The best and the worst tenants:)

General Landlording & Rental Properties
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The best and the worst tenants:)

Christine Mwai
Investor · Alabaster, AL · Member since 2016 · 280 posts · 88 votes

Hey Landlords and landladies! I'm sure each has seen many variation of tenants.I did want to "brag" on this SFH tenant of mine that calls me early to pay her rent with a smile. Wonderful! Same house I evicted a tenant from 2 years ago. That one told me, " he was behind on rent because his wife had died"... lol, I had just gotten off the phone with his Very alive wife who was calling me to see if I could help her in getting a new job. For laughs, what have you experienced in this business, if you care to share?

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Scott Harper
Investor · Longwood, FL · Member since 2015 · 221 posts · 130 votes
9y

No funny ones from me but I do know another landlord that I laugh about. Her tenants call her the glamlord. She treats all of her tanants like family. I was with her when she stopped at a house to do repairs and she stopped to fold the tenants laundry. She has good tenants but I think that is going a bit too far.

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  • Scott Harper
    Investor · Longwood, FL · Member since 2015 · 221 posts · 130 votes
    9y

    No funny ones from me but I do know another landlord that I laugh about. Her tenants call her the glamlord. She treats all of her tanants like family. I was with her when she stopped at a house to do repairs and she stopped to fold the tenants laundry. She has good tenants but I think that is going a bit too far.

    5Reply
  • Christine Mwai
    OP
    Investor · Alabaster, AL · Member since 2016 · 280 posts · 88 votes
    9y

    Laundry???

    0Reply
  • John Thedford
    Real Estate Broker · Naples, FL · Member since 2013 · 9k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    9y

    I have great tenants. I evicted the bad ones.

    1Reply
  • Thomas S.
    Member since 2016 · 13k+ posts · 12k+ votes
    9y

    Good tenants are the ones that follow the lease and you have next to on interaction with, bad tenants require that you inforce the lease.

    0Reply
  • Christine Mwai
    OP
    Investor · Alabaster, AL · Member since 2016 · 280 posts · 88 votes
    9y

    True Greg S.

    0Reply
  • Christine Mwai
    OP
    Investor · Alabaster, AL · Member since 2016 · 280 posts · 88 votes
    9y

    @Andy... did do it?.. my tenant that I evicted pulled up good carpet( he wasn't kind enough to ask me..he just thought he was mr handyman and did not understand he was a renter, not an owner. In your situation, protect yourself in writing, I  would not allow that unless I had him and the carpet company on paper.

    0Reply
  • Diane G.
    CA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    My one tenant called me 5 times one day in November... I called him back and asked him what is the emergency? He said november is his one year move-in and asked me what is the new rent for year 2....

    2Reply
  • Christine Mwai
    OP
    Investor · Alabaster, AL · Member since 2016 · 280 posts · 88 votes
    9y

    Lol, Diane..

    0Reply
  • Christine Mwai
    OP
    Investor · Alabaster, AL · Member since 2016 · 280 posts · 88 votes
    9y

    Seems like a genuine question if the lease was up.

    0Reply
  • Linda S.
    Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    9y

    Unfortunately, I don't have any dream tenants, hopefully they're coming in the future!    We moved 2 older ladies in, and on one side of a duplex, they pay the day rent is due, so they are good in terms of getting rent...  and we like them as people, they are very nice, and appreciative because they have 4 small dogs and we are okay with that.

    1)  2 weeks after moving in, they give us a list of things that need to be done, which include things like painting the back porch, putting up new siding on the other side of the duplex,  etc,... it was about 10 things.. this was after a full renovation of their unit.    Price of rent reflects condition.

    2)  They see up putting up a fence across the street, so of course they say "when is ours coming?" and we tell them it's because the ones we are working on now are more expensive rent wise,... at which we get a story about being on disability.

    3)  They are huge animal lovers, I am too... however they have called animal control 2-3x on our other tenant who has his dog on a chain outside (technically okay per city ordinance).. other tenant calls us and is wondering why they are harassing him.  They got another neighbor's dog possessed, and also had everyone with dogs be forced to pay the $50 dog fee from the city.  

    4) One of the ladies apparently walks her dogs, where there are kids, and has gotten into fights with other neighbors, apparently they threaten to kill her dog, lots of obscene words exchanged.... she told me that if the house gets damaged, it was XYZ down the street.. .

    That's just part of the fun!   Most tenants are good!

    1Reply
  • Kim Meredith HamptonBusiness Member
    Real Estate Broker · St Petersburg · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    9y

    One day I had the association send me a letter saying that I had to have prior permission to paint the exterior of our home. I knew we had in fact not painted the exterior, so I drove by to have a look see if they had made a mistake in which house. Lo and behold when I drove by, the house had been newly painted. Looked great!!! I called the owner of the property to see if he had ordered to have it painted, NO, so went to the tenant, YES had it painted! House rents for $3500 per month, needless to say, what a great surprise for the owner. Was done professionally and looked great. We did have a talk and notice in writing  to the tenant, all future work has to be approved prior to 

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  • Pavel Yurevich
    Investor · Elgin, IL · Member since 2016 · 27 posts · 14 votes
    9y

    @Linda S.

