All Forum Posts by: John B.

Thanks for the continued interest in this topic!

Yeah, these bedbugs are pretty annoying.

Decent amount of developments since I last posted.

I offered to pay for the treatment. Two weeks later, they spotted another one. This was only the fifth bedbug seen in total, but it was very unsettling to the tenants (obviously). What I did was convert them to a month by month lease, with an offer to return rent at a prorated rent if they move out prior to the end of a month.

They've been looking for a new house for over a month and there haven't been any sightings of bedbugs. They have a very good rate at this house, and part of me thinks they'll stay, but I wanted to put the ball in their court. Certainly not try to keep them there against their will.

No one has been bitten, so it has been at least 8 months since the bedbugs have gotten a meal. I am using a very good pest company, they think they are in the floorboards. They said worst case scenario the bedbugs can survive a year without a food source. Beginning to doubt the neighbors are the culprit. Its a fully attached townhouse, but there is no HOA. Entirely separate foundations and firewalls.

Thanks again for the continued interest in this topic, I'll be sure to keep it updated with any developments. Nothing like reading a thread without any resolution haha.

Thanks for the quick response to my concern Josh. My only thought was people googling my name (which is now sounding pretty narcissistic of me, haha). But yeah, thinking about it now I guess I don't mind anything I say here being public. Perhaps its time for me to upload a picture and join the 21st century.

Thanks again for the great site and keep up the good work!

Thanks Shawn, that's what I was thinking too.

It just didn't feel right passing the fee onto them, though the gesture of them reaching for the bill first was greatly appreciated.

Hi, love the site but I'm just not one for posting stuff with my name all over the internet.

I went into the privacy tab and checked that I didn't want my posts indexed by Google, but when I search my name on Google my posts on this site come up. How do I stop this?

Hi everyone, thanks for all of the responses!

Sorry I didn't go more into detail with the first post.

The house is a fully attached townhouse. The neighbors have a serious bedbug problem. The property is in a nice up-and-coming area, but this specific block is particularly rough. Almost half the houses are vacant, and the neighbors who live next door do not do the best job taking care of their home (hence the bedbugs). One of the family members from next door used to live in the house that I own/rent out now. I'm pretty sure the bedbugs got in then, and laid dormant while I rennovated it over the course of a month.

I have great tenants in therenow, and it is priced below market, but my main concern is keeping the tenants in there for as long as possible, hopefully until the block turns. They have been great with everything and don't mind the problems of the block.

I ultimately decided that I didn't feel right taking an extra $500/year from them for a problem that they almost certainly didn't cause. I told them I'd cover the monthly maintnence fee.

I should still cash-flow (rent is 1100, PITI is 450), but should I have taken them up on their offer? Does it sound like I'm too thin-skinned for this game (turning their offer down out of guilt/"responsibility")? Am I too accomodating? I think I could say no to a tenant if they were requesting something unreasonable, but living in a home that doesn't have a recurrent bedbug problem seems like a reasonable expectation to me.

Your opinions are greatly appreciated.

Great, thanks for the advice Ned.

Hi everyone, great site. It's been very helpful to me.

Right now I am dealing with one of the easier problems I've had in my short career.

I rented out my first SFR in March. Less than a week after the tenants moved in, bedbugs were making their presence know. Because neighbors have them, I knew the odds were the tenants didn't bring them, so I immediately paid $1,000.00 for a full heat treatment.

Four months later, very few are left, but I am still paying $40/month for ongoing service (a technician comes out once a month to spray). I have no problem paying this indefinitely into the future, but my tenants have offered to pick up the tab. Should I let them, and just have them send me an extra $40 a month in the rent check?

This sounds like a good problem to have, but I want to do the right thing here. The tenants have been very patient and helpful with everything.

Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

I'm just getting started myself, but I have two houses in East Kensington and they are doing very well so far. Neighborhood is very affordable and definitely seems to be on an upward trajectory.

What kind of properties are you looking for?