Like most landlords, I have learned most of what I know about tenants and toilets through my own experience and mistakes.  Occasionally, I do learn a new trick from another landlord.  Sometimes that learning comes because I asked a specific question of them when I was stuck on what to do, other times it comes when I am helping new investors buy property and the learning simply presents itself.

Previously I published a post regarding “Power Lease Clauses for Your Investment Property“.  I had accumulated many of these clauses over time reviewing leases at Minnesota Investment properties that my customers were buying.  While I am not an attorney, most of these clauses seemed reasonable and if the tenant was given this requirement up front, I assumed it was all legal and within statutes.

I enjoy reading Kelly Klein’s posts on the Star Tribune website.  She is a real estate attorney in Minneapolis and answers questions from the public in her weekly column.  Her November 14, 2008 column made me rethink the #1 clause I had on the above article.  It said:

“All drains, waste pipes, and plumbing are accepted as clear by the tenant at the time of occupancy and any material blocking them after occupancy shall be repaired by the tenant except blockages caused by roots or backups from the street.”

All drains, waste pipes, and plumbing are accepted as clear by the tenant at the time of occupancy and any material blocking them after occupancy shall be repaired by the tenant except blockages caused by roots or backups from the street.

Again, I felt like this was not an unfair clause to put in a lease.  I have experienced tenants pouring pans full of grease down the drain, not because they are trying to be malicious, but simply because they didn’t think it was a problem.  Unfortunately, Kelly makes an argument (albeit brief) that in Minnesota, the landlord has the responsibility to “maintain the premises, which includes keeping the pipes and toilet in good working order”.

I am always willing to accept when I am wrong, but I think the clause is still usable and reasonable.  The clause could be reworked to read:

“All drains, waste pipes, and plumbing are accepted as clear by the tenant at the time of occupancy and any atypical material (such as toys, clothing, diapers, etc) blocking them after occupancy shall be repaired by the landlord with tenant paying all costs of repairs.”

Again, I am not an attorney, but I think a reasonable person (ie:  housing judge), would see the intent of this clause and probably give you the benefit of the doubt.  Tell me what you think!

I have posted many times about evictions in Minnesota.  A question that comes up occasionally is does the landlord need to issue a “Cure or Quit” notice prior to filing an eviction on the tenant?   I suspect that the people asking the question have attended a seminar or read a book from someone in another state that has that statute.

Although I am not an attorney, I understand that Minnesota Law does NOT require the landlord to give the tenant any notice prior to filing an eviction.  I can speak from personal experience that I have never given the tenant anything and the judge at the eviction has never asked me if I had.

Maybe this isn’t the right title for these letters, but if you are a landlord for any length of time, you will get one.  They are similar in concept to the “Dear John” letter that soldiers used to receive.

This tenant love notes is slightly different, it is usually sent with the rent check folded up in it.  Typically it is used to explain why rent is late, but more often it is to explain why they have short paid their rent this month.  Here is an example of one:

If you read the letter it starts off by saying:  “I am sending you five hundred dollars [when the rent due is $800] and I will pay the rest of Oct rent on the 31st of Oct.”

At this point, you need to make a decision whether you are going to wait for the remainder of the rent ($300) or not.  I believe the decision is going to depend upon their previous pay history, the condition of the apartment, time of year, and your motivation.

If I am not willing to wait, I can start the eviction in Minneapolis.  Most likely, they will be out by Mid-November (assuming they don’t pay).  I would then have to clean and prep the apartment for showings for a December 1 move-in.  Although leasing apartments in December is possible (and has actually gotten easier with the low vacancy rate), it is not my favorite.

I have decided that I am going to wait and see if they follow through on their commitment.  If they don’t, the next day, I am at court.

The majority of my customers are new investors.  The most successful ones want to know everything about not only how to buy an investment property, but how to own one and be a successful landlord.  A frequent question that I get asked is:  “How often do you get calls at night”.  This must be one of those stereotypical images non-landlords have of owning investment properties.

