What’s your worst, costliest tenant disaster?

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What’s your worst, costliest tenant disaster?

Keith A.
Rental Property Investor · TX · Member since 2019 · 236 posts · 392 votes

What’s the costliest thing that has happened to your rentals that you had to pay for? Did you sue the tenant?

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Mark Fries
Contractor · Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
7y

@Keith A.

6 weeks ago, 18 DEA and FBI agents raided one of my single family homes here in Jacksonville Florida. The used the battering ram on the doors and windows to gain entry. The cops caused more damage then the tenants...anyway they found like 20 pounds of weed and other drugs, machine guns etc. Tenant tried to flush all the weed down the toilets, it clogged my septic tank and drainfield... getting that repaired now..story was all over the local news....not helpful for future renting...LOL

And 3 years ago tenant burned another house down when using a fry daddy for 10 pounds of chicken...why didnt they just go to KFC???

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  • Karl B.
    Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    7y

    I  had a tenant who owed rent and would give me every B.S. excuse in the book. I took him to court and won a judgement with ease. Tomorrow the constable comes and we change the locks. That's the costliest. 

    What I learned: Now when a tenant is behind in rent his/her time to pay is going to be a lot shorter. 

    As far as physical damage everything has been minimal, though very few tenants of mine have ever moved out. I reckon I'll soon learn what needs fixed in the eviction apartment (I see a small window is broken and when I asked the downstairs tenant what happened she said the upstairs tenant told her he broke the window trying to kill a fly....)

    3Reply
  • Dennis M.
    Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 9k+ votes
    7y

    Inherited tenant in my one duplex I own . Nuttier than a bag of squirrel turds but a quiet kid nonthe less that paid his rent. I was told he was a very Pius man ( seller told me this lol) supposedly he went to a local mid week bible study . Later I found out he had a habit of getting very high on drugs and was also wanted by law enforcement for a strangulation charge he fled from in another county . Further research found he had a very long wrap sheet .Things were going fine at first when I met him but went downhill quick . He didn’t work because he said he had no reliable transportation to town which was about a mile away so I gave him my old mountain bike to help him . Next time I arrived for rent i realized he sold it for drugs then he sold my mower I used to mow the property for drugs . I saw He also acquired a pet a snarling aggressive 150 pound pit bull tied up to a logging chain in the back yard . He didn’t have the rent money and said he had to leave because he was going to prison . He left without paying he trashed the unit had all the utilities out Put in My name which I I was unaware of .he had all the carpeting ruined punched the walls repeatedly . There was more joint compound in those walls than drywall lol place needed painted entirely and all flooring was urine soaked all screens were torn .all walls punched in . Ceiling tiles broken you name it . Fun times

    2Reply
  • Mark Fries
    Contractor · Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    7y

    @Keith A.

    6 weeks ago, 18 DEA and FBI agents raided one of my single family homes here in Jacksonville Florida. The used the battering ram on the doors and windows to gain entry. The cops caused more damage then the tenants...anyway they found like 20 pounds of weed and other drugs, machine guns etc. Tenant tried to flush all the weed down the toilets, it clogged my septic tank and drainfield... getting that repaired now..story was all over the local news....not helpful for future renting...LOL

    And 3 years ago tenant burned another house down when using a fry daddy for 10 pounds of chicken...why didnt they just go to KFC???

    13Reply
  • Kris L.
    San Antonio, TX · Member since 2019 · 930 posts · 836 votes
    7y

    @Mark Fries

    Interesting story about the DEA. In that situation, do you have any recourse to get the city or the PD or something to pay for the damage they inflicted on your property?

    0Reply
  • Mark Fries
    Contractor · Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    7y

    @Kris L.

    Hell no...they could care less...I am sure there is forms I could fill out..but I dont have time to be doing all that and waiting..I just fix it up and keep pushing forward. Question is: why did they need to break the windows if they got inside through the front door with a battering ram? Excessive a-holes.....

