All Forum Posts by: Amanda B.

@Joe Splitrock thank you!! Hopefully he leaves peacefully.

@Joe Splitrock - that's my plan. I have a waiver of notice in the lease, so when I meet with the attorney tomorrow I'm just going to pay the retainer and have them evict. Cost of damages aside, this is probably the best thing that could have happened, besides them getting their act together and paying for the door. With the two of them divided (tenant 1 has all but moved out) and additional damage, there is no way I won't be granted an eviction and from what I have read, evictions move pretty fast in PA.

We just got a call from Tenant 1. He said that Tenant 2 has now broken the back door (he sent a picture), because he, tenant 1, refused to allow Tenant 2 to move his girlfriend in. I conferenced my husband into the phone call and we advised him to call the police and get everything in a report, including the front door if possible. Tenant 1 has now said that Tenant 2 did indeed break the front door. Now, All of this was in a phone call, not in writing, but the two of them are obviously going to start pointing fingers at one another.

We also advised him that the best thing they can do is just leave. All of them. That we can't just evict his roommate, because they are both on the lease. I wouldn't want to rent to this guy anyway, he's the one who gave me all the attitude and refused to take responsibility for me having to send someone to change a lightbulb.

I have a consult with a local attorney tomorrow (the last one I spoke to practices in Pittsburgh and it sounds like someone local might be better). Until then, I also got the name of the girlfriend and asked Tenant 1 to send any pictures that might indicate she is living there. I plan to send another notice for an unauthorized tenant. Unfortunately, my guest policy only states "more than 5 consecutive nights" - another thing I need to change if I rent again.

I'm also thinking I should draft another notice for the back door, or maybe just file the eviction now, before more damage is done. I will wait, however, until I talk to the attorney tomorrow. Do you all think that's too long to wait? Do you think I should just call the original attorney I spoke with and move on this today?

@Colleen F. - if by some miracle they pay the estimate amount, you're right that's probably the only way I would get the entire door and everything replaced. We will probably look at a way to fix the window panel, my son is an apprentice carpenter.

I'm not sure about planing anything or the need for that, nothing sticks. In fact, the door is larger than a standard size door, so If anything we'd either need to bring the frame down or have a custom door made.

The only thing that was ever "wrong" with it was that the lock is old and you can't jam the key in and turn like a new lock/door, you have to work it a little, pull up on the handle. But I lived there 6 years and had a tenant there 6 years (and it never got any worse in all that time, it was the same as the day I bought it) and neither of us had any issues. Probably because we didn't come home drunk and belligerent. 

@Anthony R. @Benjamin Hart -  I really appreciate your input. I'm not sure if you've seen the two comments from people in my state, such as @Chris K., who is an attorney. I'm not in the greatest position to just demand whatever I want and have the confidence that a magistrate will see eye-to-eye with me. 

I think, though, at this point, I've done pretty much what you've both said. I gave them the estimate for the door and a 30 day notice to pay or get out (and I'm only asking for half in that 30 days, not because I want to be "BFF" with a couple of man-children, but because I don't want a magistrate to see me as being "unreasonable" and side with them). I also cited all of their other breaches of lease that they also need to remedy in that time. Not sure there's anything else I can really do here.

Also, don't misunderstand the situation, please. I'm not trying to be "nice", I'm trying to be what the court will see as "reasonable". I'm trying to protect myself legally. It's not going to do me any good to make a bunch of demands, file an eviction and have a judge give them more time or dismiss the case. You guys might be able to operate that way in your respective states, train your tenants and make them follow to the letter, but where I am, it seems, only non-payment of rent is a surefire cause for eviction.

Believe me, I have never once thought of renting properties as easy or as a nice passive income. I didn't think that before I started renting that house. It was on the market, empty, for a year and everyone kept telling me to rent it and I wanted NO PART OF THAT. Not until I realized it wasn't going to sell and I couldn't keep paying the mortgage there on my own did I decide to rent it. And, lucky me, my first tenant was an awesome guy and his wife. I give you all props for dealing with this crap!!

@Michaela G. - maybe because the house is so old? I have no idea. I just know we went through this at our house. Our entry door downstairs is like 31 or 32", way non-standard and it was going to cost us around $1200 for something cheap at home depot (because it's custom size, is what we were told). The Window World guy said, if it's custom size, add $700 to whatever standard would cost. I don't know anything about it either! Maybe because of the extreme temperatures here? (we can go from -5 to 55 in the matter of a week)

Obviously these guys aren't going to pay and when they get out (or who knows maybe they will take the time to find a better estimate), we can use their $1700 security deposit and then go shopping around for estimates.

