These are tough times, even though relief may be on the horizon. Some of you have been fortunate enough to hang on for the duration of the pandemic’s effect on the rental market. Where you are…location that is, always seems to be the normal effect on rent disruption. Move ins, outs, terminations, we’ve all dealt with them.
Well, take a look at this lawyer’s youtube video. He has some fine points in there, but you just might find a way to apply them to your current situation.
Maybe during these trying times, less household income has made its round to you. Are you sitting with a larger house and possibly a spare bedroom or two? Well, have you considered renting them out for some extra cash? If so, you’ll likely discover it’s fairly easy to do. Here’s a few pointers to ponder if you go forward with it.
First, consider your location, A lot of cities and towns have a big demand for room rentals, especially in high rent areas. So, think of where you fit in. Ask realtors, business people or friends to help you find your place. From personal experience, while attending university, I can tell you that problems can arise while sharing an abode with others, like dividing utility bills, cover sone member’s missing or late rent, sharing common areas like the kitchen, bath & living room. Basically, life isn’t perfect, so expect some snags.
Here’s how to handle things:
Set a fair rent, but don’t cheat yourself. Again, realtors, the local newspaper, classified websites, and related sources will help you determine this. When you are ready, place your own ad for at least a few days to get some calls & showings. Try to run part of your ad on a Friday or Saturday.
Check for local regulations. Just to be safe, check with local code enforcement before renting, to see if a permit, or other certification is required. Also, room renting is not permitted in some places. Although those regulations are difficult to enforce, you don’t want to be in the wrong.
Plan ahead! Many room renters will stay for years. Those people love the arrangement because, usually, they don’t have to pay the utility or other household expenses. If they don’t have any rent issues or dwelling problems, they will be content with your arrangement. However, if you have future plans, like moving yourself, or selling the property, it might be wise to consider this before renting out the rooms to long term tenants.
Establish in-house ground rules. Be sure your room renters know what they’re limits are in your house. This will avoid any future issues. For example, this would include things like smoking/pets/late night or early hours/ noise. It should also include chores and tasks…who mows the lawn, takes out the trash, does the dishes. And, of course, personal hygiene and care-taking of their rooms.
You pay the utilities and include them in the rent. It’s just simpler and will avoid any arguments about the aforementioned division of utility bills, who uses the telephone or watches TV the most If your utilities go up too much, just raise the rent. It works… and don’t give into dividing anything to a room renter that does’nt want to cooperate! Stick to your guns!
Finally, how to pick the right person. Be sure to run a credit check on them, especially if they will be long term. You can find renter application forms on the internet to help guide you. It’s also important to initially gather as much information as possible about the person, without crossing the line of Fair Housing statutes. Get their phone number(s), emergency contact info work info, etc. In the end, it’s still often a matter of your “gut” feeling, or intuition about your choice of a roommate.
How much money will you make?
Good question. Again, it has a lot to do with your location. Some places, like rural Virginia, it’s still possible to rent a room for $550 month. In my Pennsylvania rural area, it can be lower. Of course, the facility and amenities also have their effect on the rent. But, for sake of an example, let’s say your two spare rooms are rented for $550/month. That’s an extra $13,200 annually! This should be mostly profit, since your bills won’t increase much with only two additional house guests. So, there you have it! While you yourself may have to adjust to the situation, that extra household money should help you out.
For more rental tips for property managers and landlords, visit us at:https://tcpros.co/Rzic1
Summer is about to leave us and Autumn arrives, cool, but welcome.
The dry season has left its mark upon many a lawn. Large brown patches extend themselves and suddenly run into a healthy spot of high grass. It was a weird summer. If you cut your own grass, you know what I mean.
The odd rainstorm ripped twigs to downright large branches out of a tree’s dryness and deposited them in numerous crossed positions throughout the yard.
Of course, many have had much more severe problems with the hurricanes, tornadoes and strong wind storms that brought so much heartache, destruction and death across the country.
It is our hope that Fall is a bit easier on us as the leaves change color to reveal their seasonal splendor.
And so, those of us involved with property management will soon encounter furnaces that need serviced or replaced, power outages and roof leaks and other periodical maintenance issues.
But, carry on! We’ll just take it all in stride and realize that Autumn leads to our next, and oftentimes, most challenging season….winter!
Here’s current relevant information to help your “behind” tenants and get some relief:
Millions of people have been effected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Because of job loss and related money problems, tenants might benefit from the eviction ban on their rental housing. I The help came from the CDC when it started the ban on 9/4/20. It began on September 4, 2020, and has been extended through March 31, 2021.
