Powell, OH · Member since 2016 · 11 posts · 8 votes
I’m a first-time landlord who recently acquired a rental property that needs a fair amount of work. I inherited the current tenants, and I’m trying to decide the best path forward.
The property is in a C-class area, and the tenants are not maintaining it well. There’s fecal matter in the house and yard, along with trash, clothes, and general clutter throughout the units (not full hoarding, but close). It’s clearly impacting the condition of the property.
At this point, I’m hesitant to put significant money into repairs or upgrades while these tenants are still in place, but I also don’t want to let the property continue to decline.
A few things I’d really appreciate input on:
Would you try to enforce better standards with the current tenants, or focus on transitioning them out as soon as legally possible?
For those who’ve dealt with similar situations, is it worth attempting a “reset” (clean-up expectations, inspections, etc.), or is turnover usually the better long-term play?
I’d like to document the current interior condition—what’s the best way to approach inspections and getting photos while staying compliant?
The current leases allow multiple pets with no restrictions, and there are no security deposits in place. How would you handle tightening this up going forward?
I’m trying to think about this from a long-term asset perspective and avoid putting good money into a situation that won’t improve.
Appreciate any guidance from those who’ve been through this before.
FWIW - I knew the condition of the property prior to purchasing. It's not an expensive property, and I bought it for a learning experience prior to more significant purchases. So my eyes are wide open, I'm just looking for experienced advice
I’m a first-time landlord who recently acquired a rental property that needs a fair amount of work. I inherited the current tenants, and I’m trying to decide the best path forward.
The property is in a C-class area, and the tenants are not maintaining it well. There’s fecal matter in the house and yard, along with trash, clothes, and general clutter throughout the units (not full hoarding, but close). It’s clearly impacting the condition of the property.
At this point, I’m hesitant to put significant money into repairs or upgrades while these tenants are still in place, but I also don’t want to let the property continue to decline.
A few things I’d really appreciate input on:
Would you try to enforce better standards with the current tenants, or focus on transitioning them out as soon as legally possible?
For those who’ve dealt with similar situations, is it worth attempting a “reset” (clean-up expectations, inspections, etc.), or is turnover usually the better long-term play?
I’d like to document the current interior condition—what’s the best way to approach inspections and getting photos while staying compliant?
The current leases allow multiple pets with no restrictions, and there are no security deposits in place. How would you handle tightening this up going forward?
I’m trying to think about this from a long-term asset perspective and avoid putting good money into a situation that won’t improve.
Appreciate any guidance from those who’ve been through this before.
FWIW - I knew the condition of the property prior to purchasing. It's not an expensive property, and I bought it for a learning experience prior to more significant purchases. So my eyes are wide open, I'm just looking for experienced advice
Thanks!
Great ideas for you so far from the other responses.
A few BIG questions missing though:
1) How are the tenants paying? - Are they S8?
We deal with tenants like this all the time. If they're paying on time and you can control long-term damage, it's often logical to keep them.
2) What percent of market rent are the tenants paying? - Given the condition of the property and the potential cost to renovate, it's logical to accept around 80% of market rent.
3) Why take pics, do a walk-thru video and get the tenants in the video responding to your questions about: - What repair issues are there? - How did the damages occur?
You'll want the tenants on video to hold them accountable if anything goes to court!
You state, "my eyes are wide open".
Respectfully, I disagree. - "put significant money into repairs or upgrades" - "my plans were to fix the house up for them and give them a nice place to live" - "had a window guy go out to measure windows for replacement" - "plan was to keep the tenants in place and re-invest all cash over debt service and utilities into fixing the property"
In our experiences with HUNDREDS of Class C properties & tenants: - 25% of Class C tenants eventually don't pay, trash the property & you have to evict. - 25% don't pay, but take decent care of the property, you still have to evict. - 25% pay relatively on-time, but live like this. - 25% pay relatively on-time and take decent care of the property. -- You will lose a lot of money trying to find these tenants.
Why are you thinking of putting in new windows?
