Investor · The worst town to live in, KS · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
Had a guy move in Sunday night to one of my STRs. He called me the next day to complain about 3 things.
1. He locked one of the bedroom doors and didn't know how to unlock it from the outside.
2. He wanted a better curtain over a sliding glass door.
3. Finally he said this is his biggest gripe about the place. He said it was too quiet and he couldn't get to sleep. He wanted a box fan or some other noise producing device.
The place is too quiet. I've never had a complaint like that before. What's your lamest complaint?
Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
7y
I have not had many complaints from my VRBO. I guess the only one was that the hot water was not hot enough.
I drove an hour to go check and make sure one of the elements had not gone out. It was fine. Their older kid said they just like it scalding hot. So a waste of my time to go check something that was not broke.
I now have a WiFi hot water heater and can check it remotely.
I also have security cameras and WIFI thermostats so I can remotely monitor a lot.
Rental Property Investor · Edmond, OK · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
Not long after turning my former primary residence into a rental and turning it over to a PM company I saw a service call on my statement for a "fan replacement."
Turns out, the tenants couldn't figure out how to work the very nice and moderately expensive remote control fan that I had installed when I lived there. It had 2 buttons on the remote. One for light, one for fan. The buttons had pictures on them. They wanted to leave the fan on for their dog when they left the house, but didn't want to leave the light on. So they had the PM replace the fan to a basic pull string fan. Because it was under a $200 "repair" I didn't get notified until after the fact. I know a pull string fan makes more sense for a rental, but I was still irritated. And no, they didn't save the nice fan because it was "broken."
The same tenant had a service call because the front porch light wasn't working. It was the bulb they didn't like. It was a $75 service call to replace the light bulb to florescent.
Investor · Roseville, CA · Member since 2016 · 893 posts · 1k+ votes
7y
My most memorable was a guest that complained that not all the holes in the shower head were spitting out water and it was very uncomfortable for her shower experience. :)
Rental Property Investor · Waupaca, WI · Member since 2018 · 91 posts · 30 votes
7y
@Account Closed That's a true thing! In my last apartment we had a brand new, never been used oven and we would preheat the oven, open the door to put food in and the smoke detector would go off!
Investor · Fairport, NY · Member since 2015 · 124 posts · 74 votes
7y
@Mitch Kennedy that is good to know, I have not had that experience. In this case it was not that new oven smell, but will definitely keep that in mind!
Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 9k+ votes
7y
Tenant complained their ears hurt from Loud chirpy sounds . Drive an hour to see the smoke detector needed a 9 volt battery . Yes they are that lazy and dumb
Eastern Michigan · Member since 2018 · 83 posts · 144 votes
7y
Not me but my dad has a vrbo that has a pool and the family renting for the week complained that their kids got cold swimming in the pool in early June... in Michigan. It's not usually that warm here in early June and the pool wasn't heated (and wasn't advertised as heated). The crazy thing was that in retaliation for his cold pool, they peed in his coffee maker and stole some stuff when they left.
Real Estate Agent · Sevierville, TN · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
You guys are making me glad I don't have any LTRs.
I did have guests who checked in on Christmas Eve and at 1am on Christmas Day asked me to provide new pots and pans, as they said mine were scratched and they didn't feel safe cooking with them.
I wound up getting them new ones the following day (I won't even get into how incredibly sick I was at the time, too). Overall they were the most extraordinarily polite, needy needy NEEDY guests I ever had. They left the place a disaster.
They left a lovely 5-star review. I blasted them with a 2-star review and told future hosts if they ever wanted very nice but absurdly needy guests, these were your people.
Olympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votes
7y
I have yet to have a complaint that was lame. I had one call about the trail down to our beach. One of the neighbors said they didn't want our guests using the trail.
What I didn't know was that the trail was on their leased section of land. I was told when I asked that it was community use and our guests were fine. I asked all neighbors near the trail with no issues.
I even repaired the top 13 steps to make it safer. I asked everyone who was near the trail if it was a problem that I made repairs and who might actually own it. I get the "great! no problems and I am not sure who owns it" response.
Then I get a call and email from the neighbors who actually have the lease (the same ones I asked) that they didn't want guests using the trail. After I fixed the 13 steps. Bastages!
Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2016 · 265 posts · 305 votes
7y
A tenant once asked for an old (medium) sized stump to be removed on the side yard of the lot because it gets in the way of his path when mowing the lawn.
A tenant once asked for an old (medium) sized stump to be removed on the side yard of the lot because it gets in the way of his path when mowing the lawn.
This seems really reasonable to me. Most people grind out stumps.
Property Manager · Mammoth Lakes, CA · Member since 2014 · 263 posts · 230 votes
7y
I recently had a guest request to be moved to another unit because there was dust on top of the ceiling fan. They had to climb up on the furniture to figure this out. It was for a 2 night stay.
Rental Property Investor · Boca Raton, FL · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 713 votes
7y
I had an inherited tenant ask me to replace a window he broke while breaking back into his apartment because he locked had locked himself out. Needless to say, he was evicted a short time later for something unrelated.
Developer · New Brunswick, NJ · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
7y
Had a psycho college student request that I change all the windows in her apartment. Same one couldn't figure out how to turn on a hallway light switch and told me the light fixture was broken instead. Then she finally told me she was going to kill herself because she didn't like her roommate situation. She was a nightmare to say the least.
Rental Property Investor · Upstate, NY · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
The best was the one wanting 6 names on her RURAL mailbox, including that of her long deceased mother.
She lived there alone & had a l-o-n-g surname. So my maint guy applied several of the new names defined by a first name initial, but ran out of room on the door & then the letter "C' as she had 4 in her surname & all 6 had the same surname.
Then she contacted the USPS to insist on a Federally approved mailbox. We got the USPS letter & complied, but the new approved mailbox had a smaller door so no room for all names along with the missing 'C'. Then she wanted it painted a different color. So my now aggravated maint guy spray painted the entire box including the names with flat black Rustoleum.
After 35 years you would think you had met them all.....