So your renters can get some help, they must first complete a CDC Declaration Form. See link below. Your tenant must acknowledge that they tried to get government housing help and also income limits and IRS reporting applies, as well as noting their receipt of a stimulus payment. Other inclusive factors deal with attempts to pay rent, reasons for late rent (other bills), and homeless status. It also clearly states that the rental assistance is not rent forgiveness, and that rent is still owed to the landlord and additionally, the landlord may pursue and eviction for reasons other than late rent. Also, the landlord has clear rights to evict the tenant after the ban expires. See more at the government site:
As far as direct government help there is mortgage forbearance for multifamily owners through the Federal Housing Finance Agency, with the stipulation that evictions are suspended because of the pandemic.
So….how are the Landlords dealing with late payments and the effect of that with their income and financial health?
Well, they are resorting to doing several things. This includes creating a structured rent deferral program. Tenants are likely to better understand their obligations for rent payment with a program in place. Other remedies include permitting partial payments, although usually not recommended under normal times, during the pandemic, this makes good sense. Another way to ease rent obligations is to use the security deposit, or last month’s rent or an adjusted rent amount, for current rent. Putting this into effect varies from state to state, so check what your state has to say about that before extending that remedy to your tenant. Late rent charges is also some landlords are doing. Approach each of your “behind” tenants as a separate case. Not everyone has the same circumstances, even though it looks like we’re all “in the same boat”. It would also be wise to update your lease to reflect any of these changes or remedies, so you still may have a pathway open for eviction, whenever it is necessary or the timetable allows.
Communication is essential for any of the scenarios mentioned here. Walking in your tenants shoes (many of you may think “yuck” here) for awhile may give you a better perspective of the entire situation and possibly spark an idea for that individual’s solution to their problem.
Let’s all work together and hope these tough times are followed by a period of unrivaled prosperity.
Here’s current relevant information to help your “behind” tenants and get some relief:
Millions of people have been effected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Because of job loss and related money problems, tenants might benefit from the eviction ban on their rental housing.I The help came from the CDC when it started the ban on 9/4/20. It began on September 4, 2020, and has been extended through March 31, 2021.
So your renters can get some help, they must first complete a CDC Declaration Form. See link below. Your tenant must acknowledge that they tried to get government housing help and also income limits and IRS reporting applies, as well as noting their receipt of a stimulus payment. Other inclusive factors deal with attempts fo pay rent, reasons for late rent (other bills), and homeless status. It also clearly states that the rental assi stance is not rent forgiveness, and that rent is still owed to the landlord and additionally, the landlord may pursue and eviction for reasons other than late rent. Also, the landlord has clear rights to evict the tenant after the ban expires. See more at the government site:
CDC Declaration Form
As far as direct government help there is mortgage forbearance for multifamily owners through the Federal Housing Finance Agency, with the stipulation that evictions are suspended because of the pandemic.
So….how are the Landlords dealing with late payments and the effect of that with their income and financial health?
Well, they are resorting to doing several things. This includes creating a structured rent deferral program. Tenants are likely to better understand their obligations for rent payment with a program in place. Other remedies include permitting partial payments, although usually not recommended under normal times, during the pandemic, this makes good sense. Another way to ease rent obligations is to use the security deposit, or last month’s rent or an adjusted rent amount, for current rent. Putting this into effect varies from state to state, so check what your state has to say about that before extending that remedy to your tenant. Late rent charges is also some landlords are doing. Approach each of your “behind” tenants as a separate case. Not everyone has the same circumstances, even though it looks like we’re all “in the same boat”. It would also be wise to update your lease to reflect any of these changes or remedies, so you still may have a pathway open for eviction, whenever it is necessary or the timetable allows.
Communication is essential for any of the scenarios mentioned here. Walking in your tenants shoes (many of you may think “yuck” here) for awhile may give you a better perspective of the entire situation and possibly spark an idea for that individual’s solution to their problem.
Let’s all work together and hope these tough times are followed by a period of unrivaled prosperity.
We have sold out the majority of our rental property holdings to a long-standing and well known local property investor/landlord, Martin Clark.
We have also sold our office building at 402 W Mahoning St
If you are in need of a rental house or apartment, we strongly urge you to contact Mr. Clark’s office at 814-938-7749
The Matterhorn Company will still exist, however, we plan to change the business into a real estate investor/landlord/property manager helpful advice site. Our years of advertising & marketing experience will be to their benefit.
So you want to move to a new place. Maybe you are downsizing, or upsizing. No matter, carefully consider where you want to live, whether it is an apartment, duplex or house. All dwellings will ultimately have a good and bad side to them. New neighbors might be noisy and the old ones may want to visit you more than you like.
