[Hatfield]

A couple friends have Craftsman houses (one in Hillcrest, one in Kensington) with historical designations. You can remodel the home, but the facade of the house has to remain the same, and the rest of the remodel has to be in keeping with the original style of the home. Which is kinda of a no-brainer anyway, who the hell is going to do a stucco addition to a Craftsman anyway?

For example, one of the remodels involved extending the upper and lower floors of the home rearward into the back yard, which extended the kitchen and added a new MBR suite. They conformed to the style rules and had no problems.

[Hatfield]

A couple friends have Craftsman houses (one in Hillcrest, one in Kensington) with historical designations. You can remodel the home, but the facade of the house has to remain the same, and the rest of the remodel has to be in keeping with the original style of the home. Which is kinda of a no-brainer anyway, who the hell is going to do a stucco addition to a Craftsman anyway?

For example, one of the remodels involved extending the upper and lower floors of the home rearward into the back yard, which extended the kitchen and added a new MBR suite. They conformed to the style rules and had no problems.

[Hatfield]

A couple friends have Craftsman houses (one in Hillcrest, one in Kensington) with historical designations. You can remodel the home, but the facade of the house has to remain the same, and the rest of the remodel has to be in keeping with the original style of the home. Which is kinda of a no-brainer anyway, who the hell is going to do a stucco addition to a Craftsman anyway?

For example, one of the remodels involved extending the upper and lower floors of the home rearward into the back yard, which extended the kitchen and added a new MBR suite. They conformed to the style rules and had no problems.

[Hatfield]

Here’s one: applicant was moving from Arizona. She listed prior apartment management company’s manager, but the company was now defunct. Googled and found out, yep, management company in fact was defunct. But the manager had an unusual (Polish, I think) name, so I Googled her and found her phone number. Rang her up, explained who I was and why I was calling. Again, the Nolo press book explains what questions you can and cannot ask. You can ask whether they remember the tenant, the length of the tenancy and how much the rent was, whether the rent was paid on time, whether they gave proper notice, whether they left the place in reasonable condition, whether they’d rent to that tenant again, etc.

So here we go. “Do you remember X?” I ask. “Oh yes, I remember her!”

“Can you tell me what the rent was?” “Intermittent,” she said. (I actually meant the *amount* of the rent. This was a much better answer, though!) “Excuse me?” I said. “The rent, it was kind of intermittent.”

“I see. Well, let me ask you this then. Would you rent to this tenant again?” She said: “I’m sorry, I’m not going to answer that, I think I’ve said too much already.”

I said, no, thank you very much, you’ve told me exactly what I needed to know and I really appreciate your doing that for me.

I’ve also had tenants list their mom as a landlord reference. Give me a break, whose mom is going to say anything bad about them.

So far (knock on wood), I’ve been very lucky with tenants, but part of that I think is a result of screening very carefully.

[Hatfield]

Here’s one: applicant was moving from Arizona. She listed prior apartment management company’s manager, but the company was now defunct. Googled and found out, yep, management company in fact was defunct. But the manager had an unusual (Polish, I think) name, so I Googled her and found her phone number. Rang her up, explained who I was and why I was calling. Again, the Nolo press book explains what questions you can and cannot ask. You can ask whether they remember the tenant, the length of the tenancy and how much the rent was, whether the rent was paid on time, whether they gave proper notice, whether they left the place in reasonable condition, whether they’d rent to that tenant again, etc.

So here we go. “Do you remember X?” I ask. “Oh yes, I remember her!”

“Can you tell me what the rent was?” “Intermittent,” she said. (I actually meant the *amount* of the rent. This was a much better answer, though!) “Excuse me?” I said. “The rent, it was kind of intermittent.”

“I see. Well, let me ask you this then. Would you rent to this tenant again?” She said: “I’m sorry, I’m not going to answer that, I think I’ve said too much already.”

I said, no, thank you very much, you’ve told me exactly what I needed to know and I really appreciate your doing that for me.

