All Forum Posts by: Aaron W.

@Peter M. Big thanks for the recommendation on this now my tenant probably played me because I complained about this they moved furniture in and stayed one night.  They have not been here since.  The situation is kind of messed up.  We are back on good terms but I do think they could be problematic down the road again too many red flags the complaining about small simple pool upkeep task is enough.  The contract I have is a Texas Association of Realtors contract (TAR) the section you are talking about reads as follows.  They do have furniture here but only staying here one day and having furniture here does that designate occupancy?

The situation is even more twisted since we are back on better terms they have agreed to allow me to stay here until all the repairs are done.  I was reading through the contract and it is pretty screwed up the verbiage is I am an approved guest approved by the landlord which is myself guest myself landlord.

Delay of Occupancy: Tenant must occupy the Property within 5 days after the Commencement Date. If Tenant is

unable to occupy the Property by the 5th day after the Commencement Date because of construction on the

Property or a prior tenant's holding over of the Property, Tenant may terminate this lease by giving written notice

to Landlord before the Property becomes available to be occupied by Tenant, and Landlord will refund to Tenant

the security deposit and any rent paid. Landlord will abate rent on a daily basis for a delay caused by construction

or a prior tenant's holding over. This paragraph does not apply to any delay in occupancy caused by cleaning,

repairs, or make-ready items.

@Jim Cummings thanks for the recommendations I have it narrowed down to rainwater getting into the foundation at another area of the house.  I have had plumbers do pressure test

@John T.   if the residence is not usable for residential purpose doesn't the tenant have to vacate the premises if they are claiming this until the situation is remedy

I see you are from Montgomery County Texas.  I am newer to property management thanks for the reply to the post.

The problem I am having is no contractor can tell me how water is getting into my garage other than its coming in from the foundation but where?

@Ned C. how does one get free rent claiming other problems with a house I would think this is only possible if there is a health hazard at the property but if they are claiming that then move out?  Rent is not negotiable and contracted as such.

I am new to property management but common sense goes a long way.

How on earth could they live there for free I would think them saying the house is not habitable or something maybe then but I would say ok then move out and we part ways?  I have one other rental and I love that property no problems never and owned it for nearly a decade.  This one is an unorthodox rental it is a mansion 6000 sq ft etc but an older nice house that requires a lot of TLC

My attorney told me they have a lawsuit and I took that as play ball.  I don't know what to do really.  You are saying that if they and I agree the house is not habitable then I have the right to terminate contract?

Attorney said fix the problems and when they dont pay rent then call me and we will evict.  Property is not under priced they want it bad maybe bc you are right they feel they can take advantage she use to be a property manager so she definitely knows more than I do about all this.

Oh part of me wants to still have them as tenants part of me does not.  I have mixed emotions on this one of the pain points is the pool addendum has been complained upon several times which is annoying.  It states in the contract if I deem cleaning the skimmer to be a daily thing then well it is a daily thing it takes one minute to do.  They told me I need to pay someone to do that.  Tad bit annoying but on the other token often times they are sweet and nice then other times we have bumped heads.

So my tenants never moved in my house but they did put furniture in the house.  Seven days after the house was under contract I had water come into the home and I have not yet fixed the issue; however, they never moved in and actually started living in the property.  They stated the house is not safe to live in bc water can get into the home.  The water is currently dried up and I am working to get the property sealed.  The problem I am having is no residential contractor is guaranteeing they can fix the issue then contractors flake etc.

The tenants still want to be in the house which I find odd as I later found out water came into the garage and there is a lot of mold damage and I had another water restoration contractor removing the drywall and scrubbing the wood frame of the walls.  Despite all this they still want to move in.  They said since they never got to utilize the house in September they want to have their first month free.  I am finding myself having to take care of the property now bc the pool had turned green.

Truly I want out of the contract I tried to offer them a lucrative deal give them their deposit money back along with their first months rent plus money on top of both the first months rent and their deposit back.  They still want to rent and are telling me we want in there ever how long it takes you to fix all the issues.  Let us know when you have everything fixed.  Personally I would rather sell the property is in Texas with the cookie cutter Texas realty contract. 

I am new to this site and new to the whole idea of real estate investing.  If I had to choose I would like to buy rental property.

I have researched some and I think what would be helpful is getting a list of houses with the sale price and the suggested rental price for the house. Does anything like this exist I know Zillow isn't always up to date as actual MLS listings, but Zillow does have this information it would just be nice if there was a listing service that has the actual MLS and the suggested rental price for a given house.

Thanks to all who reply