Tenants' attitude- Am I looking at it the right way?
I own and manage a single fam that a 2/1 and rents out for $635. I acquired it 2 weeks ago. Seller listed at 38k and I offered 24k cash after finding a few big ticket items for repair. I asked the seller at closing why they're selling the home and they mentioned about the tenants being a headache and too demanding to make repairs for every little thing. BUT, I can tell the owners and/or their PM didn't take good care of the property, a lot of repairs should've been done and tenants could use a relatively better place to live in than what it currently is.
I met the tenants last week and as the seller mentioned, they did have a lot of complaints. They wanted a few things to improve and I agree with some of them. I definitely agree on things that are a safety hazard- especially with kids in the home. I mentioned to the tenants that I'll take care of the safety issues first- I'll do the must haves first rather than the nice to haves, if that makes sense. I want to do a good job of taking care of the property and provide good living conditions- while still making a profit.
I think it's a good thing to have tenants let me know what's wrong so that I can attend to it and make a judgement call on whether it needs to be fixed or not rather than sit on an issue and later find out it blew out of proportion because of neglect.
Here's what alarmed me a little bit. The tenants are suing the previous seller for neglecting a flooring issue. There was a hole in the floor and it wasn't fixed right. The seller put a styrofoam pad to fix it rather than put something sturdy or even fix the floor. The lady tripped and fell and incurred medical expenses (apparently). She asked the seller to reimburse for this expense and the seller didn't. I can vouch for the sloppy job that was done- I cannot vouch for her tripping there. But what's scary, in a way, is their attitude to sue. It makes me think if this is how they approach most issues and will this attitude be a problem in the future.
I am mentally prepared and getting accustomed to the idea of landlords being sued- so I have a decent insurance policy and have the property in my LLC. But, this is the only property I bought for the learning experience and I'm enjoying the experience so far.
I'd appreciate any valuable insights on the current situation!