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OUR
EVICT.COM WEBSITE IS IMPROVING |
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The official website of the Law Offices of Heist, Weisse &
Lucrezi, P.A. is Florida’s largest and most current attorney
written source of legal information for the residential property
manager. Unlike many sites with bells and whistles which are
meant as an advertising tool, our site is designed to give out
information and keep the property manager up to date. We now
have a new search feature which will enable you to find anything
that is contained within our site by simply putting in the
search word or phrase. Suggestions are always welcome!
Click here
to
try out the new search feature.
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REVISING
YOUR CLAIM ON THE SECURITY DEPOSIT |
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The tenant
vacated, and you did an inspection and made the claim on the
security deposit by certified mail as the law provides. Your
maintenance staff then discovers some serious problems that you
missed in your inspection, including fleas, bad touch up paint
by the tenant and a hidden rug burn. Can you go back and send
out a revised claim? Have you waived your rights to making an
additional claim?
Click here
for
more info on dealing with Revised Security Deposit Claim.
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AIR CONDITIONER UNIT THEFTS ON THE RISE |
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 If
you are managing a home or apartment community, the chances are
getting better that your air conditioning unit will disappear in
the night. I know, it happened to me last month on one of
my rental properties. With copper prices on the rise,
these thefts have become rampant, with some communities
reporting hundred of units stolen. You and your owner will not
like hearing the bad news, and most insurance policies either
will not cover thefts from vacant homes, or the deductible is
just too high. Call your local a/c tech and ask about the latest
anti-theft devices. From simple anti-theft bolt downs to actual
metal cages and alarms, an expenditure in security may save you
thousands.
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ACCEPTING RENT WHEN A TENANT IS IN NONCOMPLIANCE |
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Often a tenant is served with a Seven Day Notice
to Cure for some type of noncompliance. Within the seven day
time frame, the rent becomes due. Perhaps the tenant tenders
the rent, or if the rent remains unpaid, the landlord serves a
Three Day Notice to pay the rent, and the tenant responds to the
notice by paying the rent. But wait. The tenant is in
noncompliance, and now you have accepted the rent. This classic
case of attempting to have your cake and eat it to has caused
many landlord serious problems.
Click here to
see the
interaction between a Seven Day Notice and Rent Payment.
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KNOW YOUR
LEASE |
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How long has
it been since you read the lease? Really read it? Tell
the truth now. If you haven’t done so in the last three months,
do it right now. It is a good practice to read it periodically
so as to avoid complacency and errors. Additionally, while you
are reading your lease, highlight important areas and transfer
this to a lease tip sheet so you can explain your lease to an
applicant and point out what you feel are the most important
provisions. Don’t let something important get overlooked or
misunderstood because your tenant did not read the lease.
Click here for some tips on “Knowing your Lease” by
attorney Cathy Lucrezi.
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THE COMMON
AND POTENTIALLY FATAL THREE DAY MISTAKE |
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Your tenant
owes you $750 plus a $25 late charge, and your lease states that
there is also a $5 per day late charge. Fortunately, the lease
considers late charges as “additional rent”, so late charges can
legally be placed on the Three Day Notice (in most counties).
The Three Day Notice you prepare demands “$775 plus $5 per day”
Problem? You bet. By not having a clear set amount on the
notice, you have arguably created ambiguity, which could cause
the Three Day Notice to be considered defective and the eviction
action thrown out of court. The “plus $5 per day” wording could
ruin the notice and hopefully will be caught by your attorney
before an eviction is filed.
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COMMERCIAL
LAW AND YOU
-
Tenant's Hours of Operation and Unintended
Consequences |
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Your tenant is
having financial difficulties and decides to cut its hours of
operations or close for the summer. Other tenants in your strip
center rely on the traffic generated from this tenant and all of
a sudden, this traffic stops. You are receiving a portion of the
gross rent, and now that stops. Do you have a remedy? Has the
lease drafter taken this into consideration when the lease was
created?
Click here
to see if
your lease addresses this unfortunate situation.
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THE FAIR HOUSING CORNER -
“COMMON
SCREENING MISTAKES”
By Cathy L. Lucrezi, Attorney at Law |
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 A
rejected applicant is not a happy person. Who likes being
turned down? If the individual feels he or she was treated
unfairly or disrespectfully, there is a very good chance the
individual will make a complaint to an agency that deals with
fair housing. Here are some mistakes to avoid.
Click here to avoid some common screening mistakes.
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