Monthly Statements For Your Renters
Hi All,
Is anyone out there sending their tenants a monthly statement? Like the bank sends us? If so:
1. Do you think it helps the tenant be on time by “encouraging” them to pay by the first?
2. How do you send the statement? Mail or email?
Any other thoughts? I am considering doing this by automatic statement distribution and wanted to hear from anyone who has good or bad to say about it.
Thanks, Brian
[ Edited by bnwbaron on Date 02/18/2008 ]
Why could you not have the water in your name (bill sent to your mail) and have the tenant reimburse you. Might be a pain in the butt, but better than a 1K bill.
. Here are some options that work for me:
1. I get the bill and fax over to my tenant in Salibury, Md. They go directly and pay the bill quarterly.
2. I pay for water and I advertise how much I pay so my tenants pay more rent based on this in Laurel, DE.
3. We did this in Greenwood, DE also and I told applicants that they were getting a deal because I absorb any increases. It is working fine, compared to the guys before paying erratically and leaving a bill.
4. I call my tenant each quarter in Dover, DE and Dagsboro, DE and tell them how much to add to the rent that month to cover bills. Easy.
In Howard Co., Md. I always let my tenants pay the quarterly bill and never had a problem, but the last tenant, who was not trustworthy, I kept in my name and she had to add to rent each month that I called her w/water bill due. No biggie or problems.
Good luck on getting your money; hopefully they are still tenants so you have leverage.
Usually I have no problems getting the money. I send a letter explaining the enclosed invoice showing a due date (usually a month hence, plenty of time) and I even include a stamped addressed envelope for them to use to send it back to me.
NOTE: Postage rates go up on May 12 08. Buy "Forever Stamps" NOW! I did!
The issue I have is that there I spent time and stamps (3 stamps total for each bill) and printing and mailing and yadda yadda...
I guess the only real "other way" is to just say "water is included in rent" and boost the rent accordingly. Only problem there is you run the risk of (a) tenant uses water like MAD and (b) your rent is increased so much that you are out of the market.
Huh.
MC
[addsig]
Yeah, paying for the pleasure of dealing with tenants is not something I would rush to spend my money on...
Chris
I would let sleeping dogs lie and do it with my own funds. Once you know for sure that there is lead paint in the building, you have to disclose it and I could see that affecting future sales price. If the inspection is never done, then you can say I do not know if there is lead paint. If it is an older building, then there is probably lead paint there...but you never know for sure. The way I understand it lead paint is only an issue if it is chipping (dust and possible ingestion), disrupted (ie construction or rehab) or if someone is chewing on the wood (ie kids). If you are doing it yourself, take reasonable protective measure (dust mask, drop cloths, clean up well, limit sanding, no heat guns etc) and paint everything to cover any lead paint present.
There is lead paint in almost every building pre-1978. [ Edited by d_random on Date 02/20/2008 ]
I would not do any lead paint abatement until you contact your county health department and get instructions. You could make the situation much, much worse.
To borrow a phrase from above, the usual strategy is to "let sleeping lead lie". Studies have shown that children living in homes where lead paint removal has been done have much, much higher levels of lead than those who live in homes with lead paint. Any removal attempt is going to leave dust containing lead, which is far worse than chips of lead paint.
The widely accepted best management practice is to paint over lead paint rather than try to remove it. Where paint is seriously flaking I will give it a light scrape to remove loose chips (wearing a mask) and then go over the surface with a thin layer of drywall topping compound to create a smooth surface for painting.
But if HUD is willing to pay for new windows, it could be worthwhile to deal with it- especially if you are responsible for the heating bill. They should be aware that it is better to paint over old paint than to try and remove it- hopefully they will just be checking to see that all old paint has been covered and there is no chipping paint.
Chris