Tenant From Hell - HELP

[Adam Meckler]

OKAY here we go. 

I bought a fourplex in a small town in the upper peninsula of Michigan in February with plans to keep the tenants in the bottom two units happy, and renovate the top two units (which were in total disarray) within one year's time. My business partner and I are doing the Reno ourselves so it is taking some time but it's coming along. 

I inherited leases that were five years long. I know now that this is a red flag. Won't be buying leases that long again, ever. In the lease there is a clause that with increases in taxes and insurance, rents can be increased. 

Taxes and insurance increased significantly when the building changed hands because it had been the same owner since the 60s and their taxes were capped. 

The bank estimated taxes to be wildly high, something that both surprised us and caught us off guard. I sent a letter with 60 days notice to raise rents based on those estimates (and included the bank's estimates in the letter). I am just starting out (we own another duplex we bought the November before and that's been super smooth even with rent raises) and did not know that you could go to the city assessor and get the actual numbers for taxes (which it turns out were much lower than the bank's assessments...which was good for us! I was happy about that!). 

As soon as I was made aware of my mistake I told the tenants we would NOT raise rents until we've confirmed the lower amount with the village. We had an in person meeting where my tenant from Hell threatened to "beat my ***" more times than I can count. I'm a people person and generally get along with everyone so this energy, especially after I apologized for the mistake and agreed not to raise rents until we know the correct numbers, was a little jarring. 

Since then this person continually calls me a liar and a coward on his envelopes he uses to mail his rent checks. When he sees me he continues to threaten me, saying I'm constantly lying and am incompetent, a douchebag, "I just want to take you in the back and put my foot in your ***""Beat your ***" "fold you in half" etc etc. 

It feels silly to even say it here. Why am I so affected by this? Should I just be able to let it roll off and keep cashing his checks? It's honestly causing me a ton of stress. He does seem unstable, and I have a wife and kids and don't want some crazy person to decide he's going to end me because he's built up a whole narrative about who I am. 

Anyways, he hired a lawyer before we could get actual numbers from the village and suggested his own rent raise amount. We immediately accepted and agreed to pay his lawyer fees for drafting the letter (we paid $1200). 

So this tenant's rent is slightly higher but it's still almost half of what his apartment can get market rate. Thats fine. I just wanted it to be over with. But the threats and accusations continue.

After being in the apartment adjacent to this tenant in order to take pictures and list it as an open rental, he accused me of messing with his back door. He must have heard me open the back door of the other apartment and walk into the back shared storage space, all in order to take pictures for the listing. Obviously, I never touched his back door but he just continues to accuse me of that and call me a liar when I tell him exactly what I was doing. 

sigh maybe you're all just my therapy right now, but how do I handle this? I've taken pictures of all of the envelopes he sends, and I have voicemail messages he's left that are threatening saved on my phone. 

Is it worth looking into a restraining order and eviction? Is that too crazy an action given that he still is paying rent each month? 

I'll never claim to be perfect. I made a mistake when I didn't go to the assessor to ask about taxes. I haven't claimed otherwise. I knew there would be some learning curves getting into real estate in my 40s. I'm continuing to get better and feel pretty good about where we are, aside from this mess. This situation has just taken a real toll on my mental. 

Any advice from the crowd? Sorry for the book, appreciate any advice you can lend. 

[Drew Sygit]

@Adam Meckler you are NOT in this business to make friends or be a tenant's therapist.

Never forget, they are tenants for a reason!

Whatever a tenant's issues are - do NOT get sucked into carrying!!!

They will sense your kindness and look to exploit it in every way possible - and when you eventually hold them accountable, you will be the bad guy:(

This is one of the reasons we continually advise that NOTHING good comes from tenants knowing you are the owner. Tell them you are the Property Manager or at worst, a minority partner with no control.

Advise you to HIRE AN EVICTION ATTORNEY and get rid of this tenant ASAP. They will soon negatively affect your efforts to find upstairs tenants.

Discreetly capture their verbal threats using your phone's video to show the attorney.

Be prepared for this to get worse. Tenant will have their attorney drag this out and possibly get a restraining order against you, making it difficult for you to manage the property.

Getting rid of this tenant will make your life easier in the long run, but never forget the lessons this tenant taught you.