Some piggs hate me for doing this.

But on my lease agreement, I stated tenant is responsible for first $60 of all service calls…

Verbally, I tell them that for normal breakage/wear and tear items, I won’t hold them to it. But if there is any abuse/neglect, I will hold them accountable. That way it’s subjective based on my liking… I’m pretty fair about things so when it comes to things that really need attention, I don’t make then pay the $60.

I tell them that I’m giving you a below market rental rate, and that in return, please don’t pester me with really tiny stuff…Specifically, on my lease agreement, clogged drains are their responsibility, and on move out, I expect the drains to be clear, as was the condition when they moved in.

I think it’s a balancing act. You don’t want want to push it if there is a real problem (leaks) you expect the tenant to pay for the first $60, but you want to make it slightly inconvenient for them to report every little small thing.

On a SFH, people didn’t have issues with this. On a small condo, my tenant sort of balked at it. But the flipside to it is that in on a small condo, there isn’t that much that can break.

On thing I’m finding sort of helps is to point out when you are flexible…And that if the tenant plans on nitpicking everything, so will you…

For example, I had a tenant that when rent was due would pester me for everything. I guess he had a heartburn for writing that rent check…But then again, he was kinda interesting because he was late on payments a few times (1-2 days), and a few times he forgot to add postage on his rent check… One time, I got fed up with his pestering, and I told him.. Look, you’re late again, the previous 2 times I was flexible, but since we want to do everything by the book, I need you to fedex me your rent check to me by tomorrow, because on the 4th day, there is a 6% late charge (like any other creditor would charge)….

So after that, there is some unwritten “rule of engagement” now between me and tenant that if he is going to be really picky about things, so will I. I send my tenant a gentle reminder week before rent is due, so he won’t be late. Hopefully he gets the message not to pester me, otherwise I won’t remind him and I know at least one time he will forget… So far, we’re ok (fingers crossed)

[quote=svelte][quote=flu]Some piggs hate me for doing this.

But on my lease agreement, I stated tenant is responsible for first $60 of all service calls…

Verbally, I tell them that for normal breakage/wear and tear items, I won’t hold them to it. But if there is any abuse/neglect, I will hold them accountable. That way it’s subjective based on my liking… [/quote]

You’re going to wind up being taken to court.

There are tenants out there that know California law better than you do, believe me.[/quote]

Haven’t been in the past decade (yet).
PITA tenants are the ones I try to avoid if I can…

This is solved when the lease expires.

Unless it’s rent controlled.

[quote=TenaciousSD]+1 for what Flu said in both of his posts

You can charge whatever fee’s you want (if residents are willing to pay it). For example, late fee’s. This doesn’t mean the resident has to pay them. If you go to court over late fee’s, the judge will NOT rule in your favor.[/quote]

When I was looking for a tenant, one prospective tenant insisted that my grace period was too short (3 business days versus other doing 5 days) and that the late fee of 6% was higher than others (5%)… I immediately said, well, you’re not planning to be late are you? Why can’t you just mail the check a week earlier, or use bill pay…. Dead silence…To me, that was a red flag right there…I never called the person back….

FWIW: I’ve never collected any late fees from my tenants, even if they were late unless they are egregiously late by a few weeks…But I do send out a reminder to tenant when they are late telling them to please review the contract about late fees… I do this to remind them, I’m cutting them some slack…which is more than a lot of creditors (like credit card companies do)…So the next time, a light bulb goes out, go buy your own light bulb and get it changed yourself.

[quote=SD Realtor]As far as the OP talking about changing the terms of the lease, no that cannot happen without agreement by all parties and it is well documented.[/quote]My advice to the OP is to wait until 30 or 31 days before the lease ends, then send a written 30-day notice of an increase in rent. This way you either get rid of them, or you get more money to compensate for the hassle of dealing with them.

FLU’s strategy is generally OK if the tenants see that “you don’t really mean” the $60 fee, unless it’s for something they broke. A problem I see is that you may be creating an incentive for the tenant not to report minor problems. As we know, even a minor issue may become costlier to repair later on if not addressed early.

[quote=Diego Mamani][quote=svelte]You’re going to wind up being taken to court.

There are tenants out there that know California law better than you do, believe me.[/quote]I agree. There are what some people call “professional renters” who know the law and every trick in the book.[/quote]

And I will avoid those people like there’s no tomorrow. I’m not a desperate landlord that has a cashflow issue. I’d rather have a place vacant for an extra month, than to deal with a PITA tenant that has every trick in the book up……

I’ve been in SoCal long enough to know what people here are capable of doing…Especially in L.A. I recall awhile ago, the LA Times described about how some slimy lawyers went around trying to stir up tenants by not moving and involving the eviction due process for the sake of it…Landlords had to cough up money just to get the tenant to leave them in peace.

That’s one of the reasons why I won’t buy rental properties in certain ghettoish areas, even it it cashflows well. It becomes a liability issue for me.