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Not all paint patches are because of filled nail holes. Those excessive ones on one wall were to cover stains. The patches are really obvious and need to be repainted to blend with matching paint.
PM deposited the rent late few times (5 times including the initial deposit), even though tenant never paid late as I learnt from the tenant in the end. When asked about it PM said other property managers in the area deposit rent in the 3rd week of the month or later. I am considering deducting the late fee out of the deposit according to the terms in the lease agreement and hope tenant will recover it from the PM as they seem to be having good relationship. Is it OK?
No you cannot charge the tenant a late fee that was the fault of your property manager. The PM works for you, they are your responsibility.
Yeah you don't pay when a tenant wants a different color, you can let them paint it if you want, but then they are responsible for painting it back OR you tell them it will be deducted from their deposit? Also, you can say you have to approve the color and the areas they want to paint, and you must put it all in writing. You don't want to tell someone "yeah go ahead" and they turn around and paint the whole house burgundy! I have seen this, and dark colors can be very difficult to paint over. I kid you not a condo my mother purchased someone painted the ENTIRE living room that color, and then in another bedroom they even painted the ceiling that color. Just paint alone my mother spent $1500 because they had to mix paint in with primer and use 2 coats.
You can't retroactively charge late fees, the PM should have done all that. She sounds terrible! Glad you got rid of her. We had one like that, two months in she was fired. The next guy we had for 6 years, had zero problems with him. Only reason we let him go was because my mom retired so wanted to take care of her properties herself after that.
Thanks CptnRn and Beera, I won't take the late fee out of tenants deposit. It is really PM's fault, when I asked about it, she had told that she deposited as soon as she got it- which I know is not true.
Beera, isn't deposit supposed to cover unpaid rent, late fees and repairs? Are late fees due right when the rent is late?
I was naive, shouldn't have listened to the PM for painting, if it was done well, still would have been OK. Thanks for the responses here, next time if a tenant wants the change paint, I know how to resond.
I should have fired the PM like beera did early on instead of keeping her till the end of the lease. Hope I can find some one like your second one.
Thanks CptnRn and Beera, I won't take the late fee out of tenants deposit. It is really PM's fault, when I asked about it, she had told that she deposited as soon as she got it- which I know is not true.
Beera, isn't deposit supposed to cover unpaid rent, late fees and repairs? Are late fees due right when the rent is late?
I was naive, shouldn't have listened to the PM for painting, if it was done well, still would have been OK. Thanks for the responses here, next time if a tenant wants the change paint, I know how to resond.
I should have fired the PM like beera did early on instead of keeping her till the end of the lease. Hope I can find some one like your second one.
Depends on what your lease says, my lease says if the rent is 4 days or more late then a $20 late fee applies for each day it is late, starting with the first of the month.
Thanks CptnRn and Beera, I won't take the late fee out of tenants deposit. It is really PM's fault, when I asked about it, she had told that she deposited as soon as she got it- which I know is not true.
Beera, isn't deposit supposed to cover unpaid rent, late fees and repairs? Are late fees due right when the rent is late?
I was naive, shouldn't have listened to the PM for painting, if it was done well, still would have been OK. Thanks for the responses here, next time if a tenant wants the change paint, I know how to resond.
I should have fired the PM like beera did early on instead of keeping her till the end of the lease. Hope I can find some one like your second one.
Security deposit can cover unpaid rent, but I think it depends on the state.
Security deposit does not cover late fees on rent, late fees are supposed to be covered right then. If rent is due on the 5th, and say you charge $20 a day for each late day, then if rent is $500 a month and they pay on the 6th, they must pay $520. What would you have done if they paid rent late every month and it was more than the deposit? Nope, you lost out on all those late fees you should have collected then. The old tenant could possibly take you to court and say he was never asked to pay late fees (which is obviously true) and you'd have to pay any fees you took out. The court would have said 1- you needed to have proof he paid rent late, and 2- you should have charged him then. What if even though he may have paid rent late, he dated the checks the first of the month, what would be your proof then? The PM depositing the money in late? BTW- my PM that I had for 6 years would send me a check by the 10th of each month, that way he had time to collect rent, process everything, etc.
That being said, I'd use up all of their deposit if they really did that much damage. I had a tenant who trashed the apartment he was renting. I charged him $50 for cleaning, $200 for painting, $150 for the damage to repair the carpet (red stains and bleach spots), $150 for all the gate keys and parking permits (what it cost me to replace them), etc. Out of his $900 deposit he got like $250 back. I took pictures of everything and sent him a copy of all the receipts. He called me, cursed me out, and told me he was going to sue. I said go right ahead and never heard from them again.
