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C Rutherford
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Responding to tenants

C Rutherford
Posted

Small landlord here.   I just have 5 units and am doing other work to help pay the bills in addition to doing all the property management myself (upkeep, repairs, cleaning in between tenants, mowing, finding & interviewing tenants etc).    It can be a lot of work at times but its definitely not enough to live on because I don't put enough money back for the big stuff- things like say a new roof, new carpet, fence, painting building, HVAC repairs, etc.   I do all this alone and have no family support.   All of the tenants have to pay in order for me to keep afloat, so it can also be stressful.

The tenants have a number that they text I check, and I have found this works as I can have a written record of all correspondence from each and all our conversations (what they said and what I said back) are all right there to keep track.
Yes, they will lie or say they said things when they didn't.   This is just a reality.   But I prefer texting over phone calls also because its a step back and you can always think about how you will respond before sending.

My problem is that some tenants find this texting on their phone too easy, and like to have someone to gripe and complain to.  In this case I have an older woman who no doubt would gladly go back and forth all day long complaining about everything day after day, and into the evenings.   Of course blaming me, complaining about other people, talking about her medical issues and son and how they need a place without stairs and need to move, and on and on.

How are other landlords handling this?   I get the 'professional silence', and have been told imperiously by other landlords that I should just not respond and ignore rambling, and responses definitely encourage more.
However I find I have tenants that demand attention, if I don't answer they continue to get louder and angrier, and begin trying to come up with ways to force me to answer and get involved.   They may make unreasonable complaints about me and then I find myself patiently explaining the terms of the lease again and why things are the way they are.   And you get drawn in to long conversations with them.   I totally do not want this, I have other obligations and things I need to do.

Right now she is complaining about a new tenant I just signed, a single younger man who is in a studio apartment.   She has decided he is using her trash cans, even though there is no proof.    I tried just letting this go and got more texts, this time saying "If you aren't going to do anything I'm going down there and will handle this myself".   She also threatened to report me whatever that meant.
Of course if they start fighting one will likely end up moving out, which is another month more work for me renovating and cleaning and re-renting.   Groan.   Thanks for people's thoughts and advice.    Please be nice, unless you're there, you can't judge.







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Kevin Sobilo
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Hanover Twp, PA
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Kevin Sobilo
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Hanover Twp, PA
Replied

@C Rutherford, a few thoughts:

1. You communicate with your tenants! Look at the positive side because that alone will likely save you from dealing with some headaches other landlords do.

2. Consider phone calls SOMETIMES.

If the issue is more involved or personal (for the tenant), I would probably choose to speak over the phone about it, BUT if there is a result from the conversation that I wish to document I can send a follow-up text to do that.

For example, with the trash can issue I might speak to them about it on the phone first and allow them to vent their frustrations and discuss what can or can't be done. Then, I would follow up with a text message saying "As per our conversation about the trash cans, I will speak to tenant X and warn them not to use yours". So, this way the important points are documented.

3. You can take a step back on the phone. You don't have to commit to an action on the spot. It's good that you realize that its sometimes important to think before you act. So, trust that you can do this in a phone or in person conversation as well.

4. When people ramble or threaten, it isn't personal to me. I operate above board so their threats aren't concerning to me. So, in most cases there is no need to respond. If they persist or get more extreme, I can always mention the idea of non-renewing them so that they realize they need to behave reasonably to keep their home (I can't remember ever needing to do that).

5. Is your rental C/D class where it can only attract a lower class more difficult kind of tenant to manage? If so, "professional silence" might be a good approach as these kinds of headaches may just be part of dealing with that type of tenant.

However, if you have a C/D class rental, you really should be making better cash-flow and not need all units paying to pay the bills. There should be more margin to compensate for the headache, added risk of damage, excess turnover etc.

If your unit is more B/C class where you can attract lots of decent hard working entry level to middle class workers then I would focus on improving the units to capture those kinds of tenants and oust the trouble makers you have. 

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Theresa Harris
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#3 Managing Your Property Contributor
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Theresa Harris
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#3 Managing Your Property Contributor
Replied

I'd politely tell her that if she isn't happy there (which seems to be the case) you will give her the one time option of breaking her lease without penalty if she moves out within 30 days (eg Nov 15) and that she has until Oct 15 to decide if she will be staying or not.

I agree with Kevin about phoning and then follow up with a brief summary of what you talked about via text.

A lot of people here own a few places (not dozens) and most of us also have full time day jobs, so balance the two.  Others may not own any places, but they are PM or realtors, so provide a different perspective which is nice. 

  • Theresa Harris
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    Drew Sygit
    Property Manager
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    • Property Manager
    • Royal Oak, MI
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    Drew Sygit
    Property Manager
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    #2 Real Estate Horror Stories Contributor
    • Property Manager
    • Royal Oak, MI
    Replied

    @C Rutherford you MUST lean you can NOT make everyone happy!

