentalproperty business.
On that note, we did receive anemail recently from a listener
who was asking for moreclarification.
And you guys, they were correct,we misled you on this one
(10:33):
recommendation.
The email reads as follows.
I started listening to yourpodcast a couple weeks ago on a
couple episodes I listened totoday, you mentioned the lease
guarantee through Tenant Alertfor$200 per year with a$10,000
protection.
I went on the Tenant Alertwebsite and it appears the cost
(10:55):
for lease guarantee starts at$299 a year for$2,500 worth of
protection and ranges up to$1,196 a year for the$10,000
protection.
Am I missing something?
Is there a different rate once Iuse their service for tenant
screening as well?
(11:15):
I would think that would beadvertised.
Your episode seemed fairlyrecent as well, less than six
months ago.
I love your podcast, but feel itis important to receive accurate
information.
Okay, in episode 84, TenantScreening Software, What
Landlords Need to Know, we werediscussing different options for
(11:36):
tenant screening.
We were discussing that we useTenant Alert to process our
background checks and that theyoffer a lease guarantee.
And here's what we said.
They rate the applicant on ascale of a hundred and offer a
lease guarantee for up to$10,000of protection against damages,
lost rent, or legal fees.
(11:57):
And that starts at$199 a yearthat you or the tenant can pay.
And you know, it did come outlike you can purchase$10,000 of
coverage starting at$199 a year.
So when this listener went on tocheck it out for themselves,
they found the pricing muchhigher.
And that is because we failed tosay that one, when you just go
(12:21):
on to buy the lease guaranteecoverage without going through
the process of tenant screening,the cost is significantly more.
You can just buy coverage at anypoint in the lease at the
highest rates.
And two, if you use a tenantscreening software that offers
lease guarantee coverage it canoffer you a discounted rate that
(12:42):
is determined by the outcome ofthe screening report.
And that coverage is only validfor 10 days after the background
check was processed.
After the 10 days, the cost goesback up to the regular published
amounts, which is what thelisteners would see if you went
on to the screening app andchecked it out.
The tenant background check thatStacie had run was spotless, so
(13:05):
she was offered the bestcoverage at the lowest rates.
During that episode she justspoke about her experience and
should have been more clearabout the different options.
Stacie (13:16):
Yeah, and I will say that I do appreciate that the
listener emailed us and asked usall about that.
And this is why in the shownotes we have the information
for how to text us and, and thatwe also give out our emails.
If we say something that doesn'tmake sense or you research
something that we have said andneed more clarification, please
reach out and let us know.
(13:37):
You guys, we're not mediaexperts.
We're not professional speakers.
We are very experiencedlandlords and rental property
owners just doing the best wecan to communicate our
experiences to you all.
And I tell you, being in thisposition is humbling.
We are very happy to be able tohelp other landlords and guide
(13:57):
them on their journey of owningrental property.
But we wanna be clear when wegive advice or discuss our
experiences, that is forinformational purposes only.
We will always recommend thatyou seek professional advice
from your licensed team members.
What we discuss happens here inCalifornia, or with our Idaho
property, applies only to ourexperiences.
(14:19):
City landlord tenant laws maydiffer from county laws and can
be absolutely different fromstate laws.
Everywhere in every state thesize of your rental property
matters'cause laws andordinances for single family
homes may differ from duplexesor triplexes and fourplexes.
And five units or more may haveand usually do have much
(14:42):
stricter landlord tenantregulations that you need to
follow.
Kevin (14:46):
And let me jump in here again and say that if you have
real estate questions orquestions about laws regarding
landlord tenant laws, tryreaching out to your Realtor.
If they don't have the answer,usually they'll know a Realtor
who specializes in propertymanagement, who does.
Go that route before you engagewith a lawyer.
(15:06):
I mean, they are expensive andwill charge you hundreds of
dollars regardless of what youask.
So do what you can to get asmuch local legal information as
you can before you employ yourlegal counsel.