Truthfully, owning and managing 28 rental units, I get a 2-3 calls after 8:00 pm per year.  They are probably evenly divided between a heat out call and some neighbor calling about a bad tenant doing something they shouldn’t be.

The heat out calls I obviously take seriously and deal with immediately.  Occasionally I am frustrated by those calls as the heat had not been working all day, but the tenant waited until after hours to contact me.

When I get the irate neighbor call, I handle it in several ways depending upon the neighbors posture and request.  If it is something simple, like a stereo playing after hours and the neighbor is reasonable and courteous, I will commit to calling the tenant to talk to them.  I do, however remind the neighbor to call the police so we can get a police call on record against the tenant for possible future eviction.

If the neighbor is irate and has good reason to be, but is being respectful, I may drive down to the property and see what is going on.  I will recommend for them to call the police immediately, though.  Only a couple times have I got an irate neighbor that is insulting or demeaning on the phone.  Then I simply remind them that I am not the tenants parents and they should take it up directly with the tenants or the police (end of call!).

Taking calls after hours will also vary depending upon what type of properties you own.  If you have single family houses in nice areas, I would expect you would never get a call unless the property burned down!  In rougher areas, you will probably take more calls.

Why aren’t you calling me?

I lose 8-12 tenants per year (both by my choice and by their choice).  In the last 4 years, that I have owned the majority of my properties, I have probably turned over 40+ tenants.  It dawned on my the other day that despite that volume of prior tenants, I probably receive 2-3 rental check calls per year for previous tenants.

I can understand why I may not get a rental reference for a tenant that I evicted, but I don’t get calls for my best tenants that just moved out at the end of their lease.  Interesting…

I was always taught as a landlord to call the previous 2 tenants when you are doing your tenant screening process.  (You call both in case the current one is trying to get rid of the tenant.  The one from a year or so ago will give you the real story.)  Therefore, by my estimates, each year, I should be getting 16-24 rental verification calls (ie:  previous 2 years worth of former tenants).

Have my fellow landlords gotten too busy to make a simple phone call to check up on their prospective tenant?  Do they just not care?

Using a screening service is a must, but it only gives you part of the story.  They may look great on paper, but have been a nightmare tenant.  Many landlords don’t file evictions if the tenant just moves out, therefore, you won’t see a problem on the rental screening.  Maybe they are very noisy or have lots of parties or fix their cars in the front yard; all items that may not show up on a paper report.

There is no better information about a tenant than to talk to your fellow landlord and find out exactly how these people have been while they lived in their property.  You need to ask them at least the following questions:

• Were these people living in your property from xxx date to xxx date?
• Did they pay their rent on time?
• Did they give you proper notice to move out (in fact, did you know they are moving out!)?
• Have you had any complaints from the neighbors or any police calls to their apartment?
• How does their unit look after they lived there?
• Would you rent to them again?
• Do they owe you money now?

When you ask the questions, listen for any subtle clues or hints that the landlord is trying to give you about the tenant.  Are they dying to give you the dirt on this tenant?  I bet they are.

I understand that many landlords or bigger complexes will not return your calls or answer your questions (or tell you the truth), but I have found that many will.  You need to try.  Call me, I will take your call and tell you the truth.

You could almost argue that this entire blog eventually ends up at Tenants.  They are why we are in business.  They are the customers.  They are the headaches.  They are the money (inbound from rent and outbound from repairs).

Here are just a few of the best posts from the last 12 months about tenants:

• Once a Bad Tenant, Always a Bad Tenant
• Investment Property Rent Collection
• Can’t Evict if Always Late on Rent!
• 7 Secrets to a Happy Tenant
• Reverse Prospecting for Tenants
• Section 8 or Not Section 8

As I tell my new investor clients, “being a landlord is unlike anything else you have ever done”.  It is good to read everything you can about being a landlord and managing tenants.