All Forum Posts by: Jack B.

Tenant reported bed bugs even though I've never seen any there and no previous tenant ever complained of bed bugs. They moved in from a hotel...

Although I'm going over there today with an inspector, my biggest concern at this point is this tenant. I ask where they've seen the bed bugs so I can come and inspect and they claim that such a question is proof that I knew of the bed bugs...After going around the world with this guy to explain that this is a normal troubleshooting step, identify where they've seen them so I can come and look, he claims he only responded with logic and that I'm wrong....Then he sends me another email telling me I'm being volatile and defensive...

Then this beacon of logic asks me at 10:00 PM what time in the morning the exterminator will be by. I explain that the exterminator is not open after hours and I won't know until I talk to him in the morning...

I had told them that I forgot to bring their set of keys when I turned the house over to them so I gave them my key. He heard that I gave them my only key...

They seem to think they are the bastion of logic, even though they are clearly not and write like a 3rd grader, with the worst grammar and spelling I've ever seen, random words have their first letters capitalized even if they are not the beginning of a sentence. The guy is a handyman...I suspect he didn't finish high school, if that.

At this point, I'm really debating whether I want them out of my house. They seem really finicky, dumb and dangerous. I should have seen the signs. His wife asked me about bugs during the tour, and now she is telling me she is an extreme germaphobe...They thanked me for fixing their FIRST issue.

This tenants screams IDIOT and TROUBLE to me. I told them that if they can't communicate coherently and we have more issues with miscommunication then they should consider this their 20 days notice to move out. They responded that they don't think there will be anymore problems going forward now that they understand my personality and MY troubleshooting steps and that they only responded with logic and didn't misunderstand anything. I really think these people are too dumb to rent anything other than a hotel...

He was even complaining about other things and thanked me for fixing their first issue...

I'll have an inspector out today at least to identify if they are telling the truth. The fogger has good reviews, what's the hurt in trying it before an expensive exterminator treatment?

Also, my biggest concern at this point is this tenant. They seem to think they are the bastion of logic, even though they are clearly not and write like a 3rd grader, with the worst grammar and spelling I've ever seen, random words have their first letters capitalized even if they are not the beginning of a sentence. The guy is a handy man...I suspect he didn't finish high school, if that.

I ask where they've seen the bed bugs so I can come and inspect and they claim that such a question is proof that I knew of the bed bugs...After going around the world with this guy to explain that this is a normal troubleshooting step, identify where they've seen them so I can come and look, he claims he only responded with logic and that I'm wrong....Then he sends me another email telling me I'm being volatile and defensive...

Then this beacon of logic asks me at 10:00 PM what time in the morning the exterminator will be by. I explain that the exterminator is not open after hours and I won't know until I talk to him in the morning...

I had told them that I forgot to bring their set of keys when I turned the house over to them so I gave them my key. He heard that I gave them my only key.

At this point, I'm really debating whether I want them out of my house. They seem really finicky. I should have seen the signs. His wife asked me about bugs during the tour, and now she is telling me she is an extreme germaphobe...They thanked me for fixing their FIRST issue. 

This tenants screams IDIOT and TROUBLE to me.

Another update. The guys wife seems to be more emotionally stable, because he keep emailing me accusation after accusation saying I'm volatile, have a bad attitude and am defensive, etc. 

I politely explained I've only tried to help each step, and he keeps sending me accusatory emails balanced with apologetic emails. Somethings is absolutely wrong with this guy. I explained that if he feels we are going to have more issues with attitude, accusations and such moving forward, then to consider this his 20 days notice before the end of the month, otherwise I'd be there with an inspector tomorrow. 

Perhaps the guy is unstable, he prompted me several times to talk to his wife in the beginning. Each time I email them (avoiding phone, they prefer phone, I want a paper trail) he leaves her off his aggressive responses. I always email them both since they are both on the lease.

I have half a mind to tell this guy to move out anyway. His next email to me will be very telling...

Update, tenant accused me of knowing about alleged bed bugs because I asked where they are so I can come see for myself...

