Pet Deposit

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What is typically a standard pet deposit. I have a potential renter that has two cats. I am not sure since I have never rented to anyone with pets.....I dont want to overcharge or undercharge. All input is appreciated. Thanks!

Comments(9)

  • mattfish1127th February, 2006

    Cats tend to "mark their territory" when they arrive in new places...

    Cat piss smells horrible if not cleaned up right away...

    I would plan on replacing the carpets as soon as the cat-tenants move out... Would it be worth it?!?
    [addsig]

  • mikejaquish1st March, 2006

    Uh, Donnie, castration and declawing are much more easily compared than are vasectomy and declawing.

    Regardless, declawed cats make better house pets and tenants, IMO.

    And if we go any further, this belongs in the "Random Ramblings" forum.
    [addsig]

  • mikejaquish1st March, 2006

    Last couple of posts demonstrate that every coin has two sides.
    Whatever works, right?
    [addsig]

  • dennis34566th February, 2006

    I think you need to read you land lord tenant act, I am sure you can find a copy of it online somewhere.

    Does your lease have an abandonment clause?
    I never give anyone any money until the give me a forwarding address to send it to.

    Please for the sake of future land lords report this person to your credit check / eviction reporting agency, even if you never get the court part done. I report all in the middle of the night move outs. I also report to the credit reporting agencies when folks pay chronically late, call up the reporting companies and tell them you would like to report info to them.

    Lastly, if I decide to rent to a person who is shakey I get the maximium amount of money allowed for them to move in. Make them sign an inspection report of the conditions of the property, at the move out date we both go over every point on that form, and they pay for all repairs from their deposit, then the rest is sent to their new address.

    Good luck

  • Waylon7th February, 2006

    Can this be considered Abandonment ? (as Dennis3456 mentioned). What are the specific laws regarding this in MD? Here in FL it appears to be a grey area , the bold words are what seems questionable to me. It almost appears to favor the Landlord. If you can get a legal doc signed by the neighbor stating the date they moved out that may help prove Abandonment. I guess a lawyer could give you the correct anwers.
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    83.05 Right of possession upon default in rent; determination of right of possession in action or surrender or abandonment of premises.--

    (1) If any person leasing or renting any land or premises other than a dwelling unit fails to pay the rent at the time it becomes due, the lessor has the right to obtain possession of the premises as provided by law.

    (2) The landlord shall recover possession of rented premises only:

    (a) In an action for possession under s. 83.20, or other civil action in which the issue of right of possession is determined;

    (b) When the tenant has surrendered possession of the rented premises to the landlord; or

    (c) When the tenant has abandoned the rented premises.

    (3) In the absence of actual knowledge of abandonment, it shall be presumed for purposes of paragraph (2)(c) that the tenant has abandoned the rented premises if:

    (a) The landlord reasonably believes that the tenant has been absent from the rented premises for a period of 30 consecutive days;

    (b) The rent is not current; and

    (c) A notice pursuant to s. 83.20(2) has been served and 10 days have elapsed since service of such notice.

    However, this presumption does not apply if the rent is current or the tenant has notified the landlord in writing of an intended absence.
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Good Luck , let us know how it turns out.[ Edited by Waylon on Date 02/07/2006 ]

  • lavonc7th February, 2006

    I find this all quite unbelievable and thankful I have not purchased in Baltimore. In NY, if the tenant has the utilities out of their name, and it is quite obvious they have abandoned the property, our attorney says "change the locks" and we have never had an issue doing so -- several times we do so without even going thru the eviction process.

    In several cases, we been issued an eviction via the court process, when we have come to evict, their stuff is still there, we change the locks and then require rent payment for them to get their stuff.

    I guess NY and Baltimore are worlds apart.

  • lavonc9th February, 2006

    Now that is hysterical! This is my kind of guy. I think.

    Quite honestly, I have properties in TX, WA, NY & CA. They all work differently. My props in NY are inner city (Buffalo) and it is useless to do background checks expect to discover felonies (which most of the population probably has). I realize I am tainted now after all my experiences owning props in an innter city but we spent a lot of money initially doing tenant checks and even though they looked great on paper, they were terrible tenants. Plus, in Buffalo, we can have them out in 2 weeks throught the courts.

    However, in CA it is a totally different story. We always do VERY thorough tenant checks and the information is always invaluable to us.

  • FallenAngel20th February, 2006

    royalfortune, if possible can you email me at **Please See My Profile** . com?

    I have a rental in baltimore city (brooklyn) and am having some issues with a tenant who just vacated, I am local (live in glen burnie) but would like to bounce some things off of you if possible.

  • WILDRYDER60027th February, 2006

    hello i am new baltimore property owner just hope the tenant i have dont try to do someting like this to me my first experience with her was a leaky faucet that needed a washer she then told me a friend plumber can do it for her probably for free upon the call back she said he wanted 60.00 for the tools he bought a socket and labor i told him ok just leave the tools he told me no it was his i said hey if i am payin for it i want it so he said no and he was gonna put the old seal back in now was i wrong

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