All Forum Posts by: Matt Vohnoutka

Hey Jason, sorry to hear you're dealing with these folks just a month into their lease starting!  Love the letter you sent though - pushing again for a mutual lease termination with them sounds like it would be the best option (and with the fewest future headaches) for all involved.  At this point, this tenant sounds like they're all bark with very little bite - I'd just keep documenting everything in writing (as it sounds like you've been doing) and sending everything to them via email as a backup as well, and only involve the lawyers if the need actually arises (e.g. if they file a rent escrow action; if you need to start eviction process for non-/partial payment; if you get them to agree to a mutual lease termination; etc).

If you do end up going with the carpet replacement option, I would also recommend going one step further: in addition to replacing the carpet and the padding underneath, also take that opportunity to put down a coat or two of heavy duty Killz on the subfloor before the new carpet gets installed.  Trying to find a way to go a little bit above and beyond what a tenant is requesting to solve their issue has been excellent ammunition to have for the rare instances these types of situations end up in court.

I also have a great and really affordable carpet guy who I can send you way - feel free to shoot me a DM if you want his contact info!