Also, many rental propertyassociation groups have points
of contact for you.
Now we've mentioned before thatwe're members of the California
(15:28):
Apartment Association, and yes,this membership costs us several
hundred dollars a year, but youknow what we get?
We get free state and countyspecific leases that can be
filled out online and have theoption of electronic signatures.
For us it makes leases andrenewals easy peasy.
(15:48):
We have electronic files foreach property and tenant where
we can keep all the leases andaddendums.
Not the signed versions, but theoriginals, which we often will
refer back to.
We get notifications, multipleones, when there is a landlord
tenant law change.
When there is a bill on thebooks that is not in favor of
(16:09):
landlords, like changes to ourrent control laws, we are given
information on how to contactour local congress person and
express our concerns.
And usually it's just the clickof a button and it's sent off.
We also get free legal guidance.
They have actual real estatelawyers that answer the phone
and advise you on how to handlea situation.
(16:31):
And usually they can advise whatform or what law applies to your
situation.
Now they do not do the work foryou, but can direct you on if
there is a legal issue and youneed to contact your lawyer, or
if you can handle it yourselfwith a specific form following
certain guidelines.
I think there's a limit on howmany calls you can make during a
(16:54):
calendar year, but that rightthere pays for itself if you
only use it once a year.
So don't sleep on those rentalhousing associations, there is
usually some good value there.
Stacie (17:06):
Yeah, we fell into that CAA membership years ago from
when we were part of theSacramento Rental Property
Association, and many of thelocal associations were merged
into this one CaliforniaApartment Association.
And for us, it's been verybeneficial.
All right.
Next question we can answer.
(17:26):
This was a texted question thatwe received from Cherie.
She inherited a 1978manufactured home that needs a
new roof and septic system, aswell as other work.
It was paid off, but has beenseriously neglected.
She feels the house is notsuitable for housing, but the
elderly tenant loves it thereand doesn't wanna move.
(17:48):
They had just renewed the leaseshortly before she had inherited
the property, and the tenant hasnine months left on the lease.
Cherie was stressed out andlooking for advice regarding how
to deal with his tenant, whodoesn't want to leave.
So I did fire back somequestions about the condition of
the property and you guys, sheis correct.
(18:10):
From what she's saying the roofleaks and is sagging.
There are water stains on thecarpet.
The flooring is certain areas issoft, so the tenant avoids
walking on them and the toiletclogs up every few weeks.
The tenant was told by theprevious owner to not flush any
toilet paper.
When she first texted she saidthat there were blackberry
(18:31):
bushes growing up and around themobile home and those
blackberries were complicatinggetting that septic repaired.
She has since removed much ofthose bushes and was able to get
an inspection by the city, whichto no surprise failed.
So Shari is in a position whereshe's housing a tenant in a
rental that potentially has moldand even asbestos.
(18:52):
She considered purchasing a newtrailer to replace the old one,
but with the new noiseordinances in Washington, I
believe she's near or under aflight path, the one she would
have to purchase is$180,000.
So I will give her this, she'sdone her research and has
options, but the bottom line ishow does she handle the
situation with the elderlytenant in a rental that she
(19:15):
feels is uninhabitable?
It appears that there are notreally renovations that could be
completed while the tenantremains in the unit.
She did share that the tenantonly pays a thousand dollars a
month for rent, and for them tofind a comparable home, would
cost them much, much more thanthat, so there's that dilemma as
(19:36):
well.
And the bottom line is how doyou get a tenant to move out of
a dilapidated property?
So in this case, I would do oneof three things.
If you need to get the tenantout in order to do necessary
repairs or even remove thetrailer completely, you can buy
them out of the lease.
And you likely would have to notonly give them the rent that
(19:58):
would be owed on the remainderof the lease, but an additional
amount to help offset theincreased rent that they would
face.
Clearly this elderly tenant doesnot have the means or capability
to find a rental that they canafford, so I would do whatever I
could to help this person find anew home.
