Do I have an issue with my tenants or am I just to protective?

Question

Let me start by saying I lived in this house for 7 years and it was the first and only property I have owned.  It's in Minnesota and I moved to Colorado.  I have a property manager looking over it.  4 girls moved into my rental property.  a few months after they moved in one of my neighbors had been over there talking to them and found out that one of there boyfriends moved in. Talked to my property manager, he didn't seem to think it was a big deal and said he advised we deal with it come lease renewal.  But told the girls it was a violation of there lease.  A few months after that they asked if they could get another dog (they already had a dog and a cat).  I said yes but they would need to put down a dog deposit. They ended up not getting the dog.  Now my father in law was over there trimming bushes.  He sent me a picture of 2 cats sitting in the window (he wasn't trying to rat he just thought it was cute).  They are only suppose to have 1.  I was also notified by the neighbors they parked in the lawn all winter and kind of messed up the yard.  Every time I bring any of these issues up to my property manager he just tells me he doesn't think its a big deal and that we can deal with it at renewal.      Now these tenants pay on time every month and I have had zero issues getting rent.  So am I just being to protective because I'm attached to this property or am I kind of being walked all over?  Please let me know what the BP nation thinks.  Thank you in advance for any advice.

Account Closed · Answer

Fire your Property Manager!  Parking on the law not only ruins your lawn, it makes it an eyesore in the neighborhood and makes your house look like trash.   Tenant's will always test you.  Therefore, here is an article I wrote called "The Tenant Phase".

THE TENANT PHASE

THE FIRST MONTH (THE HAPPY PHASE)

During the first month of a rental period, the tenant is happy. They wanted the home, they got the home and everything is fine. THEY ARE VERY HAPPY! You spent a lot of time at the signing of the lease telling them what you expect from them and what they can expect from you. They seemed to be happy and they nodded in understanding.

THE SECOND MONTH

Somehow during the Second Month, when the newness wears off and the happiness falls into a routine, the new Tenants become confused. They seem to forget what the rules are and when rent is due (even though they have a written lease agreement to refer to). If they are one of the few tenants who do not get confused during this time, this means they have jumped from the Second Month phase into the TESTING PHASE which may cause a few problems, but I will talk about that in a few minutes.

To help the Tenants not be confused during the 2ND MONTH PHASE, I always bill my Tenants their rent 10 days before it is due. It's during the 2ND MONTH PHASE that I will answer any questions they may have and not make them put it in writing.

TESTING PHASE (May begin as early as 2nd month):

The TESTING PHASE, is a very crucial phase. Whether the tenants and you get along is determined during the TESTING PHASE. More Tenants than not like to Test the Landlord. If they had gotten away with it with their previous landlord, chances are, they feel, they can get away with it with you.... so they will try. They will pay their rent when they want to, putting you last and live the way they want to regardless of your rules.

It is very important to nip this in the bud during the TESTING PHASE,  because if you allow the tenant to get away with things such as paying their rent when they want to and doing what they want, then chances are you will never proceed past the TESTING PHASE.

THE THIRD MONTH:

If you make it to the third month, that is good. But it is also very crucial during this time as well to make sure the tenant stays on course. The Third Month, strengthens your position as to who runs what. During this time you want to make sure that the tenant keeps paying their rent on time and keeps obeying the rules. One little falter on your part can throw the tenant back into the TESTING PHASE. It is very important that you guide them during this time as to what you expect and want. And important that you gain their trust and respect during this time.

THE FOURTH MONTH - THE COMFORT PHASE:

The Fourth Month through the first year, is THE COMFORT PHASE: the tenant becomes accustomed to your rules and is starting to feel comfortable. If you have handled everything correctly, being strong when needed to be, and doing evictions when needed, the Tenant will feel secure because the Tenant will know what is expected of them and will feel comfortable and will want to stay. (Tenants usually feel comfortable with stability and sameness).

AFTER THE FIRST YEAR:

After the first year, the COMFORT PHASE, becomes more stable and each year thereafter. It's just a matter of keeping your Tenant happy, yet, making sure they don't slip into the Testing Phase from time to time. Even old time Tenants will want to go to the Testing Phase if they see their Landlord falter, get too over generous or too understanding.

When that happens the Tenant's stability changes because the rules are changing throwing the tenant into the Testing Phase again, so we don't ever want to falter but always stay strong and in control.

THE MOVING PHASE:

During the moving phase the Tenant, no matter how many years they have been with you, seems to forget everything again. They become babies and they revert back to the TESTING PHASE. Once again they never refer to the Lease and must depend on you for answers.

During the MOVING PHASE, the Tenant can change personalities quickly. It's like they drank a potion that changed them from Jekell into Hyde. They become this fiend, this villain that could destroy you and is probably the hardest phase of all the phases.

It is during the MOVING PHASE, that you must be cool, have all your wits about you and be prepared, yet still be cordial so as not to enraged the monster that seems to be lurking in your Tenant during the MOVING PHASE (as there is NO ANTIDOTE to calm the savage beast once it takes form). If by chance this happens, it is best to not confront the beast but to keep your distance until the courts can set it free!

With time everything will fall into place as long as you treat Landlording as a business!

