In another twist on “adverse possession,” a Woodlake Drive man, Chris Attig, filed such a claim on an abandoned property beside his home in order to protect his own property and the property value of the neighborhood. Attig decided he needed to take action last August after a break-in at the property, which has been vacant for two years, and filed the claim with Dallas County.

The property had already garnered three violations for rotting wood, litter, and a dirty pool from the city’s Codes Department.

Ally Bank apparently owns the $269,000 house but has done nothing to keep it up.

Upon filing the claim, Attig put chains on the doors and paid a $3,000 tax bill. He also invested $2,000 for a new fence.

Attig told News 8 recently, “I’m afraid that nobody’s going to step up and try to fix this property, and it’ll continue to be a threat to my family and all the families who are around here.”

He said he was not interested in living in the home or renting it and his only concern was maintaining the property so it will not continue to degrade the neighborhood. He was willing to drop his claim when someone stepped up to the plate to take care of the property.

News 8 contacted Ally Bank but it would not say anything about its plans for sale or even upkeep of the house.

The lesson is clear that owners of such abandoned homes need to take care of the properties. Property management is a skilled activity which saves time and ultimately money. The value of properties under management do not lose value due to decay and neglect and are maintained so that expense repairs are not necessary for later sale, lease or rental. This protects the investment and those around the property who become affected by its lack of care.

Herman Boswell Property Management has a lengthy history of successful and efficient property management in Arlington and surrounding areas.

Contact us if you have any questions.

Photo credit: renjith krishnan

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As a service, we are publishing here the information page from the Texas Attorney General on renter’s rights.

The thought that property management is an easy task that can be undertaken by anyone on a part-time casual basis is permanently dispelled by the following. It is a heavy responsibility being a landlord and one that takes time and attention as well as knowledge. Professional property management as done by Herman Boswell Property Management can make being a landlord an easy one not an onerous and unpleasant task.

Texas Attorney General
Tenant Rights

The relationship between Texas landlords and their tenants is governed by several statutes, particularly Chapter 92 of the Texas Property Code, and by various court rulings. However, the most important source of information about your relationship with your landlord is your rental agreement, whether it is written or oral.

Some landlords prefer oral agreements, but it is more common for them to require your signature on a written lease. Be sure to read the lease carefully before you sign it.

If you want to change a part of the lease, discuss it with the landlord. If the landlord agrees, the two of you should decide how you want to word the change, and then write it into the agreement. Both you and the landlord should then initial the change. For example, many standard leases prohibit pets, but your landlord may be willing to accept a pet if you put down extra money as security.

Peace and Quiet
Your renter’s rights as a tenant include the right to “quiet enjoyment,” as it is called in the law. This means the landlord cannot evict you without cause or otherwise disturb your right to live in peace and quiet.

If other tenants in your building are disturbing you, you should complain to the landlord. The landlord has a duty to see that you are protected from other tenant’s wrongful behavior. Of course, you may not disturb other tenants, either.

Except under certain circumstances and subject to certain conditions, a landlord may not interrupt utilities to a tenant unless the interruption results from bona fide repairs, construction, or an emergency.

Health and Safety
You have a right to demand that the landlord repair any condition that materially affects your health and safety. Under Texas law, by renting you the property, the landlord guarantees that the unit will be a fit place to live.

SB 1448 (81st Regular Session), effective January 1, 2010, now grants justices of the peace authority to order landlords to repair or remedy conditions affecting a tenant’s health and safety, as long as the cost of the repair does not exceed $10,000. Tenants can go to justice court without an attorney to obtain a repair order.

Under certain conditions, you and the landlord may have a written agreement that you will make needed repairs. The landlord does not have a duty to pay for or make repairs if you or your guests cause an unsafe or unhealthy condition through negligence, carelessness, abuse or accident—unless the condition resulted from “normal wear and tear.”

Also, the landlord must provide smoke detectors. You may not waive that provision, and you may not disconnect or disable the smoke detector.

Security
Although there are some specific exceptions, under Texas law, a dwelling must be equipped with security devices such as window latches, keyed dead bolts on exterior doors, sliding door pin locks and sliding door handle latches or sliding door security bars, and door viewers.

These devices must be installed at the landlord’s expense. If such devices are missing or are defective, you have the right to request their installation or repair.

If You Have Problems
If the landlord won’t make repairs needed to protect your health, safety, or security, and you follow the procedures required by law, you may be entitled to:

• End the lease;
• Have the problem repaired and deduct the cost of the repair from the rent; or
• File suit to force the landlord to make the repairs.

