Should I Go To Court On This?
I have a tenant whose lease expires on March 31 of this year, and she indicated to me that she will not be renewing her lease. I asked to drop by the property in February to show the property to a prospective tenant, and I noticed that the current tenant was moving out. Basically, she paid rent for February and moved out the end of February. She did not pay rent for March, but says she wants to keep the keys so she can clean up the house.
She indicated to me that the security deposit will cover the rent for March,( security deposit will cover all but $225.00) and she does not have the money to pay me.
My lease clearly states that the security deposit is not be be used to cover any rent payment. I sent a late payment notice to her last week , and she said she will send my keys in the mail, and will not be responsible for any cleaning not completed and will not sign a move out form.
The place is very dirty, carpet will have to be replaced in some rooms and because I have not yet assessed all the damages, I am sure that it will cost more than the $225.00 to cover the cost of getting the property in rentable condition. Not to mention the late fee of $127.00 she owed for March.
I know this is very long, but my question is should I pursue the matter in court to recover any costs above the security deposit that is not normal wear and tear, or does anyone have an alternative action? Thanks for your responses. :-?
I guess the question is do you have time etc.
It only cost 25-50 dollars to file in small claims court - you may get a judgement against her, but remember the court does nothing to help you get your money. YOU have to figure out how to get your money from them. If she has a good job, it will be easier, but that still requires time. Of course she could pay you and be done with it - LOL
Should you file? I would
will you get your money? I doubt it
The reason I would file is to give this person the judgement - that way her next landlord will see it and not rent to her. If more landlords did this, the rest of us would have an easier time sorting out the dead beats. You can also use this as leverage to get your money back - it might work depending on the person.
Good luck
Thanks for your responses.
Loon, if she sends the keys in the mail, are you saying that I should still not enter the property. I believe she has some knowledge of the law, not sure how much.
http://www.thecreativeinvestor.com/ViewTopic43241-33.html
Quote:You can compare cap rates of different opportunities in your area. Newer properties and those in desireable neighborhoods will probably have lower cap rates. This reflects that they are are less risky and more likely to appreciate well, so they provide less annual operating profit. The cap rate does not have a direct correlation to risk. A cap rate just lets you compare the price of the property relative to its income potential with another similar investment property.
A low cap rate is good for a buyer. It says that the price of the property is a low multiple of its rental income potential. The property in a new development and in a desireable neighborhood will likely have a higher selling price that will be a higher multiple of the rental income. All a high cap rate really says to a potential buyer is that the rental income may not be enough to support the property and generate an acceptable cash flow.
Appreciation potential is more often driven by local market forces other than the rental income a property might produce. I would not use a cap rate calculation as a reliable indicator of future appreciation.
In a nutshell, if using cap rate calculations to evaluate an investment property, a low cap rate is good for the buyer, a high cap rate is good for the seller.
Quote:In a nutshell, if using cap rate calculations to evaluate an investment property, a low cap rate is good for the buyer, a high cap rate is good for the seller.
Nope, sorry New Kid but you got this one backwards. You want to buy on as high a cap rate as possible (I will buy almost anything when the cap rate gets to 15%). When you can sell for a 6 or 7% cap take the money and run.
You are correct, I now see my error. I did have the arithmetic upside down, inside out, and backwards.