All Forum Posts by: Cristin Andrews

 Hi - I would have thought that might be it but the contract with the PM included free replacement if tenant had to be evicted within the year of placing them. I think they were just lazy about it and/or the daughter of the actual PM took care of it and messed it up. She is apparently the one that handled their application and met them face to face - not the PM. But the daughter works for her so not sure if she is also a PM or just training or just an admin

@Jonathan R McLaughlin update is they weren't interested in Cash for keys since they just moved in and the baby was due end November. They have paid rent for past two months on time but I am concerned about possibility of using the place as grow house as they installed a security system (without asking first but called after and claimed they didn't know they were supposed to ask first even though it is in lease until renters mom supposedly told him) and replaced all of the outdoor screens with black solar screens.  I'm managing it myself right now since the PM landscape here is pretty bleak. 

I did find out that they are both working for his dad's family home remodeling company. So that 90K that PM verified he was making through his employer is probably not real. 

Thank you all for the advice. I have terminated the PM and am considering my options now. 

I did go and reference the local criminal records after seeing this report and there were indeed a lot of things pending and some that had been discharged. At a minimum it is a clear sustained pattern of poor decisions. My PM said for criminal background they only screen for felony judgements via a background service. She claims I am being discriminatory. She said they qualified otherwise via credit and jobs. 

Thank you all for your replies. 

 Yes! This was my concern exactly. If I had known they were that young also I would have been even more concerned since the whole reason I got a property manager was to do better tenant screening than I had been able to do before. All they told me was that they were a couple with two dogs. I said doesn't it raise a red flag that a couple would want such a big house and they said no because she is pregnant. If I had known they were pregnant and unmarried and so young as a property manager I would have definitely done extra checking to be sure they could afford 2300 per month. They obviously didn't do much checking at all. When I sent the PM the results I found they sent back the results from their check that showed no convictions. I said I wanted them out or the PM to be doing extra checks because it is a non smoking house and he also has warrant for smoking marijuana too. She said she would get advice from the firm's lawyer on how to handle it. I just hope they don't try to turn it into a grow house. 

 Hi Colleen. Once I had their names I did a google search. The first result that came up was his mug shot and an article in the local newspaper showing him getting arrested with a ton of drugs and a gun in his vehicle. The article stated he had 20 open warrants. Obviously they bonded him out. 

I provide them in my rental but with the disclaimer that I don’t maintain them and tenant pays to repair or replace.

Hi. I just went through fixing up my rental that had about 10K damage from previous renters ( in a B neighborhood) in Houston. This is my only property and it is the house I raised my kids in in a nice family neighborhood. After this experience I decided to hire a certified property manager to screen tenants and handle things going forward. I interviewed and selected a property management company (did not go for just cheapest option) and they rented the place out but wouldn't  give me any detail on the new renters until today when they picked up the keys for a one year lease. All they would tell me was that they met the 3x salary requirements. I raised a concern that a couple without kids was renting such a huge house (4 bedroom plus study and game room) and asked if they thought that was a red flag and the property management company said no. Once I received the lease today,  I did a quick google search on the names and found out within 30 seconds that the 25 yr old one has 20 open warrants for things like possession with intent to sell, burglary, drunk driving and so on over a 5 year period. A few of them were disposed and the others are still in process. The other tenant is a 22 yr old. With no actual convictions yet is there anything I can do? My best friend lives across the street with her kids and I'm terrified now that I have brought danger onto their street. I'm also concerned that they will start dealing drugs out of my house. We are using the standard suggested har lease. 

I'm in Houston and have SFR. The only reason I chose this market is because I live here. Property taxes are extremely high. If I didn't live here I would choose a more profitable market. I know investors in Austin and they have been complaining about the market recently there. I think the sweet spot there might have passed.