All Forum Posts by: Dana Holland

My house is currently on the market for sale.  There are tenants in until the end of this month.  In their lease contract it states that they will allow the house to be shown to prospective buyers/tenants with 24 hour notice. 

A brief background on the situation.  The tenants moved in last December and signed an 18 month lease.  Admittedly we did not do a good enough job of screening them and they became super high maintenance "professional" tenants.  (Lessons learned!) They complained about every little detail and always pointed to the "signed lease agreement" when asking for things to be done for them (which we always complied with).  They got really out of hand a few months back and we gave them the "happy clause" option, where we told them they didn't seem happy and could get out early with no penalty and they took it.  In accepting the early lease termination, the tenants sent us a note agreeing to vacate by the end of July and said they would comply with the lease agreement and make arrangements to be off property with their large dog for all showings with 24 hours notice. 

Fast forward to the beginning of July, and when notified of the first showing, tenants responded that they will be home for all showings and to have the realtor knock before entering because of their dog.   Pretty annoying, but ok fine.  A week ago, they were notified of a request for a showing that would have been 21 hours after the notification.  They balked and firmly stated that as it does not comply with the 24 hour notice and would not allow it.  Since that is stated in the lease agreement, although annoying that they aren't even slightly flexible, we understood that they are not obligated to help us out.  However, yesterday they were asked to allow a showing for tomorrow (so 36+ hours of notice), and they said the time isn't convenient for them and are not allowing it.  They gave an alternate time, but of course that doesn't work for the buyers.  I have a feeling for the rest of the month the tenants are going to only allow showings when it's convenient for them (which most things are not convenient for them).

I don't think there is anything we can really do about it, but just thought I'd ask here.  Any suggestions?  I'm not really into paying them to comply because we've given them a lot throughout their tenancy (more than obligated), and knowing them it probably wouldn't help too much anyway. Do I just have to wait until they move out to really start showing the house? 

@Joshua D.

Talk to the prospective tenants and explain the situation.  Hopefully they will understand and let you out of it (assuming you are obligated to rent to them).  If not, you could tell them that you will make the lease a month to month agreement and they will be out soon anyway.

@John Thedford

Curious why you don't allow tenants at the inspection?  Unfortunately in AZ, if they request to be present, we have to allow them to be.  

I'm not suggesting making a false claim, just want to make sure nothing gets missed and I end up having to fix out of pocket later.

Hi all, loking for some input.  Tenants are moving at the end of the month. They have been high maintenance and overly entitled to put it mildly.  They have requested to be present for the move out inspection (which is fine), and have already proclaimed that they expect every penny back from the deposit. Of course if the home is in the condition it was when they rented it, I'll be happy to issue a full refund.  I just want to make sure I don't overlook anything.  For those who have done this many times, what are the most common items you find during a move out inspection?  If it matters, it is a single family home with a garage and a pool.  Thanks!

I'm in Arizona and have tenants moving out at the end of the month.  I've searched all through the Arizona Landlord and Tenant Act, and cannot find anything that says when exactly the move out inspection should take place.  All it says is that the tenant can request to be present and in that case the landlord needs to inform the tenant when the inspection will occur and that it does not have to be at a time convenient for the tenant.  Also, in Arizona we have 14 business days to return the security deposit.  So the question is, does the inspection occur the day they move out?  The day after?  2 days after?  Anytime we want so long as we get them their check within 14 days?  Seems really vague and I have tenants that are overly entitled and very difficult, so I imagine a battle will ensue regarding when the inspection occurs. 

Additionally, assuming the move out inspection does not occur on the last day of the lease, how do we get the keys back from them and ensure they are out of the house?  We may be out of town on that day, so do we just ask them to drop the keys off at our realtor's office?  Lastly, what time do they need to be out of the house?  Is it during business hours (say 5pm), or before midnight?  Again if it's before midnight, seems difficult to make sure they weren't occupying the house on the following day for some period of time.

I know these questions seem nit picky, but the tenants I am dealing with have taken things to this level and beyond. Just trying to make sure I am extremely well informed before I start conversations with them about all these topics.

Thanks in advance!

@Deborah R..  I would directly ask her to clarify how many pets they will have at your property.  Tell her you saw on her Facebook page pictures including several dogs.  Tenants should expect that landlords are checking Facebook and other social media sites.  Perhaps there is a chance that the other dogs aren't theirs or they don't have them anymore?  I wouldn't deny without asking first.  If they do say they just have the beagle and you want to accept them, put something in the lease agreement that states that only the 1 beagle is allowed at the property and if additional pets are found it will be grounds to terminate the lease. 

@JD Martin do as you like as well.  One day you'll get that rotten egg and I'm telling you it will suck.  Yes, their credit report was good.  I don't just look at the score.  FICO means nothing to me.  You can pay your bills every month and have a great credit score but be financially irresponsible. 

By the way, they are leaving next month.  We convinced them to leave 10 months earlier than they were supposed to.

I just know in the future I will investigate everything I can about a potential tenant and that definitely includes former landlords.   

@JD Martin I have current tenants that I had the background check run, verified income, everything checked out.  Met them before renting to them.  Super nice family of 5 and they seemed like the perfect tenants.  I did not call the past landlord as I didn't feel it was necessary just like you say in your post.  They put their previous address on the application but did not list the Landlord's name.  Based on everything else we didn't think much of it. Rented to them and they became a nightmare.  They pay on time every month which is good of course, but they borderline harass any contractor that comes to the house (landscaper, pool service, etc).  We have had many, many issues with them throughout their tenancy.  I got curious about their previous renting experience, so I was able to track down the previous landlord through Zillow.  Luckily I got a hold of him and he told me that they broke their lease with him (they put on my rental app that they had never broken a lease).  They told the landlord that they had lost their job and had no more money to give him and used their security deposit for the last month and bailed.  I guess that's why they didn't want to list him on the rental application.  Lesson learned!  I will ALWAYS be checking previous landlords from now on. 

You don't need any photos to list, but no one would come see it.  Photos are one of the most important aspects of listing a house.  It's what gets buyers over to see it.  We need photos and hopefully good ones.  

We have decided to sell our rental.  Tenants are in until the end of July.  We plan to list July 1st.  The lease agreement states that tenants will allow us to show the house the last 30 days.  Now that we are trying to prep the house for sale they are getting in the way.  One major thing they are preventing is for us to get good pictures. They have large storage bins piled all over the entryway and living room. We asked if they could move them to the garage just for the hour or so that the photographer is there but they refuse.  They say that the items are fragile and due to the heat in Phoenix they have to keep them inside (even though it is just 1 hour). They have been combative and difficult to deal with throughout their lease so it isn't surprising.  Just wondering if there are any suggestions to get them to comply since having good pictures of the house is essential to getting potential buyers in to see the house.