Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2016 · 12 posts · 0 votes
My tenant texted me that he is showing sysdams of asbestos poison. He will be live there a full year at the end of March. My property is built in 70's and I didn't know anything of the asbestos. The property is a townhome and I never heard about any neighbor had this in the same community.
I did some research and asked asbestos inspector. The answers are unless you expose there all day long and breath hard for 20-30 years then yea, it MIGHT hurt you. I know this tenant is a smoker and possibly doing some illegal drugs thing. I already started the process to put him out of my property. My question is, he is asking money from me, like a lot of it. Of course I will not agree. I just want to get him out. Have anyone met the similar situation? Any advice?
Understood but the guy is clearly an idiot as asbestos poisoning is completely off the wall. As you were told poisoning takes a life time of exposure under normal circumstances. Text him back and tell him to stop licking the floor tiles.
If you don't want to play with him just tell him to rub salt and complete the eviction.
Now obviously some landlords will clench their butt cheeks and tell you to hire a lawyer, cover your butt be very, very afraid but honestly tenants do this sort of thing all the time and in your situation he has no case. It's just the boogey man.
Understood but the guy is clearly an idiot as asbestos poisoning is completely off the wall. As you were told poisoning takes a life time of exposure under normal circumstances. Text him back and tell him to stop licking the floor tiles.
If you don't want to play with him just tell him to rub salt and complete the eviction.
Now obviously some landlords will clench their butt cheeks and tell you to hire a lawyer, cover your butt be very, very afraid but honestly tenants do this sort of thing all the time and in your situation he has no case. It's just the boogey man.
Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2016 · 314 posts · 153 votes
10y
You want him out, he wants money, why go through the work of an eviction?
Pay him to leave; make him an offer that makes sense for you. Not sure where your rental is, but in some areas of the country evictions can drag out for a very long time.
Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2016 · 12 posts · 0 votes
10y
Thanks for your advices Greg. I will see if he is going to move out after 30 days notice. He is also asking me to pay rent of a hotel for him too. Weird. Isn't he? . I think someone is chasing after him and he is trying to find another place to hide and live without paying for it. He is using drugs I bet. I just don't have an evidence to prove.
Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2016 · 12 posts · 0 votes
10y
he wants at least a year rent. If he is so concerned about his health, he would want to move. He is trying to scam. And not even mention he trashed the place.
Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2015 · 345 posts · 138 votes
10y
Don't let him inject fear into you to provoke irrational action. Slow down and stay rationale with sound reasoning. If you're uncomfortable then reach out for legal assistance. Document every point of contact you had and will have with him. Document what you did in response to his concern. Be aggressive and firm in how this will be handled so the losses are limited. Cash for keys seems best but it sounds like the tenant is not for that. If he's into drugs though then there is a great chance cash for keys will work.... Especially when he runs out of drugs. Lol
Good luck!
Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2016 · 314 posts · 153 votes
10y
You don't need to give him what he asks for.
Counter with whatever makes sense to you. You can always hire a lawyer if you need to, but if he takes, say, 1 month's rent, you've just saved yourself a lot of trouble and money.
Agent/Investor · Murphy, TX · Member since 2013 · 542 posts · 304 votes
10y
Where has this alleged asbestos come from? What year was it built. I believe they quit putting asbestos in popcorn in 1974. Unless he's scraped all the popcorn off the ceiling, ground it up and inhaled it all it's very doubtful there's any asbestos. Get him out and don't pay him anything. Convenient it happened right at the end of his lease, isn't it. If you concede anything to him that's ammunition if he wants to come back later and sue you. Don't test for asbestos or make any sort of admission that there may be any asbestos present. If he can find a crooked doctor and lawyer that will team up and sue you, that's what liability insurance is for. I am not an attorney and the Holiday Inn Express was all booked up last night so take everything I said with a grain of salt.
Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2016 · 12 posts · 0 votes
10y
In Texas. I am not doing anything he wants now until he provide evidences. I have ask some legal consultant and best thing to do now is doing nothing except for sending out the 30 days notice. His lease ends on 31st of March.
Buy & Hold Owner · Redlands, CA · Member since 2015 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
10y
Assuming you've begun the eviction process - - what stage is the case at?
(the following is a personal, non-authorative, non-legal suggestion )
Serve notice of entry, comment on asbestos inspector coming with you. Be prepared to to follow thru.
The reply to your notice gives you two choices:
if he objects, tell'm you don't care we're coming anyway
if he's agreeable, great perform the inspection anyway.
The inspection report will justify you and the claim becomes moot.
If he fights you upon entry, inform him he is attempting extortion and you will be contacting the district attorney immediately. MAKE SURE your eviction has already been filed so it is not retaliatory.
Rental Property Investor · Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2016 · 296 posts · 243 votes
10y
@Ann Wu - definitely check laws in your state, but I'd bet you can just serve him with 30 days and he will leave. Sounds like he's just blowing gas like a lot of tenants do. Don't let this guy intimidate you. He is full of you-know-what.
I'd look at my options, but consider the following:
1) What's the cheapest and quickest way to have this person out of your life? If it's a $100 bill for the keys, then do it.
2) Do you KNOW you're right in the scenario? If you don't, figure that out second. Figure out #1 first.
3) You might have missed your window, but check on your lease, and just let him know in the proper way that his lease isn't being renewed and you expect him out on the 31st. If he doesn't cooperate, evict him, deduct damages from deposit, and sue him for the balance.
