House #1: Still Deciding Tenants' Fate

My wife and I are still deciding what we want to do about the tenants in House #1. They have been late all but 2-3 times since their lease began in June of last year. They've also written a total of 5 bad checks (some of which bounced). On the surface, I just want them out. I'm tired of getting a check and keeping my fingers crossed it will clear, so I told them to start sending money orders instead (which they have done). Conversely, though, they have eventually paid the late fees, whi9ch amounts to even MORE money each month. For example, just in the months of June and July, we've gotten an additional $367 from late fees. Since we have an ARM on the house that is currently in the 3-4% range, the added money has taken our cash flow above $1,000/mo on just that one house.

So, we are weighing the odds. Deal with the fact the tenants will likely always be late (but pay the late fees), or put the house back on the market and hope we get a "better" tenant (or a buyer).

House #2: Tree Trimming

Well, I finally got a response back re: who has responsibility for trimming the trees in the front yard. First, the PM company said THEY do and we were not to touch the tree(s). Then, they turned around and said the HOMEOWNERS do. I sent the President of our HOA an email clarifying it and had hoped to get a response before this weekend. He finally sent one on last Friday, saying that the contract the HOA has with the landscapers says they are responsible for trimming trees in the front and side yards UP TO eight feet. After that, it is the homeowners responsibility.

It turns out the branches that the tenant mentioned that were hitting their vehicles in the driveway were lower than eight feet, but I decided to trim them anyway. I did this mainly because I didn't want to keep having to call the HOA to trim them, so I trimmed them back a good distance myself. It took all of about 25 minutes to do.