It is a simple fact of life that not all disputes are matters of black and white, right and wrong. When you need someone who understands that, look to the Fonteneau Firm for help. We will help you understand the relevant legal issues, explain your legal and non-legal options, and be honest with you about the potential consequences of your options so you can come to a decision about how best to resolve your problems. I hope you will take a few minutes to learn a little more about me, the firm’s practice areas and the law. I look forward to serving you, so feel free to contact me.

]]> http://thefonteneaufirm.com/welcome-to-the-fonteneau-firm/feed/ 1 http://thefonteneaufirm.com/landlords-pick-your-property-manager-wisely/ http://thefonteneaufirm.com/landlords-pick-your-property-manager-wisely/#comments Sat, 07 Mar 2009 16:51:23 +0000 Kira Fonteneau http://thefonteneaufirm.com/?p=229 If you own rental property, you know that sometimes maintaining a property is time consuming.  That is why many landlords choose to contract with a property management company to manage their units.  Hiring a property manager can save you time but it is important to ensure that the manager complies with the landlord tenant laws of Alabama and your standard of maintenance and tenant relations.  Always remember that ultimately your property manager represents you and as such, you will be responsible for the manager’s actions.  With that in mind, here are a few things you should consider when dealing with managment companies:

• Understand the fee structure: It goes without saying that you should consider the cost of the service in relation to the services offered.  Often managment companies charge 10% or more of the rental income on your properties.  You can also expect additional fees for the initial rental and maintenance costs.  Review the contract to ensure that you are not surprised by the cost of services.
• Review the rental companies proposed lease and termination notices: Ultimately, you are responsible if your manager is using outdated leases and termination notices.  Problems with these forms can cause you to lose precious time and money if your eviction proceeding is delayed or dismissed because of inadequate forms.
• Review their fair housing policies: All property managers should know that there are federal anti-discrimination laws that apply in housing rentals.  If a potential manager cannot answer your questions about the laws or openly makes discriminatory statements in your presence, you may want to think twice.
• Take a look at other properties the potential manager is currently handling.  Do they look well kept?  Is the yard maintained?  If the other properties in the manager’s portfolio look run down, you may want to look elsewhere. 
• How does the manager talk about the tenants? If a potential manager sees the tenants as the enemy, you may have future problems.  In my experience, when people have healthy relationships with the landlord or property manager, they tend to cooperate and pay the rent.  When the relationship breaks down or the tenant feels disrespected, it becomes harder to collect. 
• What are the manager’s policies with regard to scheduled maintenance and inspections?  It is a good practice to have quarterly walk throughs of your property to ensure that they are maintained.  While you are there, you can see the properties yourself and talk to your tenants if there are things that need repairing.  This is also a way to verify that the mainenance you were charged for was done in a satisfactory manner.

Under existing law, the provider of certain goods and services may require a landlord to pay the delinquent bill of a tenant for goods and services provided to the tenant of the landlord. This bill would prohibit the provider of goods and services from requiring a landlord or property owner to pay the delinquent bill of a tenant for goods or services provided to the tenant if the account for the service is in the name of the tenant.

A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACTRelating to certain goods and services provided a tenant; to prohibit the provider of goods or services from requiring a landlord or property owner to pay the delinquent bill of a tenant for goods or services provided to the tenant if the account for the service is in the name of the tenant.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:

Section 1. The provider of goods or services may not require a landlord or property owner to pay the delinquent bill of a tenant for goods or services provided to the tenant of the landlord if the account for the goods or services is in the name of the tenant. In addition, the provider of goods or services shall not have a lien on the property for any goods or services provided in the name of the tenant.

Section 2. This act shall become effective on the first day of the third month following its passage and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.

