Blog 5
Lisa Li
Principal
Licensed Broker
Phone: 617-335-4829
e-mail:
lisali.realtor@gmail.com
WeChat: lisa_fengli00
Proficient in self-housing and rental housing in all good school districts and high-end districts in the Greater Boston area. If you need to buy or sell a house, please contact me.
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All blogs on this site are original, please do not plagiarize, all opinions and experiences are personal opinions, and are for reference only.
Be a Knowledgeable Landlord
Yesterday, I analyzed the site strategy for investing in rental housing, and mentioned that Massachusetts is a state that especially protects tenants. Massachusetts law has prepared more than a dozen rules and regulations for landlords that are unique to Massachusetts. If the landlord accidentally steps into the pit, Although it can finally crawl out, it has to shed a layer of skin. I would like to say that knowledge is power, and a deep study of the Massachusetts lease law can definitely prevent many unnecessary troubles and a lot of money loss. Massachusetts official website The Attorney General's Guide to Landlord and Tenant Rights (https://www.mass.gov/guides/the-attorney-generals-guide-to-landlord-and-tenant-rights) and Nolo's Top 9 Landlord Legal Responsibilities in Massachusetts (https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/top-9-landlord-legal-responsibilities-massachusetts.html) are two simple and clear websites, without dry legalese, that clearly list What you must do as a landlord, as well as what you can and cannot do, as a landlord, you should read it thoroughly and review it often.
Some people will say, I hired a professional management company to manage, so I don't need to learn anything. The problem, though, is that, if anything, it's the landlord, not the broker, who issues the subpoena. Of course, you can hire a lawyer, but the lawyer needs 300 per hour and 1000 for the court, which is not a small amount of money. Moreover, many management companies have very unreliable brokers, and many steps are not done correctly, leaving many hidden dangers. I have taken over other people's mess.
Let me summarize some pitfalls that are most likely to make landlords stumble:
1. The deposit received when signing the contract: Many landlords are very happy to receive the money, but the deposit received is not handled according to the rules. Therefore, this item will become the most likely reason for the tenant to sue the landlord, and if there are no special circumstances , One accusation, one accurate, three times the rent. For the landlord, this must be done in full accordance with the procedures, even a small negligence may cause a lot of trouble in the future. The following things must be done right:
- The deposit amount cannot exceed one month's rent
- The deposit must be placed in a local bank in Massachusetts, and a special Landlord-tenant escrow account must be opened with the tenant's tax ID number. This account must be interest-bearing
- This account must be opened within 30 days from the start of the lease, and a receipt must be given to the customer. The receipt must have the name, address, and account number of the bank. The landlord must confirm that the tenant has received this receipt.
- At the end of each year, the deposit interest, which is only a few cents, needs to be paid to the tenant, or the tenant’s consent must be obtained in writing and kept in the account.
- Within 15 days of the tenant moving in, they must return the Apartment Condition Form. It needs to list all the problems that existed in the house when they moved in, such as holes in the wall, scratches on the floor, etc., preferably with photos , because this is the voucher for processing the deposit in the future
- At the end of the tenancy, the deposit must be returned within 30 days of the tenant moving out. If the deposit needs to be withheld because someone damaged the house, the landlord needs to be cautious. Some landlords did not sign the Apartment Condition Form at the beginning, and did not personally do a Final Walk Through to check the condition of the house on the day the tenant moved out, so they dared to withhold the tenant’s deposit, and the tenant could easily be sued by the tenant and fined. Three times the rent, a small loss is worth a lot
I know that very few people can really get the above key points right, and they don't know it. For example, in the stall I took over just now, the broker in front did not put the deposit in the landlord-tenant escow in the name of the tenant as required. She asked the landlord to open a special account to deposit the tenant's money, thinking that she was doing it right. Two years later, the tenant happened to be short of money, so she suddenly came to ask what happened to the deposit, and even searched a lot on the Internet Negotiating the information, I took over and quickly gave him 5% interest on the rent for two years, about 300, which is regarded as hush money, which is better than triple the rent fined if he goes to court. And taking over the stall, he used his tax ID number to open an official landlord-tenant escrow account to get rid of this hidden danger.
Another example is a friend who was wronged because he actually did every step. He opened the landlord-tenant escrow account and thought it was all right. However, he forgot to confirm that he gave the receipt and account information to the tenant. Years later, when the tenant moved out, he sued him, but he could not provide written proof that he had given the account information to the tenant at that time, and was fined three times as a result. Because it was a high-rent house, he suffered huge losses.
Of course, not everyone can meet such a tenant who understands the law, but don’t take chance, do everything right according to the law, no matter what happens to the tenant, you can rest easy. For example, my own tenant has always been very good. One day he suddenly asked me, should our deposit have a lot of interest? Hurry up and send him the monthly statement of the account. When he saw that the monthly interest was only a few cents, he didn't say anything more. If I couldn't get the account number list at that time, I would probably be in trouble.
2. Lead Paint Disclosure Form: Many landlords forget to sign the Lead Form when signing the rental contract. This is a federal law. Although this form is very simple, it must not be forgotten, especially if there are children under 6 years old. tenant. If the landlord forgets to sign this form when the lease is signed, then disaster is likely.
3. Fair Housing Law: When a landlord receives an application, they may not want to accept it. However, it is important to know how to reject it. In case of inappropriate speeches and accusations of discrimination, the price will be very expensive. Let's take a look at what can be grounds for rejection:
- low credit score
- Salary income does not reach the minimum line set by the landlord
- The previous landlord gave a bad review
All of the following are not grounds for refusal and should be kept in mind:
- Race
- religious belief
- Country of Citizenship
- with children
- disabled
- gender
I sometimes see advertisements saying that only girls, or only young professionals, etc., always worry about the landlord, if you come out to mess around like this, something will happen sooner or later.
4. When the tenant’s rent is late, some landlords decide to charge fines on their own. Massachusetts law stipulates that fines can only be collected if the tenant’s rent is late for more than 30 days. Therefore, it is illegal to collect fines within 30 days. The correct approach should be to issue a 14-day eviction notice immediately. If the tenant pays the rent within 14 days, then everything will be as usual, otherwise the landlord has the right to go to court to formally start the eviction procedure. Of course, in many cases, for good tenants, the landlord needs to be humane. Depending on the person, sometimes we also need to understand that the late payment of the rent is due to forgetting or temporary turnover. In this case, We need to increase communication, wait a few days, let the guests feel grateful.
In short, in order to be able to count money with peace of mind, landlords must arm themselves with knowledge, read through the Massachusetts lease law, operate according to the law, and prevent problems before they happen. Moreover, if the landlord demonstrates a standardized way of acting in the initial contact, it will also give the tenants a sense of shock, letting them know that the landlord is not a random person, and everything will be done according to the rules, and they will be more honest. Hope you all are happy landlords!