Forum: Landlord
November 18, 2009
Contacting Landlord
Do I have any rights to contact my landlord directly? I have never met him or spoken to him- ever since I moved in I have dealt with the Superintendent directly. The superintendent has not been responding to a lot of issues in my building and I was wondering if he is obligated to give me the Landlord's contact info if I ask for it.
Thanks in advance, and I would appreciate if any one has any info or tips on how to deal with a negligent superintendent and absent landlord.
November 17, 2009
Investment Neigborhoods.
I'm thinking about buying a 2 or 3 family as a rental property. I've been looking at Sunset Park, Bed Stuy & Bushwick. Any thoughts?
November 16, 2009
Bedbug Clause in Lease?
Has anyone heard of adding a bedbug clause into a rental lease? I'm going to be renting the top floor of my brownstone soon and since neither I nor my house has a history of bedbugs, I'm considering adding a clause that says if a tenant has a bedbug problem after moving in, they'd be required to cover all necessary treatment for their unit and even mine if the problem went into the walls as its known to do. But I can't tell if this is a good idea or if it would make me a jerky landlord adding to an already traumatic experience.
November 11, 2009
Becoming a Landlord
I am trying to find good forums or sources for advice on how to become a (responsible and conscientious) landlord. I looking to buy a multi-family home, living in one of the apartments and renting out the others. Does anyone have any advice on how to get started on this interesting adventure?
Thanks!
LL's Lousy Repair Jobs
Current situation: bathtub wall is rotting out (an exterior wall with a window + ledge), & tiles are literally falling off while people shower. LL had someone come in last spring to replace the moldy, rotting ceiling (the magic word in getting HPD to do something appeared to be "mold"), at which point he also replaced tiles on the ledge (which was falling apart then, too - & still is). The point is: the job was poorly done & purely cosmetic - the actual deteriorating wall was not fixed at all, just covered with tiles destined to fall off again.
How many chances does the LL have before we can call in our own person to do the job correctly (& take the bill out of the rent)? Is that even an option?
November 10, 2009
Tenants Broke Entryway
We do not know who did it. But door is impossible to close: weight mechanism is off its normal position and door could be closed only from inside witha pressure. Is would be costly to fix we think. Door is an original and mechanism is an original and worked perfectly all the time. My husband is really mad and want to post an angry note to ask whoever broke it to fix it up to an original state.
what would you do it this situation? Our tenants are paynig rent in time and nice tenants if sometimes not very careful with our property ( but previous damage incidents were very minor and we just swallowed)
November 8, 2009
Landlord Responsibilities
Girlfriend's tenant has been living at the apartment for well over 2 years. The apartment was handed to him "brand new". According to the tenant the tiles in the living room need to be replaced. He states some of the tiles are lifting. Is this something the landlord is responsible for? Or does the tenant need to bare the costs?
Washer-Dryer Combos?
Does anyone have recommendations or warnings about "portable" washer-dryer combos -- the kind you hook to your kitchen sink faucet? Looking for brand and type information. Thanks.
November 3, 2009
Tenants Breaking Lease
My tenants informed me that they want to break one-year lease after only 3 months citing personal reasons and bad planning. Which would leave me with a vacant apartment in December. I hold one month security deposit but it seems to me that wouldn't be enough to cover my loses and a headache.
October 30, 2009
Shifty Landlord or Poor Planning
I have been a renter in Brooklyn for 3 years and am about to move from the deep South Slope further North. My current landlord is presenting a roadblock - I hope someone could offer some advice - this may not be the correct forum, but I am a daily Brownstoner reader so I thought I'd give it a shot. Here is the situation:
I gave one-month notice to move December 1st. I had a one year lease from 2007-08 co-signed with a roommate who moved out in 2008. Since the lease's expiration I have been month-to-month and have had a new roommate. She would like to stay on in the apartment and find someone to take my room.
The landlord's reaction to this was as follows: he wants her to move out of the building at the end of November OR he has offered that she can move to another 2-BR unit in the building provided that she can find someone to sign a lease with her NOVEMBER 1. He wants to renovate our current 2BR and rent it out for more $$ and has had trouble renting the other unit (which is 5th floor walk-up).
Does he have the right to ask her to move - does the fact that she has paid him monthly rent for over a year not constitute as some form of agreement? I am baffled as to why he would act this way especially considering the RE market right now.
Does she have any right to stay? I feel really guilty about potentially getting my roommate evicted.