All Forum Posts by: Kayla Marek

Our tenant from hell will finally be gone at the end of the month. Unfortunately, last night he broke the push lawn mower. Initially he told us the blade "fell off" while he was mowing. Under further review, it appears he somehow sheared off the entire crankshaft. This mower was only one year old when he took possession of it at the beginning of his lease. I got three quotes today and all were far more expensive to repair than the actual cost of the mower itself. The technicians also informed me that this is not consistent with "wear and tear" and is a result of gross negligence in the form of mowing over a large rock or tree stump. All three companies stated it is impossible to cause this type of damage simply with routine mowing. 

We informed the tenant of the above information and that we would be deducting the cost of the replacement from the security deposit at the conclusion of their lease. They denied hitting anything and disagree that they should be held responsible as this was "clearly an accident" (which to me is an acknowledgement of guilt?)

I feel like we have all our bases covered in the event they want to take us to small claims court. Just want to get the Bigger Pockets community opinion as we are still fairly new to this. Any thoughts?

Thank you Kyle. We do have minimum requirements set and are very firm on those. However, I have never run into a situation where one applicant is very qualified but their significant other is not at all. Also, I think in any other time (no COVID) I wouldn't think twice about reported income of a bartender. She has sent me documents showing her income to be 3x the rent but like you said, no way of knowing if or when bars will close down again. 

With candidate #1 would you simply sign him but leave his GF off the lease as she does not financially contribute at this time?

Our problems tenants are moving out and we are looking for someone to fill the vacancy coming up in September. So far we have two applications.

Candidate #1: 

Maintenance technician just started a new job June 2020. Looking to move closer to this new job. At previous position for 6 years. No criminal or financial concerns. Moving with his girlfriend of one year that happens to be 20 years younger than him with her two year old child from a previous marriage. She is unemployed.

Candidate #2:

Female currently living with her sister after an abrupt move back from out of state. Unable to reach her previous landlord. Works two jobs at different bars as her job she had lined up fell through due to COVID. Has a 15 year old son, single mom. Have not verified credit yet. 

I am a little nervous about the bartending job as things are up in the air with COVID. Things could be shut down again at any point. I am also nervous of candidate #1 as his co-applicant is unemployed. He alone can afford the rent but I am curious what her credit check will show and how we would handle things should they break up. 

Thanks in advance!

Thank you for all the good advice. We have not repaired and/or paid for the things they have broken. It doesn't stop them from doing it repeatedly. We have told them the lease in not negotiable and plan to give them notice in the spring at a good time to lease the unit. My concern is still that if they don't shovel that I will be responsible for any injuries that occur as a result. If so, a plow will have to do it and bill it back to them like you said. Lesson learned, always hire a service and factor into the monthly rent. 

My husband and I own a side by side duplex in the suburbs of Wisconsin. We signed new tenants to a lease in July and honestly they've been nothing but trouble since then. They break the blinds then want us to pay for repair. They broke the showerhead off out of the wall, $250 to replace (it was brand new). They call weekly and never leave a voicemail or text message. They brought their own washer and dryer and are now demanding we provide one. Now that we have snowfall, they are complaining about the shoveling they agreed to....

The lease states that they are responsible for all snow removal and weekly lawn mowing. We gave them a discount off of the rent for doing these services. The lease does not state how the snow is to be removed (shovel, snowblower, etc) and we told them it was up to them. They asked us if we would provide a snowblower and we said we would consider it. Then I read about the liability due to injury etc and we informed them that we would not be providing one. 

Now the female tenant is emailing me stating we need to provide a snowblower or plow service because the driveway is too big to do by hand. When I told her we would consider a plow for snowfall >5 inches, she was unhappy with this amount and states she wants her rent increased $100/month and be free of these responsibilities. 

Honestly, with snowfall here in Wisconsin, it will cost me much more for snow removal than $100/month. I don't want there to be bad blood so early in the lease but I don't know where to go from here. Do I increase rent $150/month or just tell her we can revisit the terms of the lease next year if she chooses to resign?

Sorry I think I wasn't clear enough in my post. This is an unfinished basement. There currently is no door going from the main level down to the basement. I just wondered if not having a door makes me more liable because someone could fall down the stairs. 

My fiance and I have our first rental property all ready to start showing but have one last thing on our checklist. There is no door to the basement. Looks like the previous owners took it out and drywalled it all up. Looks really nice and I don't want to mess around with installing a door. 

My question is, is it a liability to have no door to the basement? Or would it be the tenant's responsibility to put a gate, etc.? 

Building codes don't say much more than having a railing and even stairs. Just want to make sure I'm not missing anything. 

Me and my fiance are in the market to buy our first duplex which will also serve as our first home. We know what we want but had a bad experience with our first realtor. We are looking for a realtor that has experience with rental properties and understands our mindset. Located in the Milwaukee area. Where is the best place to find a great realtor?