    I would try to find a way to get rid of them. If they are giving trouble to all of your neighbors, they are bound to bring trouble to you. I can already see one potential scenario - they may be badmouthing you to all of their acquaintances - saying that you're a slumlord and they live in a run-down property and you declined to make repairs when they asked. Who cares that they are misrepresenting the truth and lying through their teeth - this behaviour would be consistent with their other actions. 

    I have a clause in my leases - landlord can terminate the lease without cause by giving a written notice to the tenant. I hope you have that too. 

    If you're not looking to get rid of them , ask yourself this - are you looking to live in a happy community, or are you looking to have a tenant that isolates you from everyone else? Can you talk to your neighbors without feeling sorry? Can they talk to you without squirming? 

    1Reply
  • Linda S.
    Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    9y

    Hi @Pavel Yurevich,

    Thanks for the suggestion, luckily things have gotten a lot better.   I think because we bought the duplex across the street, and they would come over and visit daily,  may be because they are older and kind of lonely, I don't know.   I don't get involved with neighbor disputes, I think it's worked itself out.   We added a fence for our tenant, so they no longer complain about the dog.   Since the duplex is done, and we only visit when needed, it's gotten a lot better.   It was just a funny stroll down memory lane.    Also, since it's a renovated duplex,  I don't think they bad-mouth us, and if they did, they wouldn't  get anything sympathy when everyone else is jealous of their interior.  :) 

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  • Pavel Yurevich
    Investor · Elgin, IL · Member since 2016 · 27 posts · 14 votes
    9y

    @Linda S.

    Hi, Linda!

    It's a relief to hear that :) I'm glad things got better, it really irks me when people make unreasonable requests and then get upset when the landlord declines to deliver. 

    0Reply
  • Linda S.
    Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    9y

    Thanks @Pavel Yurevich, I appreciate you looking out!   I think we're going to switch to M2M leases in the future, but we always tell people "we want you to be happy, so if you aren't happy here, we can work something out".. .that normally  gets people to realize, they can leave, and the value is really great for what they are getting.     We pride ourselves in giving lower income tenants a higher quality of life, something to be proud of.

    Also, with them, we make sure all communication is in written form, either text/email, just in case (b/c they are older, easy sympathy story), we have proof they confirm everything is good.

    1Reply
  • Michelle Mayer
    Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2016 · 10 posts · 7 votes
    9y

    I had a tenant once that consistently called our management office because he "had a ghost" that would constantly be talking and banging on the wall. Everyone knew that it was the tenant next door with his TV on that caused all of the noise, but the tenant wouldn't stop calling until I had the super go over and spray ghost repellent (water in a spray bottle) around the apartment. There were no more hauntings after that. 

    3Reply
  • Jennifer T.Pro Member
    Investor · New Orleans, LA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 944 votes
    9y

    Overall, I've had pretty good tenants.

    The one nightmare I had was me ignoring the red flags.  Liars, thieves and con artists.  She owned her own business so I got the last two years' tax returns for her proof of income.  She definitely either faked those or had discontinued her business.  I think their previous landlord I called was bogus.  Minor, minor fishiness at the time, but nothing glaring.  It was "after the fact" I suspected bogus because there was no way anyone would have given them a good reference.

    Lived there for 4 months.  Moved out in the middle of the night the day after rent was due.  Still owing me $300 from the month before.  After the second month, they were always running late.  With bogus excuse after bogus excuse.  The place was FILTHY.  Every floor was "sticky" to walk on.  Huge hole in one of the bedroom walls.  A clog of decaying food in the kitchen sink with a small cloud of gnats and flies around it.  88 nail holes in the walls and window panes of this 825 sq ft., 2 bedroom house.  Yes, I counted them, lol.

    And they stole my curtain rods and one of the bath tub fixtures.  Oh but wait.  They also stole the batteries out of all the smoke detectors.  Seriously.  Took used AA batteries...out of safety devices.  For me, even though it was a nothing expense, THAT more than anything symbolized the depths of what lowlifes they were.

    Definitely not the worst story I've read on BP!  But I've been a lot more careful after that.

    3Reply
  • Colleen F.Pro Member
    Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    9y

    best tenant-pays on time and only calls when there is a real problem. I see her number and I pick right up because  the electric, water, or furnace must not be working.

    Worst recent  tenant pays  late,  thinks the lease is a suggestion not a contract, and uses cigarette butts as a lawn decoration.