With Class C properties you prioritize Health & Safety repairs to avoid lawsuits.
Government Required repairs are #2 priority, check local & state laws for these.
Property Preservation is the next priority, but only to avoid MAJOR issues, usually tied to avoiding long-term damage done by water leaks.
Last is Marketing Impact or Tenant Retention repairs. - You're dealing with Tenant Retention as the property is occupied. STOP think about what you would want and only focus on the bare minimum to keep the tenants paying rent!
Marketing Impact applies on vacant rentals. How many rentals in the area have you looked at to understand what property condition local tenants expect? - To be profitable, you'll need to fully understand the concept of, "Maintain to the Neighborhood" NOT your personal preferences!
Yes, these tenants are trashing your house. Why do you care about the cosmetic damages already done?
Of course, if the tenants were trashing your freshly rehabbed property, it'd be different.
NOTE: going to assume when you reference fecal matter, you're implying the source is the pets, not the tenants.
honestly, if there is crap in the house (literally), I'd do an inspection and give them notice to clean it. if they don't clean it, then tell them you are terminating their lease.
I was going to ask if you inherited, but you said you bought it-what were your plans when you bought it knowing it was in that condition?
Honestly, my plans were to fix the house up for them and give them a nice place to live. The interior was cluttered at the time of inspection, and I had a window guy go out to measure windows for replacement and caught the tenants off guard. He is the one letting me know how the units look when they don't have notice.
The plan was to keep the tenants in place and re-invest all cash over debt service and utilities into fixing the property. It is the tenants that are now giving me pause and I'm weighing whether to defer capex until they leave or get new tenants. The latter would be very expensive and the former I worry about liability
You’ll want to check your lease, but most leases include a clause that prohibits this type of condition or behavior. I would schedule an inspection immediately and, based on what you find, issue a 21/30 notice. Make sure you document everything thoroughly with photos. If the issue isn’t corrected within the required timeframe, you can begin the process to remove the tenants.
Another option is to simply wait until the lease ends and choose not to renew. Whether that makes sense depends on how far away the lease expiration is and how severe the condition is today.
Thank you for posting this Cory! I really appreciate you sharing your experience. I am not there yet but I'm working on my first small multi family property and this is a heavy reminder of all the reasons to have a system and standards for investments. It seems to me you're getting great feedback from some really good people so I'm sure you'll get ahold of this situation and turn it around for the better.
@Cory Brown What does the current lease look like? M2M, long term, etc...? I agree with the other posts, I'd do an inspection ASAP. I would word it as "I'm the new owner and I'd like to come over and introduce myself" and start the conversation that way.
I’m a first-time landlord who recently acquired a rental property that needs a fair amount of work. I inherited the current tenants, and I’m trying to decide the best path forward.
The property is in a C-class area, and the tenants are not maintaining it well. There’s fecal matter in the house and yard, along with trash, clothes, and general clutter throughout the units (not full hoarding, but close). It’s clearly impacting the condition of the property.
At this point, I’m hesitant to put significant money into repairs or upgrades while these tenants are still in place, but I also don’t want to let the property continue to decline.
A few things I’d really appreciate input on:
Would you try to enforce better standards with the current tenants, or focus on transitioning them out as soon as legally possible?
For those who’ve dealt with similar situations, is it worth attempting a “reset” (clean-up expectations, inspections, etc.), or is turnover usually the better long-term play?
I’d like to document the current interior condition—what’s the best way to approach inspections and getting photos while staying compliant?
The current leases allow multiple pets with no restrictions, and there are no security deposits in place. How would you handle tightening this up going forward?
I’m trying to think about this from a long-term asset perspective and avoid putting good money into a situation that won’t improve.
Appreciate any guidance from those who’ve been through this before.
FWIW - I knew the condition of the property prior to purchasing. It's not an expensive property, and I bought it for a learning experience prior to more significant purchases. So my eyes are wide open, I'm just looking for experienced advice
Thanks!
Marginal location. Tenant with extremely low housekeeping standards. Poor rental agreement. And a "first time landlord".
