Tenant painted room, I'm scared, sad, what to do?!
Investor · Tucson, AZ · Member since 2013 · 116 posts · 22 votes
I spent a lot of time fixing up a rental, did all the work myself (with a friend), I considered the paint-job a work of art, apparently the tenant didn't think so, he not only primed the walls but also the trim now I'm worried about the colors and if he will do a good job.
Thing about it is: I specifically said in the lease, "no painting"! But his aunt is the one on the lease. I never met him until I had to go there to winterize the house, clean up etc.
I don't want to make a bad situation worse. Here's a pic of the room. If I had to do it over again, I would have painted one or two shades lighter.
Any color he paints it will probably be better than the way it is now.
Sorry !!!!
I agree with Shelly F. You want to have every adult 18 years old or over on the lease after passing an application process. In my opinion this is especially true in this case because you know that even though he apologized he knew better than to do that. While it is possible that he is just stupid it is more likely that he is probably trying to see how far he can push you. You did the right thing by letting him know that you have boundary's but I think you should make him pass an application screening and put him on the lease.
Would you let somebody you didn't check out yourself borrow thousands of dollars, or hundreds of thousands of dollars? Probably not. So why let them "borrow" your house?
He's NOT on the lease, it's his aunt and uncle . . .
When I told him "I specifically said on the lease, 'no painting'", he said, "I didn't see the lease."
What does the nephew have to do with anything? Why are you not holding the tenants responsible for signing and agreeing to the terms of the lease? Is the nephew going to be making other decisions in disregard of the lease as well? Pets? Storage? Smoking?
What's done is done. If you've now got a decent paint job in more neutral colors with no damage, consider yourself lucky. But you do need to make it clear to your tenants that they signed a lease and will be held responsible for the terms in it. They can't just say their nephew or guests or contractor didn't read the lease. That's absurd.
Thanks again for all your comments. Especially about using eggshell paint rather than semi-gloss (which I like) on the plaster walls.
I hope the tenant stays awhile. Usually they only last two years maximum.
I'll write tenant a nice letter asking what colors they want to paint.
Rent is only $825, very low for the neighborhood, right downtown! Part of the reason I charge so little is it doesn't have central heating/cooling and has outdoor cold-water washer, hang dry.
My mistake not having the plumber add washer drain in the outdoor shed. I also dislike central air/heat. We hardly need heat in Tucson.
So if I have to paint, I'll break even on paint/labor.
I think I'll tell him I'll help paint, then I know it will be a good job.
Wow. You have a Tucson rental with no cooling at all? Are you providing window units? What does it have for heat? Wall heaters or space heaters? I'd be happy to be getting $825 rent in that situation.
I live in Santa Barbara which is more temperate than Tuscon. We don't have any cooling. We live in a 1920s house with only a floor furnace with no ducts for 1000 square feet. I hate central air, but I like that little furnace when it's 37 degrees. Which is the projected temp tomorrow night in Tuscon.
@Raquel Baranow As long as you do not have to pay for it, it does not damage your property and the tenants are happy, then why not? :)
I'll add some more to because this is a fun one. And I'm guessing maybe that the orange color is an Arizona thing. But if I had a house here in Illinois that color orange, I don't think I could get them thru the doors. :-)
So, in this case, as others have stated, maybe its a good thing this guy is painting.
But in terms of some comments suggesting its ok for tenants to paint because they might stay longer, thats a definite no.
What happens when they paint is you lost your ability to do a much quicker make ready. You basically have to repaint the entire house.
If you don't allow them to paint, you have a much better shot at just going over some touch up areas and maybe doing a few rooms only.
The nice thing is that if you don't allow smoking, you can typically get away with repainting a room with the same color without having to cut anything in.
Just roll it up to an inch or two from the ceiling and an inch or two from the trim and you won't be able to tell if you use the right paint (tan). Obviously that trick won't work with white or some other colors because those lighter colors all seem to dull over a couple of years.
But its amazing how much faster you can repaint a house if you don't have to cut anything in. I am not the painter (my wife does it) but I will paint the make ready stuff sometimes. And i can do a typical room in an hour. One coat, no cutting in or prepping needed.
You can't tell.
But I did learn the hard way that it doesn't work with smokers. I did one house with smokers that way and realized by about the second room (once the paint had dried) that it wasn't matching up. You could see the difference.
Had to have the wife cut in the entire house.
But if you allow tenants to paint, then you might as well forget it. They won't save the paint so no chance in getting the stuff to match. And the color they'll use will likely take 2 coats to go over plus cutting in.
I always put two clauses. One is no smoking. Two is if you paint, I will charge you whatever it takes to repaint it back to the original color PLUS any other damage/re-work that may be caused by getting paint on the ceiling, the trim, the outlets or the floor.
