27th July 2008

Another Tenancy Ends On A Sour Note

posted in Care and Feeding of Tenants |

This is just getting old. Recently I mentioned that I was about to freak out because we were about to have three properties vacant at one time. Well the third one, where the tenants just renewed the lease, went belly up. And, you know, I just KNEW something was up, here’s why.

Tenants Making Me Tear My Hair outI spoke with the tenants on the phone about renewing the lease about 45days prior to the end of the lease term and asked them if they wanted to stay. They were ALL gung-ho about staying. I then mailed them a “Notice to Renew or Vacate” and they never returned it. I spoke with them again about it and again they said they wanted to stay. Again, the notice was not returned. Finally, I showed up at the door and asked about it they signed it and I took it with me. I just refuse to let tenants go month-to-month.

This month, they mailed me a worthless check for the rent. I called them multiple times about it and they simply stonewalled me for a week. When I posted a three-day notice to “pay rent or quit” (as required by Florida law), they left.

When I went in to inspect the property, there was a very lame note written on lined notebook paper apologizing for them leaving and promising that they would make good on the worthless check, blah, blah, blah. The note mentioned that there was some “mildew” from the air-conditioning air handler “leaking.” Ya, the “mildew” was actually black mold and it was located on the wall in another room located nowhere near the air handler.

It turns out that the shower stall tile, near the floor, in the master bath had come loose, no doubt due to old grout. Well, these IDIOTS continued to use the shower stall until the entire length of it split because the drywall behind it was now soggy, causing even more moisture to get inside the wall. Gee, I wonder why there is mold on the other side of the wall? IDIOTS! Not to mention that they left all kinds of trash and even some nasty furniture behind for me to dispose of.

These people only lived there for 1 year and 1 month and they couldn’t even call me to let me know about the bathroom tile?

As a result of this, every property will undergo an inspection, every three months at maximum, from now on. I also plan to file worthless check charges with the state attorney within 30-days and take them to small-claims court for the damages. It STILL amazes me that people think they can get away with this kind of behavior. They’ll have some time to think about it when they get arrested for passing a worthless check.

Oh and by the way, Landlord-Success.com is 2-years-old today. What a lovely birthday present. Thanks!

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There are currently 3 responses to “Another Tenancy Ends On A Sour Note”

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  1. 1 On July 27th, 2008, Chris Lengquist said:

    I’m a big believer in walking through properties every couple of months. In fact, I schedule it on my calender. It will save you a lot of heartache.

  2. 2 On July 28th, 2008, Shaun said:

    It seems tenants come in two varieties: those that never request any repairs and let your place go to hell and those that call constantly for hundreds of insignificant repairs. I once had tenants move out and I discovered a dishwasher that was full of mold and stunk to high heaven. Turns out, when it was installed, the installer never punched out the drain plug into the sink, so water never drained from it. Instead of calling me to get it repaired, the tenants just lived for a year without using the dishwasher. Considering it wouldn’t cost them anything to get it fixed (since I would be paying the bill), I don’t understand why they didn’t call me.

  3. 3 On October 28th, 2008, George C. Torres said:

    Well, there’s gotta be a way that we as Landlords can band together politically at the local level, coop the local housing authority, board of realtors, and apartment and property management association, in order to push for some kind of ordinance for all landlords to legitimately screen tenants, with periodic records checks by local authorities on the screeings. The approach is the removal of any sanctuary or escape/abandonement backstop that rogue tenants think they may have when they’re contemplating leaving in the middle of the night.
    Since legitimate management companies and most apartment complexes already screen and deny loser renters, an ordinance mandating the use of a screening service would be targeted at the green and sometimes undercapitilized Mom & Pop landlords that the loser renters always seem to find and later dupe.
    Additionally, this ordinance would mandate that any adult over 21 that claims to have lived at a relative’s house/stayed with friends over the past year will have to put up the equivalent of one month’s rent as a deposit before moving in. Period. No installments on the deposit will be allowed. This financially cushions the Mom & Pop outfits as they’ll invariably believe the BS from the Smooth Talking Tenants from Hell. Furthermore, this ordinance would expose the loser tenants and their nefarious escape/abandonement schemes.
    In the long run, dwellings will get filled with Tenants who know that they had better mind their P&Qs regarding timely rent payments and dwelling conditions because they know that they have no where else to go and ply their loser ways. Finally, measures like an ordinance put Mom & Pop concerns on notice not to harbour deadbeat tenants who are suspected of theft of service from the previous landlords.
    The main intent here is protection of small business while a social engineering side benefit will be the shaping of a culture of responsibility and accountability. This is a win-win for society as a whole.

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