Chris Hounchell REALTOR

Welcome Home!

Award-winning Florida real estate Broker PROUDLY SELLING IN PINELLAS, HILLSBOROUGH, PASCO, MANATEE & SARASOTA COUNTIES since 2004.

How to Make a Rental Feel Like Home

By

There are more renters in the United States than there has been in the last five decades. There are numerous reasons why people rent; millennials just getting their adult lives started, a military family with a short term assignment, or just someone who simply doesn’t want the responsibilities of being a home owner. Whatever the reason for renting, you want to feel at home and that can be difficult to achieve that feeling if you’re living in a place with bland off-white walls. It’s important to feel at home where you’re living and it can be done.

Get the Okay

Have a discussion with your landlord and find out what changes he or she will allow to the property and which they won’t. Some landlords may be willing to allow a tenant to paint as long as the landlord has the final decision on paint colors or if the tenant returns the property with the original paint color. It’s best to get the approved changes in writing before proceeding.

Decorate With Purpose

Working with bland basic like beige walls or carpet can actually be a perk. Design each room or the entire home with a theme. If you need your bedroom to be restorative, choose bedding and curtains in calming shades and don’t skip on the blackout variety. You can turn your bathroom into a spa with lush towels, candles, and an updated shower head. Make mindful choices that you will enjoy instead of just making do.

How to Make a Rental Feel Like Home

Disguise Problem Areas

No property is ever picture perfect but when you’re a renter it’s not an easy fix. To hide or improve the less desirable features of your rented home don’t be afraid to use accessories. If a room makes you feel claustrophobic use a mirror to give the illusion of more space. Lamps with bright bulbs can light up dark corners and area rugs can hide the ugly shade of carpet.

Home isn’t just the place you rest your head at night; it’s also your neighborhood. Get out and explore your new neighborhood. Introduce yourself to the neighbors and find what makes the area special.

How to Ensure a Smooth Rental Turn Over

By

There will come a time for every landlord to turn over their rental property from one tenant to the next. You would think it would be as easy as collecting the keys from the former and giving them to the latter but that’s not the case. Proper planning and proactive actions can go a long way in making a rental turn over a smooth and efficient process.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Before ever considering further steps in a turn over plan, you, as the landlord, need to know if your current tenants are staying or going. Your lease will spell out the specific requirements for providing the opportunity for a renewal or for giving notice of non-renewal. If you’ve decided to not renew with your current tenants or they have decided to move on, put the specific move out date in writing. If you are not renewing your lease, send the notice via certified mail with a return receipt. If your tenants have given you notice, have them send it to you in writing with a signature.

Communicate

Provide your tenants with a copy of the move-in inspection report and a detailed description of the steps that need to be taken to help ensure they receive their security deposit back. Offer your tenants the opportunity for a pre-move out walk through so you can address specific concerns or needs for repair prior to their move-out. This lays out how you expect the property to be returned to you and gives the tenants the chance to meet those expectations.

How to Ensure a Smooth Rental Turn Over

The Move-Out

On the agreed upon day of move-out be prepared to meet your tenants at the property and complete a final inspection with them. Note any damages and normal wear and tear and have your tenant sign the list, just like they did for the move-in report. Make sure the tenant turns in all keys to the property, even those copies they made at their own expense, garage door openers, mailbox keys, and parking passes. Lastly, get their new mailing address so you can send back the security deposit or forward any future written communications to them.

Prepare For the New Tenant

Don’t waste any time getting the property ready for the next tenant. This can be the most costly point of turn over since a vacant house is a loss of income. The house should be cleaned from top to bottom and all repairs should be completed prior to a new tenant taking possession. If the former tenant left items behind, the landlord is responsible to remove them from the property and store them for a time and in a condition prescribed by local law. If you do change the locks, have extra copies of the keys made not only for the tenant but for yourself and your property manager.

Move-In Day

On the day your new tenants arrive, walk through the property together, make note of the current condition of the house, and both you and the tenant should sign the report. Be sure to deliver a copy to them as soon as possible. Explain how to operate the basic house systems and appliances, provide your contact information, and remind the tenant of any specific responsibilities related to the house, such as lawn maintenance, parking regulations, or pet rules.

Once you develop a turn over plan and stick with it you’ll find the process reduces the stress and time involved in seeing one tenant out the door and welcoming a new one in.

What Does an Eviction Mean For a Tenant?

By

We previously discussed the effects and costs of an eviction for the landlord but we did not touch on the effects on the tenants. As we have said previously, most tenants enter into a rental agreement with the best of intentions and abilities to adhere to their responsibilities. Situations do arise though that can lead a tenant to eviction and an eviction does leave an impact.

What Can a Tenant Be Evicted For?

The most common reason for eviction is non-payment of rent but be aware that as the tenant, you can be evicted for failing to adhere to the terms of the lease including the number of persons living in the house, pets, and maintenance. If you are given notice to remedy a situation that violates your lease and fail to do so within the prescribed time, your landlord can being the eviction process.

Effects of Eviction for Tenant

What Happens During an Eviction?

