I have to vent ! About a Tenant

[brin]

I have a Tenant who is a Plumber and single since his divorce about 15 yrs. ago..He has rented a house from me for 18 yrs. I have used him for all my plumbing work and he always paid his rent 5 to 6 days late ...but he paid it..So with this economic downturn he bought a foreclosure and I happened to find out he was planning on moving so I called and asked him and he said oh yeah..I was meaning to tell you...So I asked him to keep me informed so I could show the place and have another tenant ready to move in on Dec. 1 st....He said he would..and guess what he never did..so I went ahead anyway and got a new tenant who drove by and looked in the windows and wanted the place . I called my Previous tenant again and he said he was almost finished moving out...I asked him to call me when he was finished moving and we would move at the house and shake hands..Keep in mind he has been there for 18 yrs. and I have treated him well...

This morning I went out to the house with my new tenant and we inspected it and he signed the lease but the old tenant was not there he had left 2 keys, no note...nothing...the place was not clean at all...Just goes to show that even after 18 yrs. what some folks are capable of...It was disappointing...I continue to lose faith in human nature and current standards..times, they are changing.

This tenant is foolish...he must not realize that Equifax called me to check his credit so he could qualify for the mortgage and I told them he paid on time...but as I said he was always late...so now I am part of his file..he has to account for where he lived for 18 yrs. and now he has burned a bridge..I will not be so kind as to stretch the truth for him in the future..

Some folks are really shortsighted and disapointing..End of my Rant...thanks for listening...:laughing:

 

[teg]

...I told them he paid on time...but as I said he was always late...

So it sounds like you said both things??? I have summer helpers that are not always the greatest... but I give them a clean slate if someone calls asking about them. Give them a good start in life... :2cents:

 

[brin]

So it sounds like you said both things??? I have summer helpers that are not always the greatest... but I give them a clean slate if someone calls asking about them. Give them a good start in life... :2cents:

teg - The way I looked at it, he had been there for 18 yrs. Imagine renting for 18 yrs. , so yes I wanted the guy to have a start , he is in his mid 50's and I am not going to do anything to stop him from getting ahead...but I think we are even now..He should have met me as he promised..so his clean slate already has a blemish...

 

[jinman]

I feel for you Brin. I'm guessing you had no cleaning deposit on the property. When I closed a mobile home park my father had for 30 years, only one tennant cleaned up his lot and didn't leave a mess. He was the tennant I had rented to and got a $150 cleanup deposit. My father had rented all the other spaces over the years with no deposit required. Even the lady who got free rent for being the manager, left a huge mess. I filled three 30-yd rolloffs with the junk people left. Two tennants abandoned their junk trailers and just left. Before I sold the property, I took down all the old telephone poles and mowed the entire property so it just looked like an big lawn with a few concrete pads. A local used car lot was about a block away, and the owner came by to tell me how he loved diving by every day for the view after I cleaned the place up. I figure when a used car salesman compliments you, you gotta be doin' something right.:laughing:

 

[rjkobbeman]

teg - The way I looked at it, he had been there for 18 yrs. Imagine renting for 18 yrs. , so yes I wanted the guy to have a start , he is in his mid 50's and I am not going to do anything to stop him from getting ahead...but I think we are even now..He should have met me as he promised..so his clean slate already has a blemish...

Sounds like you are a great landlord. When I was a renter, I wish my landlords were straight-up, hand-shakers like yourself.

I must say though, it sounds like you did him a favor and did not do him any harm. You said he paid on time when he really didn't. Doesn't sound like any blemishes to me. Sounds like he got away.

 

[sweettractors]

I have a Tenant who is a Plumber and single since his divorce about 15 yrs. ago..He has rented a house from me for 18 yrs. I have used him for all my plumbing work and he always paid his rent 5 to 6 days late ...but he paid it..So with this economic downturn he bought a foreclosure and I happened to find out he was planning on moving so I called and asked him and he said oh yeah..I was meaning to tell you...So I asked him to keep me informed so I could show the place and have another tenant ready to move in on Dec. 1 st....He said he would..and guess what he never did..so I went ahead anyway and got a new tenant who drove by and looked in the windows and wanted the place . I called my Previous tenant again and he said he was almost finished moving out...I asked him to call me when he was finished moving and we would move at the house and shake hands..Keep in mind he has been there for 18 yrs. and I have treated him well...

This morning I went out to the house with my new tenant and we inspected it and he signed the lease but the old tenant was not there he had left 2 keys, no note...nothing...the place was not clean at all...Just goes to show that even after 18 yrs. what some folks are capable of...It was disappointing...I continue to lose faith in human nature and current standards..times, they are changing.

