Posted by bob davis on April 13, 2009 at 16:09:31:
when i remove items such as toothbrushes, razors and other garbage from plumbing, i take pictures and let tenant know that they will be responsible for any further repairs and have them sign agreement. magistrate judge can see my side with pictures!! i do the same with certified letters, post them on door and take pic before mailing!
Renters…Hmmmmm??? - Posted by acw
Posted by acw on April 10, 2009 at 05:34:26:
I am hesitantly entering the renters market. Mostly families with 3-5 kids who rent SF. My biggest concern is what they can do to the sewer. I’ve heard stories of people flushing all kinds of crap down a sewer (like shoes, golf club heads, silver wear, etc).
What can be done to protect sewer lines from being distroyed?
thanks in advance…
~TW
Re: Renters…Hmmmmm??? - Posted by bob davis
Posted by bob davis on April 13, 2009 at 15:56:23:
there are forms you can have your tenants sign making them responsible for plumbing problems. if they don’t want to sign the agreement, don’t rent!the’re a lot of scary stories out there. it’s all part of how bad you want to be a landlord??
pencils, toothbrushes, balls, and toys - Posted by David Krulac
Posted by David Krulac on April 11, 2009 at 13:12:57:
are just some of the things we’ve found clogging the sewer lines. A company that specializes in drain/sewer cleaning charges about $75 to $150 for their service. My policy is that if it is something thrown down the drain by the tenant, usually the kids, its the tennats responsibility to pay the bill. If not then I pay.
Re: Renters…Hmmmmm??? - Posted by James - Michigan Investor
Posted by James - Michigan Investor on April 10, 2009 at 11:49:09:
Yes, get them on MY lease. 
I can send you the abridged version if you’d like.
You take care of them and they will take care of you…or get them to put alot of money down for Option and they will take better care of the property too.
James
989.213.6108
Re: Renters…Hmmmmm??? - Posted by Bill H
Posted by Bill H on April 10, 2009 at 10:47:21:
Do not know how to prevent it. However; you can put a clause in your rental agreement that says something like, “Lessee/Renter agrees and is responsible for the first $XX of minor maintenance and repairs to include but not be limited to removal of items from plumbing, unstopping sinks, toilets, tubs, etc.”
SPECIFICALLY call this to their attention and have them initial the paragraph.
Good luck,
Bill H
Re: Renters…Hmmmmm??? - Posted by michaela-CAv
Posted by michaela-CAv on April 10, 2009 at 10:13:20:
I’ve said for years that I had no desire to ever be a landlord again. But then opportunity came along and here I am with 7 rental units - SFH and duplexes.
The thing is - yes, all kinds of stuff can happen and kids can think of many more ways to create problems thatn anybody could ever safeguard for. And then you will have adults that resent an eviction who may pour stuff down the sewer.
My point is: Is there enough upside to take the risk that some things may need mending at some point? Things will happen - that’s the nature of the beast. You can plan it out like crazy and something unexpected will occur. You can have more monetary damage by having a unit empty for 3 months than it may cost to fix a potential plumbing problem.
It’s where you stand in terms of risk threshold that counts. Is it a good enough deal that you can live with the occasional hiccup? If yes, then focus on the positive. If no, then it’s not a good deal and you move on.
Just my thoughts
Michaela
Re: Renters…Hmmmmm??? - Posted by Kristine-CA
Posted by Kristine-CA on April 10, 2009 at 17:45:23:
Hi Bill. I’m curious about the clause that has tenants paying for “minor
maintenance.” Is that something you use to call your tenant’s attention
to being more cautious with your property, or do you really enforce it?
And is it enforeceable? I’ve heard mention of this before but “minor
maintenance” is so vague. Maybe it’s because I’m in CA and know of
so many rent control issues in various cities, but I can’t imagine a
judge going for making a tenant pay for “maintenance” or repairs.
Re: Renters…Hmmmmm??? - Posted by Bill H
Posted by Bill H on April 10, 2009 at 18:21:49:
Gosh, what with all the rent control and liberal judges I am glad we finally sold the last 100 unit building and got out of the rental business.
Perhaps “minor Maintenance” is not the proper word or wording, but we had the clause and both we and the tenant understood that they were responsible for minor things that they caused and would be expected to take care of them.
Good Luck,
Bill H
Re: Renters…Hmmmmm??? - Posted by Sean williamson
Posted by Sean williamson on April 12, 2009 at 09:29:11:
i have a clause that simply says renter pays the first 100.00 of any repairs seems to work
Probably NOT legal - Posted by JT-IN
Posted by JT-IN on April 13, 2009 at 08:56:21:
In most venues… to have such a clause. For instance, if the furnace breaks, you can’t legally charge the tenant for that. This would be as a result of normal wear and tear, and you can’t legally charge a tenant for such a repair, or even a portion of such.
The clause should be related to an "act of negligence or any overt act of the tenant, causing damage or necessary repairs, that Tenant shall be responsible for 100% of the cost of such repairs.
If your system isn’t broke then don’t fix it, but just know that it could cause you some problems down the road.
Re: Probably NOT legal - Posted by Kristine-CA
Posted by Kristine-CA on April 13, 2009 at 21:56:45:
JT: thank you for weighing in here. A lot of this making the tenant
responsible for everything reminds me of many of the lease/option
posts here several years (!) ago. It was all rah-rah sell via L/O and you
are home-free in the landlord dept. We kind of all know that business
model is over. An option is an option. A lease is a lease. Landlord
laws apply where there is a lease. Not much new under the sun, huh?
I’m all for the clauses that make the tenant aware that negligence and
overt damage will not be tolerated. I recently re-read my lease of five
years (on my residence) and it goes into detail about not setting foot
on the roof. Who knew? We’re up there a couple of times a year with
the holiday lights and other wiring/electrical issues. OK. So it’s a good
idea to read the lease. But when it comes to anything truly
maintenance and wear and tear related, it seems pretty difficult to go
after a tenant for that. Kristine
Re: Probably NOT legal - Posted by Sean williamson
Posted by Sean williamson on April 13, 2009 at 11:16:11:
absolutly correct JT and the clause reads more from an act of negligents from the renters it becomes a fine line between right and wrong and as property managers we must have faith in people and provable evidence of neglibence. question is did the furnace break or did the tenant break it? the clause simply lets people know they are responsible for what goes on in the property. thanks for the post JT