They clearly love the area andthe openness of the land around
(20:19):
the trailer.
So is there another trailerrental in the area that you
could work with the landlord tosecure for the tenant and help
them move?
The other thing I was going tosuggest was having them move
temporarily, do the minimumrepairs needed, and then allow
them to move back in.
But I would imagine in order torecoup those repair costs,
you're gonna need to increasetheir rent to more than a
(20:41):
thousand dollars a month.
If they have family, maybe youcan discuss the issue with them,
although if they know she'sliving there and have visited,
they can see that the shape thatthe place is in, and if they
haven't tried to help yet, it'sunlikely they're gonna help now.
Another thing to consider is,are there any public programs in
(21:03):
the area that can help?
You know, sometimes there aregroups to assist the elderly
that can provide low-incomehousing.
And the third thing would be toallow the tenant to continue
living in the rental until theirlease is up.
Giving them notice now that youwill not be renewing the lease,
potentially condemning that homecome September when that lease
expires.
(21:23):
That gives them nine months tospeak with family and friends
and to find another rental.
And listen, Cherie, we knowyou're a good person.
You clearly care about thewellbeing of this tenant, and
you do not wanna put'em in ahard place by making them move.
So kudos for that.
Unfortunately, you are puttingyourself at risk of something
(21:43):
happening to that tenant whereshe gets injured stepping on
that rotten floor, or if theceiling drops in from dry rot or
excessive water.
This is what you have to expressto the tenant, and maybe the two
of you can reach a mutualagreement and outcome that
satisfies both sides.
FYI.
We just had a similar issue withan elderly tenant in Idaho.
(22:08):
His wife had passed and thespace was much more that he
needed, and he vacated recentlybecause his granddaughter
decided that it was best for himto go into a home after he had
lived in our unit for nineyears.
When we got there to evaluatethe upgrades that we wanted to
do, we were shocked at thecondition of the flooring and
the appliances.
(22:30):
You guys, his dog had urinatedeverywhere and some people just
don't mind living in what wewould all consider filthy
conditions.
And we have learned, this isespecially true of the elderly.
The stress of packing up andmoving to a new clean home is
more than they can handle.
For reference, we did have thecarpets clean last year, and
(22:51):
they were just so bad and neededto be replaced.
You know, the appliances allworked fine, but they were small
and they were dirty, there wassome rust on'em, so they did
need to be replaced.
You know, inspections of theunit showed everything working,
and when the tenant wasquestioned, if there was
anything that they felt neededto be addressed, they always
said no.
Kevin (23:12):
Yeah, and that's one of the units we just did a bunch of
work on back in December.
Alright landlords, we need totake care of our elderly
tenants.
Often they don't have familychecking in on them and making
sure they're okay.
So make sure you're doingsemi-annual inspections to see
that everything is in workingorder.
(23:32):
Do things like change the airfilter for them as well as the
batteries in their smokedetectors.
Stacie (23:39):
Oh lord do not allow the elderly people to get on ladders
or chairs to do that.
Kevin (23:44):
Right.
You know, you might wanna bring'em a cupcake on their birthday
and make sure they have a mealon the holidays.
A little kindness goes a longway, especially for our elderly
citizens.
Okay, we have a couple morequestions to get through.
This one also came through ourpodcast text system.
And a quick reminder, if youprefer to text us, you have to
(24:07):
give an email for us to respondto directly.
When you text via the click totext button on our show notes,
that is a one-way texting onlysystem.
Buzzsprout, which is who we useto publish our podcast, offers
the service, but unfortunatelyit doesn't allow us to text
back.
(24:28):
So if you text us, regardless ofwhether you use the link on the
top of the show notes or if youtext the phone number we have
listed, please give us an emailaddress to respond to.
Okay, moving on to the nextquestion.
The person asks if a tenant islong-term renting my entire
house, am I responsible foreradicating a cockroach
(24:50):
infestation, or is the tenant?