1) review local LL/Tenant laws by searching on your state and city or region. 2) review the actual written rental agreement. If you do not have a copy, be very careful. If you DO have a copy, how does it compare with what the law says regarding termination or changes in terms; what happens if stated end date passes with no action on your part? 3) Based on the facts and the law, provide proper written notice of non-renewal, stating the lawfully earliest date they must be out.
There is no way you will be able to change their behavior significantly, don't waste your time or effort. They will likely leave a lot of their crap behind, so plan on getting a rolloff dumpster once they turn the keys over. And give them incentive to give you the keys, maybe a hundred bucks, or half their deposit, or whatever it takes so you can get a final signature from them at that time acknowledging they are OUT.
4) Load all the remaining rubbish, assess what else needs to be demo'd out and do so. Be sure you secure (by boarding up with 5/8 plywood) all doors and windows, including basement access points, as soon as they are out. Plan on changing all locks once you are at a point where that makes sense. You don't want new hardware destroyed or stolen. 5) You need power and lights, possibly heat, to work, so get utils set up and turned on. First order of business get some security lighting up on the outside. No exposed, easily broken bulbs, but dusk to dawn lighting with polycarbonate or caged covers. 6) Once all the rubbish is out, and you have lights inside, you can closely inspect the various systems and develop your needed scope of work. Don't forget to consider lead or asbestos abatement; removal of old, matted and filthy insulation, electrical system, HVAC, roof and gutters (to include addressing all exterior drainage issues), scoping of waste line out to the street as well as close inspection of all supply lines. You do not want to make cosmetic repairs, only to have to tear them out to fix a leak from old pipes. With that, you can get some decent figures to determine what needs to be spent. The quality of the unit will directly affect the quality of Tenant you ultimately place. 7) Between now and then, review prior discussions on this site regarding screening of tenants; S8 vs market Tenants; screening processes; pets/no pets/ESA's. Find a Rental Agreement that will work for you. If you know a Realtor, many MLS let anyone use them as printed, with obviously enough blanks to fill in for common variables. Office Depot has packages supposedly approved for all States. There are plenty of sources, just confirm what they say compared to what your actual laws state. Then while renovating, fine tune your documents, application and the application process, and screening processes. Take pics of all new work as it goes in, for future reference of infrastructure as well as finished product. Research the then current rental market based on pics of other similar units, inside and outside. Determine any additional "House rules" that will become an addendum to the rental agreement. 8) Finally, take some well composed and reasonably well lit pics for your marketing, develop your standard sales pitch for showings, and move forward. If you've done everything right, you will attract the best applicants for the price tier and location; screen well and you will choose the right people. There are plenty of discussions on this site that go into more detail in each of these areas. Good Luck.
If the lease is month-to-month or close to termination, send notice of non-renewal. If not, discuss with the resident, reinspect, if not cleaned send notice to cure, and evict if not cured. All respectful and without emotion.
You have some great suggestions from the previous posterd.
1 - Regular inspections (check your state, but you should be able to enter the property as long as you give sufficient notice)
2 - Checking the terms of the current lease (when it expires, any penalties they could be violating)
3 - Making repairs (make a list of what needs repair and prioritize what you are LEGALLY required to address)
4 - My concern is the location. You mentioned this is in a C class neighborhood. You want to check to see the quality of tenants you will get if you replace the current ones. Maybe check comps, talk to "several" property managers, etc.
Is it really out of the realm of possibilities for you to hire a PM?
I say this because…
Prevents you from violating all the tenant protections you do and do not know about. Probably gets you a cheaper price on the rehab. Definitely gets the rehab done twice as fast reducing vacancy and paying for itself. Probably screen the new tenants 10x better than you will, and finds that better tenant weeks fast than you will find the bad one, saving more vacancy. They’ll advertise better, they’ll know market rents (either getting more than you thought or preventing vacancy when you ask too much, advertise poorly or show poorly.). They’ll also have a professional photographer that you’ll have to hire blind. (Don’t skimp and do use a phone or regular photographer.) plus they’ll have an eviction company if the tenants pushback on leaving.
