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Squatters might be an inconvenience to landlords and property owners, but they do have rights that cannot be violated. The first thing that anyone should do if they discover squatters on their property is to contact the police. If your home is actively lived in, then this may be considered a break-in and the squatters will be removed. If there isn't any active living on the property and the squatters have set up utility accounts, you may need to take civil action instead. If your property is ...
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When a tenant is moving out of your property and they are going to a different landlord or property manager, they may need to have a proof of rent letter sent. In many ways, this letter is a reference that verifies the information that your former tenants have submitted on a new rental application. Sometimes these letters are required for a tenant to receive financing for a new vehicle or even be able to get a new job. If you fail to include the appropriate information in this letter, then a ten ...
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An estoppel is just a legal term that essentially means that something must be stopped. In terms of a promissory estoppel, it serves as a consideration substitute. This means that in contract law, there are certain promises that are enforceable and binding, even if they are lacking in consideration in some way. In basic terms, it means that someone cannot deny that a contract exists simply because they have a lack of consideration for it. When it comes to the elements of a promissory estoppel, t ...
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You've got a rental property or perhaps an apartment building and you're ready to get some tenants in there so you can make some profits. As you're setting up your lease, you realize that you don't have any penalties in place for tenants who don't pay their rent on time. The most common penalty that is included in a lease for late rent is a fee that compensates a landlord or property manager's time and effort to collect the funds that are over due. How much can be charged ...
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When you are living in a qualified Section 8 rental property, then here's some good news for you: the landlord you have can't just decide that they want to increase your rent. Landlords must make a request for a rental increase and then wait for it to be approved. Tenants are not required to pay more rent unless they have been notified in writing by the governing housing authority that they must do so. Rent increase requests that are deemed to be unreasonable or outside of what the fair ...
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One of the most common repair issues that creep up in a home is a leaking kitchen faucet. If you want to know how to fix a kitchen faucet handle, then the structure of your faucet must first be determined. For three point installations where there are separate handles for cold and hot water in addition to the faucet, then the repair can be as simple as removing the broken faucet handle and replacing it with a new one. If you have a ball faucet, however, the repair can be a little trickier. The g ...
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When you have a pipe burst in your home, either because the weather turned cold or there was a failure in the craftsmanship of the pipe itself or its joints, then here's some good news: you don't need some serious plumbing skills to fix the problem. You'll just need a few tools, some solder that is lead free, and some replacement pipe and fittings. The first step is to make sure that you've turned off your water supply. Look for the main valve for your water in a heated area of y ...
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In the state of Florida, eviction notices are governed under Chapter 83 of landlord-tenant laws. These statutes must be followed by landlords who are evicting a tenant for not following the stipulations of a lease or have not paid their rent on time. Although many eviction notices are grounded on solid legal foundations, the state of Florida also gives tenants every opportunity to defend themselves and fight off an eviction.
If you own rental property in Florida and have a problematic ten ...
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Every so often, a toilet doesn't quite get clogged, but it isn't running up to 100% capacity either. When you flush a toilet that is processing water slowly, it can still back up water into the bowl and cause flooding in you bathroom. That's why it is important to know how to fix a slow flushing toilet. The first and most common fix would be to use a plunger. Make sure that there is a tight seal along the porcelain and then begin forcing the water down through the toilet's trap. ...
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Over time, most standing lamps tend to have certain parts wear out faster than others. The most common of these parts to wear out is the lamp socket. It is also a common place for damage to occur because it functions as the receptacle for the light bulb. If you know how to fix a lamp socket, then you'll be able to repair your lamp instead of needing to replace it. The most common repair for a lamp socket is to remove a broken light bulb base that is still within the socket. Make sure there i ...
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Your tenant has abandoned the rental property and you haven't realized this as the property owner. You've been sending out the notices to pay or quit because you haven't been getting the rent, but the tenant has literally moved out and left the property vacant. During your inspection of the property to see what is going on, you notice that there are people living in the home that shouldn't be there. Those folks are squatters. Squatting is a fairly common practice. If they haven&# ...
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Sometimes a landlord just needs their tenants to leave the property that is being rented for some reason. A standard eviction notice isn't possible in these circumstances because the tenant is current on their rent. That's why knowing how to write a 60 day notice to terminate tenancy can help you be able to accomplish your goals. It is important to know which tenants can be given a 60 day notice. Most landlord/tenant laws will not allow this notice to be given to tenants who have lived a ...
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Tenant Portals
LandlordStation is always looking for a way to make your job as a landlord and property manager just a little easier. One way that we do this is to offer the option of Tenant Portals to better connect you and your tenant through our system. You can accept maintenance requests, share documents, and even give them the option of choosing to pay their rent online, all from one place.
Main ...
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Some people have a limited income because they have a disability. This limited income means that they need to have a set level of expenses so that they can budget properly and be able to survive. A disability rent increase exemption [DRIE] allows people with a qualifying disability to be exempted from standard rent increases that typically happen in every market. It is a program that is used extensively in New York City, but may be applied in any community.
Who Qualifies For a Disability Rent ...
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Estoppel is a legal term to say that something is being stopped or blocked from taking place. In the concept of estoppel by deed, the grantor of a deed is stopped from denying the truth of the deed. It is a legal doctrine that is invoked when a lawsuit has been filed regarding a specific deed or if there is a question of deed rights that must be resolved.
Here Is a Typical Situation Where Estoppel By Deed Would Occur
Let's say that Joe has a property that is been sold to Jeremy. Jo ...
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Many people associate squatter sovereignty with squatter's rights, but the two concepts are very different. Squatters who take up residence in an abandoned home, pay the utilities, and maybe even pay the property taxes will eventually have the right to claim the property as their own if they aren't evicted by the rightful owner. Squatter sovereignty, on the other hand, is a political doctrine from the 19th century that was practiced in the United States.
Squatter Sovereignty Involved ...
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One of the most common repairs that happens in any home, apartment, or flat is a nail hole in the wall. People hang artwork, family photos, or play darts in a home and all of these leave holes that are of equal size and diameter. Sometimes people will even put screws into a wall to hang heavy items. All of these can be repaired faster than you might believe. If you have a white wall, then something as simple as a patch stick can be used to fill in the holes and make them disappear from sight. Ev ...
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Double hung windows create a beautiful look for your home, but they also can make for a difficult repair at times. If you know how to fix double hung windows, however, you'll be able to save quite a bit of money on the repair compared to hiring a contractor to get the job done. Fixing a double hung window is based on what is actually wrong with it. You basically have three repair options if it is the balancing mechanism that has broken in your double hung window. 1. The entire jamb liner uni ...
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Most tenants are pretty reliable when it comes to paying the rent on time. There are a few tenants who might push the deadlines from time to time, but they get the money there. Then there are a few tenants who pay their rent in bits and pieces as the money comes in. You might get $100 here, $50 there, and a bag of quarters because they're using their laundry money in an emergency. In situations like this, bookkeeping can become a nightmare. That may be the goal of the tenant who pays periodi ...
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If you've just picked up a rental property and are creating a lease, then after you decide how much rent you want to charge, you'll want to decide on late fees. Some landlords don't charge a late fee for their rent. Others have a flat charge that is assessed if a rental payment is overdue. Sometimes a percentage of the rent is charged as an additional fee. Which is right for you? Many of these choices are already set for you. Landlord/Tenant laws typically dictate a maximum amount th ...
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