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Useful Tips For Landlords On Dealing With Problem Tenants

It is not uncommon to see landlords being victimized by bad tenants. There are innumerable cases where tenants who initially appeared to have a clean profile and nice attitude, suddenly turn vicious and start mistreating their landlord. When a landlord screens and interviews a prospective tenant he usually uses all possible means to find someone suitable, but sometimes these methods fail to work. Even with all the precautions a landlord takes, he often ends up with problem tenants like raucous partyers, drug addicts, or scam artists trying to live rent-free.

To avoid such problems, the first thing that every landlord should keep in mind is to document everything. Verbal promises are useless. If there is a disagreement, they usually prove to be quite useless. Establishing impeccable documentation, including the rental application, the lease or rental agreement, termination notice, and an itemization of security deposits will secure your position. Thereafter, if you land in court, these documents will be the proof supporting your case.

The next matter to consider is to treat every applicant on an equal footing, irrespective of race, sex, religion, age etc. Do not allot rental accommodations according to gender, age, or status, unless the tenant specifically demands it. These days, most landlords insist on tenants showing them their ID cards. However, it is illegal to demand ID cards inconsistently. Hence, if you do require verification by ID cards, then you need to check each and every applicant’s, and not do it selectively.

The task of showing prospective tenants apartments requires a lot of time, but it is important not to rush it, or succumb to the impulse of trying to please the first candidate that comes along. Remember to question them thoroughly, and never let anyone persuade you to allow them to stay temporarily.

The next important step is to check the references thoroughly. If you think that it is a very time consuming process, or are not sure that you will do a good job, you can entrust it to tenant-screening agencies that will charge around $10-$20 per application, and will give you accurate data. Additionally, also run checks on the candidate’s criminal, credit and employment background. A good source of information can be the tenant’s previous landlords, but beware of the candidate’s friends posing as landlords. Although all this may seem like a hassle, but it is nothing compared to the problems that unsavory tenants can create.

Make a lease agreement and make the tenant sign it before he moves in with his belongings. Making a tenant sign a lease agreement is especially important if he or she happens to be a student. For additional security, you can also ask the student’s parent to co-sign the agreement.
Problems also often arise when the tenant is of some other nationality. These problems arise not because of the difference in nationality, but as a result of different traditions and customs, which can become awkward in an apartment environment. You need to spell out all the rules and conditions, documenting them and making the tenant sign it.

Personal bankruptcy is one of the problems that landlords are increasingly faced with these days. According to the law, you cannot evict a tenant if he has filed a bankruptcy petition. Although efforts are being made to change the laws, it will take time. In the mean time, you can master the legal paper work and boost your chances of recovering some of the money owed to you.

It can be tough being a landlord, and to survive it you should always be up to date with the latest tenancy laws and rules. Take regular advice from people who are experienced in real estate issues, or you can also take the help of self-help legal guides, or join a local apartment association, and save your apartment from problem tenants.

By : Kevin Kiene

Important Information About For Sale By Owner Selling & Escrow

In real estate transactions, there needs to be a way for the buyer to guarantee that the seller will indeed pay the funds agreed upon. Similarly, the buyer needs a way to guarantee that, once his or her deposit is paid, the seller will hand over the deed or title to the property. This is where escrow comes into play.

What is Escrow?
As a for sale by owner home seller, you are responsible for setting up, or opening, the escrow account. The escrow agent will be a third-party who is responsible for holding the title or deed to the property as well as earnest deposits made on behalf of the buyer. The purpose of an escrow is to hold legal documents and money until certain conditions, agreed by you and the buyer. The escrow agent will hold money and property ownership until these conditions have been met.

In many for sale by owner transactions, both the seller and the buyer open escrow accounts. There is no standard way of one or the other. Rather, it depends on what you and the buyer agree.

To process your escrow instructions accordingly, the escrow agent might ask you for several pieces of information. You might not have all the information available immediately, but you should get it to the escrow agent as soon as possible. This information includes, but is not limited, to the following:

Your (the seller) name and address
Buyers name and address
Purchase agreement
Amount of deposit
Buyers insurance agent
Lenders or other financing partys information
Termite report information
Closing date

If there is an earnest money deposit, the escrow agent will place it into a separate escrow account. The agent will then order a title search. In addition to you and the buyer, the lender will receive a report of this information. Any loan and interest fees charged by the lender will be included in the escrow instructions.

Choosing an Escrow Agent
When you are choosing an escrow agent, there are several factors that you should take into consideration. If you are working with a real estate attorney, he or she might be able to act as the escrow agent as well. In any case, here are some tips on choosing an escrow agent.

