Oyy, where to begin. Cat, Broken Door, Lawn, Garage Grill, Late..

[Martin S.]

I own 1 rental property in Sarasota, FL, I live in NYC. The home has well water and I hired a well maintenance company, the system has had some issues since they moved in. Every time water is restored within 24 hours, but I could understand their frustration. The maintenance guys showed them how to restore water themselves, and 95% of the time it was just a circuit breaker that tripped, but they would fail to check it and reset it, which caused diagnosis of the exact problem to take months instead of days. Ended up being bad underground wiring, which is now replaced. The tenant made a nasty and even threatening call to me 11pm at night the day after the issue with the water system was fixed. I've been as nice as possible up until this point, but its time for me to address issues with this tenant. I'll list them below.

1. Tenant kicked in the side door into garage, resulting in dented door and broken frame. The door was brand new before they moved in.

2. Their dog which is allowed under the lease has clawed the inside garage door that leads into the house, the wood for the door stop is deformed and needs to be replaced.

3. Tenants got a cat without my authorization or even asking or letting me know. Poop stains all over brand new carpet all over house, most likely urine all over, I would have never allowed a cat.

4. Tenant is using a propane grill inside garage. Lease states no hazardous materials, such as flammables or explosive character. Also has a 2nd large propane tank with torch/flamethrower type attachment.

5. Tenant is responsible for lawn care and to keep plants from touching, rubbing or growing on the outside of house. The lawn has not been cut in months, weeds, vines, bushes and everything is overgrown and rubbing, and growing on the sides of the house. Lawn is shot, weeds everywhere.

6. Tenant complained about the HVAC filter not filtering because it is clean, I explained he can get a higher rated filter and it is his job to change the filter. He stood firm on his complaint that the filter is clean and not filtering so why should he change it. I don't care, that's not my problem.

7. Tenant complained about mold because there was a small roof leak which I fixed 2 days after they told me about it. Claims that once water gets on anything there is mold instantly. I treated the sheetrock with bleach, applied mold resistant paint and then color matched the paint. Lease states tenant must provide written notice to landlord if he/she believes there is mold. Tenant is responsible for keeping the house clean, open windows and shades. The house is always a terrible mess, windows are always closed and shades are always down and shut, never got a notice about mold, and I'm sure I mitigated any chance of mold. Not my problem.

8. Rent was late for December, actually rent is always late. Lease states rent is due the 1st, but I did include a 5 day grace period. They always mail it out on the 1st. I usually get it around the 5th. This time, I had to personally pick up the December check on the 12th after 10pm. Old check arrived in the mail postmarked the 11th... I guess I will be charging the late fee of $25, plus $75 per week. Tenant wants the old check back, instead of letting me just write void on it. That was my last straw, WHY would you want me to send you a stupid check back?

So obviously I have a lot of writing to do.

My main questions are this:

Do I write a separate letter for each issue, or 1 or 2 separate letters, 1 for major issues and 1 for minor issues?

Do I mail everything together with the old check in 1 letter CMRR, or each issues gets its own CMRR? I'd imagine if they were not home and they got 8 yellow slips they would likely not pick up the letters from the post office...

[Nathan Gesner]

So many Landlords make the mistake if thinking they can save money by doing everything themselves. It looks to me like you have spent a lot of time and effort dealing with problem tenants that should have been caught in the screening process. Now you have to go through the expense and trouble if finally dealing with them, which will probably cost you far more than a property manager would!

Di yourself a favor and hire someone. It sounds like you have a poor screening process, if one even exists. You are probably renting below market value. And you are dealing with issues from 1,000 miles away. A decemt property manager could everything for you, do it better, and put more money in your pocket.

You've let problems build far too long. When they kicked the door in, you should have dealt with it immediately. Same for every other problem. I say you hire someone to help you straighten out this mess, whether that is a PM or an attorney. Don't wait for them to leave and don't try handling it on your own. Be honest to yourself and admit your short comings or this Landlord thing will ruin you.