All Forum Posts by: Dianna Marble

Hello,

I recently had tenants move out of a rental unit. When they moved in, the carpets were brand new, and they only lived there 6 months. While inspecting the home, we smelled extreme odor of pet urine through out the house. We had the carpet professionally cleaned the day after they moved out and the smell was still there. (The carpet cleaning guy even remarked how strong the odor was.) We had a contractor come in to assess the carpets and when he took them up, he said they were dripping with urine (and almost made him puke). All the carpets smelled but the living room and master bedroom were the worst smelling. When all the carpets were removed, the living room had major urine damage done to the hardwood floors and part of the master bedroom floor had to be completely replaced. The other 2 bedroom floors were not damaged but the carpets smelled of urine.
One of the tenants has contacted us asking when they will receive their security deposit back. 
It is in their rental agreement contract that they must keep all carpets free of odor and that the house must be returned in the same condition as when they moved in.
My questions are:
Can we charge them for us having to have the carpets professionally cleaned even though it did not remove the odor?
Can we put their security deposit towards replacing the floor and carpets?
Can we bill them for what their deposit didn't cover?
Can we charge them for labor for us personally replacing the floor and for the time it took to remove the odor from the living room floors?

We have 'before' pictures of the carpets from when we were advertising to rent the house and we have many 'after' pictures of the carpets and floors that were ruined.

Thank you in advance.

Hello!

We are in the process of screening new tenants for our rental property. I am beginning to wonder if there are renters out there who do NOT have things in collections?? To me, having accounts in collections shows me that they don't pay their bills, right? I have had multiple applicants tell me that they have no debt but when we run their credit report, they have multiple (some up to 15 accounts) actively in collections. So, guess I am just looking for some advice when it comes to screening tenants. Is any amount in collections acceptable?? Also, I recently screened a couple who doesn't even have a FICO credit score. Is that a bad sign? 
I personally don't feel it would be smart to rent to someone that doesn't pay their bills but I am fairly new to this and would love some constructive feedback. Thank you in advance!

Thanks so much everyone!

Because I agreed to give him until January 13th to pay rent in full plus late fees, I will do that. BUT, I will say that I have learned A LOT on what to do and what not to do because of these renters. My next lease will not include any grace period with the rent and the late fees will be higher. I am realizing the stories and excuses renters will give in order to make you feel sorry for them and try to get their way. It did cross my mind if all this stress and aggravation is really worth it, but in the long run, I believe it will be.

Is there anything you all have learned from past leases that I should remember for my future leases? I have learned to limit or not allow pets, to get a non-refundable carpet cleaning fee upfront, no grace period, higher late fees, and finding a way to collect rent that does not require me to meet up with the renter. We do not accept personal checks, currently cash only with this tenant because of the not good credit score and history. I have heard there is a way to set up a bank account to be deposit only for other people, so that may be an option?

My biggest concern is with the utilities. (Because they only have 51 days left on their lease.) I spoke with the electric and natural gas companies and they stated that the balance of the utilities will go with the account holder (which is the tenants, not me) but that the balances would also be linked to the address and would have to be paid in full before putting them in someone else's name (the next tenant).

Nancy, that is SO true! I will definitely keep that in mind with this and future renters!!!

Why can't people just pay their debts and keep their word when they sign a contract? So sad, and frustrating!

Hello!

I have renters in our unit for the past 5 months. They signed a 6 month lease with us. Last month, while paying rent, one of the tenants told me that they were considering not staying the full 6 months and that he would let me know what they decide to do. I thanked him for telling me and asked him to let me know if they decide to break the lease. They have been pretty good tenants up until now, they are late on paying rent this month. He did let me know ahead of time that they would be late this month and I again thanked him for telling me and let him know how much rent would be with late fees on the date he said they would be paying. 

Because he told me they had to pay late, I contacted the utility companies to see if they were also late with those bills, and they were. I contacted them to tell them to pay the utility bills immediately, and yes, I did it in a kind way. He then proceeded to tell me that he felt I was threatening him and being hostile and he tried to tell me that they were not late on other bills. So, I gave him the amounts they were late and the due dates that they missed and assured him that I was in no way being threatening or hostile. So, that is kind of the back story...