1. Know how much notice you must give the tenant. Some notice periods, like notice of termination after expiration of the lease, can often be found in your lease.  Others are found in the Code of Alabama.  For example, in a residential lease you must give a seven day notice for non-payment of rent but any other breach of the lease requires a 14 day notice.  If there is no breach of the lease, the notice could be as little as 30 days or more depending on the wording of your lease.
2. Make sure your notice spells out the reason for the termination and the address of the property. The notice should explain exactly what default must be cured, so that the tenant has an opportunity to fix the problem.  In the event that the tenant is unable to fix the problem, the judge will also need to know that the notice was served on the right person, at the right address.  If the addresses do not match, you may have to submit an affidavit to the Court explaining which version of the address is correct.
3. Give the notice the right way. In Alabama, typically a landlord must give notice by handing the tenant the notice personally or posting the notice on the door and mailing another copy to the tenant.  Certified mail alone will probably not be enough to give proper notice.
4. Make sure you keep a copy of the notice and any certified mail receipts. It is common for tenants to deny receiving notice. Make sure you can prove that you followed the law.
   
5. Wait until the entire notice period expires before taking any action. If you do not give the tenant the entire notice period, there is a good chance your eviction will fail.  Be patient, or you may have to start over at the beginning.

What’s a landlord to do?

Nobody likes to see an episode of Cops being re-enacted on their property and it is assuredly upseting to see that a tenant has put your property at risk, but it is important to  realize that you must still follow the law with regard to the terms and conditions of the lease.  Here are a things to consider before taking any concrete action.

• If you are lucky enough to get to the property before the police leave, try to find out the nature of the offense without interfering with the police as they work.
• If you can, get the detective’s card and or a copy of the incident/offense tracking number so that you can secure a police report.
• Try to find out if the police have damaged the property so that you can take actions to repair the damage.  The police will not reimburse you for the damage to the property, but you may still have recourse against your tenant.
• If you have a camera with you take pictures of the damage so that you will have evidence if you need them for court.
• Once the police leave, determine if the door can be properly secured.  The Police have a tend to use methods of entry that could leave the door inoperable.  Sometimes they will remedy this by nailing the door shut for you.  Whatever happens, you should make sure that your property is secured.
• If you have to replace the door and the lock, leave a note for the tenant so that they know how to get in touch with you, if they make bond and need to get back in to the unit.  You do not have a right to remove the tenant immediately simply because they are arrested.

Once the drama has died down, as a landlord you are left with a decision about what to do next.  The first question is whether you would like to continue the landlord tenant relationship.  If you do not wish to continue the relationship you should assess whether you have grounds to evict the tenant or not. Hopefully, your lease addresses drug and criminal activity on the premises.  If it does not, consider including a provision prohibiting illegal activity of any kind in all of your leases and/or updating your rules to include similar provisions in the interim.

If the tenant does not return within a reasonable time because they are unable to make bond, consult the terms of your lease concerning abandonment and/or non-payment of rent.  If the tenant has not returned in time to pay rent, issue a timely notice of termination and immediately follow up with an eviction as soon as the termination notice expires. If the tenant has no plans to return or cannot be released, send a notice of termination based on the abandonment, wait 14 days and file an eviction.

But what happens if the tenant comes back?

If your tenant returns, it is important to remember that the tenant may not be guilty of any offense.  Have a conversation with the tenant about his or her future plans. Perhaps the offense was a misdemeanor with no real jail time likely to be imposed.  Remember that if the tenant is innocent and you do not evict them, you may gain a loyal tenant for years to come.

What’s An Alabama landlord to do?

The first thing to do is to try to determine if the tenant is in the process of moving or has abandoned the property.  Obviously, if the tenant dropped off the keys to the unit, there isn’t much of a question as to the tenant’s intent. If the tenant simply left the property with no notice either by abandonment or because eviction was eminent, you may want to make an effort to determine whether the tenant intended to abandon the property.

Some things to consider would be:

• Whether there are expensive items that the tenant would probably take if they were moving.
• Whether the utilities are on.
• Whether the neighbors can give you an idea of how long it has been since the tenant has been on the property.
• Whether there is old mail in the mailbox addressed to the tenant.
• Whether the items left in the apartment have been moved  or the number of items has decreased since your last visit.

If you have satisfied yourself that the tenant has left the property, you have no duty to house the tenant’s belongings for more than 14 days. Once that period has passed, you may dispose of the property in any way that you see fit, including sale or discarding the items.  As always, if the removal of the tenant’s items causes you to spend money or resources to clean the property, you may, of course, deduct those expenses from any security deposit that may have been due the tenant.