The short answer is, as alandlord, you are generally
responsible for eradicating acockroach infestation, even if
the tenant has been living inthe house long term because it
falls under,"implied warranty ofhabitability", which requires
(25:12):
you to maintain a livable spacefor your tenants.
And that includes addressingpest issues like cockroaches.
However, the specifics may varydepending on your local laws and
lease agreement.
Now, most jurisdictions considerpest control, including
cockroach infestation, to be thelandlord's responsibility,
(25:33):
meaning you should take actionto eliminate the problem if it
arises.
And while you're responsible foreradication, tenants should
promptly notify you if theynotice a cockroach infestation.
With all of that said, we alwaysrecommend to check your lease
agreement and see if there areany specific clauses regarding
(25:55):
pest control responsibilities.
Some states will haveinformation on how to handle
pest control and who isresponsible for payment, should
it be determined whether thetenant is the one who caused the
infestation.
Like California has done thiswith bedbugs.
In certain situations, if attenant's poor hygiene practices
(26:15):
significantly contribute to theinfestation, you might be able
to argue that they share someresponsibility.
So if you encounter a cockroachinfestation, here's what to do.
One, immediately arrange for aprofessional exterminator to
assess and treat the problem.
Two, inform your tenant aboutthe infestation and the steps
(26:38):
you are taking to resolve it.
Communication is the key here.
Always have written notes andemails of exactly what was said,
to whom it was said, and when.
Three, investigate potentialentry points for cockroaches and
take steps to seal them up toprevent further infestations.
(27:00):
Let me tell you, with any pestinfestation, you need to take it
seriously and act quickly.
Do not ignore it, or you couldface charges should your tenant
contact the authority saying youwere allowing them to live in an
uninhabitable unit.
Stacie (27:15):
Kev, do you remember when we got reports of
cockroaches in Sacramento?
I mean, I remember going in tolook for leaks under the sink
and finding a dead roach therewhen, and I totally freaked out
and I think that's when westarted using the pest control
company to come and spray theperimeter of the property.
Kevin (27:32):
I do, and what I remember is when our long-term tenant,
he'd been there for what, likenine years at that point when he
contacted us and saidcockroaches were coming up
through the shower drain.
Stacie (27:45):
Oh my God, that was a deal breaker for me.
I cannot believe he called andvery calmly told us about that.
Kevin (27:52):
The thing is, we had nothing we could do about it
because they were coming upthrough the sewer.
I mean, we did call the city, asdid he, and complained, and it
might have happened once ortwice again, but eventually it
did go away.
Stacie (28:06):
No freaking way.
I mean, if I was in that showerand one of those things crawled
out, I would've screamed likethe lady in the shower from that
movie Psycho.
Kevin (28:14):
Well, maybe Alfred Hitchcock should have made a
movie about cockroaches.
I mean, he did make one aboutbirds, right?
Stacie (28:20):
Yeah.
No, no, thank you.
No, thank you.
Kevin (28:23):
Alright.
All right.
Let's get uh, back to talkingabout our answer.
Now, we usually don't do this,but we do wanna address this
from a tenant's point of view,so that you can all understand
how this could become a legalproblem.
If a landlord fails to address asevere cockroach infestation, a
tenant can sue for damagesrelated to the uninhabitable
(28:45):
conditions.
And this would includecompensation for the cost of
pest control services they hiredthemselves, relocation expenses
if forced to move due to theinfestation, medical bills, if
the roaches caused healthissues.
Property damage from theinfestation, emotional distress,
(29:07):
and potentially even thetermination of their lease
without penalty, which dependson the jurisdiction and severity
of the issue.
Like we are suggesting to youguys, tenants will also be
advised to keep detailed recordsof all communications with the
landlord regarding theinfestation, including dates,
times, and photos of theroaches.
(29:30):
Most jurisdictions have a quoteunquote warranty of habitability
law that requires landlords tomaintain a dwelling in a
habitable condition, whichincludes controlling pest
infestations.
