Scumbag Tenants

[chefchris401]

Yeah it's a tough thing to be a landlord.

Even the guy I bought my house from went thru the same deal.

He renovated the house and had it on the market, I made an offer he turned it down. No biggie.

Decided to rent it out, kid was a heroin dealer and using the house as a drop off and pick up point, driving a brand new escalade.

The guy (35 yrs old) decides he's making too much money to pay the rent, so stops paying, 4 months of no rent. Legal issues etc.

Finally gets the guy and "friends" evicted.

When he starts cleaning the house he finds 16 one gallon plastic laundry jugs full of used syringes.

The water heater and heat room was stuff floor to ceiling with dirty clothes and used needles and drug products.

After he threw them out he had to replace all the carpets and have the whole house repainted cause of smoke damage and the smell.

Guy has been a friend of the family for 30 plus years, one of the nicest guys I've ever met. He was just trying to better his families life with an investment opportunity.

He ended up accepting my offer for the house. All worked out in the end.

The x tentant has since been arrested numerous times for drug charges and been in jail in and out since.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[2na]

uhgg - work related topic. I come here to be free of this.

I've been running my family apartment business since 1985 and I've been involved in it since I was 5, big enough to vacuum the halls, rake the leaves and shovel the snow. I could go on and on re: horror stories; fortunately mine have not been this bad. Let it suffice to say that the single most important thing that anyone who thinks of buying an income property had best be prepared to do is to qualify a prospective tenant properly and not even think of 'taking a chance', giving someone a chance because 'they seemed ok', etc. Emotion can not play any part in your decision - it must be strickly an informed business decision. The odds have to be in your favor in order to go through with it.

Rule #1: do not ever let someone take control of an asset of yours worth $100k+ unless they have good credit. Read this sentence over a couple of times, especially the part about 'an asset of yours worth $100k+'. Look what has happened to Chef's girl's landlord because he did not properly vet a prospect (and, with all due respect, renting to an ex stripper with kids and a car on the way to repo? are you kidding me?). People with good credit have established a proven track record of showing respect for their debts and obligations to others. A prospect such as this is almost a lead pipe cinch to take care of your place, less occasional bouts of unintended ignorance. It is also highly doubtful that someone with good credit will drive out your existing good tenants by having crack parties, etc. - the two character traits (good credit/crackhead) are incompatible.

Do not trust references, either landlord or employer. How do you know that the prospect hasn't just given out his friends # to you saying that 'this my landlord'? and how stupid would one have to be to give you the info on someone who they have burned? They can not f with a credit report. It does not lie. It is an impartial assesment of a prospect's creditworthiness.

A word about section 8 - there are many fine section 8 prospects. LISTEN UP! It is against the law, and can get you sued up the ying yang, to discriminate against a Sec 8. Just think of some sharp lawyer slurping your hard earned equity out of your house, and more. You can not refuse a prospect based on their Sec 8 status. But there is always rule #1 (hint hint).

Rule #2: Never ever rent to friends, family or acquaintances. Better off having someone pissed at you for a couple of years than permanently when you discover their character flaws or they decide that you are an hole because you expect the rent on time, won't let them do whatever they want 'because we're cool, right?'. Remember that these type of prospects know a lot about you - your friends, family, hangouts, etc., and if things sour everyone is going to be informed about what a wonderful human being you are. The downside to this type of business arrangement far outweighs any upside. You run a business to make money - don't let a friendship cloud your decisions. As a landlord expect to be placed in the position that you are going to have to make a lot of hard decisions that someone isn't going to like. It is your job to look out for yourself, because no one else is getting paid to do it. Violate this rule at your peril.

I could go on and on. I'll stop here. Anyone thinking of dipping their toes into the rental waters feel free to pm me.

[2na]

by the way Chris, thank you for the daily themes -

[saltfly]

AAAAAHHHHHH the Golden Rules....Thanks Mikey.

[FishermanTim]

These "rules" could even qualify when looking for roommates.

[Fishoholic]

I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum.. I have a sucmbag slum lord that never does #^&#^&#^&#^&! How is literally falling apart, most of the plumbing in the basement leaks, I have to use a toilet plunger to get the bathtub to drain(last tenants were scum and poured kitty litter down the drains) . I see him one day a month..the first saturday.. Also aren't landlords responsible for snow removal? . I'd love to move out but it's just not possible.. yet.

[FishermanTim]

Originally Posted by Fishoholic

I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum.. I have a sucmbag slum lord that never does #^&#^&#^&#^&! How is literally falling apart, most of the plumbing in the basement leaks, I have to use a toilet plunger to get the bathtub to drain(last tenants were scum and poured kitty litter down the drains) . I see him one day a month..the first saturday.. Also aren't landlords responsible for snow removal? . I'd love to move out but it's just not possible.. yet.

If the house/apartment is not fit for habitation, you have the right to withhold the rent until repairs are made. You will have to document everything, but if after proper notification the landlord does nothing, you can go after him legally.
I had a boss that had an issue with her landlord years ago. It seems that the issue involved noisy leaky pipes from an upstairs apartment that ran UNCOVERED through my boss's apartment. She documented every step she took, return-receipt all letters and dotted all the I's and crossed all the T's. When the landlord failed to correct the problem, she was able to withhold the rent and sue for triple her security deposit and she WON!

Isn't it funny that some landlords are overly concerned with their proerty while others could care less, yet are the first to complain when they don't get their rent $$ on time?

Good luck, and hopefully you can pull a "Jeffersons" and be "movin' on up"!!!