They moved in from a hotel a day ago, and all of a sudden this? I offered to fog the place with a bed bug fogger and if that did not satisfy them I'd refund their first and last as well as deposit less any damages if they moved out tomorrow, otherwise they could consider this their 20 days notice to move out before the end of the month and receive their last months rent and deposit back less any damages. The guy sent me two clear pictures of his daughters hands and one grainy photo of something so grainy and weird you can't even tell what it is, a day after he moves in. Screams of scam to me. Their response to my offer will be telling. 

New tenant is complaining about bed bugs and their two daughters being bitten by them "badly". These people just moved in LITERALLY a day ago. I didn't see any signs of any bed bugs and the carpets were steam cleaned by the previous tenants before they left, though they were extremely dirty people when they lived there.

I'm looking online and they have some sprays and powders, but I figured I'd ask what others have done or used while I look at the options on Amazon. I have not seen any evidence of bed bugs. For all I know it could be a scam. 

There once was a tenant who decided to replace a stainless steel kitchen faucet with a white one (looked terrrible, mismatched).  Upon doing this it leaked and she had to turn the water to the sink off because of it. She then texted me claiming it broke on it's own and she was just trying to fix it. Refused to send pics when I asked her for pics of how it broke on it's own. That's when I found out what she had done was replace the faucet, and did it incorrectly, instead of the magical story of how the faucet magically leaked on it's own but she couldn't send me pictures for some reason...

After much explaining with this tenant that she would be responsible for the repair, she magically found her way to home depot to buy a replacement faucet that was exactly the same as before and get it installed correctly. The plumber I had hired to go fix it for her and bill back to her still stopped by and checked on it but didn't charge her (probably because she's an attractive female). 

As this tenant has also been late with the rent twice before (but straightened up after fines and warnings) that the next time she would get a notice to vacate, not to mention she has been a princess for the past year AND has put a hole in the wall and stained the carpet, I'm tempted to invite her for a dose of reality elsewhere. Just too much time dealing with a 27 year old adult child.

@Account Closed

Thanks for the advice, all good points, especially Sue Kelly and Leland Barrow's. I have been planning on replacing the carpets at the rentals with vinyl plank laminate for years. Looks like now is the opportunity. 

It appears I can just send them an itemized bill if it comes to it, and if they don't pay, send it to collections, as Sue said. If the tenant wants to fight it, they have to take it up with the collection agency or file suit, something I know they can't afford to do. At least I know the deposit will help cover some of it and at the end of the day, I've stopped them from doing any additional damage by enticing them to move, not to mention I'll be making 4K+ more a year once I find a new tenant.

Funny thing is, she tried to scam me and claim she was going to get a room mate from work since she is a single income household so she could afford the rent when I had offered it to her for half way in between what she was paying now and what market rent is. Glad I decided to raise it to full rent under the circumstances of her getting a room mate, as it turns out she got married 6 months ago and it wasn't a room mate she wanted to bring in...Liar...

Did you ask every person at the AG's office, past and present, or the person at the front desk that answers the phone and probably doesn't know much, lol? I suspect the ladder, as I doubt they just transfer you right away to the big wigs to ask questions. The lease was a template I downloaded from the AG's office years ago. 

In any case aside from your misinterpretation about giving the tenants a break on rent and the bad advice about whether I can sue them here if they move out of state, I can just send them to collections anyways. One thing I learned from this thread like many others here, is the quality of the advice is sub par. Lot's off people misread the information or just plain post their own subjective opinions as fact.

Strange, from what you said earlier it seemed like you understood that I was talking about suing a tenant moving from WA to Texas, though the lease was in WA. You even said that I have to sue where the person resides in most cases, lol. Nice back pedaling though:

 Ummm...not sure what you base this on, but you're wrong. The lease was entered into in WA so my claim is against her in WA. Here is this fact for you to read from an attorney for the exact same situation where a tenant left for another state. I just looked it up for you but I knew this before anyways, it's pretty common knowledge that criminal and civil crimes have to be tried in the jurisdiction in which they occured or as agreed to in a contract.

http://ask-a-lawyer.freeadvice.com/law-questions/can-i-sue-small-claims-co-71943.htm