We just had a tenant move out and break his lease. He moved out mid month, and we had his deposit, by the first of the month we were lucky to get it re-rented, but the old tenant never left a forwarding address. We have all our receipts and photos for damages in case he ever asks for the remaining balance on his deposit. We doubt he will, but if he does he'll probably only get half because we ended up having to pay $400 to repaint, $100 for parking permits, $100 for cleaning (it's a house), etc.
Thanks again for the insights. PM did the lease and it discribes late fees as $50/ if past the 3rd, additional $50/ if past the 9th, $10/day past the 9th). In the beginning PM had told that she usually collects dated checks from the tenants and just deposits them in the beginning of the month - this is not in the lease though. Only proof I have is the dates PM deposited the rent into my bank as tenant paid rent directly to PM and PM deposited her check (not tenant's) to my bank. I do belive the tenant that rent was never paid late. What if it is otherwise and PM takes the late fee but doesn't pass it on to the owner?
Good point beera about using the security deposit, according to the lease, it covers unpaid rent and repairs, but doesn't mention about the late fees. Late fee section says it is due but doesn't say when.
By the way, PM also said she doesn't give move-in or move-out reports, is that OK? lease also doesn't mention about it. When I drew her attention to the paint patches and dirty stove etc.. PM said I have to see the big picuture that the house is fine!! Tenant used PM's handyman for fixing the nails and I am guessing PM didn't care to inform the tenant or the handyman to use appropriate paint.
Your PM was absolutely scamming you in every way she could, and you cannot penalize the tenant for that. If the tenant used the handyman recommended by the PM, you cannot charge the tenant for faulty repairs. You cannot charge the tenant for the rent being late if the PM was at fault (and since she gave you an excuse when you asked about it, and changed her story, she was obviously lying to you).
I would seriously consider suing the PM. I don't think I've ever heard of one this bad before!
Thanks again for the insights. PM did the lease and it discribes late fees as $50/ if past the 3rd, additional $50/ if past the 9th, $10/day past the 9th). In the beginning PM had told that she usually collects dated checks from the tenants and just deposits them in the beginning of the month - this is not in the lease though. Only proof I have is the dates PM deposited the rent into my bank as tenant paid rent directly to PM and PM deposited her check (not tenant's) to my bank. I do belive the tenant that rent was never paid late. What if it is otherwise and PM takes the late fee but doesn't pass it on to the owner?
Good point beera about using the security deposit, according to the lease, it covers unpaid rent and repairs, but doesn't mention about the late fees. Late fee section says it is due but doesn't say when.
By the way, PM also said she doesn't give move-in or move-out reports, is that OK? lease also doesn't mention about it. When I drew her attention to the paint patches and dirty stove etc.. PM said I have to see the big picuture that the house is fine!! Tenant used PM's handyman for fixing the nails and I am guessing PM didn't care to inform the tenant or the handyman to use appropriate paint.
If rent was due on the 3rd, you can't really have expected to have that amount deposited to you by then. Hence why our property manager told me from the beginning I should receive the rent check by the 10 of each month, if there was a holiday maybe a few days later. And I never saw the actual payment from my tenant. Each month I got a printed statement with a check from my PM. The statement showed the full amount of rent payed, the deduction for his fee (10%), any deductions for repairs along with copies of receipts, etc. Then the end of the statement would show how much I was to be paid. And then there would be a check from the PM's company with the amount I was entitled to. Every single penny was tracked and I had copies of all the statements from each month. Each year he'd send a summary of what was paid in rent and everything deducted (for taxes).
beera, I didn't expect payment on the 3rd, and didn't push it when it was late. Heard from another owner who uses the same PM that she if it is later than the 5th of the month, she includes late fee promptly. Wish I knew this early on. I am learning and trying to see I don't loose any more unnecessarily.
PM never sent any monthly statements. She would send repair bills promptly and I paid them directly - I insisted on this so that I would know where money was going and I am glad I insisted, with the way things have turned out, I don't know how much more I would have claimed. I have been asking for final statement for more than 3 weeks now, she sent 3 times each time omitting some of the repair costs, not crediting payments I had made for repair and showing that I owe her. When I point out some thing is missing, she will delete some thing that was already there, include the one I asked and send. So I have version 1/2/3 of statements from last 3 weeks and still not finalized. She is reluctant to give the correct one because it shows in first 3 months, repair amount was more than the rent I received.
I don't want to penalize the tenant, I totally get it it is all PM doing things in her interest at my cost. eevee188, not sure about the laws, what would I sue her for?
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