WELCOME TO THE NEW MEMBER OF OUR FIRM

We are pleased and excited to announce that Brian P. Wolk, attorney at law, has joined the Law Offices of Heist, Weisse & Davis, P.A. Brian has extensive experience in landlord/tenant law and has filed thousands of eviction actions. A native Floridian, Brian graduated from Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona  in 1987 and  Quinnipiac University (Formerly the University of Bridgeport School of Law), Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1991. Brian is a member of both the Florida and Pennsylvania Bar Associations and brings to the firm a large amount of experience representing property managers in evictions and other various legal matters. You can reach Brian at brian@evict.com

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LETTERS OF “PROTECTION?”

Instead of the tenant’s rent this month, you receive a letter from a well known personal injury law firm you have heard advertising on the radio for years.  The letter states that the firm represents the tenant in a car accident lawsuit.  It goes on to say that any sums due and owing to the landlord would be withheld from the tenant’s recovery and paid to the landlord. The letter clearly implies that once the tenant receives the money from the car accident, you will be paid the rent. Does this mean the law firm will be paying the tenant’s rent? Will it ever happen? Are there any guarantees?
 
Click here  to learn more about Letters of Protection.

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THE LATEST SCAMS HITTING LANDLORDS AND TENANTS

You have a number of vacant units in your inventory. Driving by one, you see a car in the driveway, clothes on the clothesline and a bike leaning against the house, but your records indicate the unit is vacant. You knock on the door, and a person answers stating she just moved in and paid the landlord. You check with the property owner, and he has no idea what is going on. The tenant says she found the property on Craigslist. What is really going on here?

Click here  to learn how to avoid the latest scams.

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SALES TAX AND SEASONAL RENTALS

Most property managers know that sales/transient/tourist tax must be collected on rentals which are seasonal, that usually meaning less than 7 months, sometimes called “less than 6 months and a day”. It may be a house, short term apartment rental or any vacation rental. A person from the Department of Revenue conducts an audit of your files and tells you that you have failed to collect thousand of dollars in owing taxes. But wait, you have been collecting the taxes. What is the problem here? You have not been collecting taxes on the cleaning fees or the utility charges!! Do you know what is taxable? You better find out fast! It is not just “rent”.

Click here to see if you are in compliance.

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CARPET DAMAGE

When you did your move-out inspection of the tenant’s apartment, you noted that the bedroom and the hallway carpet were severely damaged.  The carpet company indicates that they no longer make this particular color and style of carpet, and there will be no way to match the carpet.  The carpet was two years old when the tenant took possession on a one-year lease.  Can you replace the carpet and padding throughout the entire apartment and charge it to the resident? What does the tenant owe?

Click here to see how to deal with carpet damage.

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SECURITY DEPOSIT QUICK TIP

Sometimes a vacating tenant will give you a forwarding address in writing. They may send you an email, mail you a notice, or stop in the office and give you their new address. The Notice of Intention to Impose Claim on Security Deposit gets processed by your main office in Dallas, and instead of being sent to the address the tenant gave you, it is sent to the tenant’s old address, and there is no forwarding order on file with the Post Office. The result? It is returned to you, filed and forgotten.  Did you comply with the law? Probably not. The last known address was the one that the tenant gave you. Always exercise extreme care and make sure the address you use is indeed the last known address.  Small mistakes can cost big money.

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COMMERCIAL LAW AND YOU - Current Issues in Regard to Commercial Leases in Today's Troubled Real Estate Marketplace - Part II - "Guarantors and Guarantee Agreements"

Many leases contain attempts by the Landlord to have a Tenant guarantee the lease performance so that the Landlord does not need to look solely to the Tenant’s company for payment of the lease obligations. If the Tenant’s company is failing in business and needs to vacate the premises, then in such event, it is a sound business decision for the commercial landlord to have the opportunity to pursue a claim against the principals of the company or the individuals that have a financial relationship with the company. The principals ideally would be able to pay the outstanding sums due and owing under the lease agreement. The way your lease is written can make all the difference in the world.

Click here for Part II dealing with Guarantors and Guarantee Agreements by Commercial Law Attorney Kevin Jursinski.

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