The advice I need is on the upcoming months. If they don't pay when they are supposed to, do I go ahead and give them an eviction notice? The guy has tried to intimidate me before with wanting to pay less rent before signing the lease, which I did not allow and then again when he told me I was being threatening and hostile. I'm a little concerned that they will move out early and not tell us or that they will attempt to stay without paying rent. Also, they have pets, which we had them pay extra for each month, but I know all the carpets will need to be cleaned and deodorized when they move out. Do I take the carpet cleaning costs out of their security deposit? Also, what other costs am I allowed to take out of the security deposit and, if they don't pay rent, am I allowed to take it out of the security deposit when they move out? 

Any (constructive) advice would be greatly appreciated. (Please be gentle as I am still very new to the investment property/rental business.) Thanks in advance!

Thanks everyone! I am learning that I need to trust my intuition and acknowledge the red flags right away. I would definitely rather wait for a decent tenant than deal with a nightmare of a tenant. I appreciate the input, thanks!

Thanks so much everyone! You are all right and I appreciate your input. I have let them know they we are declining to lease our property to them. I don't like that the unit is sitting vacant but I would rather wait for a decent tenant than have to deal with a nightmare of a tenant. Suppose I need to be a little more 'thick skinned' in this business. Thanks again! 

I could use some advice on a potential tenant for our rental unit. I am going back and forth on whether or not to lease to them. A couple came to look through the unit and wanted to submit the applications to lease it. I received the application that only the wife filled out, even though I gave them 2 applications so that we can run credit and background checks on both tenants. The application I received was filled out but, not in full. She didn't fill out a few areas including her current landlord's phone number. The husband warned us that his credit is not great because of past medical bills. I let them know that I would need the husband to fill out the application as well and he did and sent it to me right away. I then asked for proof of income, which ended up being slightly different than what he indicated his income was on the application. On top of that, during walking through the unit, they told me that they had the security deposit and first month's rent available immediately but, I happened to check out the wife's facebook page and she had set up a GoFundMe page to help with the deposit and moving. The GFM page said that they haven't been able to save any money because he husband wasn't working. I ended up asking about the GFM page and she said it was an old one she made last year that just happened to update. (Keep in mind that the page said it was created 2 days prior and was specific on when they had to move.) Also, the husband is working but for a temp staffing agency. So, lots of red flags for me. I am wondering, am I being too cautious? Am I overthinking things? I seriously HATE being lied to. I don't want to jeopardize our investment but I know there is no perfect renter out there. With this situation, would you rent to these people? 

***Please be kind with your responses. I am new to this business and still learning. Thanks!***

I could use some advice on a potential tenant for our rental unit. I am going back and forth on whether or not to lease to them. A couple came to look through the unit and wanted to submit the applications to lease it. I received the application that only the wife filled out, even though I gave them 2 applications so that we can run credit and background checks on both tenants. The application I received was filled out but, not in full. She didn't fill out a few areas including her current landlord's phone number. The husband warned us that his credit is not great because of past medical bills. I let them know that I would need the husband to fill out the application as well and he did and sent it to me right away. I then asked for proof of income, which ended up being slightly different than what he indicated his income was on the application. On top of that, during walking through the unit, they told me that they had the security deposit and first month's rent available immediately but, I happened to check out the wife's facebook page and she had set up a GoFundMe page to help with the deposit and moving. The GFM page said that they haven't been able to save any money because he husband wasn't working. I ended up asking about the GFM page and she said it was an old one she made last year that just happened to update. (Keep in mind that the page said it was created 2 days prior and was specific on when they had to move.)  Also, the husband is working but for a temp staffing agency. So, lots of red flags for me. I am wondering, am I being too cautious? Am I overthinking things? I seriously HATE being lied to. I don't want to jeopardize our investment but I know there is no perfect renter out there. With this situation, would you rent to these people? 
***Please be kind with your responses. I am new to this business and still learning. Thanks!***