Chronicles of a new Landlord: Lesson Learned

[Dustin Beam]

One of my inherited tenants from last summer has generally been a good tenant. Pays on time, doesn't trash her place, etc. However, she loves to contact me for things she wants. Sometimes they are reasonable, sometimes not.

We got two hard rains at the end of July and first week of August. After first rain, her basement bedroom carpet got soaked. I went over and had the carpets wet vacuumed thoroughly and put fans on it. It started to smell a bit a day or two after and I talked to her about it.

Since she had been there for a while I offered to either clean the carpets or upgrade them w/ LVT flooring with the obvious understanding that replacement takes time and shampooing takes very little. A cost of ~$70 vs $750. Of course she wanted the upgrade. OK. In the meantime some mold started to grow on the wall. It was treated immediately. 

Of course, the second hard rain came and caused more of the same problems. But at least the new flooring is undamaged by water since its LVT. The mold is being taken care of .

Side note: water issues have started and are continually being addressed: gutter work, regrading of soil around building, etc. Should all be complete by coming Monday.

But since the upgraded floor can't get installed at the snap of a finger, the second bedroom isn't livable. So she pulled out a clause in her lease that states reduction in rent is owed. So I take the ratio of the bedroom to total square feet multiplied by the ratio of time it was out, then multiplied by her monthly rent.

Came out to a measley sixty some odd bucks. 

Well worth the price to throw the last straw on the camel's back to not renew her lease at the end of September. And a cheap lesson to avoid going above and beyond when someone can take advantage of that. 

In case you're wondering. The time from the first rain to gutter fixed, gutters cleaned, flooring installed, mold remedied, and complete regrade of soil around the building will be 16 days. 

Maybe I'm the one that isn't being realistic, but I have enough tenants that are always contacting me about this, that, and the other to know I can get another.