All Forum Posts by: Amy T.

@Account Closed I don’t need any back pats. I was simply taken aback that I was asking for advice for a specific aspect of the situation and i was instead being told over and over what I (we) did wrong. As I mentioned, hindsight is 20/20. I see mistakes we made and don’t plan on repeating them. 

@Jose Clavijo thank you for your comment. I agree about the deposit. We are just wanting to be fair with no one taking either party to small claims court. It’s a sucky situation and we all have losses. We are currently working on getting Smokey out. I had planned on sharing that part of the story in another post but I think I will seek counsel elsewhere. We have several family members we can speak with for advice and I will go that route this time. 

@Sam Shueh we knew she smoked. I was clear about that in earlier posts. I’ve also explained why we ended up with her. Furthermore it was my husband making the call back then. Now I am handling it as we both know I am better at reading people and am not as soft as him. 

BUT THANKS FOR ONE MORE PERSON TELLING ME I CANT HANDLE IT 🙄

Special thanks to Kevin, Nicole, and Mike. Thanks for reading my question, and answering my actual question. You guys rock.

@Account Closed it was 7 years ago. It was just the rental climate at the time.  A month ago when the middle unit became vacant we had the highest quality applicants we have ever had. Apple employees, WorkDay employees, Lawrence Livermore Lab employees, dual income couples, etc. Honestly they were too high end for my property, which is probably what you would consider a B property. I figured the really top notch ones would be moving out in a year and on to buying their own places. I chose someone i thought would be there a little longer. But I’m sure that was the wrong decision and I should hire a property manager!

Love how whether you think I should pay her (like Dylan) or whether you think I owe her nothing (the majority), or whether you think I should keep her security deposit (like Caleb), everyone has one opinion in common...it’s ALL MY FAULT and I NEED A PROPERTY MANAGER.  

Here’s the thing. Smokey has been there 7 years. Wish we didn’t let a smoker in, yes. But she has been smoking in the unit for quite some time and the smoke has never spread into the adjoining units. We renovated the middle unit a year ago and there were no smoke issues. I spent 2 days there cleaning and showing the unit just a month ago and couldn’t smell smoke. Something has changed to where the smoke is coming in. I have some theories but haven't figured it out yet for sure.

Smokey has NEVER been hostile or had issues with past renters. I believe she had some vices combined with some fairly recent troubling personal issues that has caused her to go off the deep end.  

So was Smokey a model renter? No. But the issues that caused the new renter to leave are new.  

As far as allowing the new tenant out of her lease, she had 2 small kids. I believe it was the right thing to do given the second hand smoke.  I felt like allowing her out of her lease with no strings attached was the right move and was shocked when she wanted more from us. We did everything in our power to deal with the issues that came up (including trying to seal possible entrance points of the smoke). In the end she was worried about Smokey’s behavior, and said that even if we were successful in getting her out quickly (which would take care of the smoke) she was afraid of retaliation.  I don’t think there is a real threat of danger, but you never know. Smokey is behaving unpredictably right now.

As we all know, hindsight is 20/20. Thanks to those who answered my question. To the rest of you, I thought this was a landlord forum and a good place to ask questions. If everyone is just going to chime in “it’s your own damn fault, hire a property manager next time” I can do without the “advice”. I had a very specific question and lots of you decided to take the opportunity to make it about something else. 😐

Sorry Caleb, my other response was supposed to be @Dennis M. I’m having a hard time using the app on my phone to respond. 

No issues with your advice. I appreciate it (although am going to try to proceed without a PM 😉)

@Stacey Paulin

I was not seeking a lecture on what I should have done differently in the past. I was seeking advice on what to do now, given the current circumstances. Is that not what this forum is for? Your approach isn’t very welcoming to newbies. You’re basically saying “you’re incapable, hire it out” based on very limited information. 

I’m very happy with the advice I received from the first few people who replied. They heard my question and answered it. So thank you to them!

@Caleb I did not make any promises in writing regarding the deposit, but I did verbally say that we would let her out of the lease without being penalized, so I will need to think about that.

@Mike McCarthy Just as an FYI I used Cozy for a background check recently and they missed something important on the report. Thankfully the applicant was honest on the application and said she had something on her record so I did some digging into county records on my own. Found out she was charged with a felony- 8 counts of grand theft. When questioned she claimed her “boyfriend” wrote a bunch of bad checks he stole. Of course she was innocent but was hung out to dry because they couldn’t find him 😉. Anyhow, not super happy with Cozy missing that.

@Caleb Heimsoth I guess I’m starting to feel defensive. Do you remember 2011? It was a real estate nightmare, and we had the bottom of the barrel for tenant selection. Sometimes you do what you gotta do to pay the mortgage. And sometimes there is a mess to clean up later because of that. I have already told the new tenant who moved out that we were releasing her from her lease without being penalized. She was only there 30 days and caused no damage. I don’t know how I would justify keeping a $2500 deposit, and if I did try to play it like that I am sure I would end up in small claims court. I am trying to deal with this is an ethical yet cost effective manner. As for hiring a property manager we have owned and managed this property for 14 years now and done ok. For the most part my husband was handling it all and he is way too much of a softy. I am starting to deal with it more and we have some wrinkles to iron out. The property will be our retirement but there isn’t enough cash flow yet to justify a property manager. Plus, I think I have it in me to do it. I’m sure I’ll make mistakes but I’m asking people for advice who have more experience than I do. I think that’s a good first step.