    0Reply
  • Eric F.
    Real Estate Investor · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2012 · 427 posts · 297 votes
    9y

    @Michelle Mayer I want to believe that so bad. That is amazing.

    I had a terrible (inherited) tenant turn into a great one. She is my first tenant.  When I bought the property they were always late and I was too nice for a few months (sound familiar?). Finally, they were a couple of months behind and I told them I was sorry I would have to file an eviction. I filed it, they paid up and promised it would never happen again. For the first time in real estate history, it was the truth! She pays the rent early every month, with a smile on the envelope, and is just great.

    The only time I ever had to get mad at her since the eviction threat was when it was 95 degrees, her AC went out on a Friday, and she waited until Monday to call me "so she did not disturb my weekend." I told her I appreciated the thought, but as a landlord it is my job to make sure my tenants have a safe and comfortable house, and an interior temp of 90 degrees does not qualify! 

    Yep, this tenant is so great the only time in 3 years I've had a problem was when they put my enjoyment of the weekend over their comfort.

    @Pavel Yurevich "I have a clause in my leases - landlord can terminate the lease without cause by giving a written notice to the tenant. I hope you have that too."  Enjoy defending that one in court if the tenant does not have the same rights. 

    3Reply
  • Kimberly H.
    Residential Real Estate Broker · Chicago Suburbs, IL · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 594 votes
    9y

    @Pavel Yurevich "I have a clause in my leases - landlord can terminate the lease without cause by giving a written notice to the tenant. I hope you have that too."

    There are lots of gurus out there who sell "leases" with all kinds of unenforcable clauses, like that one.

    0Reply
  • Jim Shepard
    Investor · Edwardsville, IL · Member since 2015 · 432 posts · 481 votes
    9y
    I had an inherited tenant that decided it would be ok to disassemble a car in the carport of the duplex. They used logs for jack stands to hold up the car. I called them and sent a letter that this wasn't safe and the car needed to be removed. Strike one. A couple months later I get a water bill for their unit. I send them the bill and tell them to get it in their name. The professional tenant then tells me the previous landlord paid the bill so I was obligated to do the same. No the lease says you have to pay the water bill. I call my attorney and sure enough the previous landlord set a precedent. Strike two. I then get a call from the good tenant next door. The tenants next door are fighting every night. I told her to call the police any time they are making a disturbance. A cop friend gives me a call telling he didn't know I had bought that duplex. Apparently I had inherited the worst tenant in town. When my friend was called out at 2:00 am for a disturbance call the tenant told him "my husband and I were having sex"! I don't want to know how the hole got in the wall by their bed? I thought I was going to have to give them cash for keys but I think she realized I was not going to put up with their problems. I told them they could move out and get their security deposit back. Good riddance! Later she did a scam telling all her friends that she had cancer. She was taking donations to help her with her hospital bills. Busted and arrested. I got a call from my cop friend a couple of months later. Apparently her grandmother beat the crap out of her. I asked my friend if the grandmother needed bail money!
    2Reply
  • Pavel Yurevich
    Investor · Elgin, IL · Member since 2016 · 27 posts · 14 votes
    9y
    Originally posted by @Kimberly H.:

    @Pavel Yurevich "I have a clause in my leases - landlord can terminate the lease without cause by giving a written notice to the tenant. I hope you have that too."

    There are lots of gurus out there who sell "leases" with all kinds of unenforcable clauses, like that one.

    Good Morning!

    I beg to differ. 

    I borrowed this clause from a property management company that operates a multi-million dollar portfolio in Chicago suburbs - it's called a 30-day notice - has to be in writing and the tenant's lease is terminated at the end of next month after delivery. 

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  • Pavel Yurevich
    Investor · Elgin, IL · Member since 2016 · 27 posts · 14 votes
    9y

    @Pavel Yurevich "I have a clause in my leases - landlord can terminate the lease without cause by giving a written notice to the tenant. I hope you have that too."  Enjoy defending that one in court if the tenant does not have the same rights. 

     Thanks for your concern!

    They do. 

    0Reply
  • Kimberly H.
    Residential Real Estate Broker · Chicago Suburbs, IL · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 594 votes
    9y

    @Pavel Yurevich You didn't say 30 day notice before, it sounded like next day notice.

    But that only applies if it's a month to month lease.

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  • Pavel Yurevich
    Investor · Elgin, IL · Member since 2016 · 27 posts · 14 votes
    9y
    Originally posted by @Kimberly H.:

    @Pavel Yurevich You didn't say 30 day notice before, it sounded like next day notice.

    But that only applies if it's a month to month lease.

     Good Morning!

    I beg to differ. 

    The lease is annual, but if the tenant causes me a headache, or turns out to be a slob, this is my out. 

    The same was the case with the property management company - their lease are annual, and the clause is in the lease. 

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