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MLS Now Makes It Easy To Find Tenants

August 27th, 2010 categories: Tenants

Starting September 1, duplex home owners looking to lease their units will be able to list them on the Minneapolis/St Paul MLS.

This will help more property owners expose their vacancies to a greater number of prospective tenants, as well as provide a centralized destination for people to find places to live.

It will also help duplex sellers who are having difficulty finding a buyer market their property for rent until market conditions improve.

The rental section of the MLS will feature single family homes, condos, townhouses, apartments, duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes.

Listing your rental on the MLS can be done through any Realtor who’s a member of the MLS. The listing must include an offer of compensation; an amount that will be a flat dollar amount rather than a percentage.

Rental listings will look much like those for properties that are for sale, including a list of amenities, length of the lease, rent amount and one or more photos.

Properties being actively marketed for sale may also be listed separately as rentals; resulting in two listings and two MLS numbers.

If you’re interested in getting your property rented, call me. I’d be happy to help you get it on the MLS.

Spoken by Kari Lundin | Discussion: No Comments »

Minneapolis Duplex Homestead Tax All Relative

August 12th, 2010 categories: Tenants

In today’s slower real estate market, many duplex home owners who have to relocate due to employment,  expanding families, or other life changes, are exploring moving family members in to their old units.

The thinking goes that if a relative is on the premises to manage the property, perhaps maintenance and upkeep will stay on par with the owner’s standards.

The other thought, of course, is perhaps the property will continue to qualify for homestead property tax status.

In the city of Minneapolis, qualifying relatives may become substitute occupants for the duplex owner.  Relatives  of the owner are defined as a child, stepchild, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, parent, stepparent, parent-in-law, grandchild or grandparent, brother or brother-in-law, sister or sister-in-law, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, or step nieces or nephews.

Of course, the city isn’t going to let the duplex home owner off that easily. Relative homestead property residents have to apply for a Rental License through the city, which may cost the duplex owner an initial inspection fee as well as a $65 license fee.

Spoken by Kari Lundin | Discussion: No Comments »

Minnesota Tenants Get Trashed

June 3rd, 2010 categories: Tenants

One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.

According to the state of Minnesota anyway.

I was reminded of this last night when I a unit tenants had recently vacated.

It was a mess. Everywhere my clients and I looked there were pieces of broken furniture, abandoned clothing, framed posters on the walls…

All of which needs to be stored and taken care of by the owner, for the next 60 days.

Of course, that would involve cleaning up the duplex, boxing and packing the departed tenant’s belongings, and moving them to a storage unit. Or moving them to the garage. Or, I suppose, leaving them right where they are, which, I assure you, would not entice anyone to rent the place.

While it’s a pain, and the likelihood of recouping damages is remote, the landlord does have a claim against the tenant for the costs she incurs in boxing, moving and storing the property. Of course, recouping that may involve legal fees.

There is some good news. As a result of the passage of the “Tenants Bill of Rights”, after August 1, 2010, the number of days a landlord has to store abandoned property will drop to 28 days.

What’s more, regardless of the length of time, the duplex owner may sell the abandoned belongings once the required storage time has expired.

The owner must make a reasonable effort to notify the tenant of the pending sale at least 14 days before it occurs.  Notification must be in writing; either by personal service or certified mail.

Who knows? After all, there might be the Antiques Roadshow treasure buried in the trash.

Spoken by Kari Lundin | Discussion: No Comments »

Offer Tenants A Rent Sale

May 27th, 2010 categories: Tenants

In my years as a landlord, I’ve learned some tenants have no sense of time.

Rent would be due on the 1st. But that came and went, then it was the 5th, the 10th and, before I knew it, I was certain I was going to have to start eviction proceedings.

It’s always  just about then I finally get a rent check. The tenant had the money all along; he simply hadn’t gotten around to paying me.

Years ago, I thought I discovered a relatively easy fix to this problem; late fees for rent checks delivered after the 5th.

Minnesota law states when a tenant pays the rent late, the lease can require that the tenant to pay a late fee. Of course, the lease has to say how much the late fee is and when it’s due.

But here’s the catch. The late fee has to be for a “reasonable” amount that compensates the landlord for the actual damages resulting from the tenant’s late payment.