I saw the picture and was my first thought was, wow I'd be pretty pissed if a tenant painted one of my houses orange with oranger trim.
Very few people are going to enjoy the bright orange rooms and while it may be your style it probably doesn't go with everybody's decor or taste. I paint all of my rentals a light beige, nobody hates it and nobody gets super excited by it but I've had very few tenants try to paint over it. if people want fancy paint colors in their house they can buy their own house. Painting all rooms the same neutral color makes touch-ups much easier later.
But if you allow tenants to paint, then you might as well forget it. They won't save the paint so no chance in getting the stuff to match.
I've cut out a quarter size of the wall and brought it into the the local HD. They have a computer that they can run and match it up.
I've tried that too and it just doesn't seem to be the same. I can tell the difference which means I then have to repaint the whole thing.
Not only that but their color choices still tend to be bad. Even if I could match it up, it wouldn't help much. Its too ugly a color so I still end up having to repaint and then 2 coats because of the crazy color they use....
I've tried that too and it just doesn't seem to be the same. I can tell the difference which means I then have to repaint the whole thing.
Not only that but their color choices still tend to be bad. Even if I could match it up, it wouldn't help much. Its too ugly a color so I still end up having to repaint and then 2 coats because of the crazy color they use....
@Mike H. really?? wow. I didn't know that; thx.
The way it works around here is any guest or visitor that comes to the rental home that does any alterations or damage to the home, the person on the lease is liable for it. That being said, you said he wasn't on the lease...if he's living there, you better get him on it. I've ran into this with "professional housing scammers" This is where: Adult 1 and Adult 2 move in, on the lease, then invite mom and dad and their other 2 kids to come live with them, they don't go on the lease. We let it slide, couple months go by and rent stops coming, we tell them to get out(legal steps, of course), they refuse, we have to evict them, they fight the whole way in order to maximize the time they get free housing. When the eviction finally comes through and they leave, guess who stays...that's right, mom and dad and their other 2 kids. They weren't on the lease, therefore weren't on the eviction order. So, now they have squatter's rights and we legally can't remove them from the property without going to court YET AGAIN, to remove them. Lost 4 months income off that property because of that.
Is Indiana eviction law really that tough? Is there no provision for naming unknown tenants in the unlawful detainer action, or for substitute service via publication for unknown occupants? How do you name and serve squatters when you don't know their names?
Depends on who carries the eviction out. The paperwork does say that the property has to be vacated, but also clearly states that the people on the eviction order have to vacate. If you get the officer that wants to read the order to the letter, it can become an ordeal. Our Judge in this area is a people person(even when you don't want him to be) so he's a little more lenient with giving renters time to get out. I would assume there would be a general order that could be served without naming specific people, but I knew who they were and the judge being a people person always wants to give people time to go, even when he shouldn't. Small town politics, I suppose, we don't have too many homeless people in a town of 7,000.
This is a tricky situation depending on how you look at it.
When I was a handyman, the landlord did not let tenants paint their units for a number of reasons.
tenants would pick the most ridiculous colors\ color schemes\ finishes. For example: Semi gloss beige walls with a jet black OIL based paint for the trim. And guess who had to rip off the trim, install new ones, and paint?
Make sure to be firm in your decisions.
Best of luck to ya!
Can't find a pic of the pink house with light-purple trim (it was outside paint) but it rented quickly to college students.
The house doesn't have central air/heating but has two large ventless heaters. I have one in my house too and hardly have to use it at all . . . this is Tucson.
House has a 12,000BTU through-the-wall AC and a swamp-cooler but unless you close half the house, it's not practical to have both on at the same time. Swamp cooler is rated for the sqft of the house and works very well.
Thanks again for your suggestions
Why are you scared?
1. Every occupant 18 years old or over fills out an application.
2. Review the lease thoroughly at signing and make sure you are meeting each person who lives there.
3. Write an hourly rate for repairs into your lease. For example, if a tenant breaks something through misuse or neglect (or paints contrary to the lease) I charge $25/hour labor plus the costs.
Why aren't you speaking with the aunt or uncle who are your legal tenants?
I'd make a copy of the lease clause re: alterations to the unit, and present it to them.
They need to know you're in charge.
If you let them re-paint, tell them you need to approve the color and do it in writing (and make it something neutral).
If the kid is over 18, and living there, he needs to fill out an application and sign the lease.
I wouldn't be too worried about a tenant repainting a unit, especially if they do a good job.
The sub tenant thing is something I would absolutely worry about. They all need to know what's expected of them.
I did have an orange wall in my kitchen once with blue and orange fish curtains.. and I sold the house with it that way! Although for rentals I would not paint it that way unless you were doing a tropical vacation rental, maybe you can get away with it in a student rental but there is broader appeal if you tone it down.
Aside from having the paint color he is using approved by you and doing a background check if he is an adult someone should review the lease terms with him. This could be the aunt and uncle or you. May save some future issues.
