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What can go wrong? Update in #149


38carrots

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There was a guy on Humans of New York yesterday whose caption was about this very thing. He manages properties for landlords and deals with squatters.

 

http://www.humansofnewyork.com/post/141436428896/i-help-maintain-properties-for-absentee

Wow!

 

I'm curious about how things are going, too. 38carrots has been on the boards today and yesterday, posting in other threads.

Edited by Seasider
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"Amazed at the audacity of renters" - that's quite a leap. Most renters are ordinary people, trying to live their lives, not audacious scammers.

Agreed wholeheartedly.  Most renters, just like most landlords, are not awful people.  Are there those that are audacious scammers or slumlords or whatever?  Sure.  But I bet my teeth that is not the vast majority.

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"Amazed at the audacity of renters" - that's quite a leap. Most renters are ordinary people, trying to live their lives, not audacious scammers.

Yes. We've owned our home for a long, long time. But we rented before we bought. Glowing recommendations from landlords, and even thank you letters for taking care of their property. And then ... We rented from the wrong guy. The well was bad. He knew it before we moved in. He knew I'd just had surgery, and he knew I had a weak immune system. He knew that the prior renters got so sick that they had to move. He didn't care. We moved in, and I ran a 104 temp within weeks. For 6 months I was horribly, gravely ill. And then we learned the history. And had the water tested. DH was there when they pulled a pipe up from the well. A rusted through, holey pipe. The landlord never fixed it. We were audacious enough to ask that he fix it, but he didn't. I even had to shower at a hotel, for months. We finally, on the advice of an atty, moved out. That is the only lease we've ever broken. I still think his refusal to fix the water was unethical. To this day, 16 years later, I still deal with the ramifications of his poor choices.

 

I don't think it's fair to paint renters or landlords with a broad brush. They are all people. Some are good, some bad, most are doing the best they can to be good people.

 

OP, I am still hoping for a positive end to this chapter of your story, and to hear you've found great new tenants!

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I didn't say all. There were some who were out to get whatever they could. I've been a renter. It wasn't a broad brush that covers all renters. But you can choose what you want to see.

I think it sounded like a broad brush because it wasn't "some" renters but just renters.   Pretty sure Sadie thought the same.  Kind of sounds like you meant all renters.  I am glad to hear that wasn't what you meant.

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We had a landlord who knew her house and property were infested with termites.  I know she knew because when they swarmed one day (the first we knew about them), we called her and said, "Ahhh!  Armageddon!  There are thousands of little winged bugs flying around everywhere!!!" And she said, "Oh, that happens once a year or so.  They'll die soon.  I'll send the exterminator out again."

 

In a not-surprising move, a completely rotted on the inside tree next to the house fell and totaled our van a couple of months later.  

 

The rent was cheap, though.  

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I think it sounded like a broad brush because it wasn't "some" renters but just renters.   Pretty sure Sadie thought the same.  Kind of sounds like you meant all renters.  I am glad to hear that wasn't what you meant.

Yes, I gathered that.  Sorry it sounded that way.  I'm done. :)

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Also wondering if once they're out, locks will need to be changed anyway (re: earlier conversation in thread)?

 

Erica in OR

Wondering this, too.  Mom always has the locks changed on her parents' home after each renter.  Actually, I think she has it re-keyed, not ripping out the locks themselves.  It adds a level of security for the new tenants.  Not everyone does this, though.

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Wondering this, too.  Mom always has the locks changed on her parents' home after each renter.  Actually, I think she has it re-keyed, not ripping out the locks themselves.  It adds a level of security for the new tenants.  Not everyone does this, though.

 

Surely (surely!) all landlords do this with every renter.  I never even considered that a landlord might not do that.  Ack.

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Surely (surely!) all landlords do this with every renter.  I never even considered that a landlord might not do that.  Ack.

 

A friend of mine once had a drunk guy walk into her locked apartment and who quite belligerent and insisted that it was his.  Fortunately her brother was staying over.  She reported it to the management office.  Turns out that there were only 7 keys.  This guy was drunk and confused and just happened to pick an apartment with a matching key to think was his. 

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A friend of mine once had a drunk guy walk into her locked apartment and who quite belligerent and insisted that it was his.  Fortunately her brother was staying over.  She reported it to the management office.  Turns out that there were only 7 keys.  This guy was drunk and confused and just happened to pick an apartment with a matching key to think was his. 

 

 

I have no words - for so many reasons.

