All Forum Posts by: Doug Hadley

@Beau Blinder 

The good thing for me is that my next door neighbor is a fantastic lawyer and loves going after less than honest lawyers.  As long as I prevail, the cost would be burdened by the losing side.  They would tack his fees onto what she owes me. 

I've thought about the Bar Association as well, but haven't determined what could be done from that angle.  My lawyer may have some suggestions.

As for paying her some money to go away, I thought of that option as well up until the time she sent me the email telling me I had no authority to request this information and that she has the right to privacy and so do her guests.

@Beau Blinder 

That is the main source of my aggravation, knowing that something he does on my property could potentially have an adverse affect on me/property.  That's why we appealed to her to be forthcoming about this individual.  However, she has determined that her relationship with this guy is more important than the newly signed lease and the place her three kids are living.  She's a defense attorney and seems to believe she has a good grasp on tenant/landlord rights.  Stating that in her line of work, everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.  She believes that it will be very difficult for me to "prove" that he is staying there.  May be time for the PI.

@Kelly N. 

We tried to reason with her, telling her that we were not attempting to put him on the lease as another tenant but rather as an occupant like her kids.  The reason she does not want to give me his information is she knows he will not clear a background check.  The story we are getting is that the new "boyfriend" used to be her ex-husband's drug dealer.  What a tangled web we weave.

@Richard C. 

The neighborhood is a multi-ethnic neighborhood, so there isn't a typical look, other than the fact that they don't look like little skinny white dudes with tattoos running all over their bodies and weigh 110 lbs and the fact that they have witnessed the drug deals occurring right on the street in front of their houses.  She was even able to take pictures of one of the events.  Unfortunately the pictures are good enough for any law enforcement.

The neighbors are just helping to inform us of who is at our house, and make sure that we keep the criminal element out of the neighborhood.

@Jon Holdman 

I only have Tenant A who is hiding Crackhead B in my house and not telling me who he is.  I'm hoping that she does not pay today and then I have grounds for the eviction.  Not sure how a judge will look on a landlord evicting a tenant in the first month over $250, but I need this guy gone.  If she refuses to tell him to leave, I'll have to get rid of her and him in the same process.

@Jon Holdman that is a very interesting take on leasing that I had not considered.  Do you find yourself going though multiple tenants on a property quickly if things aren't going well?  I assume you did a better job of screening than I did in this case.  Although she hid this information from us and no real way to know this guy existed.  She was getting through a divorce, so we were under the understanding that there was no one else.

Do you use those initial month almost as a trial period, and if things work out you convert them to a 12 month lease?

I've never had to file an eviction and was interested if anyone else has done one due to the same circumstances?  How has the judge responded to the 7 day issue?  Does the person have to spend the night for it to be considered a day?  Do you have different terminology in your lease agreements defining what a day is?

I have a new tenant that moved into our rental at the start of the month.  Listed on the lease agreement was herself and three kids, no one else.  Within a few days of move-in I start receiving calls and texts from our neighbors that the two sketchy dudes that have moved into our house look like trouble and appear to be dealing drugs.  We told them that we had not rented the property to anyone meeting that description.  I confronted the tenant about the men and she stated that one of them was a new boyfriend but only coming by occasionally to help with furniture construction and picture hanging.  Two and 1/2 weeks into the lease our neighbors have informed us that the boyfriend has been there almost everyday.  Our lease stipulates that if anyone not on the lease agreement who is staying more than 7 days in a month we are to be notified of this individual and who allow us to do a background check.

I confronted the tenant about this boyfriend and that he has been there more than 7 days (eyewitness from neighbor) and that we were concerned.  We wanted his name, SSN and driver's license.  Seems like a reasonable request.

Tenant (new lawyer) tells me that she is under no obligation to provide me that information.  We posted a Respond to Request notice on her door the next day.  She responded again that she would not be providing us his information, because he has only stayed the night 2-3 times.

I spoke with my lawyer to figure out a solution.  Obviously proving that he is spending the night is difficult without video inside the house.  My lawyer said that the best way to proceed is to get her for non-payment and file for eviction.

Today she is due to pay the second half portion of the pet deposit($250/500).  We made an amendment to the contract so that she could pay us a couple weeks later, thinking we were being helpful.

If she does not pay today, should I file the eviction notice and start the process to get rid of this deceiving tenant??  The trust is gone, doubtful it will return in the next 11 1/2 months.

I ran into this scam a few months ago here in a Houston suburb.  One of the agents in my wife's office called her to say that they saw our add in craigslist for our rental, but we hadn't posted it to craigslist.  We had a tenant moving in the next day and were unable to track down the posting on craigslist.  I have hear that happens often.  We only use a Supra key here, so that only licensed agents can gain access to the property.  We don't allow anyone to enter without knowing who they are.

@Eric Y. , I think the oil-based painting/prep works is what's driving up the price. The regular walls are quoted at $1600. The trim, doors, cabinets, paneling in den, wallpaper areas and DW repairs are another $1200.

@Bryce Y. , I may have to try that option. I'm just concerned with who I might get from a CL add and whether I would have to be there to supervise them for 3 days. If so, I'll be taking off work. With the current painters we've talked with (came with recommendations from other realtors/home owners) I feel comfortable that I could get them started and leave for the day without the worry of getting ripped off.

I really appreciate everyone's comments and suggestions. It's helping me think through the different options and how best to tackle this task.