If you don’t violate any laws, the tenants are agreeable to moving out, you get lucky on choosing honest/fast contractors, and photographer, advertise in the right places for the right price you’ll be lucky to do it for anywhere near the same price within 3-4 weeks of how fast the PM can do it. At 4 weeks you lose 8T and could have had the PMs do it for “free”. Screw up ONE of those things and you’ll be literally paying to play PM. Why?
Ps. Make sure you get an estoppel from owner and tenants and they match. (Will also tell you how long you’re stuck with them.) Also make sure you get security deposits transferred. You don’t want to be returning their “missing $5k security deposit.” Out of pocket or stuck with them with their “5 year lease extension at a fixed below market rate.”
Sorry @Bill B., for a "C" property, you want to pay a pro photographer? Absolute waste of money. All it takes is a few minutes of intentional composition with reasonable daytime lighting, and nearly any recent smartphone. The key is to take marketing shots separate from documentation/project progress shots. And be thorough. If you have views, take a good shot of the view. Take wide views to show the entire kitchen or bath, and a good view from the street and of the back yard if it is presentable. If someone can't take a decent pic, how are they possibly going to handle the difficult parts of PM?
Also, sure, a "Good" PM can achieve most of the other goals you mention, BUT, how does the OP know who is "good"? OP needs to ask the right questions, which is a whole separate topic.
You’re dealing with more than a cosmetic issue, but it’s important to recognize that not every “messy” situation rises to a lease violation—so your first step is to clearly determine whether the condition truly impacts health, safety, or the property itself. If it does, a practical approach is to start with a formal reset: communicate clear expectations, serve a detailed Seven Day Notice to Cure, and give the tenants a fair chance to fix the problems. At the same time, document everything thoroughly—take dated photos and videos during inspections (with proper notice) so you can show the condition both before and after the cure period. If they make meaningful improvements but don’t fully comply, you may need to repeat the process rather than jumping straight to termination.
If the issues persist and you have solid evidence that the condition is damaging the property or affecting others, then transitioning the tenants out may be the more sustainable long-term move. In many cases, landlords find that significant rehab work is only truly effective once the unit is vacant and under tighter control. For inspections, stick to scheduled, properly noticed visits and keep your documentation objective and factual rather than judgment-based.
Looking ahead, tightening lease terms is key—limit pets, require deposits, and include clear cleanliness and maintenance standards so expectations are enforceable. Ultimately, think of this as setting the foundation for better operations: either these tenants meet a higher bar, or you create the opportunity to place ones who will.
I’m a first-time landlord who recently acquired a rental property that needs a fair amount of work. I inherited the current tenants, and I’m trying to decide the best path forward.
The property is in a C-class area, and the tenants are not maintaining it well. There’s fecal matter in the house and yard, along with trash, clothes, and general clutter throughout the units (not full hoarding, but close). It’s clearly impacting the condition of the property.
At this point, I’m hesitant to put significant money into repairs or upgrades while these tenants are still in place, but I also don’t want to let the property continue to decline.
A few things I’d really appreciate input on:
Would you try to enforce better standards with the current tenants, or focus on transitioning them out as soon as legally possible?
For those who’ve dealt with similar situations, is it worth attempting a “reset” (clean-up expectations, inspections, etc.), or is turnover usually the better long-term play?
I’d like to document the current interior condition—what’s the best way to approach inspections and getting photos while staying compliant?
The current leases allow multiple pets with no restrictions, and there are no security deposits in place. How would you handle tightening this up going forward?
I’m trying to think about this from a long-term asset perspective and avoid putting good money into a situation that won’t improve.
Appreciate any guidance from those who’ve been through this before.
FWIW - I knew the condition of the property prior to purchasing. It's not an expensive property, and I bought it for a learning experience prior to more significant purchases. So my eyes are wide open, I'm just looking for experienced advice
Thanks!
Great ideas for you so far from the other responses.