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Surely (surely!) all landlords do this with every renter.  I never even considered that a landlord might not do that.  Ack.

 

It is considered standard to do, but that doesn't mean all landlords do it.

 

We do it, but like others, we often just swap locks from a different place as it saves $$ over buying new all the time.  Our places aren't next to each other or even in the same neighborhood.  

 

The only time we didn't bother was once when we had terrific tenants who moved oodles of states away.  We saw no point for that one - great folks and no longer in the area.

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I remember renting my first apartment. I was going to be living alone, and the apartment faced a wooded area. I asked the landlord to change the locks before I moved in. I even offered to pay for it. He was still not happy about being asked to do it. When I actually moved in, he said he'd taken care of it, and he did not bill me. Because of his initial reaction to what I thought was a reasonable request, I always wondered afterward if he'd really done it. I'm glad most landlords (here at least) take their tenants' security seriously.

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I keep checking back, too.  Best wishes to carrots.

 

I'm in a situation with my sister and 2 steps - one step-sister is living in a house in a trust we all own and we want to sell it. She's not paying rent and thinks the house should be gifted to her, she will not move out easily, we are already talking to an eviction lawyer -but oh, it gives me stomach cramps to think of dealing with this. She hasn't been notified yet so, an uneasy peace prevails.

 

hugs to carrots - what a stinky situation to be in.

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  • 1 month later...

I was thinking about this too! I just didn't want to ask, since I got the impression OP was suggesting we were nosy. I honestly was just hoping (and keep hoping) that everything turned out for the best. Oh! And the purple pencil too! I hope she got it back, or a replacement :)

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Wow, I never raise rent on good tenants in residence. Maybe that policy needs revision, if your landlord could raise it $500 a month and still get applicants. I can't believe those rental amounts!

 

The law very much favors tenants, in my view. What else can you take and not pay for, yet keep for another 30-60 days before it is removed from your possession, but rental housing?

 

You are right. If everyone is honest and just does the right thing, it works out well. I have never evicted anyone in decades, and only had to threaten one time, at which he did finally vacate and even clean the house.

We were renting far below market rate at the time.

 

It is a high COL area with excellent schools and great infrastructure. She raised it with the market. I am happy for her. We bought low and are grateful.

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Yep. I'm not arguing one way is better or worse, just different. In the US, writing a "hot check" is a bad idea and if your landlord asked for it, your landlord is probably shady.

:Iagree:

 

This does sound like it is a difference between Ca and the US.

 

We have complexes and would not even take a post-dated check. Our lease is probably 7-8 pages long. Security deposit is absolutely required before the keys are given out. If move-in date is bumped up, that it written into the lease. Everything is in the lease.

 

I would have agreed with a pp about "most people don't make problems" when I was renting an apartment as a young 20-something. As 40-50 yo landlords, we feel very differently. We have nice apartments in low crime areas. We take care of maintenance quickly, do updates, have good on-site managers, and -still- you would NOT BELIEVE what people do.

 

The entitlement attitude is insane. They hide pets, who then proceed to pee on everything and ruin thousands in carpet. They drive over the grass to unload groceries at their front door because they don't want to get wet and take up the grass in divets. Call them out on it and they are shocked to be reminded that the property is actually owned by someone and that they need to not destroy other people's property. Drugs hidden in toilet tanks, moving in extended family members without permission, punching holes in walls and doors and then expecting the landlord to pay for it. I could go on for hours.

 

I am not, of course, saying that this is everyone. But, it is a higher proportion than most people (who are responsible community members;) would think. (And, yes, there are crummy landlords, but the op doesn't sound like some of the slum lords we have run into in the business :lol: )

 

The people who are least likely to be crummy tenants are usually the ones most likely to comply with reasonable rental procedures. Like another pp, they realize that having the rental agreement solidly in place and all monies properly paid in, actually protects them.

 

The op sounds like this is a one off unit type of setup rather than a large complex. Having very firm boundaries is a good idea going forward. This is not a mean person thing. It's kind of like teaching a class. You go in more hard a-- and, over time, as they prove themselves and more trust is built, you can be more flexible.

 

Good luck, op.

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I thought of this thread because we just moved into a new rental a couple weeks ago, and the landlord asked for rent to be paid in...post-dated checks! We've been serial renters for around 15 years, and it's never happened before, but at least I knew through reading this thread that it wasn't totally shady!!

 

Has 38carrots been on the forum since all this happened? I hope they are alright.

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