All Forum Posts by: Russ B.

I wouldn't be the one to say what specific steps you need to take in CA.. But as for the "how do I tell them" part, I'd bring it up earlier rather than later, in a polite, direct way - don't frame it as "I need you out", but as "the house is going away as a rental so we won't be able to renew past (date)". 

Moving is a PITA, more so on short notice. 

To give a more serious / maybe helpful answer - the odor itself doesn't actually soak into the house; once the source is gone, the smell is gone. What you're smelling, is dried animal urine that has not been removed yet / is still present in the house. 

If the house has hard floors that you've already scrubbed extensively, maybe check the bottom couple feet of the walls? Cats especially will mark their territory by peeing on the wall. You'll be able to tell quickly by sniffing the lower part of the wall - if it smells really strong, then that's why cleaning the floor hasn't fixed it.

If this is the case, then paint could help. For a permanent solution, replacing the bottom couple feet of wall and the baseboards would eliminate the source.

As for going after the real estate agent.. that's never going to work. You were in the house and smelled it yourself - it's not like they kept it hidden. Also, real estate agents usually don't have a lot of knowledge about how to identify or fix problems. They just show the place and walk the buyer / seller through the process - they're not inspectors or contractors.

There is a lot of good advice in this thread though. Landlords (who make up a large percentage of BP) probably know more than anyone else how to deal with pet odors, due to getting back stinky rentals... I'd try some of the suggestions!

lol wut 

Assuming they leave the unit clean and undamaged, there should be very little turnover cost. 

If they also bring you an applicant that fits all your criteria, and you don't lose any rent, then I wouldn't charge them anything on their way out.

What's an ejectment? Is that like an eviction by catapult or something? 😀

I'm not sure if dogs are the same way, but un-fixed cats (male or female) will pee on everything. 

So... between that and the whole puppies thing, the spay / neuter requirement sounds like a great idea to me 🙂

I'm guessing water is not lienable where you are.. which is a plus 🙂

You'd think that since you own the place, probably have other properties with water in your name, and call them at every turnover, you can just tell them that everyone in the unit is out, and they can turn the water back on. Maybe you got the new guy or something. 

If not, maybe ask them what they want to see? 

Edit - signs of tampering does make it more reasonable that they're being difficult. Still, there should be someone there that can tell you specifically what they need to see. 

Was your ratio billing scheme in the lease (and legal where you are)? If so, pay or quit. If not.. you may just be out the money. 

Do you know for sure it's legal to deduct from security (since you say you can't evict for it)?

Can you just ask their new employer (with their written permission) to verify the salary / wage they are hired at? I think most places can do that. 

I think this is how it happened the last time I rented a place, as I was starting a new job the next week. Then, you can look at the old job for length of employment. 

You do have a point here - you'd likely need their help if you wanted to do a walkthrough of all units. Doing it on your own could be a lot of work if there are more than a few. 

I might have been picturing the situation wrong - I had read it as, they were trying to tell the OP their presence / permission was needed to go to the properties at all, which would be kinda bizarre.

I might argue a little over the cost though. With what PMs end up charging for each unit, surely they can spend a half hour a year per, on good customer service. After all, that visit is one of the things that tells you how they're doing.