Real Estate Information: Does Someone Owe You Money? Landlords and others, ...

Real Estate Information: Does Someone Owe You Money? Landlords and others, ...: At a young age, John Holbrook was taught the lumber business by his mother and father, Lucile and Burnell Holbrook, who owned lumber yards i...

Does Someone Owe You Money? Landlords and others, PROMISSORY NOTE, One of your most important tools!

At a young age, John Holbrook was taught the lumber business by his mother and father, Lucile and Burnell Holbrook, who owned lumber yards in Oregon. When a customer wasn't able to pay their bill at the lumber yard, Lucile would prepare a promissory note for the balance due, the terms to pay it (the amount of the weekly or monthly payments plus the date it was due) and have the customer sign it and date it.

This technique translates to landlords and tenants.

A tenant may get a month behind in rent or owe money for something that occurred while they rented. (Maybe a bad check).Most people are willing to sign a promissory note for what they owe, especially if they agree to the terms of payment, which should be discussed with them before they are asked to sign the note. A landlord, or for that matter anyone who may need to collect money, should sit down with the person who owes and discuss what they can realistically pay each month to pay off the debt.

Even if it's only $10 a month.

That would be written into the note. If the person with the debt does not make a payment as they agreed, the landlord goes to the court house and files a claim against them. This is done because by this point, it becomes clear that the person with the debt is not planning to pay.

With the signed promissory note in hand, the landlord shows up for court.

It becomes clear very quickly to a judge that the signed note is good and the tenant definitely agreed that they owe the money, so if they argue they don't; the note pretty much proves they do. Wages can be garnished and eventually the landlord will usually get the debt paid.

Hopefully, you never get to the point where someone owes you money, but if you do, keep the promissory note in mind.

What Does Clean Mean?

John walked through a unit that the tenant moved out and "cleaned". Walking through he noticed the refrigerator, stove, carpet, walls and yard were dirty. Has the definition for clean changed in the last few years?

Attended Robert Allen Seminar ... Amazing!

Amazing! That is how John and Laura Holbrook would describe the four days spent at the Robert Allen Multiple Steams of Millions. Not only was it great networking with people who are excited about writing books, creating seminars and other forms of income, but learning at the feet of one of the greatest wealth builders was an honor. Both John and Laura came home with new visions of their next projects, including writing a book and preparing to share it with others.

FOR RENT 1230 47th St. Sweet Home Oregon

This our current Craigslist ad: $750 / 3br - 1000ft² - House For Rent (1230 47th St. Sweet Home Oregon) 3 bedroom, 1 bath, with attached garage on fenced 1/2 acre, country setting in Sweet Home Oregon. Pets upon approval. $750 month, deposit $750 (plus pet deposit). 541-466-5150 or 800-400-3082.

Post Advertisement With or Without a Photo

Without a photo? Post an ad or not, with or without a photo. After searching high and low for a photo of a property that needed to be advertised for rent, realization hit that a photo was not going to be found in the files in the next 10 years of looking. With that conclusion and not having the time to go out and take a new photo of the vacant property, a craigslist ad was creatively written and posted, minus a photo. Experience has taught that a picture is worth a 1,000 words, and this seems to be true. However, in a pinch, post, with out without a pic! Evidence on this example points out that it is better to post without a photo instead of not posting at all. There were three phone calls on the property the evening it was posted. If you have access to a photo, definately use it. If not, post and then go get a photos, because the people answering the ad will likely ask to see photos.

Landlord Nighmares, One of Many

Laura was talking with son Johnny about some of the family rentals and experiences when Johnny said,"That's a good story." This got Laura thinking, maybe some of these stories should be shared, it might educate, entertain and enlighten other landlords, potential landlords or any person that may wonder what it's like to be a landlord. This first story was about a person on the coast of Oregon who our company rented to. This person had two children and a wife, later the number of residents grew without the permission of the landlord. Since the Oregon coast is a very depressed area, our company decided to "work with" the deposit, meaning, allow the tenant time to come up with the deposit after they moved in. Once the tenant was allowed to move, they were instructed to have the utilities changed into their name, which the company found out they never did.

After 5 months of free living

Including no rent payments

No attempt to come up with the deposit

The company had to begin the eviction process. The tenants promptly went to a legal aid attorney and told some story the legal aid attorney believed. Soon, letters from the attorney began arriving at the property management address explaining that this tenant needed time to find a new resident and before long, the management company was forced to allow the tenants to have an additional month free, plus pay all the utilities. Now, in a recession people do have struggles, not just tenant, but landlords. Some how, the legal system in this case only recognized the struggles of the tenant and not the landlord. In the last month of the tenants residency, they decided to sabotage the rental, destroying property, stripping the wire from the house,hauling in junk and breaking auto glass all over the yard. Many big black sacks of garbage filled the house, most of them being opened and scattered on the floors. One of the many unsanitary conditions will be described; over 20 soda bottles of human urine was found in one of the bedroom closets. Human beings can become very vindictive and destructive when they want to. The wiring in the house had been tampered with, so when a worker plugged in a light to work, there was a dangerous explosion. The whole house had to be rewired. Let me remind you that this is a family that the property management company had shown mercy to, great patience and yet was rewarded with $1,000's in repairs and dump fees. Lessons learned? Start naming them.

I'll name one, BEWARE OF PROFESSIONAL BAD RENTERS!