Choose a reputable escrow agent or company. Friends or family who have recently sold property are good places to get recommendations for an escrow agent. Ask the references about their experience with the agent. Did he return phone calls in a timely manner? Was he courteous and professional? Was he knowledgeable?

Choose an escrow that has experience in for sale by owner housing transactions. It is best to choose an escrow that has previously worked in a transaction in which the seller did not work with a real estate agent.

Choose an escrow with reasonable rates. Since rates vary from one company to the next, it is a good practice top shop around to get an idea of the rates that are available.

After talking with several escrow agents and getting a feel for their professionalism, experience, and rates, you are prepared to make an educated decision.

By : T J Madigan

Land Act

To obtain a comprehensive appraisal of Land Act, log on to Indiahousing for the various types of land tenure in existence. While there is an increasing movement to classify land tenures as ‘legal’ or ‘illegal’, the pressure on land creates a multiplicity of tenure systems, which further causes create regulations for control of land use. The growing pace of urbanization needs to be accounted for in terms of the ever expanding metropolis.

Authors define tenure as ‘a diverse facility empowering a person/people/community to state a claim over land or its attachments’. Rights are often a complex set of rules with different users, each tenure form having varying degrees of acceptability within the legal framework. In the urban context, most tenure is either individual based tenure systems or community based tenure systems. Approaches that are used to map tenure systems are: land sub-system, actor based and location based.

The settlement ‘cycle’ of a pavement dweller is used as an example to show how they are recognized by the system as those with claims in an area. Through payment and patronage, pavement dwellers are able to stay in an area despite not possessing valid legal documents. Subsequently, squatters are formed where some set up provision shops, eateries and commercial ventures. Increasing migration creates pressure on land and increases commercial activities in a slum. In the ultimate analysis the displaced are, accommodated within the loopholes of the legal system. Browse Indiahousing Land Act for further details.

Land Law

According to the Indian Constitution, state legislatures are empowered to make laws and regulations regarding to a number of subject-matters, including water, land ( rights in or over land, land tenure, transfer and alienation of agricultural land), as well as the preservation, protection and improvement of stock and the prevention of animal disease. Referring to the laws and regulations adopted by the central government, get a bird’s eye view of Land Law at Indiahousing.

Land Law in India

The Registration Act, 1908 takes care of the gift of immovable property and non-testamentary instruments, annual leases of immovable property, sales, mortgages and exchanges of immovable property. The net effect has been that a large number of property transactions have been accomplished without proper registration. Further instruments such as Agreement to Sell, General Power of Attorney and Will have been indiscriminately used to effect change of ownership.

Property tax is a levy charged by the municipal authorities for the upkeep of civic services in the city. It is levied on the basis of reasonable rent at which the property might be let from year to year. The reasonable rent can be actual rent if it is fair and reasonable. In the world’s largest democracy, acquisition of landed property is a complex issue, presupposing a host of prerequisites. Indiahousing aids you with the composites of Land Law.

Land Registry

Land Registry becomes important whenever there is a change in the ownership title of a property. It is a process through which the local administrative authority keeps track of the property transaction that occurs within the boundary of its governing area. The ownership record of an immovable property is kept lying at the local authority of a region, state or country, which needs to be updated whenever a property change hands in ownership. When you register a property or a piece of land, you become a legal owner of the same, thus greatly reducing the chance of fraud and also helping you out at times of land disputes.

Land Registry in India

Land Registry in India is a subject mainly dealt by the individual state’s authorities. Most of the state has their own property registration authority which sets rules and regulation regarding the forms and charges of land registration process. Though there might be some differences in the amount of registration fees chargeable, the procedure remains more or less the same for many states in India. The important stages of land registration in India are as follows:

I. To start with, you need to go to the office of Sub-Registrar of Assurance for the purpose of searching documents pertaining to the property concerned. You must check the location details of the property and also make a note of the time period to be checked. It may cost you Rs 10,000 and may take up to 5 days to go through this stage.

II. Next stage involves the preparation of sale documents by the purchase lawyers which may take seven days at the most and may cost you Rs 18,000 to 21,000.

III. After that the payment for Stamp Duty on the final Sale Deed is made and the amount is deposited at a bank which may take hardly a day to finish. The amount you pay for the cost of Stamp Duty is five percent of the value of property concerned.

IV. In the next step the, the execution of final sale deed occurs wherein you are required to submit the documents verifying the real estate transaction that occurs between the buyer and the seller of the land. The fees and other charges you pay at the office of Sub-Registrar of Assurance may go up to Rs 30,000 in addition to the cost you pay for the scanning of the sale deed.

V. The final stage allows you to move to the municipal authority for mutation of the Title of the property, which usually takes 30 days and costs around Rs 300.