Need Some Advice Please

[Steve J.]

Hello BP,

So I made my first deal a few months ago which is a single family I will house hack. There’s a finished basement that I will live in.

I made a mistake and accepted tenants upstairs that I shouldn’t have accepted. Two days after they moved in, she texted me saying there was an “infestation” of roaches in the house but when I bought the house a month ago there was an inspection done which said there were no pests. I asked for a picture of the “infestation” and she sent me pictures of 3 roaches. . she is also complaining about the drainage of the water in her tub. My guess is that she brought roaches with her while moving in but per the lease I am responsible for pest control. I know I have to take care of the “slow water drainage” but since I have an inspection dated less than 2 months ago that states there were no pests, and I am certain there weren’t, can I make her handle the roaches she brought?

Secondly, I worked with an agent on finding tenants instead of a true PM which was the worst decision I could’ve made. This applicant listed her employer as out of state and initially had her income below the requirement. When I asked my agent about this, she went back to the applicant who explained her employer is headquartered out of state but she works in a local office her and she “made a mistake” on her income. She corrected it, and the “correction” put her above the minimum requirement. Today in conversation with the tenant she said “I haven’t received any pay in 3 months, and have been living off savings”. I sent an email to the agent and asked if there was any verification of employment or income done and she responded that there wasn’t. They only did a credit and background check.

As it stands now do I have any recourse against the agent who brought this applicant to me? I do not think she will be able to keep up with rent as it was a hassle getting the security deposit and first months rent but at that point we already had a signed lease so I couldn’t back out. Initially I was going to self manage but given that this is a “problem tenant” who complains, makes excuses, lies, and probably doesn’t truly meet the income requirement I’ve decided to hire a PM now in case an eviction happens.

I was excited to get started but had no idea that tenants can be like this. I am trying to stay positive but am concerned that I’ll be in a basement where the tenant upstairs is dirty and has roaches that will probably seep into the basement as well. Just looking for some advice on the whole situation here.

[Corby Goade]

We have a contract with a pest control company that does quarterly preventative treatments on all of our properties at a severe discount- they guarantee their work and will do treat infestations at no additional costs. 

I know many landlords require tenants to take care of pests- I think that's a bad idea. I've seen many infestations that were ignored or treated improperly by tenants who didn't want to bear the expense and all it does is cause damage to the property. I'd pay for the treatment- I don't care if there's one roach or one million, I want to make sure they are not in my property. 

Secondly- you definitely need to hire a professional PM- you can do that now, have them take over. These types of issues should be taken care of swiftly and easily by a PM and you can go about your life without sweating the small stuff- that's the whole point of investing!

Best of luck!