I’ve also had tenants list their mom as a landlord reference. Give me a break, whose mom is going to say anything bad about them.

So far (knock on wood), I’ve been very lucky with tenants, but part of that I think is a result of screening very carefully.

[Hatfield]

Here’s one: applicant was moving from Arizona. She listed prior apartment management company’s manager, but the company was now defunct. Googled and found out, yep, management company in fact was defunct. But the manager had an unusual (Polish, I think) name, so I Googled her and found her phone number. Rang her up, explained who I was and why I was calling. Again, the Nolo press book explains what questions you can and cannot ask. You can ask whether they remember the tenant, the length of the tenancy and how much the rent was, whether the rent was paid on time, whether they gave proper notice, whether they left the place in reasonable condition, whether they’d rent to that tenant again, etc.

So here we go. “Do you remember X?” I ask. “Oh yes, I remember her!”

“Can you tell me what the rent was?” “Intermittent,” she said. (I actually meant the *amount* of the rent. This was a much better answer, though!) “Excuse me?” I said. “The rent, it was kind of intermittent.”

“I see. Well, let me ask you this then. Would you rent to this tenant again?” She said: “I’m sorry, I’m not going to answer that, I think I’ve said too much already.”

I said, no, thank you very much, you’ve told me exactly what I needed to know and I really appreciate your doing that for me.

I’ve also had tenants list their mom as a landlord reference. Give me a break, whose mom is going to say anything bad about them.

So far (knock on wood), I’ve been very lucky with tenants, but part of that I think is a result of screening very carefully.

[Hatfield]

Here’s one: applicant was moving from Arizona. She listed prior apartment management company’s manager, but the company was now defunct. Googled and found out, yep, management company in fact was defunct. But the manager had an unusual (Polish, I think) name, so I Googled her and found her phone number. Rang her up, explained who I was and why I was calling. Again, the Nolo press book explains what questions you can and cannot ask. You can ask whether they remember the tenant, the length of the tenancy and how much the rent was, whether the rent was paid on time, whether they gave proper notice, whether they left the place in reasonable condition, whether they’d rent to that tenant again, etc.

So here we go. “Do you remember X?” I ask. “Oh yes, I remember her!”

“Can you tell me what the rent was?” “Intermittent,” she said. (I actually meant the *amount* of the rent. This was a much better answer, though!) “Excuse me?” I said. “The rent, it was kind of intermittent.”

“I see. Well, let me ask you this then. Would you rent to this tenant again?” She said: “I’m sorry, I’m not going to answer that, I think I’ve said too much already.”

I said, no, thank you very much, you’ve told me exactly what I needed to know and I really appreciate your doing that for me.

I’ve also had tenants list their mom as a landlord reference. Give me a break, whose mom is going to say anything bad about them.

So far (knock on wood), I’ve been very lucky with tenants, but part of that I think is a result of screening very carefully.

[Hatfield]

Here’s one: applicant was moving from Arizona. She listed prior apartment management company’s manager, but the company was now defunct. Googled and found out, yep, management company in fact was defunct. But the manager had an unusual (Polish, I think) name, so I Googled her and found her phone number. Rang her up, explained who I was and why I was calling. Again, the Nolo press book explains what questions you can and cannot ask. You can ask whether they remember the tenant, the length of the tenancy and how much the rent was, whether the rent was paid on time, whether they gave proper notice, whether they left the place in reasonable condition, whether they’d rent to that tenant again, etc.

So here we go. “Do you remember X?” I ask. “Oh yes, I remember her!”

“Can you tell me what the rent was?” “Intermittent,” she said. (I actually meant the *amount* of the rent. This was a much better answer, though!) “Excuse me?” I said. “The rent, it was kind of intermittent.”

“I see. Well, let me ask you this then. Would you rent to this tenant again?” She said: “I’m sorry, I’m not going to answer that, I think I’ve said too much already.”

I said, no, thank you very much, you’ve told me exactly what I needed to know and I really appreciate your doing that for me.