Tenants know this and will haveno problem contacting the
authorities if you are notresponding, communicating, or
(29:51):
acting fast enough to resolvethe issue.
The good news is that beforetaking legal action, most
authorities will advise thetenant to try to resolve the
issue directly with the landlordby giving them a reasonable time
to address the problem.
Some locations, this time limitcan be a couple of weeks to up
to 90 days.
(30:11):
It all depends on where yourrental is located and what the
pest is.
And you should all absolutelyknow that if the infestation is
severe and you as the landlordare not taking action, tenants
will be advised to consult withan attorney to understand their
legal options and potentialclaims.
Let me tell you, you do notwanna get to this point.
(30:34):
Sometimes regardless of whosefault it is that there is a pest
infestation, it's just cheaperto pay for the extermination
than fight it out in court.
Once it reaches the point whereauthorities question whether the
unit is uninhabitable or not,usually the tenant is no longer
required to pay rent until theissue is resolved.
(30:54):
So no rent coming in andastronomical legal bills is what
you'll be facing.
Just go in, resolve it, andshould it be determined that the
cockroaches or any other pestfor that matter was caused
because of lack of cleanlinessyou can absolutely require them
to sign an addendum saying thatif the issue arises again, they
(31:16):
will be responsible financiallyand otherwise for the
eradication.
You might have to wait untiltheir renewal to add that in, if
you decide to renew their lease,but you can use an addendum to
add that in.
Stacie (31:30):
And you guys, that's exactly what addendums are for,
to include information specificto your unit that is not covered
by the main body of your lease.
All right, we have one morequestion and then we have one
that's a really quick one.
So this was a question that wereceived on our DM's from
Instagram and the followerasked, what advice would you
(31:53):
give to someone buying theirfirst rental?
But funny you should ask.
Kevin and I just flew back toIdaho to meet with and walk
through a duplex that our middleson is buying as his first
rental property.
Kevin (32:06):
Yes.
Very exciting times.
Stacie (32:08):
Yeah, I mean, he's nervous as hell, but super
excited to get that first rentalunder his belt.
But here was our advice to him.
Obviously run the numbers andhave a really good hold on what
the expenses are gonna be.
Know what the county or theprovince is gonna charge for
property taxes and get quotes onliability insurance.
(32:28):
Being a duplex and an investmentproperty, the insurance rates
are gonna be higher than for anowner occupied single family
home.
With the mortgage, those will bethe three biggest expenses to
account for.
Know about utility costs.
So for this property it waselectric only, no gas, and both
units had their own meters, sohe will not have to deal with
(32:50):
paying the electric bill ontheir behalf.
Same goes with garbage or trashservice.
With two units, you can havethem each get their own service
or pay, and you can add that asa fee in the lease.
So one expense he wasn't sure ofwas landscaping.
This particular property has alot of grass, and I believe it
(33:11):
also has two large trees.
So there's gonna be a need tomow and blow every couple weeks.
Depending on what level ofservice you want, that can cost
upwards of a hundred dollars amonth or more.
So understanding how much timethat you're willing to spend on
regular maintenance is importantto know.
We also told him don't expect alot of cash flow right off the
bat.
(33:32):
If you can earn a few hundreddollars after accounting for
expenses and reserves, you'refine.
You're not gonna retire or quityour nine to five off one
rental.
As time goes on, your mortgageshould stay the same, but you'll
benefit from rents increasing.
And expenses will also increaseas well over time, but usually
(33:52):
rents will outpace those costincreases.
And a quick side on reserves,don't sleep on those.
So unless you set aside a largeamount of money at the time of
purchase for emergencies, youwill need to use rent money and
profits to build reserves up forthose unexpected expenses.
And they absolutely will happen.
(34:13):
So make sure you have a way topay for'em.
When looking at the property,see if it has potential for
added value.
You know, it doesn't need to besomething you jump right into,
but this particular propertysits on a larger lot.
