My roomate just decided to move out this weekend. We have a lease through August. Can I demand rent from her? Will the landlord serve her a notice if I pay my half only?

Roomates are considered a single entity in terms of a lease, so you are both equally liable for rent and lease. However, in reverse each party is liable for the rent in FULL whether both live there or not. If you do not pay your rent in full, the landlord can serve a 3-day notice. You can not just pay your one half of rent and say the other person moved out.

Your options are to cough up the full month's rent and/or quickly find a new roomate. If the vacating roommate is on the lease you could take them to court for damages (their unpaid portion that you end up paying), but the effort may not be worth the end result.

Any occupancy changes usually will have to be agreed upon by your landlord. Most leases prohibit subletting (which you would be doing by bringing in a new roommate). Inform them of the situation, do whatever you can to make good on the rent. Your landlord is not obligated to help you with this situation, though. Your landlord may cooperate with an early move-out if they can show and re-rent the unit quickly so if they offer this as an option, you may be wise to accept.

My tenant hasn't paid rent this month. They said I need to clean their carpets or they will not send in rent. Is this legal?

In short, under most circumstances a tenant can not withhold rent over what we would refer to as "preferential" or "courtesy" items. There are circumstances where a tenant can withhold rent or pay for a repair in lieu of rent, but when these situations occur it usually relates to habitability of the home or an emergency. Not having clean carpets isn't an emergency or a condition that makes the home inhabitable under typical situations.

However, if the renter had a sewer or plumbing emergency and the carpet was soiled due to this problem and you have not addressed the repair or cleanup, that is a matter that would fall into the "habitablity" aspect. On the othe rhand, if your renter has lived there six months and doesn't like the condition carpets due to their own living habits and thinks you should clean up after them, it's not a viable complaint.

In any tenant-landlord situation we recommend you consult with an experienced manager or real estate attorney so you are aware of how the law applies to your particular situation. If you need a referral, let us know. You can also visit the California Apartment Association online at www.caanet.org and they provide some free information on common situations.

Should I buy a home as is?

Any offer you make on a property should contain a contingency period for inspections. This allows the buyer to investigate the condition of the home, read through the seller's disclosures, hire professional inspectors, and find out any city or county ordinances that may affect their plans for the home within a fixed timeframe (usually 10 to 14 days). Buying a home as-is does not automatically remove the investigation opportunity. To any buyer I would recommend a thorough gambit of inspections be done before removing the inspection contingency and proceeding with the purchase.

Before you make an as-is offer, ask the seller for existing reports, a copy of the Transfer Disclosure Statement, and do a thorough walk-through of the home with an informed real estate agent or contractor friend to get a feel for what you're getting into. Inspection costs can easily exceed $500, though consider that is a small price to pay in today's real estate market compared to the purchase price.

If you do want to make an as-is offer you should know where to price it based off the home's condition and the current market, since rarely will a seller negotiate repairs after the offer is in place. If you are aware of a particular flaw before making the offer (ie, leaking hot water heater), you can make an as-is offer with an exception, specifically requesting a new hot water heater be installed before close of escrow.

You can also request the seller to provide a home warranty (approx. $350 for 1 year) that acts as an insurance policy which will cover some aspects of home repairs when the unexpected happens.

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