Once a tenant fails to remedy a lease violation, the landlord will file a complaint for eviction with the appropriate Court. All of the tenants and known residents of the rental property will be served with notice. Defendants are given the opportunity to file a response to the complaint with the Court and the Court will review the answer. If the Court feels the answer can help resolve the situation without the eviction proceeding it may schedule a hearing to mediate. If the Court feels the answer is baseless or no answer is received, the Court will issue a judgment in the landlord’s favor allowing the landlord to hire the local Sheriff to evict the tenants. An eviction notice will be served to all the parties listed in the complaint; the notice will provide a date that the property must be vacated. If necessary, the Sheriff will forcibly remove the tenants from the property.

What Are the Lasting Effects of an Eviction?

A fully executed eviction will be reported on most credit reports and most landlords run not only credit reports but public records searches for court cases including evictions. Most states allow for eviction cases to expire from a person’s record after seven years. Potential landlords may be less likely to allow a person with a previous eviction on their record to rent from them. The landlord that executed the eviction may also sue their former tenant for unpaid rent and any damage that was not covered by the security deposit.

An eviction is a costly event for both the landlord and tenant. Not only is the immediate concern for the tenant lawyers’ fees and finding a new place to live but also facing the risk of a collection judgment and paying higher rental payments and security deposits until the eviction expires from the public records.

The Cost of Eviction

By

One of the most feared situations when it comes to managing a rental property is an eviction. In a perfect world, tenants would pay their rent on time every month, adhere to the terms of the lease, and leave your property in better shape than they received it. Reality is far different. While most tenants work hard to remain in good standing with their landlord, there are those in the minority that don’t. The cost of eviction is not inexpensive for a landlord.

Are You Able to Evict?

Before ever filing a complaint in Court, you’ll need to determine if you have the legal right to file an eviction. Unpaid rent is not the only reason to evict, although it is the most common cause. If you’re looking to evict a tenant because they have unauthorized animals in the property or additional tenants that exceed the lease or public code allowances you need to see what remediation your lease and local & state laws require before proceeding with an eviction. Often you’ll need to provide written demand for payment of rent or resolution to the dispute to the tenant with a reasonable timeline.

The Cost of Eviction

What Does an Eviction Cost?

There’s no one-size-fits-all price tag for an eviction. Sometimes a landlord will get “lucky” and a tenant will abandon the property and not contest the eviction proceedings other times a tenant will fight to the bitter end. The cost also varies based on how much back rent the landlord is owed, attorney’s costs, and Court filing fees. There’s also the question of what state the property is in once the eviction has been completed. If the property requires major repairs in order to to make it habitable for the next tenants; those costs coupled with the time lost on rent can also add up quickly.

A brief summary of eviction costs include:

  • $500 – attorney fees
  • $50-200 – Court fees
  • $150 – rekeying costs
  • $1,500 – repairs and cleaning fees
  • $4,500 -3 months of lost rent after eviction was completed

Total: $6,850

Can You Recoup Your Loss?

With the appropriate evidence (e.g. a lease, late notices, demand letters) a landlord can file a complaint in small claims Court for a personal judgment against the former tenant. If the landlord secures a judgment they can attempt to collect the unpaid rent and charges for damages (if any) but roughly only 17% of landlords who seek out this option ever see repayment.

There’s no solid guarantee that the tenant you thoroughly screen isn’t going to default on their rental obligation. But adhering to the lease (late fees and proper notice) and keeping communication open with your tenant can alert to you problems before they escalate and can protect you and your investment in the long term.

Source: https://www.landlordology.com/cost-to-evict-a-tenant/

How to Screen Potential Tenants

By

The process of obtaining a tenant for your rental property seems straight forward. You need to market the property, check out the potential tenant, and then sign the lease. But what exactly should you do when you’re checking out your tenant? Is a credit check enough? Let’s walk through how to screen potential tenants.

Check Everyone

Your tenant application should be filled out by every adult 18 years of age and older. This works to your advantage for several reasons including obtaining every adult’s contact information and making each adult liable and responsible for the lease obligations. Children and those adults with incapacities are exempt for background checks, however. Don’t request a simple credit score but rather a full credit report with details for both positive and negative factors. This will help you understand any patterns of late payments and delinquencies.

How to Screen Potential Tenants

Credit Reports Alone Aren’t Good Enough

It seems like a reasonable assumption that if a potential tenant has failed to make payments on their financial obligations they’ll have a less than desirable credit score. That may be true but what if a previous landlord didn’t report to the credit bureaus or the tenant has worked to clean up their credit score? As part of your research, you should search the local (in relation to their previous addresses) court records for eviction proceedings. You’ll also want to run a criminal search for each applicant.

Make the Calls

Asking for references does you no good if you do nothing with the information. You should verify current employment status as well as the likelihood for continued employment. Contact other landlord references to confirm that timeliness of payments and if the tenant’s behavior was in line with the lease.

A thorough tenant screening puts you in the best position possible to decide whether to approve or decline your applicants. You don’t need to do all the leg work yourself though. There are services you can order the necessary credit, criminal, and eviction reports and have them delivered right to your inbox. All you’ll need to do is make the phone calls to confirm employment and prior rental history. If a potential tenant is hesitant or refuses to submit to the screening process you’ve put in place should be an automatic disqualification for consideration.