Thursday, May 25, 2006

craigslist rocks

from a wise nightowl on the housing forum:
It's really your choice how to handle this. Her ignorance of 30 day notices isn't your problem. However, whenever I get something that kinda looks like an attempt at a 30 day notice (this is from experience with the sort of conflict you are describing), I immediately write the tenant a letter telling her/him why the notice isn't a legal notice, describe the proper form, and suggest that she/he resubmit a correct 30 day notice ASAP.

You are right that her bounced check entitles you to withhold that amount from her security deposit. You should NEVER have a tenant pay "First and Last month's rent" when they move in. You can have an initial payment that totals 3x the monthly rent if the unit is unfurnished and 4x the monthly rent if it is furnished. The smart thing is to call everything over the first month's rent a security deposit and NEVER have a separate pet deposit, for example.

Generally, if there is confusion in communication, the interpretation favors the person being communicated with, not the person writing the communication. I think your tenant screwed up. And now she is trying to cover her ass.

The real question is what kind of karma you want to create for yourself. I have made this decision all over the map and regret the times I took a hard position. Time and experience (I own 35 rental units) eventually "shows the way." LOL.
amen.

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