Thomas S. · Answer

You have (your PM) has been negligent in their responsibilities. You ae not managing your PM and he is too laze to do his job on his own initiative. Lease enforcement is mandatory otherwise remove all clauses from the lease that you do not intend to inforce. Non enforcement of lease clauses makes them null and void in the event of a court hearing.

If you do not wish for your PM to do his job then let it go but do not allow a PM to tell you what is or is not an issue. That is for you to decide especially when dealing with what you have which is a lazy PM. I would either put a fire under his ass or fire him.

Bryan O. · Answer

@Scot Sorenson it sounds like you have a bad PM. Get alternates lined up and tell your current PM to enforce the lease or they are fired. Having people not on the lease is not "no big deal". Look at it from your PM's point of view, "Hmmm, I could do the stuff I should and get paid 10% of rent, or I could do nothing and get paid 10% of rent." You need to have a talk with them and either set them straight or send them packing. Check your management agreement. Document all the work your PM is not doing. Make sure you exit that cleanly, but do something. It is your property and you should have someone running it with the same vision you have. They will never be as good as you because you care about the property more, but they should be close.

Michael Boyer · Answer

Seems to be some disconnect between your expectations and the PM's.

The PM seems a bit too easy breezy on some items that could impact the property (more wear and tear damage... at least 5 people and 3 known pets at this point...) and compromise the whole landlord tenant relationship (like letting other not on the lease live there)....

The pet and parking enforcement are just basic property management 101 and he should have simply taken care of this in a way that kept the tenancy together and kept you from stressing about it (that's squarely in his job description).

Allowing the unauthorized occupant without being on the lease is probably the cardinal rental sin here. If he lets that go, your interests have diverged too far ( he seems interested in that easy monthly check and in managing not so much)... Too much can go wrong when you don't even know who the heck lives there (no app, no screening, no contact info), how can you even manage it......

This does not seem like a situation where someone (you) is too emotionally attached to their former home (in fact, you seem quite reasonable and lenient allowing pets ,etc)... But rather it is a situation where the PM has not met your expectations and that is what I would address asap (review that contract for the earliest possible date to find another PM). In fact, if you are seeing extra cats, people, and cars on the lawn from the outside, I would guess the inside will not be in ideal condition either so you could face a challenging future turn over.

In short, I concur with the posts that mention they  would probably look for a clean slate in terms of a PM and tenants (since you would have to try and correct alot of bad tenants habits and behaviors at this point). Plus, I would anticipate more than average wear and tear on the turnover (if they park on the lawn, my guess is they don't tip toe around inside in only socks and keeps the pets from scratching stuff..)...

Best of luck..

Account Closed · Answer

Well done.  When I read your initial post, I thought you were actually fortunate that your PM was actually advising you not to pursue a problem.  The reason being, that most PMs profit from problems.  Most PMs would have welcomed the idea of hassling your current tenants - and charging you for the problem - as well as kicking out the problem tenant, and then finding you a new tenant -all of which would have resulted in lots of fees to you.

I think you should keep that in mind, as a new owner.  Your PM is not being greedy here, and you should be aware of that.  He/she could be taking advantage of this in a huge way, and getting away with it.

So, keep that in mind.

Scot Sorenson · Answer

Hi Everyone,

So I swung by my property while I was back in MN.  It turns out the tenants are actually taking really good care of the inside of the house.  I am now trying to do a better job of managing my PM.  I talked to my PM and explained there will be no more parking on the lawn.  The tenants actually ended up buying seed and fixing it.  I told him we are sticking to the lease from now on any extra tenants are a violation of the lease and could lead to eviction.  Turns out the extra pet they were just babysitting.  Which now they have to ask for permission to do.  It turns out the tenants want to renew there lease with the extra person on it.  So I raised the rent $350 month and am waiting on a response.  Thanks for all the posts.  I never really thought about having to manage my PM till after this.  It was great advice.  I think my PM and I are on the same page now.

Scot Sorenson · Answer

Thanks everybody for the great advice.

Deanna McCormick · Answer

Have your father in law go in with proper notice to check the furnace filter or smoke detectors and take a look at the interior, hope he has keys.. have him take photos of inside and out.

From that you'll know what's the real picture, your PM sounds lazy, deal with issues as they appear, you can decide if your going to renew after the photo's and make sure you put the PM on notice that you are reserving any consideration of renewal prior to inspection and they are not to send out renewal paperwork for this tenant. Not sure when lease is up, but be prepared ahead of time to get this figured out.

Jackie Sladky · Answer

Start looking for a new PM now and interview them and get a list of current rentals that they manage. When you are back during the 4th of July, drive by those rentals.  We bought a four-plex a year ago in Minneapolis from an out-of-state owner.  The place was managed by a PM and was absolutely filthy.  It was full of trash and had a mattress in the backyard.  We had everything fixed and cleaned and brought up the rent.   One set of inherited tenants moved to a building managed by another PM.  When that PM contacted me, i learned that they knew that one of the tenants had a criminal record and still accepted these people.   choose your PM carefully.

John Montgomery · Answer

"Give them an inch and they'll take a mile" - this can refer to PMs and/or tenants

Do I have an issue with my tenants or am I just to protective?

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