Investor · Maui, HI · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 3k+ votes
13y
I have a tenant that continually complains of being cold, and I need to do a better job of sealing her doors (which they are sealed fine.) I go over there- and her heat is off. "Well, I don't wan to pay for all that electricity! I just run it once in a while."
Contractor · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2013 · 647 posts · 205 votes
9y
@Amy A., possibly make a list of the most common issues around the house and post it somewhere noticeable and have them leave it there? i.e. where the GFCI is for a given circuit, how to tell if the GFCI or breaker is tripped, how to change batteries, etc? I'm sure you'd still get your share of bogus calls, but pehaps it would alleviate them somewhat?
Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2016 · 50 posts · 50 votes
9y
A sweet couple had moved in just 2-3 weeks before they sent "This morning I went to change our cat's water and food and noticed there were ants everywhere in and around the food..."
A sweet couple had moved in just 2-3 weeks before they sent "This morning I went to change our cat's water and food and noticed there were ants everywhere in and around the food..."
We gently suggested they not leave food out.
So cute!
Well, I'm sure you understand that cats do not eat on a regular schedule. You leave food out for them and they will munch whenever the mood moves them.
That said, ant baits can be effective, depending on the infestation. Consult your exterminator, also, as some infestations are difficult to address.
If they're going after the pet food, you can be certain they're into the other food stuffs as well for them and your other tenants, if it's a multi. I recently dealt with sugar ants (tiny light-brown ants) which had found their way into the plastic bags in which I put my food in the pantry in an effort to discourage them. Ant baits were the ultimate solution in my case.
Investor · Calgary, Alberta · Member since 2016 · 69 posts · 49 votes
9y
I have a good one. The property is a SFH with pool in Phoenix. Tenants are nice enough but totally helpless and don't lift a finger. Neighbor calls me and tells me one of the three trees on the property is lifting the block wall fence. I send a tree contractor as I live far away and my local Property Manager has been dropping the ball on significant maintenance items lately and I have decided to bypass him on this one while I figure out what to do long term for maintenance. So this is a bit of a trial for a new contractor.
Anyway, he assesses the situation and determines that the tree in question really has to go, but frankly the other two should as well. He sends pictures. Tree 2 is damaging the house, and tree 3 is too close to the pool. I consult with the neighbour who agrees with the assessment. All the while the tenant's husband is lobbying HARD for the removal of the only one that might be salvageable because it is hanging over the pool dropping stuff into the pool and causing him work. I have other evidence he is not doing well looking after the pool anyway so "scr3w it...all three are coming out". It's me that pays the bill when the pool pump needs replacement. Done deal.
So, the tenant comes home and texts me "So are you putting in some more trees? I want trees!". Seriously, are you kidding me? "Well I wanted to keep the tree by the pool." Well, maybe you should talk with your husband. Haha.
Then she asked for the back yard to be grassed. Huh? Listen lady, you can't even clean your house. There was a grass area, you did not care for it and your stinkin' dog finished it off. It is Arizona. Desert landscape.
Postscript: I sent the contractor again for a maintenance inspection, and her husband was nowhere to be found. She made a point of being there herself. :-)
Property Manager · Livonia, MI · Member since 2011 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
current tenant couple have been late a few times now. always pay + the late fee, but i've noticed a pattern...
Nov Message:
Hello just a head up but out rent will be late this month we had an emergency come up
Dec rent message:
Good morning, we have not forgotten I was moved to a different division at my job which push my pay back a week because that department is not on the same case schedule as my last one very short notice it will be paid including the $50 on the about sorry about the two back to back late payments but it was beyond our control
Jan rent message:
Yes rest was due yesterday but the bank was closed Saturday and Sunday so I'm really not understanding the late fee but sure
Me: we gave you an ATM card so that you are not dependent on bank hours.
Tenant: Yes we understand that but it's pretty hard or should I say impossible for us to withdraw $1,300 from an ATM I will have my spouse call you. We will be paying our rent i'm dealing with my car being stolen out of the driveway this morning
the spouse texted and mentioned NOTHING about a car being stolen...
