Month: June 2022
Series I Savings Bonds – What They Are and How to Buy Them
Dear Penny: Should I Sue My Financially Toxic Ex-Boyfriend for $100K?
Dear Penny, Is it worth my time and effort to take my former boyfriend/roommate to small-claims court? We met in 2008. In 2010, his restaurant closed. He moved in with me, saying he could get another job anywhere. I relented. He moved into my home and had 20-plus jobs in five years. I told him [â¦]
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
The Cost of Living in California in 2022
See what it really costs to live in a few key cities in California versus the rest of the country.
The post The Cost of Living in California in 2022 appeared first on The Rent. Blog : A Renterâs Guide for Tips & Advice.
How To Give Your Tenants a Notice To Enter
Make sure you give the right amount of notice.
The post How To Give Your Tenants a Notice To Enter appeared first on The Rent. Blog : A Renterâs Guide for Tips & Advice.
[Extended] New Chase ‘Pay Yourself Back’ Categories: Dining & AirBnb Through September
Update 6/29/22: Chase Sapphire Reserve has extended the Dining, Airbnb, and annual fee categories through 9/30/22 at 1.5 cents per point. Sapphire Preferred has extended Airbnb at 1.25 cents per point through 9/30/22. Update 6/19/22: Just a reminder that the Dining, Airbnb, and Away categories are slated to end on June 30, 2022. There will […]
How to Buy a Vacation Home
If vacations all you ever wanted, perhaps a vacation home would make it easier to find time to get away….
The post How to Buy a Vacation Home appeared first on Homes.com.
What to Do When Your Tenant is a Hoarder!
âTerryâ was my first hoarder client. About 50 years old, he worked as a custodian at a high school in a small town not far from where I was living at the time.
He was a genuinely nice guy and proud of his collection of washing machines from the 1940s onward. Â
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Now, âcollectiblesâ to some people are pure junk to others. To Terryâs neighbors, his front and backyard, as well as the inside of his rented home had become a dangerous junkyard, complete with rats and other vermin that freely roamed the property.
The place was overflowing with, not just washing machines, but broken-down cars, airplane parts, toilets, sinks, you name it. In those years, he was known as a junkman. Today he would be called a hoarder.
He had received and ignored notices from his townâs code compliance officers to remove the items, and especially the things that made entry or exit from his home dangerous. With few window coverings, the homeâs interior was visible, piled to the ceiling with âstuff.â
His wife and children were living in dangerous conditions that Terry did not acknowledge. With the assistance of code compliance, they and their landlord arranged for a meeting at my office to work out a clean-up plan with Terry â or he would face prosecution.
I was asked to drive Terry to my office. In reality, behind my back, during our lengthy afternoon meeting, Terryâs wife â with the enthusiastic approval of the landlord â had embarked on something like an intervention. Later she told me: âI hired a disaster restoration company and told them to remove every last piece of junk from inside and outside the home. Anything of value was purchased by a scrap dealer.â
The crew did such a good job that when I drove Terry home, it took a few minutes before we could find his house!Â
I have to admit that it made me happy to see this crap gone and a bit of sanity restored to his family and the neighborhood. Terry got into therapy and did not repeat his hoarding behavior. He was lucky as there is a high relapse rate among hoarders.
But this was well before the psychology of hoarding became widely understood. Today, if the same things happened, some poor landlord â driven out of his mind by the insanity of having a hoarder as a tenant â could wind up being sued.
Hoarding Is Protected as a Mental Illness
Once called âjunkmen,â hoarders â whom landlords and officials agree pose major risks to the health and safety of not only themselves, but their families, neighbors and communities â are viewed as suffering from various forms of mental illness. This means hoarders are generally protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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âThis is why it is so important for landlords and property managers to have proper language in their rental agreements that covers these types of tenants and scenarios,â San Diego attorney Evan Walker points out.
Rent Pro, based in Lancaster, N.Y., recommends that landlords consider adding what is called a housekeeping addendum to their rental leases in states where it is permissible. The addendum outlines the standards tenants are expected to meet, including such stipulations as:
- Floors should be clean, clear, and free of hazards that could lead to a trip and fall injury.
- Trash should be disposed of properly and not left in the unit.
- The entire rental unit should be free of anything that contributes to rodent or insect infestation.
- The kitchen should be kept clear of spoiled food and grease. Appliances should be kept clean.
- Pathways to front and back doors must be clear from furniture, appliances and debris.
- Front and back yards should be free of debris, trash, old furniture and appliances.
- Porches should be free of living room-type furniture.
- Parking lot/space should be free of grease and oil. Inoperative automobiles must be removed. No repairs of automobiles are allowed on the premises.
Violating these terms will subject the tenant to eviction.
âState law requires landlords to maintain habitable dwellings, and also requires tenants to keep their units clean and sanitary, disposing of garbage properly, avoiding excessive clutter and not damaging the property or using the premises in an improper way.â Walker said. âSo, when you are on notice that the tenantâs âstuffâ is blocking exits or doorways, interferes with ventilation or sprinkler systems, and attracts pests because of improper food storage â to list just a few â this could be a hazard for other tenants, and could be considered as a violation of the rental agreement and, likely, state law.  Â
âAt this stage, contact the tenant, point out what you have seen, and politely â but firmly â indicate that if the problem isnât resolved, you may have to file an eviction suit. Be sure you can prove that you have brought these items to the tenantâs attention.â
How to Build Your Case Against a Hoarder
Pasadena, Calif., property manager Jon Anthony Dolan says: âDocument everything! If the tenant will not respond appropriately and clean up the mess, you may have no choice but to evict them. So, begin preparing for the possibility now and document your correspondence with the tenant and keep detailed, chronological records. This means taking videos, photos, detailed notes which establish a record of the property’s condition. This material is critical to prove your case.â
You must be able to prove that notice to cure the tenant’s breach has been provided. Do this with a certified letter or with a letter hand-served on the tenant, and if no one comes to the door, have it posted on the front door, with photos taken. It is important to follow your state’s rules for Service of Process just to be sure you can establish giving the tenant every possible opportunity of curing the breach.
Important: You Are NOT Evicting Because They Are a Hoarder!
Dolan stressed the importance of understanding what you are NOT evicting them for. âYou are not evicting them because they are a hoarder, because if you use that language, it is a violation of Fair Housing laws, since mental illness is a protected class.
âIn addition to a possible violation of the rental agreement, often the hoarding behavior can be seen as a nuisance to other tenants if it substantially interferes with their use of the property. For example, filth that creates a pest infestation, and clutter in common areas can create accessibility issues for EMS personnel.â
Walker strongly recommends retaining experienced landlord-tenant counsel, âas hoarders are among the most difficult of tenants. They may be unlike any tenant you will ever have, and the risks of being sued for violating their rights are very real.â
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Guide to Market-Linked Certificates of Deposit (CDs)
The primary difference between a market-linked CD (MLCD) and a traditional CD is that a regular CD pays a fixed rate of interest, while the market-linked CD tracks a basket of underlying securities or an index like the S&P 500. These accounts are sometimes called equity-linked CDs or stock CDs. Otherwise, an MLCD is similar […]
The post Guide to Market-Linked Certificates of Deposit (CDs) appeared first on SoFi.
Chapter 02: What to Include in Your Budget
If youâre making a budget, congrats! For many people, having more money seriously adds to their freedom â and budgeting is a great way of giving yourself as much financial freedom as possible in the future, as well as improving your financial situation in the present. In the previous chapter, we discussed what a budget
The post Chapter 02: What to Include in Your Budget appeared first on MintLife Blog.