Wholesaler · Holiday, FL · Member since 2013 · 571 posts · 221 votes
I love animals. Well; unless they are trying to hurt me - then I don't like them. But in general; I have had, and enjoyed having, pets. But now I do not have pets. I don't like the smell of them, I don't like cleaning up after them, and I don't like having them as a dependent.
I have dealt with truly hideous things as a result of tenants having pets. And as a result of both things - I don't like the idea of animals living in any property that I own.
What do you all think? And do?
Do you consider tenants-with-pets a necessary-evil of the business? Do you forbid all pets? Or for that matter . . . . do you Prefer tenants with pets? <g>
very interesting post. Just did a quick google search and found 37-47% of Americans own a dog and 30-37% own a cat. I have always allowed pets with a non refundable deposit. Yes, I have had to replace carpet due to pet damage. Never have had to replace doors, moulding, cabinets, appliances, etc. due to pet damage. The vast majority of the time when a tenant with a pet vacates I cannot tell that a pet had lived there. I have a clause in my leases that all carpets must be professionally cleaned upon move out and that pet owners must have house professionally treated for pests. The percentage of Americans that own pets is striking. I can't help but think that landlords that don't allow pets are really limiting their pool of renters and that an extra month or two of vacancy would do far more harm to their bottom line than potential pet damage.
@Eddie T. What flooring withstands pet abuse and cleans easily? Cement. That's what they use at the kennels, no? Believe it or not, that's what they are using in some of the public housing in our town too.
As you can see by my first post in this thread, we have a NO PET policy. That being said, if pets were in the equation, I would go with a commercial grade flooring. Tile might do if I were in a warm climate. Vinyl in a cooler climate.
We have one apartment with two cats (grandfathered in when we bought the place) and the cats scratched a big hole in the middle of the carpet and had sprayed urine. We replaced all the flooring with a commercial quality vinyl that has a wood grain pattern. At first glance the floors look like hardwood floors, but they are not. We chose a wide roll to avoid as many seams as we could. Tenant loves the flooring and it is holding up well and cleans easily.
I have allowed a couple small dogs and a couple cats (no more cats ever).
The majority of pet conversations center around dogs, but I saw this quote and was curious on the cat sentiment. I was leaning towards "no pets," but considered making an exception for a cat owner. Any quick feedback to steer me back on the no-pet-course? Thanks.