You MUST Follow These Steps:

1. Send the landlord a dated letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by registered mail, outlining the needed repairs. You may also deliver the letter in person. Keep a copy of the letter. Be sure that your rent is current when the notice is received.
2. Your landlord should make a diligent effort to repair the problem within a reasonable time after receipt of the notice. The law presumes seven days to be a reasonable time, but the landlord can rebut this presumption. If the landlord has not made a diligent effort to complete the repair within seven days and you did not have the first notice letter delivered to your landlord via certified mail, return receipt requested, or via registered mail, you will need to send a second notice letter regarding the needed repairs.
3. If the landlord still has not made diligent efforts to repair the problem within a reasonable time after receipt of the notice letter sent by certified mail, return receipt requested or by registered mail, you may be entitled to terminate the lease, repair the problem and deduct the cost from your rent, or get a court to order that the repairs be made. You should consult with an attorney before taking any of these actions.

Under Texas law, it is illegal for a landlord to retaliate against you for complaining in good faith about necessary repairs for a period of six months from the date you made such a complaint. Of course, you can always be evicted if you fail to pay your rent on time, threaten the safety of the landlord or intentionally damage the property.

You do not have a right to withhold rent because the landlord fails to make repairs when the condition needing repair does not materially affect your health and safety. If you try this method, the landlord may file suit against you.

Recovering Your Deposit. Most landlords require you to pay a security deposit to cover any repairs needed when you move out or to cover your failure to pay the last month’s rent. By law, landlords cannot refuse to return the deposit without a valid reason.

Deductions for damages. Under Texas law, you must give the landlord a forwarding address and the landlord must return the deposit — less any amount deducted for damages — within 30 days. If the landlord withholds part or all of your deposit, he or she must give you an itemized list of deductions with a description of the damages.

Normal wear and tear. The landlord may not charge you for normal wear and tear on the premises and may only charge for actual abnormal damage. For example, if the carpet simply becomes more worn because you and your guests walked on it for a year, the landlord may not charge you for a new carpet. If your water bed leaks and the carpet becomes mildewed as a result, you may be charged.

Advance notice requirements. You should check your rental agreement to see if it requires you to give the landlord advance notice that you are moving. Many leases require 30 days notice as a condition of returning your deposit.

If you give your landlord your new address in writing and you do not receive your deposit or an explanation within 30 days of your departure, contact the landlord. If you cannot resolve the problem satisfactorily, you may wish to consult an attorney. You can also contact the Better Business Bureau or your local tenant’s council. You can also file a complaint with this office.

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As landlord, you know that bad tenants are bad for business. That’s why it’s so important to research rental candidates before turning over the keys. But doing thorough background checks on individuals can also present its own set of headaches.

First, you need to make potential applicants to fill out an application with their name, social security number, driver’s license number, current address and get their permission to run a credit check. You also have to ask for personal, work and rental references, which will require you to make numerous calls and inquiries.

An interview, whether formal or informal, is also an important part of the process, as it gives you an idea of the kind of person you might be dealing with. A credit check is also crucial because it can give you much-needed insight into that individual’s rental history. Unfortunately, both take time.

When running a credit check, you may only get an incomplete view of an applicant because credit bureaus don’t always record rent payments. This will mean using the services of a company that specializes in researching potential clients to get a more accurate financial picture of the person who wants to rent from you.

You also need to check public, eviction and criminal records. Doing so will make certain that a potential tenant isn’t in bankruptcy, hasn’t ever been evicted or been the subject of court proceedings. Any of these factors could make for a scenario straight from your worst nightmare.

The experts at Herman Boswell Property Management understand how time-consuming checking out potential tenants can be. At the same time, we also know that careful screening is key to avoid doing business with deadbeats. That’s why we go the extra mile for you and treat your properties like the the important investments they are.

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Being a landlord isn’t just about managing tenants and collecting rent. It’s also about being a good salesperson who  knows what tenants need and want and has the necessary interpersonal skills to make potential clients feel like they’ve finally come home.  There is a right way of showing and selling properties, so that it yields the high quality, high retention clients that we seek for our clients investment portfolios.

Before you can even consider listing a property for rent, you have to inspect your apartment, condominium or home carefully to make sure everything is neat and clean. That means painting the walls, vacuuming the rugs and floors, washing the windows, scrubbing down the bathroom and kitchen, getting rid of insect infestations and sprucing up the exterior.