I’ve also had tenants list their mom as a landlord reference. Give me a break, whose mom is going to say anything bad about them.

So far (knock on wood), I’ve been very lucky with tenants, but part of that I think is a result of screening very carefully.

[Hatfield]

Definitely get the Nolo Press California Landlord’s guide. It is specific to California and is kept current with California law. It comes with a CD containing all the forms (month-to-month rental agreements, leases, application forms, etc). It also has very well-written explanations for how to do all the procedural stuff: placing the ad, screening tenants, accepting deposits, etc.

The most important piece of advice I could offer is to screen your tenants very well. Call all of the previous landlords, ask if the dogs were well-behaved, ask if the place was left in reasonable condition, ask the landlord if they would rent to this tenant again. Call the Boston PD’s personnel department and make sure the employment story checks out. Run a credit check. (People who can’t pay their bills on time generally can’t pay their rent on time either.)

This is the time to do your due diligence.

[Hatfield]

Definitely get the Nolo Press California Landlord’s guide. It is specific to California and is kept current with California law. It comes with a CD containing all the forms (month-to-month rental agreements, leases, application forms, etc). It also has very well-written explanations for how to do all the procedural stuff: placing the ad, screening tenants, accepting deposits, etc.

The most important piece of advice I could offer is to screen your tenants very well. Call all of the previous landlords, ask if the dogs were well-behaved, ask if the place was left in reasonable condition, ask the landlord if they would rent to this tenant again. Call the Boston PD’s personnel department and make sure the employment story checks out. Run a credit check. (People who can’t pay their bills on time generally can’t pay their rent on time either.)

This is the time to do your due diligence.

[Hatfield]

Definitely get the Nolo Press California Landlord’s guide. It is specific to California and is kept current with California law. It comes with a CD containing all the forms (month-to-month rental agreements, leases, application forms, etc). It also has very well-written explanations for how to do all the procedural stuff: placing the ad, screening tenants, accepting deposits, etc.

The most important piece of advice I could offer is to screen your tenants very well. Call all of the previous landlords, ask if the dogs were well-behaved, ask if the place was left in reasonable condition, ask the landlord if they would rent to this tenant again. Call the Boston PD’s personnel department and make sure the employment story checks out. Run a credit check. (People who can’t pay their bills on time generally can’t pay their rent on time either.)

This is the time to do your due diligence.

[Hatfield]

Definitely get the Nolo Press California Landlord’s guide. It is specific to California and is kept current with California law. It comes with a CD containing all the forms (month-to-month rental agreements, leases, application forms, etc). It also has very well-written explanations for how to do all the procedural stuff: placing the ad, screening tenants, accepting deposits, etc.

The most important piece of advice I could offer is to screen your tenants very well. Call all of the previous landlords, ask if the dogs were well-behaved, ask if the place was left in reasonable condition, ask the landlord if they would rent to this tenant again. Call the Boston PD’s personnel department and make sure the employment story checks out. Run a credit check. (People who can’t pay their bills on time generally can’t pay their rent on time either.)

This is the time to do your due diligence.

[Hatfield]

Definitely get the Nolo Press California Landlord’s guide. It is specific to California and is kept current with California law. It comes with a CD containing all the forms (month-to-month rental agreements, leases, application forms, etc). It also has very well-written explanations for how to do all the procedural stuff: placing the ad, screening tenants, accepting deposits, etc.

The most important piece of advice I could offer is to screen your tenants very well. Call all of the previous landlords, ask if the dogs were well-behaved, ask if the place was left in reasonable condition, ask the landlord if they would rent to this tenant again. Call the Boston PD’s personnel department and make sure the employment story checks out. Run a credit check. (People who can’t pay their bills on time generally can’t pay their rent on time either.)

This is the time to do your due diligence.

[Hatfield]

He’ll be sharing a cell with Balloon Boy’s dad.

[Hatfield]

He’ll be sharing a cell with Balloon Boy’s dad.

[Author]

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