All Forum Posts by: Vincent Plant

I had a leak under the kitchen sink in one of my properties. It actually leaked through the kitchen floor and onto the basement floor. When the tenant told me about I immediately filed an insurance claim. She went on and on about how her kids were sick from mold and took it upon herself to stay in a hotel.

Insurance acted quickly and had a restoration co. go in and tear out basement drywall, clean, and dry it all out.

Because of the way the tenant behaved I demanded mold testing so I can have written proof it was remediated. Well that backfired because the results came in bad and I had to tell her that the place might be unsafe according to the results. She had her renters insurance move her into a hotel.

Now, the restoration co is working to remediate but they say that there are more areas in the house that have mold and likely ALL her possessions will have to get wiped and cleaned.

This tenant was living a disgusting lifestyle. They found moldy cat bowls and terrible living conditions in there.

My question is what do I do? I know they are going to keep testing and no matter what they will find more mold. My insurance only covers up to $10,000 for mold. I’ll burn right through that at this rate.

Her lease ends 7/31 and I already served her with a notice to vacate (which is unrelated to this). She’s contesting that she will have to leave.

Am I able to determine the house unsafe and end her lease early?

Should I get a lawyer?

I have a section 8 property with a tenant I inherited that is stressing me out. Our lease expires at the end of July and I have made it clear that I do not intend to renew and I have given her notice to vacate at the end of the lease as well as notice that the agreement with section 8 will be ending then too. 

Last month she sent me her portion of the rent $80 light and claimed that because the kitchen sink was steadily dripping it made her water bill increase. I will admit she mentioned the drip to me a few months ago but I didn't act on it. So, I decided not to fight her on that and let it slide replaced the faucet. I made it very clear that this would not be happening again and she can't just take it into her own hands to tell me how much she will pay. 

This month, BOOM same thing, rent came in $80 light and she said I fixed the drip mid month so it was another $80 off. Ridiculous of course. 

On top of that, when I was there replacing the faucet I noticed another leak under the sink in the drain pipe that was dripping through the floor and through the basement ceiling. I made an insurance claim to have this fixed as there was extensive water damage and possibly mold under the cabinet and in the basement ceiling. The tenant never brought that to my attention until a few days after I replaced the kitchen faucet. I currently have that scheduled to be repaired and insurance will cover the damage. Although I'm worried her next act will be to claim that there is mold in the house. 

This tenant has a history of being violent and of course is likely looking for any loophole or angle to take advantage of me or sue me. 

Should I be the nice guy and try and ride this out until July (where I will likely need to evict her anyway). 

Or go right to work and serve her a quit or pay and attempt to force her to comply. 

Or am I in the wrong? Can she just deduct money off the rent because the water (a drip into the kitchen sink) was dripping for a few months. 

How do I handle this without getting sued? 

So my rental property's lease is coming to an end on 7/31 of this year. I want them out and do not wish to renew. The lease states that I must give 60 days notice to the tenant if I do not wish to auto renew. 

My tenant is very open that they do not wish to leave. 

So, I sent a certified letter containing a notice to vacate. This was unsuccessful, she never signed off on the letter. 

Sure, I'll email it, hand deliver it, whatever but do I need to do anything further to PROVE that I sent this notice? Obviously she won't sign it. Even if I place it in her hand how do I actually prove that I gave it to her. Or do I even need to take it that far? 

A few months back my tenant pointed out to me that the sink sprayer in the kitchen was at a drip. She didn't seem so concerned with it and I didn't see it as an immediate need so I admittedly brushed it off and have since forgotten it. 

So this month she shows up with her portion of the rent (shes section 8 and they pay most of her rent) and its $80 light. She hand wrote me a note stating that its reduced because her water bill over the past few months has been more because of this drip so shes taking it out of her rent! Am I insane or is this completely inexcusable? She can't just tell me what she's going to pay right? She calculated her average monthly water bill to show how she got to that number.   

I am a rookie landlord so I'm not exactly sure what to do here, and advice? 