It's located on a court and isin the back corner of the
circle, so it has a bit moreland than its neighbors.
(34:34):
And why does that matter?
The city of Boise is encouraginginvestors and homeowners to add
ADUs or additional units totheir property if the zoning
allows it.
And this property definitely haspotential to add one or two more
units to it.
Which is something that he mightconsider down the line, but to
(34:56):
be able to increase rentswithout having to buy a whole
new piece of land, and obviouslydepending on the construction
costs, it might be worth it ifhe can create a fourplex out of
that.
The next thing that we talked tohim about was about knowing the
area, you know, what's aroundthere that might be a benefit to
the tenant.
Are there schools nearby forfamily tenants or a large
(35:17):
hospital, like a medicalfacility, government offices, or
large corporate businesses sothat tenants can live close to
work.
And in this case, the duplex isabout a half mile away from a
large hospital and medicalfacility.
It's also only about a 10 to 15minute drive to downtown Boise,
which is the capital of Idaho,and it's close to Boise State
(35:40):
University.
Not close enough for students,but for faculty and staff to be
able to get to work within 10minutes.
His Realtor, who's also ourRealtor, suggested that because
of the proximity to the hospitaland the medical center, he might
be able to convert a unit into amidterm rental and earn more
rent.
Again, maybe down the road, butdefinitely a possibility of
(36:03):
added value.
And the other thing is there's alot of other rentals in the
neighborhood, so he's able toget a really good idea on the
rent comps for that area aswell.
If the units need work, do theminimum that you need to do to
get them rented and startearning income.
So in this case, one tenant willbe moving out with the sale of
(36:23):
the property, so he will havethe chance to work on that one
unit and prep it so he canmaximize the rent.
So when you buy a property, yourfirst mortgage payment can and
usually is included with yourclosing cost.
So this means that your firstpayment may not be due for up to
six weeks after the close.
And that gives him time to go inand paint, replace flooring, and
(36:47):
give the place a real goodcleaning before putting it on
the market for rent.
Which leads us to finding atenant.
You won't wanna hear this, butsometimes it's better to have an
empty unit than one with aproblem tenant.
So make sure that you take thetime to properly vet and do
background checks on anytenants.
(37:10):
You wanna pre-screen, do a fulltenant screening and have a
solid lease.
Kevin (37:15):
You know, we'll be helping him out with that,
right?
Stacie (37:18):
Yeah, I mean, I'd hope so.
I mean, I, I do want him to dothe work so he can learn, but I
wanna be able to show him what'sgood and what's bad and you
know, what to look for.
I'll share with him all of ourtenant screening templates as
well.
He mentioned he wants to get aTurbo Tenant account going,
which I think is very smart.
You know, you wanna automateyour rental property as much as
(37:40):
possible from the beginningbecause it's actually kind of
hard to switch once you're doingit manually.
Kevin (37:45):
Yeah, and we've been partners with Turbo Tenant for a
while now.
We love them for newer rentalproperty owners, just like the
situation with our son, becausemany of the services are free.
These would be expenses that alot of landlords do not include
in their budget, like some ofthe costs associated with
finding a new tenant.
(38:07):
Advertising your rental propertyis completely free and it goes
out to dozens of rental propertysites like uh, rent.com,
apartments.com, Redfin, youknow, like that.
I mean, you create one ad andturbo tenant gets it out to all
those sites for free.
Those are sites you normallywould have to have a
(38:28):
subscription to, and that's alot of money actually.
They handle tenant applicationsand screening.
Also, no cost to the landlord.
They have an option where youcan have the tenant pay for this
service, so you never have tohandle reporting or recording
the receipts of these fees.
Collecting rent is always freefor landlords.
(38:51):
Only tenants will pay if theychoose to use a credit card for
payment.
Otherwise, ACH, which is ourrecommended method, is no
charge.
