Income – What Is & What Isn’t Landlords take in money, some being taxable, some not. In addition to amounts you receive as normal rent payments, there are other amounts that may be rental income. There are other receipts that are not rent including deposits and vending machines amounts. Rents                                                                                     You generally must include in […]

Some Questions & Answers *  *  *  *  *  * Q1 Will a lien on your property hurt your credit score? A1 Anything that is a matter of public record, which a lien will be if/when recorded, will affect one’s credit record if credit bureaus discover it when checking records in the county where recorded. […]

Disclosure Issues – Part 1 Once upon a time and throughout the land, the basic rule of buying anything, including real estate, was “Caveat Emptor” – that is, “Buyer Beware.” In more general terms it was consumer beware and applied to a purchaser of any product or service. The seller or landlord had no responsibility […]

 *  *  *  *  * Q1 I had hired an auction service to clean out one of my vacant rentals. One of their workers used the basement toilet and caused an overflow which put 7″ of water throughout the ranch home. My insurance will cover all the structural damage and drywall replacement but my rental […]

Screening Prospective Tenants Choosing a tenant to fill a rental vacancy is a critical decision for any landlord. Those landlords that “choose well” often sleep better at night than those landlords who are forced to “choose often” because the first tenant did not work out. As those landlords that choose over and over again find […]

Q1 My tenant and I want to renew a lease. The only item on the old lease that will change is the lease term. Do I have to enter into a new lease, or can I do a short addendum to the existing lease? A1 It is an “amendment” rather than an “addendum” that you […]

Increasing Landlord Workload Each year landlords’ lives become evermore complicated due to federal, state, and local governments enacting new laws related to both being involved in any type of business as well as related specifically to ownership of income properties. Landlords must be concerned about lead-based paint; mold; bedbugs; fair housing and ADA; the FCRA; […]

Q1 How many days is a tenant’s visitor allowed to stay? A1 It depends on whether the lease deals with the subject. If it does not have a lease clause specifying a limit, you may have trouble enforcing any limit. If the issue went to court you’d have to convince the judge that there should […]

More Bedbug Issues With the well publicized resurgence of bedbug infestations, landlords must take a more aggressive approach to suspected or known presence of bedbugs. In addition to habitability, health, and safety requirements as currently mandated by landlord-tenant laws, landlords in states with bedbug legislation must now incorporate specific additional policies for disclosure and mitigation […]

We provide here a few questions that have been posted in the Community Forums and our answers to them. *   *   *   *   *   * Q1 What are my legal obligations concerning Bed Bugs? To my knowledge there are no bed bugs in any of my apartments at this moment, but I’ve been reading lately […]