All Forum Posts by: Thomas B.

Unfortunately, you found out the hard way some landlords will lie to get rid of bad tenants. Many people in your situation would give a good report on a tenant to make the pain stop. I would suggest taking the current landlords reference with a grain of salt and look for older references that are more removed from the tenant. 

Out of curiosity, when you met the dog that was in the car how did the interior and exterior of the car look? 

If cash for keys works how does this fix the drama? The tenant would still be going after your grandfather for a job and handouts. From what you have written, it sounds like they only have SIX months to go on the lease. If this is correct I would notify them of every violation and not renew their lease at the end of the remaining six months. If you filed for eviction now best case scenario you 30 days from having them out (more realistically 60-90 days) plus legal cost. This sounds like a tough spot and I sympathize. Best of luck getting it resolved.

This seems to be one of the hazards of being a landlord to me.  An AC leak can be hard to spot if the water was leaking behind a wall and soaking up into the flooring from below.  This has been the issue for me in the past and it is amazing how much condensation develops in just one day.  I have my handy man blow out and bleach the AC line once a year to avoid this issue.  From the limited information presented, I would say the tenant has no responsibility for the flooring.

I feel your pain, it is a long road to recovery with garnishments. Been there done that and didn't even get the T-shirt. How was AHA able to brake the lease after only 7 months? It seems it was there error not yours.

This does not look like a good deal to me. You are basically buying a job with no return. Your maintenance numbers look low especially with the need for both a roof and boiler on day one. In other words if the roof and boiler have been neglected there is sure to be more deferred maintenance. Do you have estimates for the roof and boiler? At the very least I would use 8% for vacancy as a new landlord turning a property in less than 4 weeks can be very hard. Unfortunately, for this to be a deal there needs to be a significant drop in price.

If you don't mind whats the address? I have properties in one neighborhood in SE Memphis and every house has had termites at one point or another. The house is not near water and every house has one or two small trees.

What did the extermination company say about the carpet? If the extermination company said they got all the fleas, I would tell the tenant the problem was resolved in a timely manner and no further action will be taken on your part. Pests are just that pests and a fact of life we all have to deal with. If they still want the carpet replaced take them samples you approve of and let them know what it will cost them to replace the carpet. What have the other issues been?

NEXT! 

She is not going to listen to reason cut your losses ($500), lick your wounds, and move on. You really didn't want this tenant anyway, she would have been a real pain to deal with for a year.

@Rob Beland This is a little off topic but I have to ask. Are you saying you can't take an application fee in MA or was it there another issue I am missing? I knew MA was tenant friendly but that seems crazy. 

I would tell her that is not how it works. Then I would explain to her that people lie so the property will be shown until an acceptable tenant passes the screening process, signs a lease and puts money in my hand.

I would also personal question whether a tenant who think they know how I should run my business belongs in one of my properties.