It also means checking that everything in the unit is in working order. Appliances, water heaters and furnaces should be in good condition or replaced if they can’t be fixed. Leaky faucets and broken hardware on kitchen cabinets and doors should be replaced. And if there’s any frayed wiring, that needs to be repaired as well.

You also need to call your local fire department to check that you have installed the proper smoke detectors in your rental units. Some local ordinances don’t require that landlords provide these devices. Nevertheless, you still do so because you know that by providing a safer environment for your tenants, you’re more likely to get a break on your property insurance.

It’s all a lot of work. But if your rental unit isn’t properly prepared, any potential tenant who looks at it will likely not want to rent it and may also be left with a bad impression about you and/or your property.  With everything else that you need to do, both as a landlord and person with a life, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.

That’s why you should contact the property management team at Herman Boswell. We know just what do to give your property sales appeal and simplify your life as an investment property owner. When you need the helping hand of real estate experts who know the DFW area like no one else in the business, we’re there.

Photo credit: luigi diamanti

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Let’s face it: dealing with renters can sometimes be stressful. But if you have to also deal with tenants who have missed rental payments and don’t seem to care about coming up with a solution to the problem, then you have more problems—and bigger headaches.

Giving renters time to pay their missed payments is important; so is asking them to stay in touch with you regarding rent issues. If you find that your tenants are willfully disregarding your efforts and that more than a few weeks have passed, then you have to escalate the process, which usually means sending out an official notice to pay rent or face eviction.

If more time continues to pass and still don’t see the rent (and any late charges that may accrue), you may, in moments of extreme aggravation, consider your tenants out or shutting off their utilities. Of course, you don’t do either, because both actions are illegal.

Having exhausted other, more amicable means of settling the non-payment problem, you start legal proceedings against your renters. But before a lawyer can take action, you may have to show that as many as four months have gone by without you receiving rental payments from your tenants. In the meantime you’re losing money—and probably a lot of sleep as well.

Herman Boswell Property Management understands the needs of landlords like you. Managing investment properties is a more than full-time job that requires both business and interpersonal savvy. Count on us to handle even the most difficult rental situations with the integrity on which we made our name and through which we’ll protect yours.

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Your tenants are the heart and soul of what you do. Without them, you wouldn’t be able to run your business. That’s why it’s important to be friendly, courteous and pleasant whenever you see them and to treat them the same way you would a business client or social acquaintance.

Here are four ways you can improve the relationships you have with the people who are your renters:

1. Keep the lines of communication open.

Encourage dialogue and let your tenants know right from the start what your expectations are. Tell them that they can come to you anytime they  want to request service or repairs. Ask them to let you know if they witness any suspicious activities going on around them, either in the street or around nearby residences.

2. Resist getting personally involved

If a tenant tells you about a personal problem, be sympathetic but don’t offer advice or try to solve the problem. Above all, don’t get so caught up with what they say that it affects your business judgment. To conduct your business professionally, you have to stay detached and distance yourself from the problem.

3. Avoid gossip

Never criticize or gossip about your tenant because what you say can come back to haunt you. Don’t listen to gossip, either. If you happen to encounter a tenant who loves to give you updates about other residents, try to make it clear in as courteous a way as possible that you are too busy to engage in conversation.

4. Be aware of body language

A lot of what gets communicated between people happens at a nonverbal level. Make sure that you watch such things as the tone of voice. If you get sarcastic when you get angry, find a way to temper your tongue. The calmer you are able to stay under pressure, the better.

At Herman Boswell, we understand how difficult it can be for busy people like you to take care of all the different aspects of property management. Our property management experts can provide you with the services you need to make your job a lot easier and make the most of your investments. Contact us today and experience the Herman Boswell difference!

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Problem tenants who consistently pay their rent late or don’t pay at all can be a pain. But the eviction process–which can be as lengthy as it is time-consuming– can be even worse. So what’s a busy landlord to do?

Offering an incentive is an effective way you can entice your renters to move. Here are three especially effective ones you can use to put an end to a relationship with individuals you no longer want living on your rental property:

Return part of their security deposit
Tell your tenants that you will return part of their security deposit if they leave by a specific date. Before making any such promise, though, you should calculate how much of the security deposit you’ll need to cover lost rent and damage repair. Then compare the overall cost of evicting your tenant to the incentive which should total to no less than $100.

Offer free storage space
Acknowledge the inconvenience you are causing them by offering to store personal property in your garage or basement.  Tell them you will do this for up to two months while they secure a new place to live.

Rent a moving truck for them
Another good tactic is to tell your tenants that you’ll rent a U-Haul truck for them so that they can take their belongings to their new home.