The late fee can’t be punitive.

For example, the landlord may incur late fees because the delayed rent caused her to be late on her mortgage payment. The landlord must also be able to substantiate this claim.

A landlord may also not assess punitive charges. An example might be a $10 a day late fee. This figure is in all probability illegal  because it doesn’t have any correlation with the extra expenses incurred as a result of the late payment.

In other words, the penalty resulting from actual expenses incurred probably isn’t going to be significant enough to inspire anyone to action.

But what if you offered a discount for early rent payments?

Some landlords include language in their leases that states the monthly rent is $950. However, if the tenant pays before the 1st of the month, he receives a $50 discount.

In effect, perhaps you wanted $900 for rent all along. Offering a discount entices the tenant to pay on time.

After all, we all rush to the store to take advantage of sales or coupons on the brink of expiration. The stores know discounts inspire us to action.

Wouldn’t the same be true of rent?

Spoken by Kari Lundin | Discussion: No Comments »

Another Duh! Landlord Moment

May 21st, 2010 categories: Tenants

It’s spring.

For a Realtor, that’s a synonym for busy.

As such, I am so focused on my career that sometimes I forget to do things in my own life.

Like renew leases.

When I realized I’d done this the other day, I panicked. I hate having a vacancy in winter, and live in fear of carrying one through the snow. So, to ease my sense of panic, I typically try to make sure my leases begin and end early in the spring.

Of course, this year, I forgot to issue the new lease. And when I realized this, I immediately had the thought, “Crap! Now their lease will begin and end in the middle of the summer!”

Summer isn’t bad. But if my tenants would move out, it would probably take me a month to get the unit turned over to a new renter, which means that lease would commence more toward fall.

That is, if it’s a one-year lease.

But the thing is, nowhere is it written that a lease has to be one year in length.

Thinking a lease has to be 6 months or one year in length is simply a mental habit I’ve gotten in to.

In fact, there’s nothing at all to keep the agreement from being any length of time I determine; like 9 months, 11 months, or, if I really want to make sure I’m covered, two years.

A lease is simply an agreement between two people. If my tenant agrees to a ten month lease, I’m right back on track for spring.

I wonder how he’d feel about a 10 year lease…

Spoken by Kari Lundin | Discussion: No Comments »

Why Rent Credits Are A Bad Idea

May 17th, 2010 categories: Tenants

With last week’s rain and this week’s sun, lawns in the Twin Cities are growing like crazy.

In fact, if you own your own home and a duplex or two, lawn mowing could become your full time job. But odds are good you already have one of those and mowing is just something you do on top of everything else.

Wouldn’t it be easier to just give one of your tenants a rent discount in exchange for mowing for you?

Probably not.

In my early years of property ownership, I often traded reduced rent for help with snow, the lawn, painting or some other job I simply didn’t have the time to do.

This always seemed to work out…initially. As time went by, however, I discovered more often than not, my tenants didn’t keep their end of the bargain; at least to my standards.

Weekly mowing soon happened on every other Saturday. Snow was shoveled three days after it snowed.

Why?

Because it’s difficult to enforce the labor required for a rent credit.

You may tell the tenant she  has to make up the $50 in rent she was credited for lawn mowing. From experience, however, I know the odds are that she’ll never pay you; because she feels she did a good enough job as it is.

The next thing you know, you’re chasing her for money, she’s dodging you and the grass is long enough for braiding.

On the other hand, when you hire someone, they generally the work in order to get paid. If it hasn’t been completed to your standards, you can simply withhold payment until it is.

An easy solution, but one it took me too long to  learn.

Spoken by Kari Lundin | Discussion: 3 Comments »

Minneapolis Duplex Owners See Changing Signs

May 3rd, 2010 categories: Tenants

If you could swear you’re seeing fewer “For Rent” signs in area lawns and windows, you’re right.

A report by GVA Marquette Advisors released on Friday announced that Twin Cities vacancy rates dropped to 6.1 percent for the first three months of 2010.

This figure, while still historically high, represents a significant drop from last fall’s 7.3 percent vacancy rate.

