All Forum Posts by: Robert T.

Had another one the other day over the phone 

Woman: Yeah is your place still for rent?

Me: Yes, would you like to fill out an application?

Woman: Well....ummm...I was just wonderin' if we could come and look at it first?

Me: Well I've had a ton of interest in the house and I have several applications submitted. I'm going to be making a decision in the next few days. I'm asking so you would have a better chance of not missing out on the house because I'm not going to wait around.

Woman: Uhhh...ok... how do I get one?

Me: I mentioned in the ad to contact me and I will provide one through email.

Woman: Is there a charge?

Me: No, but I will need one for anyone 18 and older who would be living in the house. 

Woman: Well there's me, my boyfriend, my sister and her fiance, and my dad.

Me: (Thinking...here we go...) Ok, well if you share your email address with me I will send it over and if you can have each person fill one out as well that would be helpful.

Woman: Ok...but can we come see the house tomorrow?

Me: I'm not sure what my schedule is for tomorrow just yet.

Woman: Ok, and what was the price again? 

Me: (Freaking people don't read) it's $1,600 as mentioned in the ad. I have all of the details about the house and rental terms and requirements in the ad. 

Woman: Ok, yeah I didn't read it I just saw it and thought I'd ask. So do you think tomorrow afternoon will work?

Me: I mentioned I'm unsure of my schedule tomorrow but I do look forward to receiving your applications. I do have to run for the time being, thanks for your interest.

From my ad on Zillow for a 3/2 house on 1/2 acre with a HIGHLY detailed description of how to apply, qualifications, policies, etc.

Guy: I need an application or someone to call me or email me. (No phone number or email address is provided from him)

Me: Hello, I mentioned specifically in the ad to either message me through the website with your email address or to call/text me to receive an application.

Guy: 

No response back so I move on. But curiously, as with anyone who has their name filled out in Zillow so it appears in their message, I type his name into Google.

I find out he had been arrested for selling meth and driving while under the influence of drugs 2 years ago...no thanks.

A woman comes to look at the house. I let her tour the house, answer questions, everything going normal, she brought her and her husband's applications  (I didn't look them over while she was looking at the house). She asks to take her husband on a "virtual tour" and she shows him the house. She then hangs up with him and as we're wrapping up asks: Would I install security cameras as her husband works away from home often and she would be alone with the child and if it would be a problem if her husband kept his truck in the driveway. Somewhat confused, I ask her why his truck would be a problem. She tells me it's a semi... I tell her I'm not sure how thick the slab is and if it would support a semi....and the house is being shown as is with no modifications being made. She says ok well let me know if you change your mind but we really want it and can work something out.

I take a look at the applications after she leaves. Her husband is Guy from above...and apparently she was using her maiden name on her Zillow message.

Thanks for all of the responses. 

Thanks Colleen.

I've been thorough on those things when showing, my problem is I get in the habit of being "considerate" and I should not when I'm dealing with my personal property. I feel as if I've allowed them to believe that I have elevated them above myself and I've been wanting to address that and put an end to it once and for all. 

With the input from both of you I feel much more confident in my thoughts of what I need to do here, and as learning lessons, I have not allowed that to happen with my other rentals and will not once these people are out. 

Nathan, I'm interested in what types of rentals you're in the market for: 3/1, 3/2, duplex, etc. Right now everything is overpriced. Once our house is built (right now we actually live a mile up the road from this rental in a smaller house) we will be on the lookout for one more in the area of my other 2 rentals (much closer to town) if the price is right. My goal is to have at least 4 rentals and a certain monthly income level (assuming all are rented at the same time consistently). So it's not necessarily the business I'm in, more of supplemental income.

Thanks for the response, and yes I live in that area.

Basically, when I started remodeling the house, at the time the market wasn't as hot as it is now and there were things about the house I considered to be "issues". These included being next to a small cemetery, only one bath, and being further out than most other successful rentals. So when these people expressed interest and met the background and credit check, I didn't hesitate and was willing to be flexible in some areas because I told myself I was "lucky".

I have since gotten over these issues and no longer worry. As such, I feel as if I won't have a problem finding another tenant. 

As for the the boundaries of what they have access to, it is clearly defined in the lease. The reason I started "calling or texting ahead" is because as of right now the driveway (big U shape with two access points to the road) is my access to the farm. Out of courtesy for their privacy I have been letting them know ahead of my plans of being on the property. They still know where the boundaries are and have no business snooping around the rest of the property (85 acres) or going back into my orchard. 

