Being a Landlord

[Tarlo Farm]

Never again. I do not have the personality or patience for it. Last Monday I hired an attorney to evict current renters in an apartment above a little retail building I own. Just last night I lectured myself into letting go, stepping away, resigned to lose some money, and let karma catch up with everyone.

But I can't sell this building fast enough

[carpevita]

Sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do to move forward.
((((((((((((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))))))))))))))))))) for your stress about it to go away soon, and for a great price to soften the blow too!

[boots-aregard]

HAHAHHAAA! I know *just* whereof you speak! I recently got rid of an awful renter, though thank goodness I didn't have to evict them. Dog poop tossed on the roof of the house bad.

Some people are just awful people, aren't they?

I actually enjoy being a landlord, though if I had to do it full time, like a property manager, I think I'd hate it. And I don't really like it because of the people, I like it because of the houses. I like fixing the houses. I should probably be a property flipper instead, but that's pretty expensive work now in our neck of the woods, and all the flippers from the heyday of flipping are now circling the last few carcasses on the ground. Competition is wild.

But I like taking a problem house and figuring out how to make it work again. I just finished putting in a new kitchen in a house for under $10K. It's a small kitchen (10X7) with a problem aisle (too narrow), so I used vanity cabinets on one side (21 inches deep instead of 24) and recessed the fridge into an unused doorway, to widen the aisle just a bit, and it came out beautifully. (What I didn't do, but should have, was install a couple solartubes. Next time.) Got a full, new kitchen installed in a 2 week period!! I'm so excited for the new renters.

But, yeah, you do have to be pretty philosophical about renting to put up with some of the crap people will throw at you (or the roof) when they are living in your house, don't you? Who do they *think* is responsible for the high water bill when they leave a hose running for a month? Who do they *think* is responsible for a broken window when they slam the door and crack it? Who do they *think* is responsible for rust in the water-heater control center when they keep fish tanks in the basement? ("But, you didn't say I couldn't," like no aqua-farming in the basement should be a standard lease clause.) Some people are nuts.

[Sunshine2Me]

I am a first time landlord with my current tenants. I have a rental property because I couldn't sell after the market tanked. My tenants have been with me for 4 years, and they are wonderful. I believe they will be buying a home next year, so I will lose them. I hope to sell my rental as I also am not cut out to be a landlord. I am trying to manage it from 200 miles away, and I will NEVER find tenants as good as the ones I currently have. I have been blessed, and I am grateful for that.

[StraightForward]

I can so relate. We had 3 sets of renters in our old house and the first two were total shitheads. The first ones broke the glass top stove and caused a bunch of water damage with their washing machine in the six months before breaking the lease. The second set requires a lawyer and police to evict and they abandoned 3 large dogs in the back yard, graffitied the inside of the garage and totally ruined the carpets. The third set were wonderful; we felt like sending them a gift for paying the rent and not trashi g the place. We were so happy when the market came up enough that we could sell.

[Tarlo Farm]

These folks caused more trouble in ten days than the former tenant caused in ten month. I've decided he's got Borderline Personality Disorder. Or maybe he's just a self-entitled lying jerk. Boy, have I learned an expensive lesson here!
There's an auction today for the vacant lot next to my building. I'm going to be serving coffee out of the building to get some more notice from possible buyers. If it doesn't sell, I've already told the owner we can talk about possibly buying it (she has a reserve I don't think she'll make). And I believe I'll get an offer from some others who looked at my place last week. They're just waiting on the auction too.
In the meantime, I have to trust my attorney and the court system.

[clanter]

Never again. I do not have the personality or patience for it. Last Monday I hired an attorney to evict current renters in an apartment above a little retail building I own. Just last night I lectured myself into letting go, stepping away, resigned to lose some money, and let karma catch up with everyone.

But I can't sell this building fast enough

hire a start up high school band to play 24/7 in the downstairs

[Rhianon]

Being a landlord was what made me realize that people can look you straight in the eye and lie. Many people. People you'd think were just fine.