This tenant is foolish...he must not realize that Equifax called me to check his credit so he could qualify for the mortgage and I told them he paid on time...but as I said he was always late...so now I am part of his file..he has to account for where he lived for 18 yrs. and now he has burned a bridge..I will not be so kind as to stretch the truth for him in the future..

Some folks are really shortsighted and disapointing..End of my Rant...thanks for listening...:laughing:

I have 5 tenants and over the years it has been more trouble than it is worth. I would never advise anyone to get into rental properties. Ken Sweet

 

[Mousefield]

At the end of August I spent two full weeks repairing a 14 X 70 mobile that I had rented to the same tenant for over 6 years. When we moved to the property 12 years ago we lived in it before we built a house on the same property. We had all the walls regyprocked, painted, new kitchen cabinets and all new flooring of this mobile. She honestly could have been on hoarders, when she first rented she worked and she and her 9 year old daughter seemed to keep the place neat and tidy, that changed over the years to looking junky. Over the years she went on welfare and had another kid, disgustingly the whole time she was pregnant she smoked and drank lots. This mobile had hundreds of holes, dents, gouges and marks on the walls. She broke the tub surround, the kitchen tap, the porch light and so on. I had to replace all the flooring as well as two coats of paint on the walls, trim and ceiling. Took the stove and fridge to the dump as they would just take too much to try and clean up. Then she asked for her damage deposit back, this after I put in two weeks of my life and about $7,000. The second pic is of the porch after after most of the stuff she had on it was removed from it. Last pic is of the work I did to fix it up. Guess this is my rant.

 

[George2615]

I have to vent my story too.

I had a similar problem. 5 years ago I cleared a 2.6 acre lot out in the country, had a well drilled, installed a new septic system, poured a pad, had power run in and bought a 4 year old 3BR 2 bath double wide and set it up on the property to sell. If I would have sold it then I'd have made a small profit to re-invest. The Wife then says don't list it but to sell it to the kids (her son from prev. marriage and his wife). So not wanting to argue with the wife I sold it to them on a rent to own contract for 4 years. At any time during the 4 years they were supposed to get a mortgage for the balance. Since they were basically tenants I should have rec'd a down payment, escrow, or at least a security deposit but since they were family I rec'd nothing. I figured when they did buy I'd at least break even. About 3 years into the deal I asked when they were getting a mortgage. Then He says they're not going to buy it. Says its too far to drive to work (which they knew when they moved in). I told him then they'd have to move out by the end of our agreement so I could sell the place.
Well, it took me another year and a half to get them out. In fact, the last 6 months they weren't even living there but all their stuff was still in the house. They were still paying rent (but not the full amount) and not living there. I had to go and mow the lawn every weekend (a 40 mile round trip from my house) which he was supposed to do. I finally had to give them an ultimatum to be out by a certain date or I would consider their contents abandoned and get rid of it. When they finally moved out I had to get a 30 yard dumpster to remove the trash and garbage they left behind, then had to spend a month of evenings after work to clean the place and fix things up.
When I was younger and someone gave me a break while renting and I was going to move I left the place cleaner and in better shape than when I moved in.
The house is now listed with a Realtor but now that the housing market has tanked I'm going to lose lots of money on my investment. The moral of my story is to never rent or hold a mortgage for anyone again without a substantial down payment to cover losses and damages. I have been used, abused, and taken advantage of by family.

 

[tungularafishcamp]

Of course there are the other side stories, when I was a kid I moved into a real dump for free rent if I fixed it up. We had an agreement(handshake) for 6 months. Because I was between fishing seasons I had some spare time so fixed it up in a couple of weeks, new porch/stairs, paint, floor coverings, countertops, sink, a couple of windows, and a bit of sweat. To make a long story short, I went fishing a month later, the landlord came by while I was gone, and decided it was too nice to be free and started charging me $300 a month which was huge rent in 75. I refused wanting my 6 months and got evicted. Could have gotten a lawyer I guess but then the lawyers would have won.:confused3:
Rick

 

[Larry Caldwell]

After 18 years, you should have expected to clean, paint, recarpet, and maybe lay new vinyl. New appliances would not be unexpected. 18 years is a long time. I have been living in my house since 1994, have repainted twice, and it needs it again. All of the flooring has been replaced.

Your tenant could have communicated better, but you should have allowed two weeks to a month to refurbish the place before a new tenant moved in.