What did I get myself into or am I over-reacting??!!

Question

So I rented one of my properties to a lovely family. Did my due diligence etc...They were coming off of Section 8, but I did verify their income etc.( income increased)... Oops, husband lost his job 1 month into the lease.3 months in  now and I get a call every other week about stuff that they suggest should be updated. This is a property in a great area and I had many interested in it. It is in great condition... I will not, and cannot update every single thing. It is a rental, if they want customization, buy your own home. - done with my rant. I did a 6 month lease, am I over-reacting?.. or should I not renew? The rent is payed on time, but the expectations are not typical.

Victor N. · Answer

My landlord parents and my grandparents taught me to never say no to tenant requests for updates or improvements, just say how much the rent must increase to pay for it.  I usually price it to cover the improvement cost within a year.  If the tenant says ok, you have a permanent rent increase, an improved property and a happy tenant. If they say no, the tenant decides it isn't worth it- end of discussion.  After a couple requests, the silliness stops.

Phil Earley · Answer

My take is that everyone makes us happy.  Some when we meet them, some when they leave.

Ben McMahon · Answer

@Christine Mwai

I am a property manager.  I started managing property because I knew other people didnt want to do it.  The reality is that its helpful to have a buffer between owner and tenant.  If the property management firm's hands are tied, than the tenant can't do anything.

My suspicion is that the tenant is either 1) looking to see what more than can get out of you, or 2) Is the type of person that just wants to be listened to.  There are a lot of lonely people that work crappy jobs and they want to exercise some dominance over someone or something they think they might have control over.

Obviously, as mentioned by @Mindy Jensen if its something that needs to be addressed, than you do it.  Everything else is covered in the initial walk through and lease.

I am not just plugging property management because thats what I do.  I often go and visit properties that I own, and the tenant has no clue.  They think I am just another property manager and they aren't able to make a case with me because the company offers a buffer.

Andrew Johnson · Answer

@Christine Mwai If you make it clear that you're not doing the updates, would they renew their lease?  That could decrease the number of calls but I have to admit, calls about updates are better than call with excuses about not paying rent!  I'm going to sound horrible but I wouldn't let them being "a lovely family" factor into it.  Repairs and updates are two very different things.  The latter usually comes with a rent increase attached to it.  I'd say your decision could be based on your confidence that it would still have many people interested in it.

Jeff Rabinowitz · Answer

Would they pass your income criteria now that the husband lost his job? Did he get another job? How long did it take him? Combine the job instability with the neediness and they seem like a good candidate for termination. If you feel the tenant is taking too much time to manage you can either hire a property manager to take over (I would raise the rent to cover this) or just let them go. The turnover will cost you some money but your peace of mind is more important.

Patti Robertson · Answer

@Christine Mwai - I have a lot of SEC 8 rentals (100 currently and I've participated for about 7 years) and can't say as though I've ever met anyone who "got off the program" because they made too much money.  I have had participants go down to a 0% subsidy - meaning they paid 100% of their rent, but as long as they complied they got to stay in the program in the event they had a change of income.  Are you sure they weren't asked to leave the program?  Did you call SEC 8 to inquire? I certainly could be wrong, but this just doesn't sound logical to me.

I would thank them for the suggestion and tell them that they rented it in the current condition and be done with it.

Chuy Gonzalez · Answer

Don't renew their lease. Trust your gut.

It's pretty typical for people to show interest in a prospective unit...but out of those 5 people that call you per day, how many would work out to be good potential tenants? In my area when I am getting a vacancy ready, I have people coming over all day interrupting me asking about the rent, when it will be available, blah blah blah...but (in my case) none of them are serious...of if they are serious, they aren't people I would rent to.

Mindy Jensen · Answer

@Christine Mwai , what I'm reading is that they are requesting things be updated or improved, and not asking for repairs for broken or not-working-properly items.

"I'd like a new faucet because this one is ugly" isn't your problem. "I'd like a new faucet because this one drips" should be addressed.

The bottom line is they saw the property before they rented it, right? Unless you advertised it as "Come rent this place and I'll make any change you want." then you have every right to keep those ugly-but-functional items in the home.

I would craft a rote response that goes something like, "Thank you for the suggestion. At this time I do not have any plans to change that."

And then repeat as often as necessary until they get it.

Andy Webb · Answer

What does your lease say about the condition of the home?  Our lease states that the tenant is assuming the property "as-is".  If there are minor cosmetic issues that we feel are unimportant, we can lean on that clause.  Do you have anything like that in your lease?

Andy

Dave Stokley · Answer

Ask yourself:

- Are these reasonable or necessary requests?

- Will these people ever be satisfied? Are they just trying to see what they can get away with?

I love @Victor Nelson's suggestion above. Personally I have little tolerance for PITA tenants and would let them go if I thought it was going to continue to be a nuisance.

What did I get myself into or am I over-reacting??!!

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