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Las Vegas Property Management Las Vegas Real Estate Rentals and Realty - Atlas Group
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SECURITY DEPOSIT ISSUES
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Whose money is it anyway?:
Frequently owners forget that the Security Deposits are the
tenants money until such time as it is determined that all or
a portion of said funds can be used for damages, legal fees,
outstanding miscellaneous charges etc. after a tenant has vacated.
It is not the owners money and some, or all of it, may be given
back to a tenant.
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Occasionally there is a dispute over these funds. The Real
Estate Board and Division require that even though we represent
the owners first, there is a legal responsibility to be fair
to all parties. Consequently, we do not just turn over Security
Deposits to the owner because they demand them or feel they
are entitled to them. An owner may not be aware that
should the tenant prove in court that any or all of their deposit
kept was unjustified, that the owner would be liable for up
to three (3) times the amount unfairly withheld. That can get
to be real expensive.
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Management Agreement clause:
Our Management Agreement, in the case of a dispute, allows us
to handle the problem as we see fit... " to collect
security and cleaning deposits and deposit all money in BROKER'S
Trust Account; to compromise and settle claims; to require releases
from all parties in the event of a controversy before disbursing
Trust funds; to do all those things BROKER deems necessary to
the efficient management of the Property." Our
objective is to get both the seller and the tenant to agree
on the distribution of deposits.
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Accounting and
State Law:
We are given thirty (30) days from the date a tenant vacates
to make an accounting for the Security Deposit. The courts rarely
uphold "estimates" as valid amounts to deduct from
deposits. The work must be completed, usually by someone other
than the owner. Does this mean the owner can't do his own work.
No. It means that if he does, he had better be 100% sure of
his charges, and they better be well documented. An owner who
is a doctor, lawyer, or dentist can not charge his professional
hourly rate for cleaning the appliances and floors based on
the fact that he would have been getting that in the office
but had to be at the property instead. It doesn't work that
way.
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