Hello,
I've painted numerous Rehabs, flips as well as buy and hold properties.
Being a realtor as well as an investor has taught me not to over do anything I'm not living in. Don't over spend, either money or time on things that don't bring value to the property. Nice, neutral colors work best because you can buy in 5 gallon buckets and use what's left on the next one.
People, either buying or renting, have to live in the space, and everyone wants to make it "Their Own" even if they don't own the place, lol
so keep the " No Changes" clause in your lease, and be ready to take action when a tenant violates it.
But don't lose sight of the reason you bought the property in the 1st place.
to make money.
so if there's no real damage, I'd forget it and move on.
if you sweat the little things, what will you do when someone changes the locks on you. lol
What's done is done. I would let them know that what they did is prohibited by the lease and then charge them for it when they move out. Unless there is a bunch of other damage, then you may just want to move to evict. But only if they've been really hard on the unit.
That paint is hideous though.
^
Great response.......and I agree. Paint is relatively cheap, if they keep the place in good order otherwise I would not lose sleep over it.
I paid $1,100.00 to have most of the interior of my rental painted and I would not be happy to have a tenant paint over the beautiful job that was done. Also a bad paint job is really hard to cover up. Drips and painting over hardware that then needs to be stripped or sanded is very time consuming. That being said, I bet your rental success and even the dollars you could charge would be better served with neutral paint. A good paint job and great color choices can make a house look much more expensive and desirable.
I'll give my opinion. I didn't read every reply so forgive me if I'm saying something that has been said a bunch already.
Tenants who usually only want to stay for a short period like a year, would not paint. A tenant who wants to go through the trouble of painting is probably one who will be there for a few years. There are always exceptions of course.
In my leases, I have the whole "no painting" clause without my permission. I've had a few renters want to paint. They've all asked me and so far it's all been neutral low tone colors and never the whole house, just a room or 2. I've said yes every time so far. It's been a couple of years since I've gotten a request. Everyone who has requested so far is still renting after multiple years so my experience is holding true to my second paragraph.
Also, if someone wanted to paint an ugly color like that (Let's be honest, that's horrific), but who cares. If a tenant wanted to paint like that, I might say yes, but I would tell them, I need another year lease on top of what they have. So if they have 6 months left on their lease, I'd require them to push out to 18 months. If they say no, then I say no paint.
To the last point, they painted without asking you. If you have no painting in your lease, take pictures (which you did), and craft a letter that says something to the affect of "If you move out in the next 12 months, your security deposit will be used to re-paint to neutral colors (100% of the cost). If you stay 12-24 months, 50% of the cost. If you stay 24+ months, no charge for re-painting on moving out. Get them to sign. If they won't sign, note it, you can still hold them to it, because they broke the lease and you can use their security deposit to "repair" their damage. Of course you can word the letter to what your comfortable with, but based on your initial post, don't freak out. It's really not that big of a deal. Like above, there are easy ways to handle it. If this is the worst that's happened to you so far, good for you :)
I'll give my opinion. I didn't read every reply so forgive me if I'm saying something that has been said a bunch already.
Tenants who usually only want to stay for a short period like a year, would not paint. A tenant who wants to go through the trouble of painting is probably one who will be there for a few years. There are always exceptions of course.
In my leases, I have the whole "no painting" clause without my permission. I've had a few renters want to paint. They've all asked me and so far it's all been neutral low tone colors and never the whole house, just a room or 2. I've said yes every time so far. It's been a couple of years since I've gotten a request. Everyone who has requested so far is still renting after multiple years so my experience is holding true to my second paragraph.
Also, if someone wanted to paint an ugly color like that (Let's be honest, that's horrific), but who cares. If a tenant wanted to paint like that, I might say yes, but I would tell them, I need another year lease on top of what they have. So if they have 6 months left on their lease, I'd require them to push out to 18 months. If they say no, then I say no paint.
To the last point, they painted without asking you. If you have no painting in your lease, take pictures (which you did), and craft a letter that says something to the affect of "If you move out in the next 12 months, your security deposit will be used to re-paint to neutral colors (100% of the cost). If you stay 12-24 months, 50% of the cost. If you stay 24+ months, no charge for re-painting on moving out. Get them to sign. If they won't sign, note it, you can still hold them to it, because they broke the lease and you can use their security deposit to "repair" their damage. Of course you can word the letter to what your comfortable with, but based on your initial post, don't freak out. It's really not that big of a deal. Like above, there are easy ways to handle it. If this is the worst that's happened to you so far, good for you :)
My experience is the same, as both a landlord and tenant is that painting is usually an indicator of a longer stay. You may have missed the posts where it was clarified that the pictures the OP posted were of the unit the way she painted it and offered it for rent (2 tone orange) which the tenants are now repainting.