Question and answer session with East Lansing landlord Rob Coppersmith.
What kinds of rules do you set for your tenants?
E.L. landlord offers advice on how to rent successfully
Well, generally what I do is give them a copy of the City of East Lansing ordinances. And then I ask that they keep their place cleaned up, their yard cleaned up and then after that I just expect them to be good citizens.
What kinds of offenses would constitute eviction?
Well, I mean, illegal drug activity, failure to pay me – those types of things. I guess that’s never been an issue for me. I’ve never even come close to having to evict anybody except for the people that get way behind in their rent.
Do you set any regulations for the number of people who can stay in a room?
Yeah, I come by and check. I have seven units where I’m at and they all have different licensing requirements so that’s all spelled out in the lease.
What does it take for a tenant to lose his or her security deposit?
It’s pretty competitive out there right now, so security deposits are almost a thing of the past. I try to get something up front. Not necessarily a full month, but I kind of work with the individual and where they’re at and what their abilities are at that time.
What’s the worst situation you’ve ever encountered with a tenant?
The worst one was just an individual that literally couldn’t seem to make his garbage go out to the garbage receptacle. He just had bags and bags of it.
Do you regularly interact with the tenants?
Oh yeah, I’m over there a couple times a week. The best thing I can tell anybody is that if you’re going to be a landlord, you need to be involved with the people, and things will go smoothly. If you’re a kind of landlord that’s far away, it’s just not going to work well for you.
Compiled by Jeff Kanan
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