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Tenants Die, Landlord Charged With Homicide Subscribe to Tenants Die, Landlord Charged With Homicide 13 posts by 9 users

Richard W.

Real Estate Investor
Las Vegas, NV
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1167 posts

Tenants die from carbon monoxide poisoning and the landlord was charged with homicide. And you thought you only needed to worry about the rent being late!

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/ny-lilord1009,0,6148701.story

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abhyler

Real Estate Investor
Lincoln, Nebraska
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27 posts

This is becoming a high risk business and as landlords we should be getting a higher premium for the risk involved. Seriously scary...but this is a prime example of why I do not rent properties that are not in good and all running condition.

Jason F.

Real Estate Investor
Gainesville, FL
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317 posts

At what point do you start to put some of the fault on the tenants themselves?

They had the right to move-out, find an attorney and sue the landlord.

How many of you here would continue to live in a place with no electric and the noise of a generator running?

Richard W.

Real Estate Investor
Las Vegas, NV
Rjw_forum_avatar

1167 posts

Originally posted by Jason F
At what point do you start to put some of the fault on the tenants themselves?

Blaming the tenants and asking them to take responsibility for their own actions??? Jason, surely you jest! Everyone knows everything is the fault of the greedy, slimy landlords!



Jon H.

Real Estate Investor
Denver, Colorado
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Star Moderator

3876 posts

Realistically, though, this was pretty outrageous behavior. No electricity, and putting a generator inside? Would it have been OK if he didn't provide any heat, and put a barbecue grill inside to warm the place? No. What he did is little different.

Tom C.

Real Estate Investor
OH
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807 posts

I have to agree with Jon. I am sure the charge will be plead down to a F4 with probation.

Brendan O.

Property Manager
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
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81 posts

I think the landlord has a lot of culpability. He put a gasoline-powered generator inside the home? That's just nuts.

I don't have any CO detectors in my properties, but you know what - I should! There's a reason why CO is called the silent killer. You never know you're in danger - just feel tired, go to sleep, and don't wake up.

Taz

Real Estate Investor
North of Atlanta, Georgia
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378 posts

First, that landlord needs to be facing the death penalty. He was renting a house that had been condemned! Then he puts the generator in there? Nope, sorry, roll up his sleeve and insert the needle.

Second, smoke and CO2 detectors are one of the first things we put in every new rental. And, guess what? We actually send someone to change the batteries every six months! Sometimes, the first time we do that with a new tenant the batteries will be missing. But, the lease says if the batteries are missing when we come out to replace them, there is a $75 charge for each unit missing its batteries. A few do it once, but none have done it twice.

Matthew G.

Real Estate Investor
Berwyn, Illinois
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177 posts

I am not in anyway going to defend this landlord. We have to police ourselves, because as it is local and state governments are pro-tenant. We don't need to give local governments more reason to restrict landlords.

As it turns out, in my state CO2 detectors are mandatory in residences. In the county I invest in. The rental license inspectors are even more strict. CO2 and smoke detectors have to be in so many places, so many feet from a bedroom and within a certain amount of inches from where the ceiling meets the wall. You get the point.

Is it a pain in the ass? Sure. But, when it comes to personal safety, I could not live with myself, if someone was hurt or killed due to my negligence.

Taz

Real Estate Investor
North of Atlanta, Georgia
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378 posts

Originally posted by Matthew Gil

Is it a pain in the ass? Sure. But, when it comes to personal safety, I could not live with myself, if someone was hurt or killed due to my negligence.


That is exactly why we were doing this LONG before it was mandatory anywhere.

Tom C.

Real Estate Investor
OH
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807 posts

A new requirement for us, is that if one smoke detector goes off they all must go off. I was freaking out when this just came out last week, thinking that I would have to have all my smoke detectors professionally installed and hard wired. Until the health inspector who is also a landlord in the city told me that Home Depot sells ones that have sensors in them and will go off as soon as another one goes off in the house.

I haven't looked yet, but they are suppose to run around 60 bucks.

Daniel S.

Real Estate Investor
Terrell, Texas
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22 posts

Some of the silver-spoon fed comments made in this thread about the tenants are truly sad......

you know who you are...

That is all.

Tom C.

Real Estate Investor
OH
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807 posts

Explain yourself Daniel..