Worst tenant you've had to deal with?

Worst tenant you've had to deal with?

Member since 2019 · 11 posts · 1 vote

I'm just interested in hearing some tenant horror stories. What sort of tenants have you had to put up with, that were maybe hostile towards you? How did you deal with them? What sorts of things have you kicked out tenants for? If anyone's willing to share their story, I'd be interested to hear it.

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Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 30k+ posts · 20k+ votes
7y
Originally posted by @Account Closed:

I'm just interested in hearing some tenant horror stories. What sort of tenants have you had to put up with, that were maybe hostile towards you? How did you deal with them? What sorts of things have you kicked out tenan

ts for? If anyone's willing to share their story, I'd be interested to hear it.

 Were do you wanna start? I have a lot of stories.

  • Have had tenants set cars on fire at my motel
  • Have had a tenant try to set my personal house on fire
  • Have had tenants throw couches out a 3rd story window
  • Had to evict a tenant 5x's
  • Evicted a tenant who drove off in an Escalade
  • Had a tenant crash his car into the house and then beat his girlfriend
  • Have had more overdose deaths than I can count
  • Have had gunshot to the face suicide in the apartment
  • Have had hanging suicide in the apartment on christmas of 2018
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  • John UnderwoodPro Member
    Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
    7y

    Wow this is very open ended. I have so many stories and non of them horrible.

    Had one that kept calling the police on people that were hanging around house next door that I had just bought at that time. The ones that want to call you and complain about stupid stuff are a pain. I get them to calm down over time once they know I am going to take care of my property and fix stuff that needs to be fixed.

    The ones that want to call and tell you their life story and why it isn't their fault that they can't pay the rent are the worst.

    I generally text them and say I am in a meeting if they call and to please text me. They eventually learn to just text me.

    You have to properly train new tenants to your expectations and consequences for not paying the rent or taking care of your property. Eventually you get into a routine where you have good tenants that mostly pay on time.

  • Member since 2019 · 11 posts · 1 vote
    7y
    Originally posted by @John Underwood:

    Wow this is very open ended. I have so many stories and non of them horrible.

    Had one that kept calling the police on people that were hanging around house next door that I had just bought at that time. The ones that want to call you and complain about stupid stuff are a pain. I get them to calm down over time once they know I am going to take care of my property and fix stuff that needs to be fixed.

    The ones that want to call and tell you their life story and why it isn't their fault that they can't pay the rent are the worst.

    I generally text them and say I am in a meeting if they call and to please text me. They eventually learn to just text me.

    You have to properly train new tenants to your expectations and consequences for not paying the rent or taking care of your property. Eventually you get into a routine where you have good tenants that mostly pay on time.

    i think it's a difficult situation with people who can't afford to pay rent. Most of the time, they're working 2 or maybe 3 jobs and simply don't get paid enough. I think that's a big problem in the US that needs to be fixed. I sympathise with them but its a case of what can i do?

  • Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2013 · 555 posts · 261 votes
    7y

    The worst ones were filthy college grads several years ago. Lived like pigs, and one even punched 2 holes in a door just for fun.

    2 of them came from well to do families, but still had no sense of responsibility, and collecting rent was like pulling teeth.

  • Member since 2019 · 11 posts · 1 vote
    7y
    Originally posted by @Mike Franco:

    The worst ones were filthy college grads several years ago. Lived like pigs, and one even punched 2 holes in a door just for fun.

    2 of them came from well to do families, but still had no sense of responsibility, and collecting rent was like pulling teeth.

    why was it so hard to collect rent? Was it stuff like college debt or did they just refuse to pay?

  • Rental Property Investor · Central, FL · Member since 2016 · 950 posts · 821 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Account Closed:
    Originally posted by @John Underwood:

    Wow this is very open ended. I have so many stories and non of them horrible.

    Had one that kept calling the police on people that were hanging around house next door that I had just bought at that time. The ones that want to call you and complain about stupid stuff are a pain. I get them to calm down over time once they know I am going to take care of my property and fix stuff that needs to be fixed.

    The ones that want to call and tell you their life story and why it isn't their fault that they can't pay the rent are the worst.

    I generally text them and say I am in a meeting if they call and to please text me. They eventually learn to just text me.

    You have to properly train new tenants to your expectations and consequences for not paying the rent or taking care of your property. Eventually you get into a routine where you have good tenants that mostly pay on time.

    i think it's a difficult situation with people who can't afford to pay rent. Most of the time, they're working 2 or maybe 3 jobs and simply don't get paid enough. I think that's a big problem in the US that needs to be fixed. I sympathise with them but its a case of what can i do?