Most tenants want to avoid eviction because it will make it harder for them to find a landlord willing to give them a new apartment. So offering incentives can help get them moving. Just beware that is illegal to coerce renters to leave by locking them out or threatening them. Any such action will result in fines for you.

At Herman Boswell, we understand that your time and reputation are valuable. Our property management experts know just how to handle–and get rid of–difficult tenants and find replacements that will take their financial responsibilities seriously. Let us help you maintain your investments and your peace of mind. Contact us today!

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When you are a landlord, you’re not only responsible for managing tenants but also making sure that your rental units are both safe and habitable. And if you do what you’re supposed to, taking care of just that one aspect of rental property management can eat up more of your time then you expected or wanted.

If you are either renovating a home or condominium into an owner-occupied dwelling or buying a small apartment complex with just a few units, the first step is to determine what the zoning regulations and local building codes require.  The second step is to develop a budget as well as a list of what you must do and what can’t do, based on the funds available. For both steps, you need to go to City Hall.

Converting a home into a rental requires that you follow local building and zoning codes regarding renovations and building additions. You also have to meet codes that may have been ignored by previous owners because you are now responsible for the property.

Since building codes exist to ensure the health and safety of occupants, you are legally obligated to repair things that break or don’t work properly, such as kitchen or bathroom plumbing. You also have to keep the property free from rodent and insect infestation. And if there’s an emergency, you have to be available day or night to respond.

What you should not do are unnecessary renovations that cost you money. For example, you may think that purchasing expensive appliances or knocking down walls to gain extra space will give your property greater appeal and decrease the time it takes to get the unit rented. But the reality is that those kinds of upgrades won’t pay for themselves over the long haul.

Property maintenance is a full-time commitment; so is managing tenants. Why end up working the equivalent of two jobs when you could turn both of these landlording functions over to us at Herman Boswell Property Management? We have the experience and know-how to get the job done right. Contact us today and let us help you get more out of your investments–and your life.

Photo credit: David Castillo Dominici

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No landlord ever wants to have to deal with a wrecked rental unit.  It’s expensive and downright depressing.  If you lease property of any kind, though, there are things you can do to protect yourself.

1. Find good tenants

One of the best ways to ensure that you avoid the trauma of seeing your rental units trashed is to make sure that you locate tenants  who will treat the home, apartment or condominium you’re leasing as though they owned it. That means interviewing each person who looks at your property and then running careful background and credit checks on them.

2. Collect security deposits

The state of Texas has no set rate or formula to help you determine how much security deposit you should collect from a tenant. A good rule of thumb is typically one to two months’ rent or whatever it might cost you to do things like repaint walls, reinstall carpet and/or repair fixtures and appliances in the event of damage.

3. Keep a regular maintenance schedule

When you provide regular upkeep for your rental units, you not only ensure that your property looks and functions as it should, you also get a chance to see for yourself how your tenant is measuring up. If what he or she is doing–or not–poses a threat to health and safety or if there’s damage that could decrease the value of your property, then you can begin eviction proceedings.

At Herman Boswell, we understand that being a good landlord can be a time-consuming. That’s why we provide property management services you can count on. Our team of certified DFW real estate experts can help you take care of your investments so that they can take care of you. Let us be your partner in landlording success!

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When you rent a house or apartment to a new tenant, you hope that the person will treat the rental with care. Unfortunately, though, and no matter how thoroughly you screen individuals, some will turn out to be home wreckers. Literally.

The ideal tenant is someone who communicates problems to you when they happen. For example, if a faucet or appliance needs to be repaired or replaced within the home, that tenant will say so. He or she will also maintain the exterior of the house or apartment to keep trash and other debris from accumulating.

Then there’s the tenant who will turn your property into a dirty mess. That person will cause you endless aggravation since you can’t evict a renter simply for being a pig and inviting ants and roaches into the house. If there’s no immediate threat to health and safety, the lease protects the tenant.

The worst kind of tenant, though, is the one who willfully breaks fixtures and appliances or does serious structural damage to your rental property. The good news is that you can evict the person on the grounds that he or she  is decreasing the value of your property. But—and not unlike the dirty tenant—this person will cost you plenty in terms of time, money and stress.

This is why you need the services of the real estate professionals at Herman Boswell Property Management.  Not only do we check out all the individuals to whom we rent, we also monitor the actual property that gets rented to make sure the tenant is treating it with the proper care. When you work with our team, you’ll always be assured that your property is in experienced hands: we do the managing so you don’t have to.

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