A few BIG questions missing though:
1) How are the tenants paying? - Are they S8?
We deal with tenants like this all the time. If they're paying on time and you can control long-term damage, it's often logical to keep them.
2) What percent of market rent are the tenants paying? - Given the condition of the property and the potential cost to renovate, it's logical to accept around 80% of market rent.
3) Why take pics, do a walk-thru video and get the tenants in the video responding to your questions about: - What repair issues are there? - How did the damages occur?
You'll want the tenants on video to hold them accountable if anything goes to court!
You state, "my eyes are wide open".
Respectfully, I disagree. - "put significant money into repairs or upgrades" - "my plans were to fix the house up for them and give them a nice place to live" - "had a window guy go out to measure windows for replacement" - "plan was to keep the tenants in place and re-invest all cash over debt service and utilities into fixing the property"
In our experiences with HUNDREDS of Class C properties & tenants: - 25% of Class C tenants eventually don't pay, trash the property & you have to evict. - 25% don't pay, but take decent care of the property, you still have to evict. - 25% pay relatively on-time, but live like this. - 25% pay relatively on-time and take decent care of the property. -- You will lose a lot of money trying to find these tenants.
Why are you thinking of putting in new windows?
With Class C properties you prioritize Health & Safety repairs to avoid lawsuits.
Government Required repairs are #2 priority, check local & state laws for these.
Property Preservation is the next priority, but only to avoid MAJOR issues, usually tied to avoiding long-term damage done by water leaks.
Last is Marketing Impact or Tenant Retention repairs. - You're dealing with Tenant Retention as the property is occupied. STOP think about what you would want and only focus on the bare minimum to keep the tenants paying rent!
Marketing Impact applies on vacant rentals. How many rentals in the area have you looked at to understand what property condition local tenants expect? - To be profitable, you'll need to fully understand the concept of, "Maintain to the Neighborhood" NOT your personal preferences!
Yes, these tenants are trashing your house. Why do you care about the cosmetic damages already done?
Of course, if the tenants were trashing your freshly rehabbed property, it'd be different.
NOTE: going to assume when you reference fecal matter, you're implying the source is the pets, not the tenants.
Do a formal inspection with proper notice, document everything with photos, and enforce the lease if there are cleanliness or health clauses. Give clear written expectations and a timeline to cure. That tells you quickly whether this is fixable or not. In most cases like this, though, it could out to be a turnover. If tenants won’t maintain basic standards, putting money into the property usually just gets undone. I’d plan financially and legally for a transition while protecting the property in the meantime.
The lesson here is that tenant quality and lease structure drive the outcome just as much as the property itself.
Cory! I personally love that you're in it for the experience and learning of the whole situation... congratulations on finding a property that works for you that will provide some education along the way. Kudos.
I'm sorry that it's a headache right up front but you were prepared for it. Honestly, it sounds like the current tenants aren't quite respecting your space so I would transition those tenants out before you try to upgrade the home. With this though, I'd consider what that neighborhood can sustain - don't over-spend on a property where the neighborhood and potential new tenants in that area won't care.
I'm not sure what your relationship with the inherited tenants is right now but there's always the possibility that they were just under poor management before and that they were pushing the boundaries (far). If they see that you want to make the place nicer, maybe they'll be interested in that and want to stay! Maybe not. Have a conversation and feel it out.
In terms of the lease - on your next renewal with each, I'd work on the limits of your pet policy and security deposits for current and future tenants. When a building changes ownership/management, tenants know to expect some level of change in their situation. You can always call a property management company for some assistance in the beginning or guidance if they're willing to be a partial/part-time partner. Go into it with realistic expectations, be transparent with the PM about the fact that you are looking for education and guidance to eventually try and run the property 100% yourself. PM's are good partners in general and if you find one with a good level of relationship building with their asset managers (you!), you could end up growing your business and getting to a point where you need them to manage the whole portfolio. In the short term, they might be okay with employing their services only temporarily; you'll learn a lot and you'll spend some money with a great local partner in the area (with great connections).
