Wednesday, April 10, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Dear
Property Guy
Rethink house
share plan
Dear Property Guy:
I have a house by the OSU
Bend campus that rents for
$2,000 a month. If I rented
it out on a room-by-room
basis, the total rent would be
substantially more. What do
you think?
4 Bend Rents
Dear Bend:
What do I think? I think
you haven9t thought this
through.
You are proposing act-
ing more like a hotel than a
rental house. Which is cool,
but creates its own set of
problems. You are multiply-
ing rent collection, tracking
activities, and hassle factor
exponentially.
What happens when one
renter eats another9s sand-
wich? Leaves the bathroom
a mess? Has a <friend= stay-
ing over every night? Who
do you bill when the kitchen
gets trashed? What happens
when one roommate assaults
another? This is all real stuff.
Now think if you really want
to be in the middle of any of
that.
OK, that9s worst case.
Other things to consider are:
increased turnover, paying
utilities yourself rather than
charging tenants directly,
and increased wear and tear.
You9ll also need to consider
your inability to charge for
damage in common areas,
such as: kitchen, bathrooms
and living room.
A property manager may
help (I wouldn9t touch this),
but expect to pay a much
higher percentage than a con-
ventional arrangement. Also
remember they will charge
an onboarding fee with every
tenant change, which can be
substantial.
None of these are insur-
mountable, but you9ll need
to do the math and decide if
the additional rent is worth
the increased hassle, costs,
and liability. In the end, it9s
your call, but I9d stick with
your current arrangement.
4 Mike
Dear Property Guy:
I moved out last month
and haven9t gotten my secu-
rity deposit back. Landlord
says he9s still getting esti-
mates and isn9t ready. Help?
4 Money Please
Dear Money:
This is one of the areas I
tell my property-owner cli-
ents to not make any mis-
takes, because the legal expo-
sure is high. Unfortunately, a
lot of people blow it here.
ORS (Oregon Revised
Statutes) 90.300 states that
a landlord must provide an
accounting of any damages
and a security deposit refund
or bill within 31 days of
property being vacated. They
can be liable for twice the
improperly withheld deposit
amount, plus legal fees.
That said, going to court
is a hassle, expensive, and
stupid. So, let9s try to avoid
that. From your end, you are
going to document every-
thing going forward. Try a
phone call first, it may be
an oversight. They may not
have your new address, truck
broke down, dog ran away,
mother-in-law died, what-
ever... If that doesn9t work,
send them a demand letter
for an immediate account-
ing and refund via certified
mail. Feel free to reference
the appropriate statute if you
feel it will be motivating.
If this doesn9t work, it9s
time to go to small claims
court, or get an attorney.
Small claims court can be
relatively painless and judges
are notoriously unsympa-
thetic to landlords who don9t
25
play by the rules. An attorney
will either bill you hourly or
on a contingency basis. That
is taking money only if you
win. Good luck on this one,
hopefully you can resolve it
with minimal drama.
4 Mike
Dear Property Guy&
Marginal advice on rental
life since 2019. Free legal
advice is worth what you pay
for it. Consult a real attorney
before doing anything crazy.
Mike Zoormajian is prin-
cipal at WetDog Properties
in Sisters, OR. WetDog
provides local property
management and inves-
tor services. Questions
for this column and com-
ments can be directed to:
letters@wetdogpnw.com.
We’ve got you covered
from head to toe!
290 W. Cascade Ave. 541-549-8424
www.mackenziecreekmercantile.com
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