Property Manager · Livonia, MI · Member since 2011 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
another tenant got locked out on 12/27. we told him as always thereis a $25 lockout fee. he said "ok".
he never paid it, ignoring our texts..so, we called him and first thing he says is "well, i can pay but it STILL takes 4-5 days for you to receive the money".
Investor · Vancouver, WA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
9y
@George P. In some jurisdictions, if the rent is due on the 1st of the month and the 1st of the month falls on a weekend or legal holiday, then the rent can't be considered late until the next business day. Even an ATM deposit won't clear until the next business day. That's why the date you can justifiably claim a late fee may be different from month to month. For that reason, we allow a grace period for before we impose a late fee. We also do this because it's a reasonable thing to do and helps maintain a good landlord-tenant relationship, which often results in longer tenancies. Flexibility sometimes pays off.
Queen Creek, AZ · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
@ mags
@Maggie Jones I would suggest they buy a bowel with a rim around it, They make them for cats and you fill the rim with water and it makes a small moat around the food that ants have a hard time crossing. Or just put the bowel in the center of a pain of water, same thing.
Investor · Ojochal, Costa Rica · Member since 2013 · 287 posts · 164 votes
9y
Had a tenant call to complain their unit was cold. We have boiler heat so each room has radiators along the base of a wall. When the unit was inspected we found clothes and other crap piled over top of most of the radiators. Had to explain to them that they don't work if stuff is piled on them.
Had another tenant complain that the closet doors keep coming of the tracks and not working properly. Had a look and found the closets packed with junk and pushing the doors outward.
Augusta, GA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
One time a tenant called us on a sunday evening in the summer stating her central air was working but didn't seem to be keeping the house cool. This was a relatively new HVAC unit; replaced just a few years earlier. We went over to try and figure out the problem, bringing over one of our spare window units we keep for emergencies.
Walking into the house it wasn't hard to figure out the problem. The vents were in the floor and the tenant had a lot of "stuff". Literally every vent in every room except the one vent in the bathroom was covered with either boxes or heavy furniture. Once we moved the furniture and boxes off the vents rooms got much cooler quickly.
This isn't the first time this has happened with tenants complaining about poorly functioning air conditioning when the real problem was no air flow from items covering the vents.
Augusta, GA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
Two "gas" stories that happened this week.
1. New tenant moving into a house that uses natural gas for heat, hot water and the range. I've already offered to meet the gas guy there prior to her move in to do the turn on plus light the pilot lights on the water heater/range if she'll set up her account. Instead she waits until she moves in and on Tuesday morning texts me "Atlanta Gas and Light says they'll be here in 30 minutes". Something tells me I need to be there so I drive over. Tenant isn't there but there's a note on the front door. Note says "Gas turn on person: I'm 15 minutes away; when you get here give me a call at XXX XXX XXXX and I'll be right back". Only problem is that when she left she closed and locked the 5 foot high chain link double gates so if I weren't there with the key to the lock the guy couldn't get in the yard to read her note. Did she expect him to leap the fence? Have a handy pair of binoculars to read her note from the street?
2. New tenant calls me and tells me he had the gas turned on but got a note saying "don't turn on the appliance that uses gas". Can't explain why and the note is in his car (he's at work). I ask him to leave the note on the kitchen counter and I'll swing by the next morning to try to figure this out. No note on the counter but a very faded copy on the meter. Tenant has turned on the "heat" which is simply blowing out air because the temp in the house is 47 degrees that morning. Lots of calls back and forth trying to figure out the issue. Turns out (DESPITE MY TELLING THE TENANT SOMEONE HAD TO BE THERE WHEN THE GAS GUY CAME FOR TURN ON) no one was. Gas guy unlocks the meter but doesn't turn on the gas. A simple turn on of the gas and SUPRISE! The heat comes on. I suggest to the tenant if there's no gas feeding the heater turning the thermostat up to 84 (where it was set at when I first walked in) isn't really going to do much good.
I think I'll add a clause in my lease that the landlord will now be responsible for overseeing all the turn ons for gas.
Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
9y
Upon my calling them for putting carpet from the house they just purchased in our apartment dumpster. Tenant says: we thought use of the dumpster was included in our rent. Yes for household trash from this house not Reno trash from the house you broke the lease for..
Tenant breaking lease " I didn't realize you had to show the house before we leave" Me " only if you want to stop paying rent ...."