    7Reply
  • Jim K.
    Handyman · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes
    7y

    Second eviction. 6 months of lost rent, 4 from the tenant, 2 for the renovation, $1000 in materials to get the place back in shape. These were expenses we could barely afford at the time. We were severely undercapitalized and we weren't really mentally or emotionally prepared yet for the life of low-income DIY landlords.

    4Reply
  • Carolyn Morales
    Investor · Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2015 · 504 posts · 217 votes
    7y

    My very 1st tenant, as I was resisting becoming accidental landlord, I rented to friends of family a rent to own contract for deed where maintenance was all on them. They paid a couple years then got slow, then quit paying. The RTO contract was such that if they defaulted our relationship returned to landlord tenant. I didnt do inspections as I was their only chance of owning anything. I had to evict them. I wish I could show the pictures dry rotted dog poop, trash every where along with spiders and roaches open cans of ravioli under a bathroom sink, spiders and roaches in curtains and receptacles and every crevice and even inside the stove. I guess his stay at home wife didnt do a thing all day. We had to gut that entire place and make everything new. It is sold now owner financed with a few years remaining. It was a great lesson in vetting tenants going in and also DIY skills. Never ever rent to family, friends, friends of family, Family of friends NO FFFFFF LAW.! SMH! I have been landlording successfilly now since 2004. We buy bank owned or short sale decent primaries and live in rehab them and buy land and tax deeds on the side. I have made an extra 150k easy money in dirt during my life and that is still growing and we have done 5 live in rehabs later turned rentals now. The latest a 5 acre farm, We love it here will probably stay forever. Everyone else can have the wholesaling and rehab flips, We keep our tools at home, diy rehab primaries live in., later turned rental when we are ready, no rush.

    5Reply
  • Austin Mountain
    Property Manager · Lancaster, PA · Member since 2016 · 72 posts · 75 votes
    7y

    I had a good tenant move out of an apartment and into another we managed.  I was shocked at how trashed the place was when I did the final walk through inspection of the place.  They said it was like that when they rented it from the previous management company.  I was able to get in contact with said management company who confirmed that they did rent it to them in that condition.  The owner decided he wanted to have "his guy" do the repairs and replace the tub and cabinets.  It took him over a year to complete the work and have it ready to rent again.  The cost of the repairs is one thing but the time value of the money lost due to a year of vacancy is a sunk cost he will never get back.

    2Reply
  • Ken Musial
    Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2016 · 46 posts · 33 votes
    7y

    Exact same situation with the local cops/DEA.  They successfully used the battering ram and yet still smashed in the window screens.  Sounds like a standard practice, but why???

    3Reply
  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    7y

    WATCH THIS VIDEO

    According to the local police, Tenants popped up on the radar for drug use and dealing about the same time I inspected. There was obviously some serious domestic violence going on.

    We spent almost $12,000 on renovations and lost two months of rent.

    The good news? I had been warning the owner for four months and asking permission to evict but she insisted on keeping them a little longer. When I discovered all the damages, the owner had to take responsibility because she had rejected my recommendation. Whew!

    The DIY Landlord Book4.7248 Reviews
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    0Reply
  • Anthony Wick
    Rental Property Investor · Ankeny, IA · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    7y

    @Mark Fries

    Break windows. Throw flash bangs. And, because it’s fun.

    5Reply
  • Keith A.
    OP
    Rental Property Investor · TX · Member since 2019 · 236 posts · 392 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Mark Fries:

    @Kris L.

    Hell no...they could care less...I am sure there is forms I could fill out..but I dont have time to be doing all that and waiting..I just fix it up and keep pushing forward. Question is: why did they need to break the windows if they got inside through the front door with a battering ram? Excessive a-holes.....

    These people risk their lives daily to keep us safe. I'm sure they have their reasons for swarming a drug den fast and furiously, mainly to protect their own lives.  Could be a bag of weed inside, or could be a den of armed criminals... they don't know. I would thank them for their service for removing trash from my property, even if there was damage.  A-holes? I think not. Heroes? Yes!  PS - Hugging it out doesn't work. 