Look at yourself first. Hey, nobody’s perfect, but just see if you are the neat, tidy person that a potential landlord wants in the apartment, house or other dwelling. After all, its his/her place that you hope to live in. Do you always take your trash out? Do you dust, vacuum and mop floors often? If you have pets, are they properly groomed, fed and cleaned-up after? Are your dinner dishes cleaned and put away? Your porch and yard; are they free of debris, toys and other potential hazards? And, by the way, is your renters insurance paid up to date?
You also owe it to yourself to check out your landlord before signing the lease. Don’t get yourself onto a ledge that you cannot get off of. Often, local police, the local district judge and vendors/contractors can be an accurate character source of reference for the landlord. Maybe go so far as to ask current renters in the building, or neighbors about the person. Of course, the local chamber of commerce or BBB, can also help you size up your landlord. After all, you will likely be signing a year’s lease or better, thereby putting yourself into debt with him/her, so it pays to be cautious.
Finally, with the rent being the most important aspect of your future abode, research regional rents to make sure that you will be getting what you pay for. A fair market rent is obtainable by contacting local and regional housing authorities. Make certain that you compare “apples to oranges”; that is, that your desired apartment includes all, part, or no utilities…and which ones are involved. Also, make sure that you understand the lease and especially any security deposit, or other deposits, that you are expected to pay them.
Armed with this information, hopefully, you will help find yourself a great place to live and prosper.
For many of us in the landlord/property management game for decades, we have seen the costly effects of renters that do not live up to our expectations of “good hygiene”.
Sure, the above photo was taken after a move-out..but not an eviction. Clearly, these folks had been living like this for sometime. What a shame..you might say, too bad you didn’t do regular inspections. True enough, but given all that is demanded of us these days, no doubt other landlords are having similar problems.
So, hmmmn, what to do? Our first suggestion is to do a drive-by of the property and observe any problems from the exterior. Often unconditional, or downright filthy things will be seen, such as trash strewn about lawns and porches, and poor pet treatment (if pets permitted). Large trash heaps at the curbside might alert the landlord that a renter has moved out, or, has too many people not in the lease staying with him.
Your maintenance staff, or also hired contractors can often assist with “incidental” inspections. For example, maintenance is called out for a backed up drain, or toilet, and finds other conditions unhygienic. If encouraged, the maintenance person, or contractor, will advise management of the situation and facilitate a regular inspection. They, in turn should be supported in any terribly filthy environment to “stand down”, until the tenant cleans up a mess so they can pursue their maintenance task.
Unfortunately, very often, but not 100% of the time, a tenant suspected of being a poor housekeeper, is also behind in the rent. Again, this gives management the opportunity to call/meet with the tenant to find rent solutions before an eviction, and to inspect the property’s condition.
We hope this information is helpful to both tenants and landlords. Another similar post is in the making. Follow us.
If you have been outside this morning, Winter’s snow has not stopped yet. The truth is, many folks decide to move in the Spring, whether buying or renting a new place.
If you need a nice, simple place to live and maintain, please contact us. Next month we will have a nice selection of 1 & 2 bedroom apartments, and an efficiency apartment. Rents on those range from $510 to $750 per month, so let us know what you need in advance. We do not permit pets or smoking in our apartment buildings.
In any case, soon it will be time to put away the snow shovel and think Spring!
When warmer weather comes knocking at your door, so do unwanted pest, like mice. Here are a few tips to keep them out and other unwanted little visitors:
Got ants? Or cockroaches? Mix some sugar and borax together in a jar and sprinkle around the perimeter of the infected area. Even local dollar stores carry an inexpensive borax powder that is effective with small problems.
Vacuum: Just vacuum the floors more frequently to help eliminate the small critters.
Rats and mice: Use a repellent in the Fall to keep them from becoming unwanted boarder in your place. If you see active mice, then get some inexpensive wood traps and bait them with things like peanut butter, meat and cheese. If the “yuck” factor affects you, the stores offer humane catch and release traps. Or traps where you do not see the animal. Rats can get out of hand quickly and are often a neighborhood/location problem. If you have many, seek out a good exterminator. Since that may be expensive, do whatever you can to “nip it in the bud”.
The mosquitoes are coming! Do not give them a place to breed. No standing water, like bucket/barrels of rainwater, bird feeders, etc. Keep it fresh. Make sure you keep your recyclable items clean, washed and outside your home. Fix or make sure your window/door screens are tight, or repaired to keep them out and other flying insects.
Clean your drains: At least once a month, use a drain cleaner (even vinegar & baking soda mixed will do). It will keep them running smoothly preventing mold growth and depriving pests of a living place.
Hopefully, you find this information useful. More on different pests later. Stay tuned!
If you have been outside this morning, Winter’s snow has not stopped yet. The truth is, many folks decide to move in the Spring, whether buying or renting a new place.
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