Tenant says we are affecting her mental health

[Kristy F.]

Hi all, I'm back again with issues with the inherited tenants I had mentioned in my last thread. To summarize, I bought a property with inherited tenants and the third floor tenants are problematic. They email me everyday, multiple times, with minor issues. The latest issue arose two days ago when the garage door would not lock properly. My contractors have lots of equipment there so they had to find a guy who could install a garage opener and solve the issue. The guy came at 9 pm, installed the opener and was about to leave at 10 pm when the wife came down, cussed and yelled at him because it was outside of normal working hours, and tried to prevent him from leaving because she apparently called the police and wanted him to stay until the police arrived. He told her she can take a picture of his license and left.

She did all this instead of calling me. Then a few hours later, she emailed me and said the strange guy was making loud noises and bangs, that she was alone and scared. Hm... the garage guy was installing an opener, no hammering, no drilling. He stayed in the garage and would not have even met her if she didn't come downstairs yelling at him. And if it was as loud as she said, the other tenants in the building would have said something too, but they didn't. She also claimed that he came at midnight when he, in fact, came at 9 pm and left at 10 pm. She continued to write in the email that the noise of the construction is causing her stress, all this is affecting her mental health. 

The way she exaggerates and the fact that she escalates conflicts gives me a feeling that she is trying to build a case against us. I'm already in touch with a lawyer, but our appointment isn't until next week. Does any experienced landlords have any more suggestions for me? I found the previous ones very helpful. Thank you all in advance!

[Patrick M.]

I purchased a 4 unit building with very problematic, rent controlled tenants (rent control is phased out on vacancy). I purchased in November 2015 knowing the building would need to be completely renovated. Got first one out 1/16 then 6/16, 8/16 and 4/17. This s was all done without going to Court- and I let the last guy stay a little longer because I needed him to. That is the basis for my advice:

Paper the crap out of them. Right now the only person who is creating a record of this is your tenant (emails), not good. You must, must correspond with her, in writing by way of a notice to cease or quit. Always write with the perspective of a judge reading it in a couple months. Break out your colorful adjectives and get dramatic. It would seem your tenant already did.

The best thing that happened with one of my worst tenants was when they screamed at my contractor for parking in their space. I went right to work and typed up an affidavit describing the event as WE saw it- oh it was beautiful... “verbally assaulted”... had my contractor sign it and attached it to a notice to quit. That was the silver bullet of all of the paperwork- he was gone in a month and a half.

I inherited 9 tenants in 2 buildings- I knew that 5 were not acceptable within a week. I did not placate them- I set about the very difficult task of becoming a landlord. But let me tell you- when you alter you innards to that of a landlord, all of this becomes easier- and your tenants heel when you tell them to heel.

Bottom line is that no attorney is going to solve this- you must man up or hire a management company. These are not your tenants and you do not want them in your building so set about creating a legal and lawful way to remove them or at least give yourself a fighting chance in court.

My opinion is- if they get a first letter from a lawyer rather than you then they will perceive you as spineless and  also take satisfaction in costing you money every time they create a problem.