    I don’t  think it is about being paid enough it is a mentality issue   Give them a free place to live they will treat it even worse than you could even imagine   

         A welfare system just creates more welfare.  

        All you can do is provide a nice place to live and treat your tenants how you want to get treated.  I don’t run a charity though so I expect to be paid rent on time and first before paying their whatever bill.  

  • Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 30k+ posts · 20k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Account Closed:

    I'm just interested in hearing some tenant horror stories. What sort of tenants have you had to put up with, that were maybe hostile towards you? How did you deal with them? What sorts of things have you kicked out tenan

    ts for? If anyone's willing to share their story, I'd be interested to hear it.

     Were do you wanna start? I have a lot of stories.

    • Have had tenants set cars on fire at my motel
    • Have had a tenant try to set my personal house on fire
    • Have had tenants throw couches out a 3rd story window
    • Had to evict a tenant 5x's
    • Evicted a tenant who drove off in an Escalade
    • Had a tenant crash his car into the house and then beat his girlfriend
    • Have had more overdose deaths than I can count
    • Have had gunshot to the face suicide in the apartment
    • Have had hanging suicide in the apartment on christmas of 2018
  • Rental Property Investor · Closter, NJ · Member since 2015 · 884 posts · 722 votes
    7y

    Here we go again. A faceless poster asking questions that seem to be a "set up" for yet another Vice dot com article. People, stop taking the bait.

  • Member since 2019 · 11 posts · 1 vote
    7y
    Originally posted by @James Wise:
    Originally posted by @Account Closed:

    I'm just interested in hearing some tenant horror stories. What sort of tenants have you had to put up with, that were maybe hostile towards you? How did you deal with them? What sorts of things have you kicked out tenan

    ts for? If anyone's willing to share their story, I'd be interested to hear it.

     Were do you wanna start? I have a lot of stories.

    • Have had tenants set cars on fire at my motel
    • Have had a tenant try to set my personal house on fire
    • Have had tenants throw couches out a 3rd story window
    • Had to evict a tenant 5x's
    • Evicted a tenant who drove off in an Escalade
    • Had a tenant crash his car into the house and then beat his girlfriend
    • Have had more overdose deaths than I can count
    • Have had gunshot to the face suicide in the apartment
    • Have had hanging suicide in the apartment on christmas of 2018

    Woah man that's gotta be tough. What do you normally do when you come across a tenant that's committed suicide?

  • Member since 2019 · 11 posts · 1 vote
    7y
    Originally posted by @Judy Parker:

    Here we go again. A faceless poster asking questions that seem to be a "set up" for yet another Vice dot com article. People, stop taking the bait.

    Ah damnit you got me. I was gonna title this: "I expose scummy landlords to prove how the capitalist system is corrupt and failing". I'm just a new person here, asking questions cus I'm curious. I ain't here for journalism lmao

  • Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 30k+ posts · 20k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Account Closed:
    Originally posted by @James Wise:
    Originally posted by @Account Closed:

    I'm just interested in hearing some tenant horror stories. What sort of tenants have you had to put up with, that were maybe hostile towards you? How did you deal with them? What sorts of things have you kicked out tenan

    ts for? If anyone's willing to share their story, I'd be interested to hear it.

     Were do you wanna start? I have a lot of stories.

    • Have had tenants set cars on fire at my motel
    • Have had a tenant try to set my personal house on fire
    • Have had tenants throw couches out a 3rd story window
    • Had to evict a tenant 5x's
    • Evicted a tenant who drove off in an Escalade
    • Had a tenant crash his car into the house and then beat his girlfriend
    • Have had more overdose deaths than I can count
    • Have had gunshot to the face suicide in the apartment
    • Have had hanging suicide in the apartment on christmas of 2018

    Woah man that's gotta be tough. What do you normally do when you come across a tenant that's committed suicide?

    1st thing is to contact the police. Once they remove the body and clear that the unit is no longer considered a crime scene we contact the family and give them a few days to get the tenant's posessions. From there we trash the rest. Then we renovate the unit and put it on the market.

  • Member since 2019 · 11 posts · 1 vote
    7y
    Originally posted by @James Wise:
    Originally posted by @Account Closed:
    Originally posted by @James Wise:
    Originally posted by @Account Closed:

    I'm just interested in hearing some tenant horror stories. What sort of tenants have you had to put up with, that were maybe hostile towards you? How did you deal with them? What sorts of things have you kicked out tenan

    ts for? If anyone's willing to share their story, I'd be interested to hear it.

     Were do you wanna start? I have a lot of stories.

