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The Princess
I am posting this mid-day, because I just got off the phone with a tenant.
Let me give you a little back story: This property is a 2 bed 1 bath (duplex) in the highest crime area in town. It rents for $350 a month, and the tenant pays the utilities. We rented to a lady (girl) who has a child, and was (claiming) to be leaving an abusive relationship. She asked for the basement to be cleaned out before she moved in, the cabinets to be replaced, and the carpet cleaned. She made sure we were aware that this property was "beneath" her
Our owner approved us to remove the trash from the basement, and clean the carpets. She was told that once she had some on-time payment history, we would work on getting her a new kitchen.
First month rent comes due, comes late, then we get a phone call the day she gets her 3 day notice: Her stove hasn't worked since she moved in, her shower is backing up, and she wants a towel bar rack and a toilet paper holder in the bathroom. The work is done, she pays almost all the rent. (She sent the plumber away at the door, saying we took too long)
Second month rent comes due, comes late, then we get a phone call the day she gets her 3 day notice. Moths ate her clothes and she had to buy a new wardrobe instead of paying rent. "What are [we] going to do about it?" "Well, darling, we are going to evict you if the rent is not paid by the end of the notice."
She calls the owner directly, and works out a payment plan before we can evict her. The day after she makes her first payment on the payment plan, her cabinets "fall apart" and have to be replaced. The work is done, a plumber is called back out because of a new "leak" in the basement.
Now, in our 4th month, she made her final payment on her "payment plan" 4 days ago, she still owes over $300 in late fees and rent (since one of her payments was not for the full amount). I get a call today telling me that the basement still isn't clean enough, and that we have been doing nothing but collecting her rent. She told me that she bets my place doesn't look like hers, and that since she is all caught up on rent, she wants her place done right. I mentioned that she still owed over $300 and she claimed it wasn't "rent." I also didn't mention that my apartment does not look like her because I actually pay my rent, and I pay 3 times what she pays monthly.
So I have a maintenance guy going out to bug bomb today, lord knows how or when I'll be able to get someone to clean up the basement the way she wants. I'm not doing it. You can't "sweep and clean" a damp dirt basement. She claims that she won't being paying rentuntil its done, and that she will be calling the owner and telling him the same thing.
I hope he lets us evict her this time.
End Rant
Comments (10)
Property Mgmt has turned us into jerks. We do not give our tenants a inch. Just last month I had one call me with a sad story of her baby's daddy going to jail and could not pay rent, and she was working "so hard" to get him out and she could not pay rent. She really thought we were going to sympathize with her story. She was shocked when we told her it is not normal to go to jail and that sounded like her problem. She then proceed to threatened to "kick our as*" b/c we start evicting her. 30 days later, she was gone. Eviction is such a therapeutic event when we get to take their personal stuff and throw it on the street!!!
Alex Craig, almost 15 years ago
Reading this makes me glad I do not rent! Man, all I can say, "that sucks!"
James Ward, almost 15 years ago
Mike, there is a forum thread here on BiggerPockets on tenant screening. Spend a couple hours reading and studying this thread. It is as good as any book on the topic. http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/14637-how-do-you-screen-prospective-tenants-
Jon Klaus, almost 15 years ago
Im new to Investing and do not have any doors under my belt yet. I wanted to ask people how common they come across tenants like this, and if you have any tips on warning signs to look out for when selecting new tenants?
Mike Peleshok, almost 15 years ago
Thanks for reading guys. She called me yesterday and demanded a copy of her lease, so I look forward to hearing what she finds in it. I think you may be right about the long eviction Rick. I will also be sending her the signed move-in form she gave me, on which she has marked no defects with the property.
Marc Freislinger, almost 15 years ago
Invite the owner to join BiggerPockets and read your blog. Seriously, you will be doing him a favor. He is not and will not make money with this tenant.
Jon Klaus, almost 15 years ago
Hey Marc, I been in the biz 25 years, she is a professional tenant you have good reason to evict. Convince the owner that she will only get worse and isnot worth the trouble. I have seen many of these. She has more tricks up her sleeve on the evict too. Be prepared for a long fight. Rick
Rick K., almost 15 years ago
I would really like to read Mike's book sometime. The problem is not that I can't deal with her, it is that the owner doesn't want to evict a "paying" tenant, even though he's having to spend more money than he's getting from her to keep her happy. Thank you for your comments though.
Marc Freislinger, almost 15 years ago
sounds like someone needs to read MikeOH's book LOL!!!
Nick J., almost 15 years ago
Hey Marc - This sounds exactly like the situation that another member recently went through. You may want to take a look: <a href="http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/37641-can-t-make-tenant-happy-">Can't make tenant happy</a> Good luck!
Joshua Dorkin, almost 15 years ago