All Forum Posts by: Adam Martin

Sorry to hear it and nobody wants to be the bad guy nor do we want to be played.  My thought is I would post a pay or quit stating he needs to either be caught up and pay by next Sunday or you will file on Monday.  This gives him a reasonable amount of time to comply and hopefully he will be out and you will avoid the eviction hassle on your side and he will not have it on his record.  He is overwhelmed and burying his head in the sand and needs to know you are serious but reasonable enough to give him time to get out without damaging his credit or ability to find housing in the future.  Hopefully you have a security deposit that should cover the month and they didn't do any damage so you aren't out too much.  Depending on how the application went they should be jointly liable for rent payments.  If she was the stronger candidate and had more stable income/job I bet he would be more than happy to provide info on her employment and where she is which should help you on collections from her.  

I have heard of insurance companies paying extra for shorter term rentals due to fires or destruction of property and would consider it for a premium but 7 months is February so depending on where you are this may not be ideal timing, price accordingly.  As far as the dog if they say they will pay more see how much more they will pay and most importantly since it is an insurance company are they responsible for any injuries caused by the dog as well as tenant damage.  If so I'd probably go for it with that kind of premium, especially since repairs tend to run over their time limits and you may get into spring.  While credit checks aren't as important though I would still insist on a criminal background check, wouldn't want to introduce people to the neighborhood who are likely to be into criminal activity, especially if they were registered offenders.  Good luck in whatever you decide to do.  

This post leaves me with questions, I've haven't seen wild kids yet for the showing but have heard stories from neighbors of how one of the kids were that moved in.  Are you house hacking or do you do short term/ furnished rentals because it seems strange that wild families are at your house.  You also post that the houses have ranges in value which makes it seem like more than one which leads me to believe that we are talking about more than one house.  While the stories were entertaining and I have no doubt that some people have encountered children that need to lay off the mountain dew I am left with curiosity of your encounters.  

Agreed with previous posters.  You are not in a tenant friendly area and when, not if, they don't pay you are going to have your hands full evicting them.  I would rather sit vacant not collecting rent than not collect rent while people are taking advantage of me and I'm paying legal fees.  Is there a chance they could work out, sure but you know it is not likely or you wouldn't have posted.  Follow your process and your gut and you will be fine.  You are getting a lot more interest now, see how that plays out first before doing anything drastic and accepting people you know deep down aren't going to work out.  If you were in a more landlord friendly place where eviction was easier maybe you could mitigate the risk with a higher deposit however unfortunately when you make it harder for a landlord to evict, you make it harder for a marginal tenant to find housing. 

They may just be testing you but as previously stated the past behavior of this tenant would decide how the future would look.  I would explain that it has been hard on everyone however you cannot afford to lower the rent but you will spread the pain and leave it where it is despite costs going up.  This is not a new term lease I'd be looking to get into since I feel it will be easier to end a month to month in the future than evict for non payment but if they agree to keep the current price I'd let them stay.  If they have a history of being late and are a pain I'd take this as my out and opt not to renew and try again.  

You have a lot of options on the table from withholding rent to hiring someone to fix it yourself and taking it out or rent or billing the landlord but the question is do you really want to.  This sounds like a landlord that I wouldn't want to rent from and I'd just give your notice and move out. I would try to get out asap and if your landlord gives you any problems just let them know they are getting off easy but if they want to push the issue you'll call code enforcement to ensure it is fixed and they will be responsible for temporary housing until then.  If it is truly the problem you say it is I can't imagine them putting up much of a fight.  

I'm sorry to hear that this happened to you but look at the silver lining, he is gone and didn't draw it out longer.  While I agree that the likelihood of him paying is slim you never know and I would pursue a judgement just to get it on his record which may get him to pay if he is ever looking to make a major purchase.  If not at least it will serve as a warning to others but you occasionally see posts pop up where people from long ago pay up so I would try based on the amount you have owed.  

When I get someone interested I have a list of questions I ask them before the showing to weed out anyone who obviously would not qualify but it is all verbal over the phone.  From there I show them the property and do an application afterwords.  I’m trying to cast a wide net and get the largest pool of interested applicants.   My application is online through Zillow and I know I wouldn’t pay before I even saw the place so I don’t expect them to either.  Sure sometimes my time is wasted but I post availability ahead of time and try to cluster showings together so the no shows don’t hit me as hard.  

I agree with a few posters before me, previous pics are key here.  I buy the same paint by the 5 gallon bucket and don't plan on changing it so it always looks the same.  I realize things don't always go as planned and don't show while occupied in case they don't leave and so as not to disturb the tenants or get accused of stuff going missing during showings.  I will usually do a pre walkthrough 2-3 days before they are supposed to leave to let them know of any deductions I intend to make and give them time to fix them if possible.  It also gives me an idea of how close they are and if it is realistic they will be out on time.  If everything checks out I post a coming soon with the old pictures and schedule showings for after they are gone.  This gives me a window to clean up on and a little time to drum up some interest to make it easier to cluster showings together.  

There are some things in life that are just worth paying for, and for me getting rid of a skunk would be one of them.  While I would gladly pay 250 not to have to do it myself, call around because in my experience with things like this prices can vary wildly so shop around.  The alternative is to spend a few bucks at Tractor Supply and trap and move it yourself but again sometimes things are just worth paying for.