    1Reply
  • Mark Fries
    Contractor · Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    7y

    @Keith A.

    I love and respect my veterans and all service members of the community. Father was a decorated Korean war veteran and I have numerous family members that involved with law enforcement. If they had at least called me the day after and offered to pay for all the damage they caused to my private property I wouldn't be disgruntled... If this was 20 years ago I would got a phone call and they probably would have paid to have it fixed, but my point is nowadays I don't think anybody gives a sh**...

    1Reply
  • Mike Franco
    Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2013 · 555 posts · 261 votes
    7y

    law enforcement breaks windows....  This is why you stick with cheap single pane aluminum windows.

    cheap and easy repairs.

    Originally posted by @Nathan G.:

    WATCH THIS VIDEO

    I love it. That video clearly shows how tenants paint, when they ask you if they can paint. No cut ins, no masking, painting directly over grease.

    Originally posted by @Austin Mountain:

    I had a good tenant move out of an apartment and into another we managed. I was shocked at how trashed the place was when I did the final walk through inspection of the place. They said it was like that when they rented it from the previous management company. I was able to get in contact with said management company who confirmed that they did rent it to them in that condition. The owner decided he wanted to have "his guy" do the repairs and replace the tub and cabinets. It took him over a year to complete the work and have it ready to rent again. The cost of the repairs is one thing but the time value of the money lost due to a year of vacancy is a sunk cost he will never get back.

    Another perfect example of why you never let the tenants do any work for compensation. They never do it.

    1Reply
  • Mike Franco
    Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2013 · 555 posts · 261 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Nathan Gesner:

    WATCH THIS VIDEO

    Is that luxury vinyl plank flooring? 

    if so, how badly was it damaged?

    0Reply
  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    7y

    @Mike Franco it is LVP and it was in pretty good shape after we cleaned it.

    The DIY Landlord Book4.7248 Reviews
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    0Reply
  • Brian Brusich
    Rental Property Investor · Grand Blanc, MI · Member since 2019 · 40 posts · 17 votes
    7y

    @Nathan G. Lvp seems like it's a mvp

    0Reply
  • Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
    7y

    I had one of my new constructions..  tenat does not pay we evict.. the house was destroyed over 45k of damage.. I had expesnive insurance rider for that house so it was covered without it.. that would have been 1.3rd the cost of the home.

    To many 2 to 10k turnovers to count .. pretty much anything bad that can happen we have had it happen.. ergo I no longer own rentals..  We do Notes instead now. and flips and new construction. . .. let someone else get the glory >LOL.. 

    I had some mobile home parks over the years.. 2 low end one solid B.. the B was no issue the low end parks were drug and tweaker havens.. made money on them only because I bought them from burnt out landlords turned then and sold within 24 months.. 

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    4Reply
  • Josh C.Pro Member
    Property Manager · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2010 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    Had a tenant burn a house down and then call me and I say I burned your house. Lol. Police did nothing. ☹️

    Had a tenant smear their kid’s poop diapers over the walls. And I when I say walls I mean every single walls floor to ceiling. Must have been saving diapers for weeks. Or feed their kid White Castle 24/7.

    But the worse are something you don’t think about. And that’s bed bugs. We’ve battled several cases over the years, but I can top them all. I had a great tenant for four years who was a WW2 vet. Which meant he never complained. Not one maintenance call in four years. But when he moved out we had a colony of bed bugs that had never been seen before. 12 chemical treatments and 6 heat treatments (I even stopped by the last one and gave the techs $100 bill to crank it to the max) and six months of no rent. Worse case the three separate companies I used had ever seen. The owner of one company who refunded my money said they had at least 100 million bed bug in there. That guy and his dogs must have lost a pint of blood a day. He never called once and even on inspections he never mentioned it. The cleaning crew said they filled a trash can of dead bed bugs. Full hasmat suites and triple pay for everyone. That was the most expensive turnover I’ve ever had. It was a personal rental.