He did mention he wanted toupgrade to a premium account
because they provide unlimitedpersonalized leases for less
than$10 a month.
I mean, this is huge for DIYrental property owners.
(39:12):
Regardless of the state whereyour property is located, you
are covered by state specificleases and addendums.
He could use them on an asneeded basis too, because they
offer custom leases for$29 each.
Now, if he was in California, wewould give him the lease and
addendums to use, but we do nothave access to Idaho State
(39:33):
specific leases, so that's whyTurbo Tenant would be good for
him to use.
Stacie (39:39):
Yep.
And I also like how you canmanage your rentals and organize
your documents all in one place.
You don't get a website, butthey have a cloud space where
you can organize your files andkeep those documents for easy
access.
I mean, efficiency is key withTurbo Tenant and he will be able
to streamline his rentalproperty business because they
(39:59):
now have features such as in-appmessaging with tenants.
That's, you know, a really goodway to handle maintenance
requests.
Plus he can upload and storetheir rental insurance
information as well.
I believe those are availablewith the upgraded version, which
I think you pay an annual feethat comes to just shy of like
10 bucks a month, like you said.
And if he wants to have tenantscreening services and
(40:21):
electronic signatures, I thinkit goes up to around 12 bucks a
month.
You know, listen to you guys,Turbo Tenant is perfect for
newer investors like our son.
They offer really great servicesthat are easy to navigate and at
a cost that does not break thebank.
So we'll link them in the shownotes if you wanna check'em out
and see if they're right foryou.
(40:42):
All right, the last bit ofadvice that we had for our son
and for others looking to buytheir first rental property is
to set your policies for eachproperty and stick with it.
If you want a policy of no petsor no smoking, don't let someone
sweet talk you into changingyour mind.
Also, you wanna set yourself upwith a CPA who knows and
(41:04):
understands real estateinvesting and the tax laws, more
importantly, the tax benefits ofowning them.
So this is something that ourson did last year when he first
started looking for his firstrental property.
He actually met with his CPAthis week to do his taxes and
discussed the property with himand was able to get some good
sound advice on how to handle afew things.
(41:27):
We also suggest that you doregular inspections.
Semi-annually is what werecommend.
Just get in there and you wannalook for leaks, evidence of
rodents or unauthorized pets,and even unauthorized roommates.
Make sure that the air filtersare being replaced'cause this
alone can extend the life ofyour heaters and air
conditioners.
Make sure the smoke detectorsand carbon monoxide detectors
(41:50):
are working.
Shockingly enough, hand on aBible, neither of these units we
walked through had working smokedetectors and they didn't have
any fire extinguishers in themor on site.
And you guys, that is a majorviolation.
You know, if it's possible, hireyour contractor to do
(42:10):
inspections with you for an houror two because they know exactly
what to look for, especiallywhen it comes to leaks or
anything like that.
And they can estimate what needsto be done to remedy an issue
and also estimate the cost.
All right, we're almost done.
If you can find a Realtor thatspecializes in rental
properties, even better.
(42:31):
You know, for us in Idaho, ourRealtor owns his own rentals and
is a flipper.
He's a licensed contractor whonot only knows the market, he
has a whole Rolodex ofsubcontractors for us to call on
when we need to get work done.
And we used several of them backin November and December when we
did renovations to our fourplexback there.
(42:52):
You know, he's a great resourceto have.
Lastly, join local associationsto meet other landlords,
tradesmen, Realtors, CPAs, etcetera, to build up your team if
you don't really have any othercontacts.
Often meetings will be heldwhere you can network and meet
others who are either in thesame place as you, or they might
(43:15):
be able to get you where youwanna be.
Be careful to research theassociations though,'cause some
are there to profit from you andlure you in with their own
dealings.
Uh, we learned that one the hardway.
Uh, for one group that we paidto join.
Kevin (43:29):
Yeah, luckily we didn't pay too much, but one meeting in
and we were like, uh, yeah, Idon't think so.
