Inspection reveals huge amounts of belongings

Colorado Springs, Colorado
General Landlording & Rental Properties
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Inspection reveals huge amounts of belongings

Jane S.
Flipper/Rehabber · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2016 · 502 posts · 167 votes

Every inch of my 10-room house except the living/dining area is completely full of tenant belongings, such that it's verging on a hoard. 3 generations of a family (3 adults, 2 teens), are on the lease. BUT there's more than enough stuff for 10 or 12 people altho it's actually 3 legal bedrooms and one large bonus room in the basement that has heat & egress. They have a couple of those large portable zip front storage "closets". The closets in the legal bedrooms are so stuffed the sliding doors are jammed. The previous inspection I did in December, there was not nearly the huge amount of you-know-what.

Nothing impedes walking through which I just did. However, I found mail in the mailbox addressed to a person who is NOT on the lease. This happened before with a previous tenant, and it was a squatter moved in. If someone has mail delivered to an address, doesn't that mean they live there?

The lofted shed in back yard is also crammed. 

It looks to me on first glance that they are either 1) storing someone else's crap, or 2) squatters have moved in. 

I signed a 6 month lease with them which is expiring end of April. So far they paid on time and I never hear from them. All the systems are working. The kitchen is clean although every cabinet is crammed, and the bathrooms are more or less clean but almost every brand of beauty product is represented ...

Since this is/was a very pretty house which is renting to them about $200 under market (they have no animals), and I don't care if they stay or go, WWYD? 

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  • Kevin Sobilo
    Realtor · Hanover Twp, PA · Member since 2018 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    3y

    @Jane S., it sounds like most of the issue you have is personal judgment of them and how they live and how much stuff they have and the beauty products they like to use.

    I give you credit for acknowledging that it isn't a fire hazard or hoarding situation.

    I would have a discussion with them. I would ask about the person whose mail you saw. I would briefly discuss their storage needs and maybe even suggest they consider getting a storage unit. I might even look up what self storage options are nearby and the pricing so that I could mention that to them. I would mention it as a helpful suggestion and mention your concern if things get out of control that it becomes a fire hazard etc.

    Beyond the unauthorized person possibly staying there which is hard to police and of low consequence unless you pay certain utilities likely to be used more, it sounds like they are average tenants who are sanitary and pay on time but who have a lot of clutter. Not ideal but not the kind of tenant I would look to boot.

    As for your rent, I'm not sure why you choosing to rent $200 under market just 2 months ago has to do with whether to get rid of them. Wouldn't you choose to rent it under market again?!? Its hard to believe that there was a $200 price jump in several weeks and even if prices are going up several weeks is too short of a time to nail down by how much.

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  • John UnderwoodPro Member
    Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
    3y
    Quote from @Jane S.:

    Every inch of my 10-room house except the living/dining area is completely full of tenant belongings, such that it's verging on a hoard. 3 generations of a family (3 adults, 2 teens), are on the lease. BUT there's more than enough stuff for 10 or 12 people altho it's actually 3 legal bedrooms and one large bonus room in the basement that has heat & egress. They have a couple of those large portable zip front storage "closets". The closets in the legal bedrooms are so stuffed the sliding doors are jammed. The previous inspection I did in December, there was not nearly the huge amount of you-know-what.

    Nothing impedes walking through which I just did. However, I found mail in the mailbox addressed to a person who is NOT on the lease. This happened before with a previous tenant, and it was a squatter moved in. If someone has mail delivered to an address, doesn't that mean they live there?

    The lofted shed in back yard is also crammed. 

    It looks to me on first glance that they are either 1) storing someone else's crap, or 2) squatters have moved in. 

    I signed a 6 month lease with them which is expiring end of April. So far they paid on time and I never hear from them. All the systems are working. The kitchen is clean although every cabinet is crammed, and the bathrooms are more or less clean but almost every brand of beauty product is represented ...

    Since this is/was a very pretty house which is renting to them about $200 under market (they have no animals), and I don't care if they stay or go, WWYD? 


     Raise the rent to a little above market.

    They will either  move or you'll get top dollar for your rental.

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  • Tarren Shaw
    Member since 2020 · 3 posts · 0 votes
    3y

    Hi Jane,

    It sounds like your property is still in OK condition, but really cluttered. Sounds like something that happened to a close relative of mine. She always had a nice, well taken care of home, but then her parents died. The way she chose to grieve was to bring all of her parents belongings back to her house to "sort out." That was nearly 20 years ago and I'm pretty sure she still has all of the stuff. Usually people start hoarding as a response to something stressful in their lives. 

    As far as the strange name on the mail is concerned, I have a rental that had the same tenant (a single man) for the past 30 years. He died recently and as I was rehabbing the property last year I would pick up the mail every day. Even though he was the only person to lease the place for decades, there would usually be letters in the mailbox addressed to someone else at this address. Come to think of it, I'm the only person to have ever lived at my house (moved in when it was brand new) but occasionally I'll get letters addressed to other people at my address. I think you'd have a hard time proving that the mail belonged to a squatter. 

    If they are going to move out in a few months, and they pay rent, and it doesn't sound like permanent damage is being done...why worry about it? 

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  • Jane S.
    OP
    Flipper/Rehabber · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2016 · 502 posts · 167 votes
    3y

    thank you both for your considered advice. I'm probably just disgussted with all the c**p they buy and possible storing stuff for a person not on the lease, its hard to prove.

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