    6Reply
  • Victoria D.
    Homeowner · Houston, TX · Member since 2017 · 6 posts · 1 vote
    7y

    @Carolyn Morales this is what I was just talking about. How do you find the bank owned properties? Did you ever find the constant moving exhausting and factor in those costs?

    1Reply
  • Account Closed
    Rental Property Investor · Central, FL · Member since 2016 · 950 posts · 821 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Ken Musial:

    Exact same situation with the local cops/DEA.  They successfully used the battering ram and yet still smashed in the window screens.  Sounds like a standard practice, but why???

    During a High risk raid law enforcement uses a flash Bang to stun the individuals inside the home. Lowers risk for law enforcement from being shot by the assailants inside.  That is why a window and screen were broken more then likely.

    And it’s just lazy to Fill out a form to be reimbursed to fix what law enforcement had to do to help maintain a safe environment.  It’s just tacked on to the fines for the criminal.  The city will get theirs

    1Reply
  • Account Closed
    Rental Property Investor · Central, FL · Member since 2016 · 950 posts · 821 votes
    7y

    Worst so far, had to evict within a month of purchasing the property. Six months no rent, plus cost of eviction. Their security deposit didn’t even make a dent in the damages. Just over 4,000 to get it rent ready.  

    New fridge due to what can only be described as a  Petri dish combined with a bug  super hotel. The cleaners accidentally opened it, and quickly closed it and sealed it with tape. No power for 3 months unknown to me. 

    New floors new paint new lights in every room. And the fumigation for the fleas, that was fun.  Had to do that so the cleaners could go inside without coming out looking like a chicken pox patient. 

    1Reply
  • Carolyn Morales
    Investor · Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2015 · 504 posts · 217 votes
    7y

    @Victoria D,

    We have moved 4 times since 2004, We are on our 5th project a 5 acre farm we love! i dont think BP lets you post links but there are many sources of Bank Owned, even Realtors, We got all of our Bank Owned and short sale properties with Realtors. But, DM me and I have a list of direct  links of other Bank Owned resources.

    0Reply
  • Ola Dantis
    Multifamily Syndicator · Houston, TX · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Mark Fries:

    @Keith A.

    6 weeks ago, 18 DEA and FBI agents raided one of my single family homes here in Jacksonville Florida. The used the battering ram on the doors and windows to gain entry. The cops caused more damage then the tenants...anyway they found like 20 pounds of weed and other drugs, machine guns etc. Tenant tried to flush all the weed down the toilets, it clogged my septic tank and drainfield... getting that repaired now..story was all over the local news....not helpful for future renting...LOL

    And 3 years ago tenant burned another house down when using a fry daddy for 10 pounds of chicken...why didnt they just go to KFC???

     No need to even comment here LOL 😮😮😮

    0Reply
  • Trudy Pachon
    Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2015 · 89 posts · 89 votes
    7y

    Oh wow! These make mine look like my property is on Easy Street! 

    I inherited a tenant from hell in a two on one I bought here in San Diego. She lived in the front unit, and I lived in the back. They were separate houses. She seemed weird, but I thought I could deal. Soon, I discovered that her cat was preggers, and she had picked up a couple more. She wanted to keep all of the kittens, and wasn't too keen on spaying. I also discovered she liked meth. 

    I decided to evict her when she refused to rehome at least some of the 12 cats she had. She wouldn't pay rent by this point, and she had weird guys coming over all hours. Her behavior became worse and worse, and she started threatening me and would scream at me when she was in the back yard. It made my life really painful for a while. 

    I had to find a lawyer to help me get her out. Luckily, the guy I found was Harley riding biker lawyer who was willing to serve her paperwork himself. He was my hero! He was pretty intimidating.

    So, when she left, the floors and the walls were full of cat urine, I had to remove the underfloors and part of the walls. Of course, it was a tweaker house, so you know, dump truck removal of the crap that was left and loads of damage. 

    However, I consider myself really lucky that neither she nor her "friends" actually did me any physical harm. 

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