I honestly have no plans to sue them. It's not worth it. We sued a contractor who took $12,000 to order cabinets for our kitchen and laid the floor and we never saw him again... We're still trying to collect a year later. Not a dime even though we have a judgement. So I'm not going to bother with these guys, I really just want them out, want to get the house in better order and like everyone here says, get it sold. I have ZERO interest in being a landlord, even if I WAS making money. It's just too stressful and time consuming for my taste.

Hi @Chris K. - good info thanks! I got the lease from EZ Landlord forms ("Guaranteed to comply with Pennsylvania law!!"). Hopefully that language is not an issue :-( 

With the door, I definitely have texts where they say they will "take care of it". I spoke with them on the phone about it when we saw that it was damaged. One guy said "It just fell out [the windows and the woodwork between]". I had my son check and the wood was splintered (it wasn't like, dry rotted or anything). The other guy said "I'm not paying for that, Jason broke it" when I asked how, he got all flustered and said "someone tried to break in and he tried to fix it". Obviously a lie, because he wouldn't have said "he broke it" first. Also, I have asked them over text at least twice if they have a police report, no answer (you can see why I want to get them out of there, I shouldn't have to put up with this from adults).

I wanted to make sure I did get something in writing, s I questioned them over text:

Me: When was the attempted break in and did you file a police report? Need it for the ins company.

Tenant 2 (the one who supposedly broke the door): Didn't take nothing.

Me: Yes, but they apparently broke the door. When did it happen and did you file a police report? And why would someone break in and take nothing? Was there a break in or not? What happened to the door?

Tenant 2: Yeah they broke in but they didn't take anything they must of heard the alarm and took off.

Me: Ok, when? And did you file a police report? And if that's what happened, why did you tell me that the door "just fell out"?

Tenant 2: <Thumbs up emoji>

Me: What? Can you please just let me know what happened so I can get it taken care of??

No further responses.

There was another conversation about something else and this is what tenant 1 said: "Again, we will pay the rent plus the plumber fee. The door will be replaced" (I had told him I was getting an estimate within 30 days)

Also, they've been sent the notice to pay. The only refutation was the cost of the estimate, not that they shouldn't have to pay to fix/replace the door. That's when I told them that they were welcome to get other estimates from professionals.

No it doesn't need to be fancy, at the same time, shouldn't they be required to pay for something comparable?

Also, we have gone through this with an entry door in our basement in our home. It's a non standard door size, that automatically adds about $600 to the cost of the door and the standard price with installation is about $400- $600. So over $1000. This was from Home Depot. 

I'm sure I could get a cheaper estimate, but no one is doing that door for under $1000, guaranteed, and probably a lot more if you want a door that's actually going to be secure. And that's the cheapest door I can get my hands on. Forget being comparable to what is there now, aesthetically. Also, the lawyer said I was only required to get one estimate and that if the renters dispute it, they can get their own estimates and present them to me (which is why I gave them that option).

For the record, the door is 36" x 84" - the 84" is what is non-standard. I'm not a contractor, I don't do this for a living and I shouldn't have to run all over the place and keep driving down there to get estimates - I didn't break the door!! I agree that $3600 is high. I wouldn't pay that for a door in my own house. The thing is, a lot of places, especially for entry doors, will not install them without reinstalling the jamb and the frame - because they guarantee them and can't do that if only half of it is their work. I've also had stuff installed before by Home Depot and I don't really think it's good workmanship. So what happens when I put the house on the market and someone decides to break in to get more copper? There goes that cheap Home Depot door and a whole bunch of copper.

I hope now it's a bit more clear as to why I have been hesitant to just demand things and force my tenants to do this and that just because I am telling them to. There are tons of people who know how to game the system, that cry poor-mouth and play victim... And these judges side with them! Can you imagine going through with filing an eviction, having done all the paperwork correctly, done everything you're supposed to and having a judge come back and rule against you??? 

@Chris K. thanks for the insight. I understand that, ultimately, non-payment of rent is the kicker, but how much damage am I supposed to allow these guys to do? They have damaged the door to the point where it needs to be replaced, a $3600 job according to the estimate I got. Even if I can find someone to just replace the door and not be required to put in the door frame also, the door is a custom size and is going to cost a good $1400+.

I also found in the lease that I have a Waiver of Notice:

WAIVER OF NOTICE: The Tenant waives the right to receive a Notice of Default from the Landlord unless such notice is required by state or local regulations.

I. You are waiving your right to have a notice sent to you before the Landlord starts court action to recover possession for nonpayment of rent or any other reason.

That being said, I only have to give them the 30 days from the notice I sent (which is more than reasonable) to put half down for the door damage. Then I can just file for the eviction. I just can't see how a judge will find it unreasonable for me to kick them out for causing considerable damage and refusing to pay for it.