    There are some mean, unhappy people out there that are never satisfied and it's NOT your job to appease them.

    Tenants in multi-unit buildings always want someone to fix their problems fo them.

    THAT IS NOT YOUR JOB!

    In fact, what can you really do unless there's concrete evidence of a lease violation? 

    All you can do is give a polite warning to everyone.

    We've told many a tenant that this is all we can do unless they want to file a police report. That seems to make them go away 98% of the time. The other 2% don't file a report, yet keep complaining to us. We try not to renew their leases as not worth the headaches.

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    Adam Bartomeo
    Property Manager
    Pro Member
    #2 Managing Your Property Contributor
    • Real Estate Broker
    • Cape Coral, FL
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    Adam Bartomeo
    Property Manager
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    #2 Managing Your Property Contributor
    • Real Estate Broker
    • Cape Coral, FL
    Replied

    I encourage my staff not to ever give their personal numbers. We have 2 dedicated lines for tenants and those lines are monitored 9 - 5 M-F. This limits the "griping" to those times. Create a Google Number to help with this.

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    Henry T.
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    Henry T.
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    Isn't this part of the biz?  For every good one there's a potential wacko. You're doing a lot with 5 doors and working. I've been there x 3. But I really can't take it anymore, and have reduced significantly.  In older times a strategy might be to rent to older, more "life experienced" tenants.  If things got heavy I would tell them to follow the lease and send their complaint officially in writing, and I will respond accordingly,  usually that ended it. The problems with texting is people expect immediacy. If its not one of the 3 emergency's, forget about it.  Maybe they'll get so angry they'll just leave. Sometimes that's best.  As for the garbage, nothing you can do until screamer gives you proof to go on. (if this is in fact your job to remedy).Then send the perp a note to knock it off.

  • Henry T.
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    Matt Devincenzo
    • Investor
    • Clairemont, CA
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    Matt Devincenzo
    • Investor
    • Clairemont, CA
    Replied

    A few thoughts...

    One I had something similar with a neighbor who had my number and texted me after I moved out of my unit and moved a tenant in to complain about my tenant and his dogs. I simply said the issue wasn't a lease item, but he was welcome to walk over and talk to my tenant...he never did. He asked for their number to text them which I declined since it isn't mine to give. The hurdle of discussing face to face was enough to prevent him doing anything for the remaining 9 months and then he moved. 

    In this case it sounds like she is really an issue, so I'd give her the happy clause. "It sounds like you're not happy with this living situation, so I'm willing to allow a one time lease break with no penalty so you can find somewhere you'll be happy". She will either leave solving your problem, or may very well stay because the reality is she just wants to complain. If she stays your response is "Great, well then since you are happy here I don't expect you to send any other texts like the ones on XXX and XXX". Now you have confirmation from her she's happy, and have set the expectation that she doesn't text you problems that don't exist. 

    If she's out of her lease time then the other thought is simply give her 30 days and re-rent. Even two weeks of turnover and cleaning will be worth the mental sanity that a stable good paying tenant will bring you. Screen well and you'll avoid a lot of these issues. 

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    Calvin Thomas
    • Developer
    • New York City, NY
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    Calvin Thomas
    • Developer
    • New York City, NY
    Replied

    Try your best not to provide support via phone.  If it's not in writing, then it never happened.  We use text, email and our tenant portal to communicate with the tenants.  We switched to this about 4 years ago.  No more guessing who said what and why.  When you want to end the conversation, you say, this issue has been closed. Have a good day/night.

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    Alecia Loveless
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    Alecia Loveless
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    @C Rutherford I, too had a single in her 60’s year old tenant who spent the first year after I inherited her calling and texting, sometimes as many as 50 times per week.

    I finally got fed up and told her by text and in person that if she was unhappy she could move. I followed this up with a text that stated she could continue to contact me for actual problems with the unit but that I would no longer be entertaining multiple contacts throughout the week about issues that had nothing to do with her unit.

    The situation improved significantly after this.

    I do still get texts about things that just really aren’t issues but I can usually deflect them with a short response.

    As for the issue with the trash cans I try not to get involved in bickering between my tenants. Unless they are paying for their own trash by volume it doesn’t really matter whose trash goes where.

    At times I have even suggested they call the police if they have significant issues with another tenant. This may not be the most ideal answer but for ridiculous things the police departments in my area will inform the tenants not to bother them and it usually ends the situation.

  • Alecia Loveless
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    Nathan Gesner
    Property Manager
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    • Cody, WY
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    Nathan Gesner
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    • Cody, WY
    ModeratorReplied

    Learn to set boundaries and expectations.

    We have open lines of communication with renters via text, email, or phone. If someone starts to abuse it, we shut them down. Create a short, professional explanation of proper/improper use. If she continues to send pointless communications, ignore her or get rid of her.