Is This Tenant Worth The Effort?

Question

Good morning, everyone!  I have a longish and frustrating situation, and I'm looking for appropriate and tactful ways to handle a situation.

The property in question is not near my me, but I self-manage from a distance because I have a good contractor (I'd say he's fabulous, but you shall see his major shortcoming soon), and this particular area has usual PM charges that are just ridiculous (by the time you add them all up, at least 25%.)  I handle the renting and the money, my contractor handles the house.  This has worked fairly well for the last several tenants.  My target market is senior military officers, which eliminates some problems and brings some different problems.

The previous tenants moved out 16 July, and new tenants took possession 2 August. I have not seen the house in the interim, but my contractor went through with the previous tenants when they moved out. He particularly noted that "the house has never been left so clean." Between the few things the previous tenant noted, the things I knew needed attention, and the things that the contractor saw, we made a list of items that needed maintenance and completed them.

The new tenants accepted possession of the house on Saturday, and promptly sent me an email telling me that the house was "dirty, filthy, and grimy," and requesting a professional cleaning. The next email told me that they were concerned about damage from previous flooding (which has never, to the best of my knowledge, occurred - not in the 10 years we've owned this property and not in the 30 years the neighbors have lived there) and requested a mold and mildew inspection and that "structural and cosmetic repairs be completed."

This morning, I got a HUGE list of things that they expect to be repaired before they actually move in.  After gathering information from the previous tenant and the contractor, there are clearly a few things that need to be addressed, but most of the list are things that I consider ridiculous.

This is a 60 year old house in a town of 60 year old houses. It is in good, but not excellent, condition for its age and it is priced appropriately for its size and condition. It is in an expensive area due to the location and schools. Renting is rarely a problem, especially during the summer season.

The tenants signed a three year lease without ever seeing the house. After seeing their walk-through check list, they are clearly going to be the kind of tenants who nit-pick every single thing in the house. I think I have two choices: a very carefully worded response that acknowledges and repairs the things that are reasonable while making sure that I establish that I get to make the decisions about the property I own, OR just suggesting that they would perhaps be happier elsewhere. (There's nothing else comparable available, and I know that all the available rentals are in a similar condition.)

I'd love to hear your thoughts and/or suggestions. Please be nice - it has been a stressful weekend. I'm tempted to jump on a plane and come resolve this myself, but that seems a bit ridiculous and I think I'm better at keeping my tongue via email :)

Steve L. · Answer

We run into 1 out of 100 tenants that are like this and have used this style of message with great success:

"Clearly our house does not meet your standard.  We are very sorry about this.  This is not a new house and it is not cost effective for us to make it a new house.  At this point we would be willing to allow you out of the lease, refund all money and let you find a property that meets your expectations.  Best of luck."

Paul Wurster · Answer

Just send them a back to reality message.  Fix the mechanical, plumbing, and safety issues because you are going to do that anyway.  I'm guessing they rented this sight unseen.

I did this at my last duty station.  We rented it over the internet many months in advance.  The owners were out of state as well.  The house had obviously gone through several renters with no work done in years.  We sent them a condition report so we wouldn't be charged when we left.  We asked if they wanted anything fixed.  (it was bad)  They sent us a letter saying that we could break the lease if we wanted out because we must be expecting a "house that you would buy" which is not necessarily wrong, but then we sent pictures so they would not think that we were too sensitive.  They abruptly changed their tone.  they let us fix everything and deduct it from the rent which was a great deal for them.

If it is a high rent area, they are probably just adjusting to paying much more than they are used to for much less of a property.  I would be understanding with them and try to work something out.  Don't let them extort you, but this might be a great opportunity to take a look at your property for the condition that it is in.

Shawn Thom · Answer

Definitely allow them out of their lease to save you lots of future hassle.  I like @Steve L. 's wording.  Maybe a good reason to never let some one rent sight unseen.

Sergio Altomare · Answer

It sounds to me that you are getting two extremes of the condition, so 1) you need to validate what your contractor thinks is clean and acceptable condition, 2) be on the same page as him, and 3) see detailed pictures of the property or visit it yourself.

