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Real Estate, Renovation & Decoration

Lease and Rental Agreement

Jan 27

Posted by admin in Rental Property | No Comments

lease and rental agreement and rental applicationMany new or casual landlords may thinks it’s alright to do business with verbal agreements. Some new landlords may not want new tenants to think they don’t trust them. Some casual landlords may think that a lease or rental agreement is just not necessary or they’ll never need it. I have to say both landlords are wrong and could regret not getting everything in writing with a Lease and Rental Agreement.

Purpose of the Agreements

The purpose of rental agreement contracts is to create a paper copy of what all parties agree to. This is where you document what you both agree with. This way everyone has a good understanding of what is expected of them. A tenant may agree to be responsible for the water bill. The landlord may agree to cover all repairs except for damages due to wear and tear. Each party should be comfortable with the terms before signing. This document can serve as a reminder down the road when memories start to fade. If nine months into a one year lease, a tenant wants to know who is responsible for certain repairs, they can pull out their lease and it’s all there.

Legal Obligations and Rights

Rights and obligations can vary from state to state. Your lease and rental agreement should show what you are legally obligated to do and what your rights are. For instance, a one year lease basically obligates you to lease your property to a tenant for the period of one year. If the tenant does everything they agreed to in the lease, you have to provide them a safe and operational place to live. Your rights should be to receive rent for the property usually at the beginning of the month before a certain date or rent + late fees for late rent. Your lease and rental agreement may help to resolve those gray areas if you and your tenant find yourselves in court. If your tenant has decided to stop paying rent until certain repairs are made, your agreement could help a judge to resolve the problem. If your tenant is breaking things and holding out on rent, a judge may decide your tenant is trying to get out of paying you. But if your tenant’s roof is leaking onto an electrical outlet, they probably have a legitimate reason for holding rent and a judge could make you fix things before getting your rent. Either way it helps sort out problems that a verbal agreement could never fairly resolve.

If you need rental agreement contracts, we have some available on the Products Page.

If you have any comments or questions, add them to this post below.

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Managing Rental Property

Dec 6

Posted by admin in Rental Property | Comments off

If you own rental property long enough, there will come a day when you rent to a difficult or problem tenant. This person may cause you to make decisions that aren’t to your benefit as a business owner.

In times like this, I like to use a good management company.

Why?

I prefer to manage my good tenants myself. There’s no reason to pay a management company to collect rent from someone who has no problem paying.

But, I use a management company to manage tenants who:

  • make excuses for paying late or not paying at all.
  • need constant babysitting.
  • just unnecessarily take up my time.

When a tenant deals with you, they take it personal. Some take your kindness for weakness. When tenants deal with a management companies, it just business. Business is better.

Management companies worked out for me because:

  • they are inexpensive. For a few dollars a month, they collect rent. You get an eviction lawyer who makes tenants pay legal fees and you don’t have to use a vacation day from work to evict a tenant.
  • they saved me time. They make calls to collect rent and send off 7 day notices. They set up court dates, schedule a maintenance people, screen tenant complaints, and meet the bailiff for evictions.
  • they took the stress off of me. My management company was the middleman between me and my tenants. If they had complaints, I never heard about it. The management company just sent out a maintence person and everybody’s happy. If the bailiff is going to drag someone out of my house, I don’t have to be there.

What to look for in a good management company?

  • a company that has reasonable prices
  • a company that it firm with rent collections and charges tenants for all legal fees
  • a company that’s good with maintenance
  • a company that handles evictions for
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Detroit Scam Artist (Otis D. Carr)

Nov 18

Posted by admin in Scam Artist | Comments off

Otis D. Carr is a metro Detroit scam artist. He poses as a licensed builder, accepts money to do major repairs, but never buys materials or does any

work.

If he is not arrested soon, he’ll probably continue his scam.

My family member found his business card at their insurance company. They needed a new roof and called otis. He gave them quote and took a

sizable deposit but just made excuses for not showing each week. After hearing about him not showing up, I got involved.

I soon found out that:

1. His phony company, Broadway Builder, Inc, had multiple complaints with the Better Business Bureau.

2. Neither he nor his company are licensed with the state of Michigan.

3. The address on his business card does not exist. His business card reads that he is CEO of Broadway Builder, Inc located at: 1346 Broadway, Detroit, MI 48226. After we reported him to the Michigan State Police, investigators drove over to the business address and told us the address was closed down.

4. How stupid he is. The day we made the police report the police called his cell phone. He didn’t answer. It went to voice mail and they left him a message. They called him multiple times throughout the night but he never picked up. A few days later he called them and said he would return the money on a certain day. He didn’t show up. They called him and he gave another day and didn’t show up. They issued a warrant for his arrest.

5. His cell phone number (which 313-598-5569) is registered to a Jo Ann Taylor. What legitimate business man can’t get a cell phone in their own name?

He’s an older heavyset dark complexion black man in his mid 60s who claims to have diabetes and just had a knee operation. He has bottom teeth missing and breathe stinks from alcohol. He drives a late model blue Mercedes E320. He claims to have been in the home building industry for over 30 years, but remember he LIES like a rug. He is not a licensed builder. He often talks about being an honest business man, church, retiring (leaving his business to his son) and trying to give people a fair price.

He leaves his business cards in legitimate businesses around Detroit. So for instance if you trust your insurance person and see Otis’ business cards laying around, you might assume that Otis is trustworthy.

Then, he gives you a quote, priced below what a licensed contractor would charge. He asks for a sizable deposit or down payment. After that, he has your money and he’s gone. He may try and hang around to squeeze a little more money from you.

Otis last known address:

23778 W. Warren Ave
Apt. # 2
Dearborn Heights, MI 48127

His driver’s license number is:

C600668134528

His cell number:

313-598-5569

If you are scammed by Otis D. Carr, you should:

1. get his address from your canceled check

2. keep a copy of his bill

3. Go to your police department and fill out a report giving as much information as you can about him.

4. file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau

5. go online and fill out a complaint to the Consumer Protection Division (for Michigan it is https://www.ag.state.mi.us/cp_division/w3cp_c01_new.asp)

How can I protect myself from him or people like him?

1. Do Not pay in cash. Create a money trail. Pay with a check.

2. Do not pay for the whole job upfront. Pay in multiple payments. Maybe like 1/4 down.

3. Get everything in writing.

4. Get their license and call the state to inquire about it.

5. Get a copy of their driver’s license (write down their car license plate number too). You might need it in the future.

Feel free to give Otis a call. Give him the run around if you want.

According to this US Court of Appeals document, Otis has served time for this before.
CLICK HERE FOR HIS PUBLIC RECORD–> Otis US Court of Appeals

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