All right, that was all goodadvice on buying your first
property.
And to be honest, we have beenmentoring our son for some time
now.
We flew back for a quickovernight trip to do the initial
walkthrough with him and showhim what to look for.
(43:50):
But this property in particularhas a new roof, newer siding,
and new air conditioners, so alot of the big ticket items are
covered for a while.
It had really good bones andvery good potential.
So he has moved on to theofficial inspection by an
outside source, so we'll seewhat that brings in.
(44:11):
The numbers worked.
We just need to see if there'sanything structural that was
going on.
One last real quick question toanswer.
Someone asks, my tenant isleaving before the lease is up
and he's refusing to give me myhouse keys.
What do I do?
I'd ask the tenant via email ortext when they are leaving, so
(44:34):
you have something in writing.
Then on that day, I'd go to theproperty after he has left and
do an exit walkthrough where youassess the condition of the
property to see if there is anytenant cause damage or issues.
Then since he is refusing toturn in the keys, I change the
locks.
But I would suggest you contactan attorney that specializes in
(44:57):
landlord tenant laws in yourarea first, because if they are
still under a lease contract youmay not be able to change the
locks and essentially lock themoutta their unit.
Of course, if all theirbelongings are gone and they
have clearly moved out, youshould be fine.
But always check to make surewhen a move out happens before
the lease is ended.
(45:18):
It should be written in thelease that they have to return
the keys or else they have topay to replace them.
And this includes re-keying thelocks.
If it is indeed included in yourlease, you can take the expense
you incurred from their securitydeposit.
We get it.
It's a total pain in the neck,especially when there are
multiple keys for the mainentry, gates, mailboxes.
(45:41):
I mean, we had a tenant takethem upon move out by accident,
and then when we asked him tomail them back, they were lost
in the mail.
I mean, not a real big deal forthe unit because we changed the
locks anyway, but he did have amailbox key that was lost and
those aren't easy to replace.
Stacie (46:00):
Yeah, there's something with that unit and lost keys.
I mean, it's happened like fourtimes so far, and that's just
that one unit.
The other five units, knock onwood, never had we had an issue
or lost keys or returning'em oranything.
Kevin (46:15):
I know, right.
One quick aside on how we handlere-keying our locks.
We used to call a locksmith outto the tune of about$75 a lock,
but our contractor showed usthat if we use Kwikset locks, we
can use their rekey system andrekey the locks ourselves for
like six bucks.
We will link the Kwikset SmartKeys in our show notes so you
(46:37):
can see what we are talkingabout.
We even are converting tokeyless entry systems.
They still have a key but allowsus to give access to contractors
and subs without the worry of akey walking off or getting lost.
Stacie (46:52):
Which is exactly what happened multiple times in Idaho
when we were using the lockboxback there.
The painter took it one time andthen we couldn't get in.
The floor guy took it anothertime and then the painter
couldn't get in.
It was a freaking hassle.
Kevin (47:04):
Oh man, yeah I forgot about that.
Maybe because they were callingyou, huh?
Stacie (47:09):
Yeah right.
Kevin (47:11):
But the keyless systems we are installing are by Kwikset
and they have that easy re-keyoption also, so we can rekey
those easily after a tenantmoves out.
Stacie (47:22):
Yeah, I mean, I'm looking forward to getting all
those on the units.
Uh, you do need internet to usethem, so that's kind of what the
delay is at this point, butwe're getting there.
All right, you guys, that's ourepisode for today.
We will go ahead and link allthe information we discussed in
the show notes for you,including the ways that you can
reach out to ask a question viatext or email, sign up for our
(47:43):
newsletter and to check outTurbo Tenant Landlord Software
and the Kwikset Smart Rekey setthat we use.
We would love it if you'd leavea kind review letting others
know what you like about ourpodcast.
There's a link in the show notesfor that as well.
We will be back with anotherepisode soon, definitely within
a month.
(48:04):
So until then, you've got thislandlords.
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