Augusta, GA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
New (young) tenant is renting an older SFH with a tin roof. Heard a squirrel running across the roof and called, worried that someone was living up in the attic. She was afraid to pull down the stairs and go up there and look.
Residential Real Estate Broker · Chicago Suburbs, IL · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 594 votes
9y
A friend's sister-in-law was renting an apartment once where it was eventually discovered that a person was in fact living in the attic. Thinks the guy had been living there at least a year. Super-creepy!
Severna Park, MD · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
9y
I have a SFH and the tenant wants to know where the basement door is . I tell them well, there is no door because there is no basement . They want to know where do I expect them to store their stuff . I pause aand tell them , you pass a self storage place as you come up the road to the house . They reply , we will deduct how much it cost off the rent ................................................... Me , Sorry I dont think so
Investor · Zürich, Zürich · Member since 2016 · 292 posts · 115 votes
9y
Us, walking the occupied unit: "Why didn't you inform us about the water leaking from the 2nd level toilet into the downstairs bathroom?" (causing water damage on the floor/ceiling and walls, very noticeably so)
Tenant: "I didn't want to bother you with this."
Ahem, ok... But now I'm REALLY bothered because I have to fix all this for much more money and time than had you informed me immediately. Thank you very much.
HVAC mechanic · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 241 posts · 57 votes
9y
I have a tenant in the he top floor of my triplex who has been there for a year and had his gas shut off by the gas company. He said he thought that the gas which is in his name was included in his $400 a month rent payment. He also pays $90 late fees EVERY month on his $400 rent. I think I'll keep him
Us, walking the occupied unit: "Why didn't you inform us about the water leaking from the 2nd level toilet into the downstairs bathroom?" (causing water damage on the floor/ceiling and walls, very noticeably so)
Tenant: "I didn't want to bother you with this."
Ahem, ok... But now I'm REALLY bothered because I have to fix all this for much more money and time than had you informed me immediately. Thank you very much.
Not.
Tenant told me the something about bathroom vent not working.
She then submitted another check with a numerical value of $1,200 and a written value of twelve thousand. Dated it for 2015 too. Filed eviction papers 7 days after she moved in. Turns out she's been evicted 9 times in the last 18 months and has active warrants for fraud. Sargent says she's a professional con artist and has been involved in fraud for quite some time. She has the ability to pay rent, but would rather spend it on material items than her bills. Unit was loaded with designer purses, $1k shoes, jewelry, expensive furnishings, etc. Ended up pressing charges for breaking/entering, obtaining property under false pretense, fraud, and criminal trespass. Sargent said she will eat every charge. One professional tenant down, many more to go.
I have read that, when there is a discrepancy between the numerical value and the written word value on a check, words trump numbers as far as banks are concerned. I'm obviously not advocating that you cash her check for $12,000, but it is a good lesson for us when we are writing checks.
Rental Property Investor · Olympia, WA · Member since 2014 · 777 posts · 744 votes
9y
I questioned a students $6k/annual income asking how he was going to pay his $475 rent and living expenses. He emailed me, "Pell grant is the income, it'll be fine. I plan on organic farming so I wont need to buy much food, there are ways to live with less, I hope you can understand."
I totally understand ...that without a cosigner he will need a different living arrangement!
She then submitted another check with a numerical value of $1,200 and a written value of twelve thousand. Dated it for 2015 too. Filed eviction papers 7 days after she moved in. Turns out she's been evicted 9 times in the last 18 months and has active warrants for fraud. Sargent says she's a professional con artist and has been involved in fraud for quite some time. She has the ability to pay rent, but would rather spend it on material items than her bills. Unit was loaded with designer purses, $1k shoes, jewelry, expensive furnishings, etc. Ended up pressing charges for breaking/entering, obtaining property under false pretense, fraud, and criminal trespass. Sargent said she will eat every charge. One professional tenant down, many more to go.
I have read that, when there is a discrepancy between the numerical value and the written word value on a check, words trump numbers as far as banks are concerned. I'm obviously not advocating that you cash her check for $12,000, but it is a good lesson for us when we are writing checks.
Actually, they probably won't honor the check at all. Our bank won't.