Handling Angry Tenants

[Gavin Carlson]

More of a general question, but how do you all deal with being a landlord when it seems that tenants are constantly angry, looking for rent credits for minor repair inconveniences, and threatening to sue when they don't get everything that they want? A quick example, a tenant threatened to sue for health issues relating to black mold (home has never had any water issues or reason to believe there is mold), because I denied their request for a new washer machine (old one works perfectly fine). This seems to happen on a daily basis, where tenants are just in general angry. 

I keep the rentals to a high standard, tenants pay rent on time every month, and I repair anything that is actually broken, but it seems that every day I'm fighting with tenants who are just waiting for something to go wrong to jump down my throat. 

Is it just me or is this a common occurrence with your rentals as well? Thanks for you input!

[Kim Meredith Hampton]

@Gavin Carlson unfortunatley this is life now!! People are over the top. Sometimes you just have to say "NO". As long as you have repaired everything in a timely manner and you are not a slum lord, call their bluff. I say go ahead and call your attorney, my attorney would be happy to talk to them!

If they say that they have mold, send a reputable mold inspector out and run a test. Once the report comes back clean, they usually are "cured" and never mention it again. I include a mold addendum in my lease that states if we do find mold or they think there is mold, we can ask them to move. This is for their safety and that of their family!!! LOL works like a charm