Today’s question comes from one of our faithful readers, a fellow Nevada property manager, and a valued guest contributor, Bob Frenchu. Bob writes:
“When do you decide the tenants are out of the property?
Let’s say you’ve served a 5-Day Pay or Quit eviction notice. Noon of the fifth day rolls around, the tenants aren’t answering their phone. You drive out to the property to check to see if they’ve moved out of the premises. You knock, get no answer, open the door and find: (more…)
We Heart Co-Signers!
Today’s post follows up on one from last week where we mentioned co-signers, and their added security to a rental property owner. This question came via a Facebook email from a Reno-area broker and property manager:
“Do you think it’s appropriate for a property manager to accept a rent check from someone who is not on the lease? It happens all the time, but I’m curious if I should have some sort of policy against it, for any reason? What are your thoughts?” (more…)
Property Managers are frequently faced with an all-too-common scenario, these days: The tenant has lost his/her job, and can no longer afford the rent. Here’s a question that came to me via email the other day, and my response:
We are currently renting out our home, and the tenants signed a year lease(with a co-signer) in Feb. 2011. Yesterday, we received an email from them stating they can no longer stay in the home because the husband has been laid off. They asked us if they could stay until next month and use their security deposit as a rent payment for September. He says his cell phone has been cut off, so he can’t talk to us over the phone, and will only converse through email. I’m so angry but would like to deal with this in a professional and calm manner. Do you have any advice as to how to approach this situation? This is our first time renting our home out.
Thoughts on Tenant Selection
Last week, my blog addressed a few of the more common questions raised by Nevada Property Managers. This week, I’ll address a couple of questions received from a California landlord, as they pertain to managing residential rental property throughout the USA.
I am a landlord renting out a single detached home in California. I have received 5 applications to rent in the last couple of weeks, and I have two questions about the rental process. (more…)
Emailed questions from Property Management Pros
As anyone who has ever attended one of my property management classes knows, I welcome questions from the property management community in Nevada, and elsewhere. No, I don’t give legal advice, but I enjoy answering practical questions about the landlord/tenant business, fair housing, rental agreements, management contracts, policies and procedures, risk reduction, and other issues important to our industry. Whenever I do this, I learn something new.
This morning, it occurred to me that, if one person is asking, there may be ten with the same question who are not asking. Odds are, they’ll benefit from the information shared in these email exchanges, too. So, with that in mind, here’s a sampling of questions recently emailed to me, and my responses.
QUESTION: “The way I understand NRS 118A.242, I am allowed to collect a deposit that doesn’t exceed 3 months’ rent. Does this amount include the first month’s rent?” (more…)
Silver State Fair Housing 2011 Winning Poster
Whether you are a property manager, owner-landlord, board member, or HOA manager, sooner or later you’ll be faced with a request from a resident for an accommodation under Fair Housing Law.
For the first time in several years, I attended a meeting of the Nevada Real Estate Commission this past Tuesday in Carson City. What an education! (Speaking of education, did you know that real estate licensees can get CE credit for attending Commission meetings?) For the Twitter users among you, the hashtag I used for the hearing was #NVRECOM.
Early on the Commission’s agenda were several matters including licensee discipline.
It seems an overwhelming majority of the complaints submitted to the Nevada Real Estate Division concern property management activity; specifically, trust fund handling. Sadly, this case mirrors many others. This is the story of a broker and property manager in the Reno area, doing both sales and property management. After struggling for quite some time with owner complaints regarding her failure to remit funds in a timely manner, this property manager decided to throw herself on the mercy of the Real Estate Division. Sound crazy to you? As it turns out, it was the right thing for her to do. Read on… (more…)
Finally! Clarification from the Department of Justice on the new rules for implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as it pertains to “Service Animals.” The publication can be found here.
It’s important to note that ADA and Fair Housing laws are NOT the same. Fair Housing Law provides for a much broader definition of “Service Animal.” More on that here.
The new ADA rules state, in part:
Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.
The publication goes on to say:
This definition does not affect or limit the broader definition of “assistance animal” under the Fair Housing Act or the broader definition of “service animal” under the Air Carrier Access Act.
If you manage office buildings, retail properties, or industrial properties, this new publication should prove extremely useful in helping your office draft policy pertaining to Service Animals for your clients and customers.
Questions or Comments? Please participate in the discussion by leaving your remarks on this post.
In an effort to address the horror stories of grandpa’s ashes being seized and taken to the dump, and homeowners being thrown out of their homes without so much as a judge’s blessing, our lawmakers have created a new chapter of law in Nevada governing “Asset Management.”
This new law was created with the passage and approval of Senate Bill 314 of the 2011 Nevada Legislature, a bill sponsored by Senator Lee, and heavily lobbied for by the Nevada Real Estate Division. Essentially, SB 314 attempts to address the unlicensed practice of property management, as it pertains to work done on behalf of mortgage holders. The law targets activities of those who attempt to seize property, preserve assets, clean up property, or perform other duties related to an impending foreclosure, trustee’s sale, and/or real property liquidation.
For my fellow Nevada Property Managers, in plain English, if you manage residential or commercial property for a mortgage holder, and that property is in some stage of the foreclosure process, this law applies to you! (more…)
AB 398 - Commercial L/T Law
Yes. You read that right. Landlord/Tenant Law for commercial properties (any real property not considered a dwelling, as defined in NRS 118A.140) has arrived in Nevada. As commercial property managers in our state can tell you, prior to the passage and approval of AB 398, Nevada had no law specifically governing commercial landlord/tenant transactions, other than NRS 40 which primarily deals with eviction actions.
AB 398, a bill sponsored by Assemblyman Ohrenschall and co-sponsored by Senator Parks, becomes effective October 1, 2011. The legislation amends Title 10 of the Nevada Revised Statutes by adding a new chapter of law pertaining specifically to commercial tenancies. During testimony given in committee, Assemblyman Ohrenschall stated:
“The impetus behind AB 398 was to craft a statute that would be in the best interest of commercial landlords and tenants. Right now, we have a landlord-tenant law which is mostly written for residential purposes, but we try to apply it to commercial tenancies. That is the drive behind this bill. It accomplishes many good things and brings us in line with 20 other states that have a commercial landlord-tenant law separate from residential landlord-tenant statutes.”
