All Forum Posts by: Debbie C.

@Laura Williams

 This was a bad situation, and I am glad that you resolved it successfully! Thank you for the mention and update.

Debbie C.

@Michael J.

I would not renew the lease, too many things with this tenant are a disaster waiting to happen. 

Hopefully your lease is up soon so you can get her out and find a better tenant.

Good luck

@Laura Williams

We had a serious situation with a gas utility company. In our case the tenant ignored notices from them and did not tell us about any issues. We never heard anything from the utility.

I got a panicked phone call from the tenant that the utility was in our backyard (tenant did let them in) and they were going to dig up part of the yard and remove our expensive tuff shed.

How we resolved this was by calling the Arizona Corporation Commission that regulates all the utilites here. 

Have you contacted the Commission in your state that has authority over that water company? 

@Jamie C.

I own sfh's and have a property management co. When I started with them this was discussed, and per our agreement the maintenance dept. sends me an e-mail when a repair order comes in. I do not have a dollar minimum on repairs. I promptly send back a reply to them to either go ahead and repair (it is approved) or we will handle it.

The reason for this is that several of our houses have been recently remodeled and have many things under warranty. Also the property mgmt. company inspects every 6 months and at that time items that are seen to need attention we can decide who is taking care of them, and if the tenant is to be charged for any of the repairs. (For items they have broken.) And many small repairs can be scheduled to be done all together and keep the cost down.

A lot of repairs are minor, but can still add up if the property mgmt. is not watching out for your best interests. If they are not watching out for mine, then what do I need them for?

@Account Closed

I do appreciate different points of view, but I would like to know if you are really serious about the comments that you made. The laws should be balanced for both landlord and tenant to protect and benefit both sides.

It might be tempting to think that if you take away the rights of landlords in many of the ways that you have suggested that nothing else will change, but I read comments on BiggerPockets, and other articles all the time about landlords selling out, and it reducing the number of rentals available. And California is a prime example of this. Every time they try to FIX something, the cities make it worse for tenants in the long run.

I do own sfh in Arizona, IF I had any in CA, I would sell them and run as fast as I could.

@Nathan Gesner

Terrible she is going through this, and if she does not get the money from a program to assist the landlord, she will never get any of it from the tenant. 

When she finally gets them out she will have repairs to make, and she still owes her property taxes. And we know that won't be forgiven.

@Andy Whitcomb

Based on what you said the issues are, I would get involved. Your tenant is causing some serious problems for your neighbor. Had the car towed and is damaging a fence, what is next?

I agree with @Ryan Murdock, I try to maintain a good relationship with my neighbors, it has paid off in the past. I have a clause in my lease about not disturbing or causing problems with neighbors. However you decide to deal with your tenant, written notice of problem, etc. I would make it clear it needs to stop.

@John Williams

Rents are going up and if you do not raise your rent, then you are leaving money on the table. If your current tenants cannot pay your rent on time and in full every month now, then they will not be able to afford a rent increase.

I agree with @Scott M. to get all the facts first. I do put value on keeping good tenants, and I consider turnover and what that will cost me. However, as rents climb and the gap gets wider between what you are charging now and what you can raise rents to come up to market or just under, then I would be more likely to choose #3.

@Ximing Feng

I have sfh's in Arizona, and in the past when we do not want to renew a lease to a tenant, we give them written 30 days notice (which is what our lease calls for.) We are not required to give a reason for a non-renew, and we don't.

I will add to this by saying that because our rental market is so tight right now, I would consider giving longer notice.

Hope this helps

@Corazon B.

Set up your screening criteria, 3x rent, credit score, etc. however that works for you, and be consistent. List what you require in your ads and stick to it. Treat people in a fair and equal way. That is one way to avoid problems.

Good luck!