While GVA Marquette Advisors tracks this data for communities with at least 10 units, trends in this sector also influence smaller multi-family properties.

Marquette’s report estimates that job growth and an improving economy lead to 1800 vacancies being filled in the metro area, with affordable urban and close-in units going first.

Of course, the increased numbers of vacancies the last few years has lead to more rent concessions and incentives. Collectively, this has lead to an average effective rental rate which is 2 percent lower than it was one year ago.

Continued vacancy rate reduction should, over the long term, force a shift in this trend as well.

Spoken by Kari Lundin | Discussion: No Comments »

Don’t Let Your Tenants Suffer Burnout

April 19th, 2010 categories: Tenants

We’re living in economically challenging times.

As a result, most of us are cutting back on “extras”.  For some, that means opting to stay home and watch cable rather than going out.  To others, that may mean choosing to make a peanut buttersandwich  rather than bologna.

Unfortunately, for some tenants, that also means going without renter’s insurance.

First, if you’re a landlord and your lease doesn’t include language clearly stating that it’s your tenant’s responsibility to get insurance for her belongings, it should.

The reason is your owner’s insurance policy doesn’t cover the contents of your duplex.

In other words, if a fire, tornado, hurricane or earthquake topples your property, your losses may be covered, but your tenants belongings.

Most major insurance companies, like Allstate, Geico and State Farm offer some form of renter’s insurance.

While you must tell your tenant of their obligation to buy coverage, it’s a good idea to require them to provide you with proof they’ve done so.

After all, times may be hard but they’d be tougher still if you lost absolutely everything and didn’t have insurance.

Spoken by Kari Lundin | Discussion: No Comments »

Let Your Tenants Fill Your Vacancy

April 1st, 2010 categories: Tenants

In today’s affordable housing market, many Twin Cities duplex owners are getting THAT call from tenants.

You know the one. It starts with, “I bought a house and am moving out”.

Somehow, those tenants often forget they signed a lease, which may still have time left to run.

At that point, the landlord should remind the residents they are legally obligated to pay the rent on the balance of their lease.

In all likelihood, this won’t have any impact.

The tenants leave, and the only option the duplex owner has is to pursue legal recourse, which tends to cost money.

However, what would happen if during the telephone conversation, the landlord suggested the tenants might remedy the situation by subletting or assigning the apartment.

What’s a sublet? Well, it’s a transfer of rights to the unit for a limited period of time. During that stretch, the original tenant is still responsible for the lease, rent payments, and may reserve the right to return.

How does that differ from assignment? In assigning the lease, the tenant turns over the responsibilities of the lease to the new resident, and absolves herself from any responsibility for or interest in the unit.

How does the landlord protect herself against the risks of an unknown tenant?

Read the rest of this entry »

Spoken by Kari Lundin | Discussion: No Comments »

Minneapolis Duplex Owners Get The Lead Out

March 15th, 2010 categories: Tenants

Most duplex lovers swoon over the old buildings.

You know the ones. They may have stained or leaded glass windows, hardwood floors, and even a built-in buffet.

Some have a Jetsons-like feel to them, with two sided fireplaces in the living rooms and stone shelves jutting out from the just above the mantle.

Whether it’s a Craftsman era duplex or a mid-century modern, most of us love old architecture.

But when we go to repaint or sand anything, it’s important to remember one thing about the past; if the building was constructed prior to 1978, odds are good that one of the existing layers of paint in the house contains lead.

If ingested or inhaled, dust or paint chips from lead paint can lead to some pretty serious health issues, including nervous system and kidney damage, high blood pressure, nerve disorders, and poor muscle coordination.

Federal law requires that anyone about to buy, rent or renovate a property that is old enough to potentially contain lead paint receive the pamphlet “Protect Your Family From Lead In Your Home”. If you’re buying a property, your Realtor should provide you with this information.

If you’re a landlord, the law also requires that you provide prospective tenants with this information, as well as disclose the potential risk in your leases.

If you need the pamphlet, or a lease with the proper language for lead disclosure, you can purchase them at MHA.

It is only lead based paint in cracked or peeling condition that poses a risk. Paint that is in good condition is perfectly safe.

Spoken by Kari Lundin | Discussion: No Comments »

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