As far as the work involved, none of it at this point is landscaping except maybe some holes in the yard from the dog that my tractor can handle. The real work is with changing the layout of the kitchen somewhat to including opening up a wall to view the living room and removing two "notches" where the wall comes into the kitchen for the sole purpose of making room for the basement stairs that, for whatever reason, turn to the left halfway down and another for an old stove pipe from the original wood stove in the basement. These changes would be made by professionals as I could do them but don't have the time. My time would include repainting to better colors, adding a nice backsplash to the kitchen, and a few other things I already have on hand ready to go from previous rental remodels that are very successful. I'm one of these people that enjoys remodels (when I have time) and being creative anyway, and I believe that when something is clean and visually attractive it attracts a larger pool of potential tenants.

Thanks again for reassuring me of my thoughts to just get rid of these people and tell them good luck finding another place like it for the money. I'm sure they will wish they hadn't have been sticklers over the mowing or inconsiderate about introducing pets/animals that are a burden to my property.

Hello, I am new to the forum but not exactly new to landlording or rental houses. I have been a "part time" landlord for the last 8 years and have 3 rental houses. This started as supplemental income and I've learned many lessons the hard way. I feel I have a good handle on things overall but there is one thing that is annoying me about a current (2.5 year to date) tenant/s.

These tenants, although not totally nightmare tenants, have been a couple of those learning lessons throughout their tenancy. They're generally nice and I haven't had any issues regarding payments until recently. I'll try to lay out my "annoyances" with them and would appreciate any input just to make sure I'm not unreasonable.

1. One thing that really annoys me is today is the 12th and I still have not heard from them saying "hey, we have your check". They have never been late, but, the house they rent is one I remodeled on my farm. So basically when I go there to work on other things (including mowing the yard which I will probably address below), I let them know I'll be in the area and they usually come out and give me the rent check. I feel as if I have conditioned them to believe this is how and when I accept payment, but on the other hand, I know they would never wait for me to announce I'll be in the vicinity to tell me one of their "needs". My issue is, I would never wait for whoever I owe money to ask for it. My payments are always early on my mortgage, insurance, etc. I don't wait for a notice of any kind. It annoys me to think that they think it's ok to wait on me for something that benefits me but they would not wait for me on something that benefits them. I can't stand that type of thinking and I'm not sure how to bring it up without them being dramatic. I don't currently have time for drama between my family, my work, my ongoing projects, etc. And since I'm introverted by nature I don't like my thoughts to include drama from some tenants. I could absolutely go over there right now and ask for it, but I'm of the mindset that I shouldn't have to, and if this type of attitude (both mine and theirs) gets me to the point where I'm just done with them, it may actually help me in the long run instead of over analyzing any benefit of their tenancy. Am I wrong in my thinking that people should prioritize paying their bills regardless of if who you owe them to asks for their money?

2. I mentioned mowing the yard there. When I first started remodeling the house, one of the things I couldn't do on my own was install new windows. I swear NOBODY KNOWS how to cut grass. Every house you see with vinyl siding has chips somewhere in it from people blowing grass towards the house instead of away. This should be common sense, it's not. So with the surprise of how expensive windows would be and going ahead with the install, I made a mental note that I would be the one taking care of mowing the yard to protect my precious expensive windows...

As part of their rental agreement, I included mowing. This was ok for the first year. Plus I planted some nice flowering trees and bushes and didn't want them getting ruined with idiots hitting them with a mower. This last season, I told them that I was going to phase out mowings. My wife and I recently (at the time) had a baby (now one) and we started making plans on building a house on that farm. They were not happy to hear that I would no longer include mowing... although I have never raised the rent or even hinted at that. The guy's response was "will there be an adjustment to the rent"... Now, this is a fairly nice 3 bed 1 bath 1300+ sq ft house with an unfinished (but nice) basement that I rent for $900/month and I would let them use the mower I keep in a barn there. So naturally, I told him no. They both him hawwed and whined for a few days and eventually agreed to do it when I could not get over there to do it. EVERY time they had a problem with the mower. Now, the mower is an old piece of junk that I did get operational...but I can use it for months on end without the issues they had in 5 minutes...  Plus, the market here (middle TN) is HOT. I would be out of my mind to lower the rent on a house like that in a market like this.