My first reaction to your message is that your contractor is exaggerating the condition to make sure he still has a job, or he may be too busy with other work to want to address anything that is out of his expertise or too time consuming. Sorry, you said he is fabulous, but we've had a few of those that turned out to be far less. We rent to picky tenants on purpose. which allows us to price rents on the high end of the market, but also have the properties better maintained. We also put in the money to make sure the properties are better than the comps.

On the other hand, without seeing the list of repairs, I also agree that these tenants might turn out to be a PITA, so it might be worth terminating the lease.

I would definitely address anything that could turn is or could turn into a health hazard.

Good luck

Elizabeth Colegrove · Answer

@Kate Horrell

Small World :) We know each other from Military Landlords. I have had this happen a couple times to the point I have a site unseen contract in the lease. This has prevent the issues soo much. I go over that the landlord represents the house in the best possible manner, but nothing is perfect. That they are signing for the house etc.

I grew up in that area so I know exactly what you are talking about. My now favorite tenants were exactly like that, oh were they a handful. I told them no :) and it got better. I also let them know that they were welcome to move out. Well that changed the tune, they realized there was nothing "better" in the area. This was also our personal house that we gutted, so it had things like "duel" headed showers, wood closet system, etc. So the house was nice, but older. We fixed the couple of "structural"/ "functional" issues and told them it was their responsibility for the rest. They are now are best tenants.

That area is hard because people are paying $2500-$3000 for "Small" older homes. If they have never lived in that area before than they are probably in sticker shock. I grew up in Shipley Choice, so the opposite happen to me in texas, our first duty station.

As fellow military I know it is beyond stressful. Let me know if I can help!

Kate Horrell · Answer

Steve L, I love your wording.  Question:  from the photos provided, some of their concerns are valid.  I was thinking along the lines of:

"Thank you for sharing your concerns, and I appreciate that you brought these items to my attention.  We will be addressing item x, item y and item z.

However,

and then what you said."

What do y'all think?

Kate Horrell · Answer

Thank you everyone!  I have received quite a few pictures, from both the tenants and the contractor.  There are definitely some things that should have been repaired before they moved in, and then there are some things that are just being picky.  I'm working on a carefully crafted letter explaining which things we'll fix, which things we won't, and offering them to break their lease.I appreciate all your thoughts, concerns and support.  You never stop learning!

Aly W. · Answer

I had this happen, too. A family moved into our SFR after being highly recommended by the departing tenant, who was wonderful. All their background checks were fine, the husband had a good job, money no problem.

One week into their tenancy, the wife called to complain about the condition of the house, that it was "filthy" (after a cleaning team spent 5 hours there), that there were tiny nail holes in the walls, carpet thread "pulls", a shade of paint on one wall that didn't quite match the others (this is a 100 year old house). None of this was mentioned during the walkthrough she had with my contractor on Day 1. She was so agitated that when we went there to see what she was talking about, she basically burst into tears that we couldn't see the damage and filth she was referring to. She called her husband and told him we were basically calling her a liar....it was quite a scene.

We simply told her if she and her family left in 48 hours, we'd give them back their month's rent and entire security deposit. They agreed, and gave us the keys on that day. But as a parting gift, they had flushed a washcloth down the toilet and backed it up, the place had personal stuff left behind including a futon that we had to get rid of, there were 9 days of water/sewer usage they didn't pay for, and everything had to be cleaned yet again. We were glad to get rid of them and just let it go.

So cash for keys does work, but be prepared to basically turn over the unit completely again before someone else moves in.

@Steve L., your "message" is great!

Cory Binsfield · Answer

I would respectfully let them out of the lease. If this is a property in a high demand area, you will have no problems renting it. It's been my experience that the most difficult tenants at move in are the worst at move out. Plus, a three year lease binds both parties and this could turn your life into a living hell. Do you have another person outside of the contractor that could walk thru with a second opinion? If the issues need to be addressed, you want to do them now before this happens again. Chalk it up to a learning experience and create a new procedure to ensure this doesn't happen again.

James Wise · Answer

Id find a new tenant.

Is This Tenant Worth The Effort?

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