    • Have had tenants set cars on fire at my motel
    • Have had a tenant try to set my personal house on fire
    • Have had tenants throw couches out a 3rd story window
    • Had to evict a tenant 5x's
    • Evicted a tenant who drove off in an Escalade
    • Had a tenant crash his car into the house and then beat his girlfriend
    • Have had more overdose deaths than I can count
    • Have had gunshot to the face suicide in the apartment
    • Have had hanging suicide in the apartment on christmas of 2018

    Woah man that's gotta be tough. What do you normally do when you come across a tenant that's committed suicide?

    1st thing is to contact the police. Once they remove the body and clear that the unit is no longer considered a crime scene we contact the family and give them a few days to get the tenant's posessions. From there we trash the rest. Then we renovate the unit and put it on the market.

    wow that sounds tough. It must be terrible to deal with

  • Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 30k+ posts · 20k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Account Closed:
    Originally posted by @James Wise:
    Originally posted by @Account Closed:
    Originally posted by @James Wise:
    Originally posted by @Account Closed:

    I'm just interested in hearing some tenant horror stories. What sort of tenants have you had to put up with, that were maybe hostile towards you? How did you deal with them? What sorts of things have you kicked out tenan

    ts for? If anyone's willing to share their story, I'd be interested to hear it.

     Were do you wanna start? I have a lot of stories.

    • Have had tenants set cars on fire at my motel
    • Have had a tenant try to set my personal house on fire
    • Have had tenants throw couches out a 3rd story window
    • Had to evict a tenant 5x's
    • Evicted a tenant who drove off in an Escalade
    • Had a tenant crash his car into the house and then beat his girlfriend
    • Have had more overdose deaths than I can count
    • Have had gunshot to the face suicide in the apartment
    • Have had hanging suicide in the apartment on christmas of 2018

    Woah man that's gotta be tough. What do you normally do when you come across a tenant that's committed suicide?

    1st thing is to contact the police. Once they remove the body and clear that the unit is no longer considered a crime scene we contact the family and give them a few days to get the tenant's posessions. From there we trash the rest. Then we renovate the unit and put it on the market.

    wow that sounds tough. It must be terrible to deal with

    Ehhh not really. Not much different than any other turnover. Gunshot suicides tend to make a mess but otherwise relatively similar.

  • Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
    7y

    just watch the show Cops or any other reality crime show that's half your tenant base on the lower end.. 

  • New to Real Estate · Rome, GA · Member since 2017 · 107 posts · 34 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @James Wise:
    Originally posted by @Account Closed:

    I'm just interested in hearing some tenant horror stories. What sort of tenants have you had to put up with, that were maybe hostile towards you? How did you deal with them? What sorts of things have you kicked out tenan

    ts for? If anyone's willing to share their story, I'd be interested to hear it.

     Were do you wanna start? I have a lot of stories.

    • Have had tenants set cars on fire at my motel
    • Have had a tenant try to set my personal house on fire
    • Have had tenants throw couches out a 3rd story window
    • Had to evict a tenant 5x's
    • Evicted a tenant who drove off in an Escalade
    • Had a tenant crash his car into the house and then beat his girlfriend
    • Have had more overdose deaths than I can count
    • Have had gunshot to the face suicide in the apartment
    • Have had hanging suicide in the apartment on christmas of 2018

    This is epic. Obviously not in a good sense of the word, but this exceeds what I would have expected somebody to say. Can you share a little more information, I’m interested to know how many properties you have, what area you invest, and if any of these things could have been avoided in hindsight. 

  • Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 30k+ posts · 20k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Nathan Hui:
    Originally posted by @James Wise:
    Originally posted by @Account Closed:

    I'm just interested in hearing some tenant horror stories. What sort of tenants have you had to put up with, that were maybe hostile towards you? How did you deal with them? What sorts of things have you kicked out tenan

    ts for? If anyone's willing to share their story, I'd be interested to hear it.

     Were do you wanna start? I have a lot of stories.

    • Have had tenants set cars on fire at my motel
    • Have had a tenant try to set my personal house on fire
    • Have had tenants throw couches out a 3rd story window
    • Had to evict a tenant 5x's
    • Evicted a tenant who drove off in an Escalade
    • Had a tenant crash his car into the house and then beat his girlfriend
    • Have had more overdose deaths than I can count
    • Have had gunshot to the face suicide in the apartment
    • Have had hanging suicide in the apartment on christmas of 2018

    This is epic. Obviously not in a good sense of the word, but this exceeds what I would have expected somebody to say. Can you share a little more information, I’m interested to know how many properties you have, what area you invest, and if any of these things could have been avoided in hindsight. 

     We run a $50M portfolio so having dealt with 1,000's of tenants we've seen and documented it all. Which story would you like to start with?

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