Tenant's friend almost attacked me (move out inspection)

[Christian Bors]

So last night my tenant and I went through our property move out inspection walk through.  I had bought this property about 6 months ago at auction and inherited this tenant.  Needless to say, the place is destroyed.  Chipped paint, holes in the wall, floors are destroyed, all the bedrooms are painted ridiculous colors and the kitchen needs to be completely remodeled.  I knew about these issues when I purchased the property.  I spoke with my attorney and a friend; they both said because I don't have a move in inspection sheet or proof of what the property looked like, I should give the security deposit back.  That's fine, in the grand scheme of things 600$ doesn't really matter when the remodel job is about 15k. 

Anyways, we walked through and I said the place looks fine except you changed the locks.  There are no other issues I see with the property.  The tenant was very upset and said the previous landlord knew about the changing of the locks.  I had told her I didn't receive a key, and the seller never told me.  The tenant called the previous landlord so prove her case.  Well the previous landlord said, "I didn't know you changed the locks, why did you guys do that?"  Blah blah blah, the tenant made an excuse and said they shouldn't get charge etc....  When we were leaving the property, all of a sudden a large pick up truck comes flying in.  Almost hit my car! A gentlemen (I think he may have been a friend or a relative) got out of the vechile and started screaming saying "where is that f***** a*****."  Luckily, I was already in my car.  At this point I was turning around and already in the middle of the street.  He jumped in front of my car, pounded on the hood.  Then tried to open my door.  I took off and that was it.  Needless to say, I have learned many things from this mistake.  My question is how should I have handled this situation?  Should I have called the cops?  I was worried the tenants were going to smash the house after I left, but it does seem like the simply left after my departure.  Is there anything I should do now?

Thanks and sorry for the long post.

[Harriet Baldwin]

Stripped of the drama, the tenant changed locks without telling anyone - that does happen.  It's not right, but it's not a bridge I want to die on, either.  I tend to avoid confrontation anyway, but on the tenant's turf with threatening friends and no long-term track record with the tenant, I would have taken a more "oh, new locks? seems wise in this neighborhood.  well, when you turn in your keys, you'll get your deposit back" approach - no need to "call them" on changing the locks.  Usually "after I do a walkthrough" would be part of that speech, but not in this case.

At least in our area, getting the keys back is very helpful from a legal standpoint (clearly shows tenant has given up possession).  I wouldn't have called the seller at all in this case.  If it was an issue I wanted to check with the seller on, an issue that was a potential conflict with a tenant, I would do it after getting back to my desk.  If the issue is something the tenant thinks the seller might be helpful on, I might make the call in front of the tenant.

We've had tenants change locks and then disappear.  Depending on neighborhood, we call a locksmith or just force entry ourselves and change the locks.