When Does a Landlord Need a Lawyer? In short, landlords need expert assistance from landlord/tenant lawyers when a legal issue becomes serious or has the potential to be expensive. Here are several such scenarios: When you’re starting out. It could be worth the extra expense to have your lease agreements, pet policies, security deposits and [...]
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Elaine is a responsible, no-nonsense landlord. Her leases are clear and thorough, and her tenants generally live by her rules. Every now and then, however, Elaine signs a lease with a tenant who unexpectedly starts causing trouble—despite her checking the tenant’s rental history, criminal background, and credit. This time it’s a young woman who is [...]
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Christopher is no newbie landlord. He has purchased and rehabbed several properties in his city, and is running his investment property business full time. His tenants are a mix of couples, families, and singles from every income tier and diverse backgrounds. He’s had his share of problem tenants, but the only real problems he’s had [...]
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What are your risks when considering applicants for your rental property? Even in these tough times, you cannot approve every applicant. It’s important to know your parameters when you must reject a potential tenant. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discriminating against tenants on the basis of race, religion, sex, disability, or national origin. Some [...]
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The law protects tenants from evictions, rent increases, and other penalties a landlord might impose out of retaliation. Most often, this occurs after a tenant files a complaint or other action against the landlord. If you decide to evict a tenant, raise the rent, or terminate a lease, you must be prepared to prove it [...]
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Every landlord defines “problem tenants” differently, but all can agree they are just not easy to deal with. You might be considered lucky if your problem tenant is just late with the rent or is loud and disruptive at 3 a.m. While some bend the rules, others break your property, causing costly damages. And in [...]
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Many a time, landlords with rental property find that along with their bonafide tenant, they are saddled with a friend he / she allowed to stay over, while the guest searched for a place to live. However, come time to move and the visitor refuses to comply. Now, while most landlords want the original tenant [...]
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When is it legal for a landlord to terminate a lease, and thereby end an unwanted tenancy, is a relatively easy question to answer. One can say a landlord is within his legal rights to terminate a lease, when the tenant flagrantly violates any of its clauses, such as, paying rent late, keeping pets in [...]
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It is crucial for landlords to be aware of state laws governing rental businesses before renting out their property. Not only, do successful landlords have loads of practical know-how, as also business moxie, along with being familiar with the market. Thirty-years ago, the rental business was unrelated to law, however, today federal and state laws [...]
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It is of vital importance for both landlords / tenants making a checklist of things to be thoroughly reviewed before signing or having a lease signed. A contract, one should understand all the clauses contained in the lease, including how they will impact one. Since, a lease is a contract, it is possible to negotiate [...]
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