Hope this is even a little bit helpful but I think you've got the right attitude and you're in the right place to get your questions answered!
Situations like this usually come down to whether the current tenants are capable of operating within a defined standard and not just whether the property needs work.
From what you’re describing, the condition isn’t just deferred maintenance, it’s day-to-day living standards that are already impacting the asset. That’s a harder thing to correct with reminders or one-time cleanups.
You can try a short-term “reset” with clear expectations, documented notice, and a follow-up inspection, but in most cases like this, it ends up being temporary unless there’s a real behavior change. If there isn’t, you’re putting time and potentially money into a situation that won’t hold.
The reason a lot of operators move toward turnover in these scenarios is because it’s the only way to fully reset both the physical condition and the lease structure. That’s when you can address things like pet limits, deposits, and ongoing standards in a way that’s enforceable.
On documentation, I’d treat it as the starting point for any decision you make — detailed photos, written notes, and making sure everything aligns with your lease terms and local requirements before taking action.
From a long-term perspective, it’s less about fixing the current condition and more about getting the property into a state where the next tenant can maintain it without constant intervention.
Wow, I am surprised that so many long time real posters seem to find "fecal matter in the house and yard, along with trash, clothes, and general clutter throughout" to be a "maybe" for keeping the occupants.
@Cory Brown the longer you try to get these Tenants to modify their behavior; the more money you spend on repairs or improvements while leaving them in place; and the longer you delay with moving them out, the more it will cost you over the long term. It will never reach market potential when you are make repairs piecemeal AND likely will need to rework the same issues once it is vacated.
You indicate you want tighter rules, yet clearly these tenants have zero respect for the property. It will take time for them to prove they have no respect for you, unless you give them what they want...a continued "hands off" management situation.
You stated you do not want the property to "continue" to decline. You also mentioned wanting to "document" the current condition, in spite of "knowing the condition" prior.
Add to all that, you have no experience. So, you want to learn all the ins and outs, while dealing with terrible tenants that have no respect or personal pride?
Sorry if you feel I am being harsh, but I've managed hundreds of C units for Clients, and taken over management of hundreds more that prior management (Owner or Pro PM) couldn't take it any more. Given your new acquisition, and an expectation that it needs work (hopefully you were very realistic about what is needed! You have not mentioned the age of the property.) there is no reason to put yourself in a lot of absolutely unnecessary stress.
It will be much better, and much more profitable, for the long term which is your stated objective, for a number of reasons, to start with a shiny, nice, clean, slate.
I'm a buy n hold investor and have bought 30+ SFR in C class neighborhoods with tenants in place. I prefer to buy them like this. Several have come cockroach/flea/rodent invested, with hoarders, practically uninhabitable and in awful condition. Not all, but at least at dozen. All these tenants were well below market rent for obvious reasons. I do my best to keep them all and work with them. Some have been in the properties for many years. I slowly fix them up and raise rent a little over time. Affordable housing is lacking in the areas I invest so I want to give all my tenants a good chance at staying. I tell them they can stay forever, but I need to fix a few things up and will a have to raise rent to compensate for it. I'm not a hard *** on them and let them live their lives, even if they don't live to my standards. And it's worked out great for me. I rarely ever have turnovers and my goal is to have tenants stay for at least a decade. Turnovers within 3 or 4 years crush profits as you know. I'd rather have people stay for many years so I don't micro manage the way they live.
If you want an education, you're getting it. It's a bit like getting in a car accident so you can learn about vehicle safety. I'm not going to pile on...what's done is done, and I genuinely hope for the best.
Your real options here, unless I am missing something are:
1. Figure out if they can or will pay rent and, if so, keep them there as long as possible because your turnover expenses are going to be insane.
2. Rip the band off, get them out ASAP, and get on with fixing what needs to be improved.
3. Cut your losses and sell it. That may be the best financial and life decision you can make here. Don't let your pride keep you from making the right call. Even if you fix up the property, you can't change the location, and when you polish a turd, you get crap on your hands.
