Tenants Use Social Media to Vet LLs

[Bettina F.]

I inwardly cringe when when landlords post about "kicking tenants out" or other commonly used, but unprofessional, terms.  The internet is forever, and you never know when something you have innocently posted will come back to haunt you.

Now I have proof.  A poster on the Reddit subreddit "Sh*t Slumlords Say" is advising  tenants to vet landlords by searching on this site for posts from their landlords.  The intent is to prove your poor business practices/ attitudes when in legal disputes with your tenants.  

For some reason, I cannot get the link the post.  Hopefully someone smarter than I will do it.  Look in the Slumlords subreddit.  

[Ronan M.]

I am surprised this threat did not get more traction. My reply will give it a bump.

But this issue is totally spot on although the actual Reddit article is a bit one sided.

They day one of my tenants commented on my BP post was they day I decide to edit my pic and not provide my full name. Sad but true. But I know for sure others have done the same. As a professional RE networking site we should be able to use full names and proper pics and many on here do. But this is a totally public site and in todays world we are only 1 google search away for anyone looking for us. With some of the stuff said on this site and some of the opinions combined with the litigation happy society we live in I am pretty sure someday a BP post will end up in front of a Judge. It might not decide a case but it might be a factor in a case for someone looking to make a point. 

When you manage a lot of properties and a lot of people its a huge risk. Owners and Managers google prospective tenants all the time. I am pretty sure they do the same.

Now while most of the posts on here are pretty harmless, we don't name names, we talk about business and usually just offer opinions there is many on here who offer opinions (particularly about tenants)  that I certainty would not want my name on in a public forum. You can contribute and get you point across here on BP just fine as "Mr Smith" as you can with your real name and not run the risk of somebody you know throwing it back in your face in a court room someday.  

Maybe I am too cautious and am talking nonsense. But some of the younger generation given the choice of an iPhone and Social Media VERSUS oxygen to breathe might chose to give up on the oxygen first!  

But this is the world we live in. A bit of caution is wise I think. 

The problem could be solved by making this a fully paid site as that would most likely block the "gawkers" but that would probably not be in the best interest of BP overall. 

Interesting that nobody else replied to your post. Would like to see some other opinions.