[Avola]

Good tenants are hard to find but it's not impossible. Presently we have one against whom we'll probably start the eviction process this month, but, so far and crossing fingers and toes, all the others are very much ok. In one unit we have a couple who have been there 25 years (were in place when we bought) and, even though their monthly rent is much lower than anyone else, they are always on time and take care not only of their unit but the outside areas as well. We had some problems with a tenant who moved out a while ago, in that they were only in the house six months and left a mess, but again hoping not to jinx it, the people who are renting the place now seem pretty wonderful.

[Racetrackreject]

Most of our tenants are good. One is a little iffy, but they do typically pay by the end of their grace period, just never ahead of time or on the due date.

We have one who is generally 2 months behind and we really need to start the eviction process on them as when they do pay, it's either with a bad check or a few months late. If they owe 2 months, they will come in and pay one month, stating that it's for the current month (trying to get out late fees), and that they will be back the next day to pay the way overdue month. Two weeks later and they never made it back in to pay for the other month.

We just had a couple leave who were awful. They called to say that they would be moving out by a certain day. I said that was fine, but when were they going to pay their rent for that month. They said that they were moving, why would they pay rent. I explained that they would be living in the rental until the 25th day out of a month of 30 days, so they would, at the very least, owe for 25 days rent. Their response was "Oh, we're not paying that, we don't have the money.". I told them that it wasn't really an optional thing, and that they had signed a legal contract when they leased the place. They just kept saying that they didn't have any money, so they weren't paying, but they would be out within the next week.

The same people had also violated the lease by getting a pet without notifying us (bigger deposit, more per month), lived like hoarders, and knocked a whole in the wall and ripped lighting off of the front of the house. Then, the guy wanted us to give him a job!! He had quit his job within 2 weeks of renting our property.

[myleetlepony]

Their response was "Oh, we're not paying that, we don't have the money.". I told them that it wasn't really an optional thing, and that they had signed a legal contract when they leased the place. They just kept saying that they didn't have any money, so they weren't paying, but they would be out within the next week.

My SO has had a few of those. I've never understood how people can scrounge up the money for first month's rent and a security deposit, but can't pay the rent on the place they already have. It's much more expensive to move, but I guess people like to cut off their noses to spite their faces.

[Tarlo Farm]

Incredible, isn't it? And I'm one of the few landlords in town who allows dogs (LOVE their dog) and a child - which now seems to have turned into three children because I think there's another person living in the place with her two kids. Aghhhhhhhh!
Oh, and they're using $3.50 of electricity a day. It's not even cold yet. What the heck??????

[Hoof'n it]

Oh I shouldn't have read this!

I have a cottage on my property which I rent out to a lovely older couple, who take pride in 'their' house and are amazing help on my farm. Rent is always paid by Direct credit on weekly. They came with the property, so they stayed on from the previous owner, and honestly I wouldn't have it any other way. They are amazing.

I trust them 100% that if shit hit the fan, they would be out helping and if I'm off the farm, they are always around and have eyes on the animals and property.

Having tenants, can be a great thing too!

[boots-aregard]

Hoof'n it, I'd bake them cookies about once a month.

[Hoof'n it]

Hoof'n it, I'd bake them cookies about once a month.

I don't want to kill them!

[Hoof'n it]

Hoof'n it, I'd bake them cookies about once a month.

I don't want to kill them!

(I can't bake)

[Moutaineer]

Tarlo, with 3 kids in the house it's probably the tumble dryer.

We had one who when she left, left about 6 months worth of actual bagged trash stinking in the driveway. The neighbors were complaining. This was an upscale suburban neighborhood. We had to rent a dumpster to get rid of it. I leave the state of the rest of my lovely house to your imagination. She complained about not getting her security deposit back, too.

[Tarlo Farm]

Yep, expecting all of that. Court date the 18th.

[Racetrackreject]

Tarlo, with 3 kids in the house it's probably the tumble dryer.

We had one who when she left, left about 6 months worth of actual bagged trash stinking in the driveway. The neighbors were complaining. This was an upscale suburban neighborhood. We had to rent a dumpster to get rid of it. I leave the state of the rest of my lovely house to your imagination. She complained about not getting her security deposit back, too.

Oh yes, my weren't paying the rent because they didn't have the money people were gobsmacked that they weren't getting their deposit back. Um, light ripped out of the wall, hole in wall not involving where the light was ripped out, knee deep trash inside, need a sandblaster to remove grease from kitchen...yeah, uh, NO.