Buy & Hold Owner · Redlands, CA · Member since 2015 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
10y
@Thomas S. as a buy&hold operator of 18yrs, cash-for-keys works well. I've only had one eviction fight with me to the Court order of Possession. The object is not saving the money for an eviction, but getting possession immediately (saving time & further lost rents) to prepare and get occupied with a new tenant.
Assuming you've begun the eviction process - - what stage is the case at?
(the following is a personal, non-authorative, non-legal suggestion )
Serve notice of entry, comment on asbestos inspector coming with you. Be prepared to to follow thru.
The reply to your notice gives you two choices:
if he objects, tell'm you don't care we're coming anyway
if he's agreeable, great perform the inspection anyway.
The inspection report will justify you and the claim becomes moot.
If he fights you upon entry, inform him he is attempting extortion and you will be contacting the district attorney immediately. MAKE SURE your eviction has already been filed so it is not retaliatory.
Generally good advice. There are some minor changes I would make based solely on the law in my particular jurisdiction. The information I am about to provide may not apply in your particular jurisdiction, and I would strongly encourage you to seek out an attorney based on the legal threats here to aid in the disposition of your case.
If this happened in my state, the tenant could file something known as a "tenants assertion" alleging breach on the part of the Landlord, AKA providing unsafe living conditions. They would argue something like the Asbestos is dangerous, you should have known about it, and therefore you breached by failing to remedy the situation. There are a number of ways around that in my state, such as hiring an expert witness to testify as to what your inspector informed you of. You could also bring up the smoking as an alternative source of any injury.
Alternatively, tenant could file a lawsuit, in Virginia, on the idea of negligence. This would be a separate lawsuit which alleges you owe for certain medical bills in response to the damages from the asbestos. Again, similar treatment.
As for what you should do during the eviction process, the state of Virginia generally frowns upon landlords threatening to take criminal action to effectuate a civil eviction. That could just as easily be seen as a crime or grounds for a defense to the underlying eviction. Personally, in my state alone, I would not recommend such an action.
If you are thinking about a forcible eviction, get the unlawful detainer and have the sheriff handle the case. I would highly recommend retaining landlord/tenant lawyers on this particular case.
DISCLAIMERS: All the above information is educational in nature. This is not intended to be actionable legal advice. Do not take any of the steps outlined above without referring to a local attorney to discuss your particular case. The law in your jurisdiction could change the outcome of any of the information I may have provided. I am not agreeing to represent you, or anyone else, by virtue of providing this information. If there are any readers out there in the state of Virginia, this post may be seen as legal advertising. Consult a local attorney whenever you have legal problems.
Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2016 · 12 posts · 0 votes
10y
i just started the 30 days notice. Not into an eviction process yet.
I was not aware of any dangerous thing until he told me. Also, The city did an inspection and gave a permit while he moved in. On the paper work, city states : unsafe items:0
I did everything legally followed by city code before I rent to him. Also, on the lease agreement, lead base knowledge was marked. Lead base is the only thing I know back that time.
as a buy&hold operator of 18yrs, cash-for-keys works well. I've only had one eviction fight with me to the Court order of Possession. The object is not saving the money for an eviction, but getting possession immediately (saving time & further lost rents) to prepare and get occupied with a new tenant.
So what you are saying is that your accountant includes extortion payments in your income tax expense claims.
Cash for keys works OK for some but based on both a business and moral stance I consider paying extortion to be extremely offensive and criminal in nature. Although criminals do find it a lucrative approach to breaking a lease and I would assume all your tenants are aware of your policy.
My reputation is that I will evict and fight every tenant for every dollar they owe at any cost. As a result all my tenants are of the highest quality and I have not had any legal or tenant issues for a very long time. No legal or extortion deductions and all my good tenants are protected. My reputation in this business has served me very well and is more important to me than the cost of fight a few low intellect criminals.
Property Manager · Cumming, GA · Member since 2015 · 261 posts · 199 votes
10y
Whenever a tenant crosses the line with a threat like this, you immediately release them from the lease in writing so that they can move out immediately for their own protection. Find out how fast they can leave. This will either call their bluff or protect you in the court room. If they don't vacate for whatever reason, they must sign a hold harmless addendum for the "asbestos poisoning" and agree they waived the option you gave them to move out no harm no foul. Go on the offensive in a professional way.
I am with Phil. Plus I would strictly avoid any cash for keys idea that could be later constructed by a freebie lawyer with too much time on the hand as an admittance of guilt. Release the tenant from the lease or, in case of nonpayment of rent so far, evict him//her.
Real Estate Agent · Cape Coral FL · Member since 2014 · 8 posts · 3 votes
10y
I think what Phil and Andreas said is good advice. I also would not offer him any money, as they are correct, it could be construed as admittance of guilt later if you had to go to court. Go see him in person, be very concerned, insist that he move out immediately for his own health. When he says he is not interested in moving out or can't move out, you bring out your release of lease, and make him sign it right then and there. When he says he doesn't have enough money to move out, politely explain that since he won't be owing you April 1 rent, he can use that money towards his new place. If he starts complaining about Dr. bills tell him we'll cross that bridge when we get there, but right now, we need to get you out of here just in case there really is an issue. Document your visit and any conversation you had as soon as you walk out
He is an idiot just trying to extort money from you when he sees his lease is coming to an end. He has nothing to lose by playing this game, and all kinds of money to gain. Just my two cents.