Inheriting a "sexually violent predator against children" tenant

Rental Property Investor · Bloomington, IN · Member since 2018 · 70 posts · 78 votes

We had our offer accepted on our first rental property and after looking up the current tenants, we've got a convicted, registered sexually violent predator against children in this triplex. Repeat offender. Anyone dealt with this before? There are currently no children in the other two units but kids living within 20' of his door at the neighboring property. His existing lease is not up until Aug of 19 and he's been in the property 5 years. I am sick about this. Obviously I don't want to renew his lease but any options before that?

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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member

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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes

Leave him in place unless you have a justifiable reason to terminate the lease early. Notify him as soon as possible that you will not renew his lease because you are planning "improvements" to the unit. Of course, the improvement is getting rid of the sex offender. If he offers to leave early, let him go without penalty and move on.

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Kyle MccawBusiness Member
Property Manager · Keller, TX · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
Approach the listing agent about it. See if you can get a reduction in the contract price. If you can and you close. Off the tenant $ to move so you can "fix up the unit."
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Dennis M.
Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 9k+ votes
7y
@Brook Rieman Well Perverts aren’t a protected class . Buy the property and find a way to evict him or refuse to close till owner reaches a deal to get him out of there
7 Reply
Brook Rieman
OP
Rental Property Investor · Bloomington, IN · Member since 2018 · 70 posts · 78 votes
7y
Originally posted by @Kyle Mccaw:

Approach the listing agent about it. See if you can get a reduction in the contract price. If you can and you close. Off the tenant $ to move so you can "fix up the unit."
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Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
7y
wow that's a tough one.. glad you found out up front instead of after the fact.. good catch..
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Brook Rieman
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Rental Property Investor · Bloomington, IN · Member since 2018 · 70 posts · 78 votes
7y
The current owner isn’t willing to adjust the price but if we get desperate I suppose we could pay him to move ourselves. Ugh.
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Kizzy Robb
Investor · Saint Louis, MO · Member since 2013 · 87 posts · 32 votes
7y
@Brook Rieman - I know someone said they aren’t protected but what kind of laws are in place for tenants in your area? I would be careful and maybe get the advice of a attorney on how to proceed here. I’d hate for him to be able to sue you because of how he was removed from the property although he has a signed lease until Aug of 2019. I hope it all works out for you.
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Bjorn AhlbladPro Member
Investor · Shelton, WA · Member since 2017 · 6k+ posts · 6k+ votes
7y
@Brook Rieman so is this after the fact? Or can you still reneg at this point. If you can get out I would do that. He has been there for 5 years-he is not going anywhere easily. The seller won't take you seriously unless you look like you are going to walk. Make it the sellers problem and mean it. The numbers don't matter; to me it is just too stinky.
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Bobby Stead
Rental Property Investor · Evansville, IN · Member since 2018 · 23 posts · 15 votes
7y
@Brook Rieman, check the registry to see what his limitations are in your area. As a former law enforcement officer there may be something there that will allow you legally to end his lease. For instance, so far from a school, close to children that are not of his bloodline, etc. Good luck!
5 Reply
Jill F.
Investor · Akron, OH · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 4k+ votes
7y
It's only ten months. He's been there 5 years. The people in the neighborhood were notified. I wouldn't ditch an otherwise good deal on a property. Just don't renew his lease when it comes due.
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Chris Szepessy
Catskill, NY · Member since 2018 · 636 posts · 668 votes
7y
I'd assume he won't move out unless you offer him a TON of money to do so. Finding someone to rent to him is probably very difficult so he isn't going to move for $500. If the neighbors know about him, I would just ride out the lease and not renew when the time comes.
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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
7y
Leave him in place unless you have a justifiable reason to terminate the lease early. Notify him as soon as possible that you will not renew his lease because you are planning "improvements" to the unit. Of course, the improvement is getting rid of the sex offender. If he offers to leave early, let him go without penalty and move on.
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Brook Rieman
OP
Rental Property Investor · Bloomington, IN · Member since 2018 · 70 posts · 78 votes
7y
Originally posted by @Brook Rieman:

Originally posted by @Gilbert Dominguez:
In my opinon since you will not drop the deal because of having a sex offender against children living in your property then you care more about money than you care about any child so its on you. I could care less about how this all works out or you.
I feel like this is a pretty rude reply. I am not unwilling to not do the deal because of it, we are actually trying to figure out how to get out of it. I am just completely caught off guard by this situation being our first deal with tenants and seeking advice.
Also, we have little kids of our own and I would be the primary property manager so this is not something we take lightly. I’m completely disgusted and frightened by the whole situation.
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Brook Rieman
OP
Rental Property Investor · Bloomington, IN · Member since 2018 · 70 posts · 78 votes
7y
Thank you all for the suggestions, this helps a lot.
1 Reply
Nina Hayden
Rental Property Investor · Dallas, Austin · Member since 2018 · 246 posts · 213 votes
7y
I would get out of it, no amount of money is worth that crap. That guy isn’t going anywhere.
2 Reply
Linda S.
Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
7y
@Brook Rieman,
He's a sex offender-- they are out there, it sounds like a low income area, so that's where they normally go. Have you checked out how many others are in the area, there might be a few more nearby. People do bad things. Some people are real jerks, as shown by this thread stating that you don' care about kids if you get this house-- ignorant garbage. Don't let emotions get involved and back out of what sounds like a great deal.
I would absolutely go through with the deal, and go talk with him, and tell him you have plans to renovate his unit. Offer to refund his security deposit , and give a positive reference (assuming he's always paid on time) and throw maybe $500 more at him in a cash for keys deal. Tell him you plan to renovate his unit and won't be renewing in 10-months, --so it'd be heavily in his best interest to leave now vs. 10 months. Most people don't want to move because they know they'll have to pay the security deposit + rent, and that's a lot to low income tenants--- make it an easy transition!
Don't make this a bigger deal than it is-- if you want him out, make it the best time to leave now-- and let him know you aren't renewing.
14 Reply
Jim Adrian
Architect · Papillion, NE · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 840 votes
7y
@Brook Rieman
Im going to take the opposite approach as others said, though I don't disagree with what they said either.
Looking from the flip side, he needs a place to live. He has proven to be a non-issue to his landlord for the last 5 yrs.   Your service you provide is housing and that's it. You are not buddy buddy with this person and you shouldn't with any of your tenants.   I would bet he would be willing to pay more for the place because of his past and knows how hard its to find a place. So keep him around, raise his rent by $25 or $50 or so and put him month to month.   If he gives you problems then boot him. In 10 months you will find out if his problematic or not.    I would research his cases to understand what he "specifically" did.   He has also proven to be a long term tenant.
On the flip side it may be hard to rent out the other units and you may need to disclose (not sure on this as its public knowledge) this to future tenants.
11 Reply
David Cruice
Rental Property Investor · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2018 · 179 posts · 192 votes
7y
@Brook Rieman Keep it simple. Buy the property; honor the existing lease, and dont renew. Dont discuss the "situation" with anyone after you buy.
5 Reply
Joe SplitrockPro Member
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Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
7y
@Brook Rieman if you are investing in C or D neighborhoods, this type of thing will be common. If he was a convicted murder, violent assault offender, thief, con man, you would never even know, because there is no registry for those crimes. After 5 years, there is low risk for the next ten months.
If this situation freaks you out, I assure you there is FAR WORSE ahead.
I have looked tenants in the eye and told them to GTFO of my property, no notice, no cash for keys. That is how you deal with some people in some situations. They are tough and you need to be tougher.
If you can't deal with this, you should re-evaluate if you should be managing your own properties or even buying them in the first place.
Simple solution here is non-renewal. Tell him day one that he needs to move next August or sooner. If you re-rent the other two units, make sure to disclose his situation, so they are not surprised.
If you can't stomach it, just use the inspection or financing clause to back out now. They can't make you close on the property. Worst case they take your ernest money.
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Dan H.Pro Member
Investor · Poway, CA · Member since 2015 · 7k+ posts · 8k+ votes
7y
Originally posted by @Joe Splitrock:
@Brook Rieman if you are investing in C or D neighborhoods, this type of thing will be common. If he was a convicted murder, violent assault offender, thief, con man, you would never even know, because there is no registry for those crimes. After 5 years, there is low risk for the next ten months.
If this situation freaks you out, I assure you there is FAR WORSE ahead.
I have looked tenants in the eye and told them to GTFO of my property, no notice, no cash for keys. That is how you deal with some people in some situations. They are tough and you need to be tougher.
If you can't deal with this, you should re-evaluate if you should be managing your own properties or even buying them in the first place.
Simple solution here is non-renewal. Tell him day one that he needs to move next August or sooner. If you re-rent the other two units, make sure to disclose his situation, so they are not surprised.
If you can't stomach it, just use the inspection or financing clause to back out now. They can't make you close on the property. Worst case they take your ernest money.
Our primary area I classify as a C to C+ area (We have some units in better areas but most of our units are in a working class area with most structures built from the 1950s to the 1980s). My background check includes a criminal records check. It is a small additional fee over the credit check fee. I think it is important, especially in my multiplexes. I want to provide the tenants a safe place realizing I cannot control everything. But I can control that the tenants have no violent crimes on their criminal report.
I do not think managing in a C area necessitates dealing with criminals. Proper screening, at a minimum, reduces the chance of dealing with violent criminals.
I do agree that non-renewal is the "simple solution" but I would treat it as plan B. I would attempt to negotiate cash for keys. I would be careful how you "disclose the situation" but would find a way to disclose the situation to new tenants (maybe provide them a link to the sex offender registry and tell them it is important that they verify the area is safe). The disclosure is likely to result in making the other units harder to rent and may affect the rent price. So cash for keys could be a good investment as it could result in obtaining market rents versus below market rents with the disclosure. I do not know what the unit rents for but even a couple rent for the keys could be worth it.
Good luck
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Dan H.Pro Member
Investor · Poway, CA · Member since 2015 · 7k+ posts · 8k+ votes
7y
Originally posted by @Jim Adrian:

@Brook Rieman
Im going to take the opposite approach as others said, though I don't disagree with what they said either.
Looking from the flip side, he needs a place to live. He has proven to be a non-issue to his landlord for the last 5 yrs.   Your service you provide is housing and that's it. You are not buddy buddy with this person and you shouldn't with any of your tenants.   I would bet he would be willing to pay more for the place because of his past and knows how hard its to find a place. So keep him around, raise his rent by $25 or $50 or so and put him month to month.   If he gives you problems then boot him. In 10 months you will find out if his problematic or not.    I would research his cases to understand what he "specifically" did.   He has also proven to be a long term tenant.
On the flip side it may be hard to rent out the other units and you may need to disclose (not sure on this as its public knowledge) this to future tenants.
He does need a place to live but it would not be in my multiplex. I believe I have a responsibility to provide the tenants a safe home. If I knew I had a violent sex offender as a tenant, I would feel that I have not provided the safe home to my other tenants.
It is my opinion that a violent sex offender should not be in a multiplex, near schools, children clubs/sports (Y, Little League, soccer fields, etc.), etc.. I think it would be best if they lived in a trailer in the middle of no where , but that is not likely to happen. However, they would not be living in my units. I do not care if he were willing to double his rent. Not worth it!
If you accepted an additional $50/month rent for the sex offender to continue to live in your unit, how would you feel if he sexually assaulted someone?   No way, there is not enough money for me to want to deal with that. I do not need the money that bad!
Good luck
2 Reply
Joel Florek
Rental Property Investor · Michigan City, IN · Member since 2015 · 530 posts · 741 votes
7y
@Brook Rieman Aug of 19 sucks. Obviously, if you just hang on until that point you can provide them with a notice in advance that you won't be renewing the lease. I typically like to do at least 60-day notice and let them know I am trying to make the process smoother and don't want to put them in a pinch. I never want to really make someone mad and have concrete poured down the drain.
Another thing you can do is once you purchase you can let them know that you will be remodeling the unit when their lease is up and if they want to move sooner you will provide them with some cash to move quicker. The concern with that is if they don't want to leave early they may become hell tenants for the next 10 months. Generally, that's why I wait until about 60 days to limit my pain and try to play the "I am being more generous then the law requires" which helps to buy a few sympathy points.
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Ned J.Pro Member
Investor · Manteca, CA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
7y
As the new landlord I would pay to have my standard screening done on all the current tenants....I would pay the fees to do it. I'm not going to walk away from a good deal when there is a reasonable solution to the issue at hand
If any of the current tenants don't meet my criteria, then I would not renew their lease when it comes up. If the unit was vacant and I wouldn't rent to them, then I'm not going to keep them there when the lease comes up to renew. This is especially the case when it comes to violent criminals. Have horrible credit but have a great history of paying the rent, then maybe I make an exception...... significant criminal record does not get a "pass"...... you're gone.
The fact that its 10 months would make me lean towards setting the playing field but ride it out with this guy....run the background checks etc on ALL the current tenants....then come up with the plan on when to notify anyone that you are not renewing. Cover yourself legally by making it a uniform "reassessment" of ALL your tenants and make uniform decisions based on a written criteria that you use for ALL the tenants...not just him
No way in hell am I letting this guy stay. I don't care how much $$ I may lose with some turnover or cash for keys etc, I could never live with myself if something happened. Yes they all need somewhere to live....its just not in one of my units....not worth it.
I would however lean on the seller more to accommodate this issue in the price..... be prepared to away.....
0 Reply
Chris K.
Attorney · Nashville, TN · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
@Brook Rieman
Not an expert on this topic by any means, but I do believe some states have some restriction on how landlords can use this information (and what they need to do). For example, I'm pretty sure California has (or had) some law stating that you cannot deny rental solely based on the fact that they might be on a registered sex offenders list. Something like that.
And then remember that HUD published the now infamous FHA memo saying landlords should not use criminal convictions as the only reason to reject their application. Depending on whether this person could qualify under a protected class, you may have to be slightly careful.
Disclaimer: While I’m an attorney licensed to practice in PA, I’m not your attorney. What I wrote above does not create an attorney/client relationship between us. I wrote the above for informational purposes. Do not rely on it for legal advice. Always consult with your attorney before you rely on the above information.
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Karen MargraveBusiness Member
Moderator
Realtor, General Contractor, and Developer · Redding, CA · Member since 2009 · 7k+ posts · 4k+ votes
7y
@Brook Rieman If there are children living within 20' of where he is, he's probably in violation of parole, or other laws. Ask the local authorities how you can find out if he's on parole, and what the laws and regulations regarding registering as a sexual predator are.
I would without question evict him. Money isn't everything, and the community has a responsibility to protect children. Being a violent, sexual predator, isn't like stealing from the local store. The justifiable reason to get rid of him is HE'S A VIOLENT SEXUAL PREDATOR THAT VIOLATES CHILDREN!
Personally, I refused to lease office space to a counseling office thats clients were violent sexual predators. I would never risk the chance of making it easy for someone like that to prey on another. There were young women working in other offices that could be working late at night. You aren't allowed to inform others in the area of the fact that the counselors clients were sexual predators so that they could be informed, and on guard, as it's against the law.
It's important to understand, there is no cure for sexual deviants. Counselors believe that it is "victimless crime" , nevermind a child cannot defend themselves. It's not a disease, it's a CRIME that preys on the most vulnerable. So if you wouldn't allow a known killer in your unit, why would you even consider a sexual predator?
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Jim Adrian
Architect · Papillion, NE · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 840 votes
7y
Originally posted by @Dan H.:

Originally posted by @Jim Adrian:
@Brook Rieman
Im going to take the opposite approach as others said, though I don't disagree with what they said either.
Looking from the flip side, he needs a place to live. He has proven to be a non-issue to his landlord for the last 5 yrs.   Your service you provide is housing and that's it. You are not buddy buddy with this person and you shouldn't with any of your tenants.   I would bet he would be willing to pay more for the place because of his past and knows how hard its to find a place. So keep him around, raise his rent by $25 or $50 or so and put him month to month.   If he gives you problems then boot him. In 10 months you will find out if his problematic or not.    I would research his cases to understand what he "specifically" did.   He has also proven to be a long term tenant.
On the flip side it may be hard to rent out the other units and you may need to disclose (not sure on this as its public knowledge) this to future tenants.
He does need a place to live but it would not be in my multiplex. I believe I have a responsibility to provide the tenants a safe home. If I knew I had a violent sex offender as a tenant, I would feel that I have not provided the safe home to my other tenants.
It is my opinion that a violent sex offender should not be in a multiplex, near schools, children clubs/sports (Y, Little League, soccer fields, etc.), etc.. I think it would be best if they lived in a trailer in the middle of no where , but that is not likely to happen. However, they would not be living in my units. I do not care if he were willing to double his rent. Not worth it!
If you accepted an additional $50/month rent for the sex offender to continue to live in your unit, how would you feel if he sexually assaulted someone?   No way, there is not enough money for me to want to deal with that. I do not need the money that bad!
Good luck
Good perspective.  I just wanted to play devils advocate.
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