Additionally, it looks like we're going to be the ones building our house as it's impossible to get anyone to work around here. So my time is going to be even more limited and I don't need to squander it on mowing a half acre for $900 a month. As such, I am trying to figure out how to remove my obligation to mowing since it's included in the lease. I believe I have to give 30 day notice in writing as they are the type who would find a way to hold me accountable...for mowing... in a market that's in my favor...

3. They have pets. So, I'm sure everyone on here has experienced this...we know you don't allow pets but we have an old dog, can we please keep her? She's nice! But she's old and we really don't want to get rid of her. So you're a nice person and you let them keep the dog. So now, remember the mowing I included in the lease? I run over dog toys, holes that have been dug in the yard, and dog poop when I'm not only mowing but weedeating...

And what did they decided to add as pets? Chickens and ducks. The ducks they kept in the BRAND NEW shower installed when they were ducklings. So when I'm over one day, I see these chickens and ducks (younger) in the yard and they tell me they got them and are keeping them outside but openly admitted to having the ducks in the bath when they first got them. I was shocked and didn't really have any words other than "whatever" and haven't brought it up since. However, and I never thought of this, but the feed and leftover vegetable scraps from their garden they leave for the chickens has attracted a HUGE colony of voles (half mole half mouse). So now, not only do I deal with the dog's damage to the yard, but now the tunnels and stuff from these guys.

4. I want to get rid of the voles. I planted a really nice orchard around the rental house's yard. This is NOT part of their access as stated in the lease and the limits of what they have access to. The house has a fenced yard. My orchard is L-shaped and runs from behind the yard around the side of the yard. I did this deliberately so when the trees mature and we have our house built they will hide the view of the rental house. Well, I don't want these things destroying $1,000's of apple, plum, cherry, and peach trees. So I made traps out of PVC and baited them with vole poison. They need to be refilled so often. Well the woman gets nosey and decides to look in one of the traps to see what poison I'm using (these people are very "natural remedies only") and brings it up to me. I should have been livid and asked what the hell are you doing snooping around my orchard but instead I was worried about a potential lawsuit at the time because she mentioned it could poison her dog or chickens (that I never agreed to in the lease). The guy was worried it may poison the "birds of prey". So I basically squashed it and don't really remember what all was said but it wasn't heated in the least. But now, I'm thinking about it and it's my property, literally...I'm not only the one who owns the property that is not included in the lease but I also bought and planted and have cared for the 100 or so trees in my orchard. On a side note, they have been friendly, no idea how, with a bunch of crows. I hate crows, especially with my fruit trees. So I brought this up and they said they keep the red tailed hawks away (which I like having THEM around) and I said I don't want crows around my orchard and I'm planning on coming over and doing some shooting with my mini 30 and they're fair game...

5. I am over having to think that I need to request permission from them or announce myself to work on my farm (which is defined in the lease as not included in what they have access to) just because I may be visible or within talking/listening distance to them in the yard. My learning lessons I mentioned have me aware of the mistakes I made in allowing them and myself to be conditioned by tolerating things I should not have had to and now it's become the norm. The only reason I don't get rid of them is the (until now) steady rent and the fact that when they're out I do have upgrades/changes I want to make and as busy as I am it will not be a quick turn around. 

So they're not nightmares by any stretch of the imagination, yet, but they are annoying. I know I can get more money and better tenants who won't be as spoiled, but that's going to require work I don't have time for. I'm not sure if my annoyances can be corrected at this point other than by getting rid of the tenants. I don't see them not pushing back on getting rid of the chickens/ducks (which I never authorized), or not complaining about a variety of other things that are of no concern to them and will start "finding problems" as dramatic tenants do and cause more headaches. One thing that is on my side if this were to occur is I only do month to month leases. All I have to do is not renew the lease and hope they leave drama free, and if they don't, I would have the advantage anyway vs. dealing with drama they could provoke while still under tenancy. 

Am I just a jerk and I should keep dealing with them? Or should I test the waters starting with ending mowings and see how that goes? And if they respond with drama, end the lease? I'm caught between keep doing what I'm doing and feel as if I'm under their control and not getting the benefit of being a landlord in respect to only this rental house, dealing with potential drama, or getting rid of them in a hot market but knowing there will be some work and money involved. Any thoughts or experiences similar to this?

Thanks in advance.