I paid a roofer who was recommended to me half ($3,500) up front to replace a roof on a property im brrrring. Next day, he cashed the check and never did the job. Ive gone down every road trying to get the money back and here we are 2 months later and still no roof and no money. The guy has been promising up and down that he will have it soon.

I filed a civil complaint and today was awarded a judgement against him. When I spoke with the courthouse clerk over the phone she said the judgement will go against his credit but that’s really all I can do since he lives in another state (I live close to the border).

This can’t be right???? The guy STOLE my money, is walking around free, AND there’s nothing I can do about it??

Anyone know of another way? I can’t accept the idea of “cut your losses and move on.”

I bought a property 2 months ago and inherited a tenant and her kids. I agreed to accept the property tenant occupied because honestly it helped me deflect competition and I got a great price.

I had the intent all along to move her out when the time was right. It’s a section 8 tenant and they don’t pay much compared to what I can get on the normal rental market. She has a lot of kids and is not keeping the property in good condition.

I want to move her out, rehab, move in a higher paying tenant and brrrr the S@&T out of this place.

I finally broke the news to her tonight. Telling her id like to sign a new lease up to 6/15 and have her out. She took it well over the phone and agreed to look for a new place but I fear she will wreck the place out of spite. I’ve seen her snap out before and her history on paper (violence, rental issues) suggests she could be a problem.

I need to reach 6/15 with my place intact, no bs, no damage, and have her totally out by then. Any suggestions to pull this off successfully.

I own a rental and the roof was in bad shape and the insurance co notified me it needed to be replaced or they would drop us. No biggie, I new going into it that it would need to be replaced soon so I began getting quotes. I got 4 quotes and went with a roofer that came with a reference from 2 friends of mine who had experience with him before. Because of this, I somewhat slacked off in vetting him and hired him based on a good price and the scope of work he was including. 

I met with him, signed a contract and paid him half ($3,500) on the spot. We shook hands and he agreed he would start the job the next Monday and be done by Thursday. 

Well, Monday morning I get a text that he needs to get his permit in my county renewed and he can't start until later in the week. I was annoyed and somewhat skeptical but didn't think much of it. As the days ticked on he kept failing to start. He would text me 2 hours before he was scheduled to arrive that his delivery was late, he was sick, it was supposed to rain etc... 

Finally I fired him. I told him enough is enough its unacceptable that he hasn't started and I wanted to part way and get my money back. He apologized and said he would meet me the next day with my money. 

Of course, he called me 2 hours before we were to meet with a story, he ordered the material and couldn't get the money back, some bs about his bank account blah blah. 

I waited until the end of the day and called the cops and reported it. They called him but told me they couldn't do much and I needed to file a civil suit. This is my next step but it doesn't seem promising honestly. 

The roofer is still in touch with me daily. He answers every time I call and responds to every text apologizing and saying he's going to pay me soon, yet he keeps not showing up with the money. Everyday its another story about some loan hes getting and his family is helping but its obviously all BS.  The police won't help, I feel like suing him will take forever and won't be effective, and I still don't have my money.  

I’m currently brrring a property for the first time.

My first order of business is to replace the roof as insurance is requiring me to do it to maintain coverage.

I went ahead and got 4 quotes, chose the guy who gave the 2nd lowest and went off his references.

I paid him half up front, signed a contract and he said he’d be there Monday morning (today) to start and be done by Thurs.

I wake up 2 hours before he supposed to be there and he’s texting me that he forgot to tell me he needs to fill out a business license for this county and won’t have it it till Friday.

This to me seems unacceptable! He didn’t mentioned that he wasn’t registered in the county until now. I feel already like I’m being jerked around.

He already went ahead and cashed the check I gave him real fast.

Any suggestions on how to maneuver through this?

@Dennis M.

How do you know it sounds high when you have no basis on my market?

@Mary Mitchell

I’ve spoken directly to the handler at the housing authority (section 8) and they claim all that is needed is 60 days notice regardless of reasoning. I have that in writing I’m not sure how I could be held liable for anything when I am within my right to terminate the contract with the program right?

I know she is wrecking the place because I walked through it multiple times and observed the condition it is in and the way they are living. It’s completely trashed and neglected.