All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Today, I got a phone call from the attorney that handled the wrongful death lawsuit that she had against her stepdads estate after he killed her mother. (She won of course) anyways, he informed me that she asked him for advice regarding the situation and what I had said (making fun of the neighbor with seeing eye dog) and HE advised her to not play her card until she signed a lease with me because she of course was put off by my jokes and wanted to know her rights if I gave her a hard time . In our state there is no law on when a tenant has to submit it. It’s still a grey area.  So yeah, I was schooled in the laws today and will be much more prepared next time around!!! Thank you all again :) 

Carpet was shot when she moved in almost 3 years ago, doors were shot because they are original from the 70s so those are things I will be replacing when they leave regardless. I’ll keep an eye on everything else. She didn’t fabricate any story, her mother was indeed killed and she walked in and found her. She isn’t lying about ESA so I am going to acknowledge it. There are no rules or stipulations on age. Is it young? Yes. 6 months old but potty trained and crate trained. I’m not gonna make this harder than it has to be but I’ll make sure I’m covered. Going in monthly I probably won’t do, every 3-6 months I’ll find a reason too. She takes care of the property and her children I’m sure it will work out but again, I’ll cover my butt.  Also, she didn’t give me a certificate she gave me a letter from a licensed psychiatrist she has been seeing for a year in a half monthly, sometimes every two weeks. So it’s legit. And I’m gonna include animal in notes, why would I not? That doesn’t seem smart?  Thank you! 

She was dishonest because I came across as hard to communicate with. I made her feel uncomfortable by making fun of a neighbor down the road who used a service anima when she asked me about my pet policy.  I was not perfect in this situation and I am going to own that. I made mistakes too and my mistakes made her uncomfortable to approach me. But I’m not going to sit her and bash her. When I came on her I should have been a little more forth coming with what her side was. And honestly, my gut tells me she won’t renew anyway. I need to learn to be a bit more professional or might very well get sued. Just because I own a property it doesn’t give me the right to look down on someone who has a story I wouldn’t wish on anyone. I spoke with my husband and my a few colleagues and they said I overstepped my boundaries a bit in the way I communicated with her when she asked me about my pet policy. I don’t want to continue to run my properties this way or I will most definitely be sued.  I also spoke with the previous owner this evening and he said before he sold the place to me  she let him know she was in therapy and considering an ESA and he informed her to ask me about my policies bc I was in process of buying. The second she asked me...I jumped the gun and made fun the whole ESA thing and said I was hoping to be strictly no pets. Then this happened. 🤦‍♀️  so yes, I’m a newbie and made some mistakes. 

Thank you so much everyone! I sent her a message to see if we could talk sometime next week and apologized for how I may have came across. She said she understood and was expecting me to be upset and that it was eating her up waiting for me to get the paperwork. She said she’s a single mom and was afraid of losing her children’s home of the past 3 years and should have went about it a different way. Rentals are extremely hard to find in our area and she said she was scared to be out of a home in the winter with kids if I found way to deny her . She went on to say she understood why I was upset and would be totally open to paying extra rent and giving me a deposit. I of course told her that was not allowed and she went on to say she would feel better about the situation if she was able to do that for me. She said well why don’t I just shred the ESA and we sign a new lease so you feel covered too? I told her there’s probably no way to do that now but we could possibly discuss that next year. She did purchase renters insurance and pet liability the day she brought the dog home which will cover some damage , which makes me feel a little better. We are going to talk more in depth next weekend. Thanks again everyone! 

She had the paperwork the day she got the dog but didn’t give it to me right away.it’s not like she had the dog then decided to get paperwork after the fact. I’m just annoyed she didn’t ask me first.but the. Again, I would have said no and she would of had an ESA regardless.   I guess after reading what I wrote here I am starting to feel like her reaction to threatening to sue me had to do with how I communicated with her at first. She has been very quiet, minded her business, kept place super nice and the previous Owner I bought this place from had nothing but great things to say. I’m just annoyed she didn’t come to me first and ask. I don’t want to bash any tenants because I think I could have handled this differently and should have known these ESA laws before I responded to her. Definitely a HUGE learning experience for me. I just do not know how to approach her now because her guard is up big time and I am now understanding why after reading up on this crap! Thank you everyone. 

She is threatening to sue me because I am giving her a hard time about when the dog arrived on the property. She said she didn’t tell me when she picked up dog because she didn’t want to give me a chance to discriminate against her and not sign a lease so she waited some weeks to send me her paperwork until she felt like she was safe in a lease . 🤦‍♀️ 

Just incase anyone asks :

ESA letter came from a licensed psychiatrist that has been treating tenant for 1.5 years, so it’s legit. I just don’t know if I have any legal grounds when it comes to her getting dog before I got the recommendation letter and ESA letter. 

Can you evict a tenant in a lease if they bring in a valid ESA animal after a lease is signed? The dog has been there for a few weeks and I just received the recommendation letter and also the letter from a licensed mental health professional in the area that has been seeing my tenant for over a year in a half.Papers stated my tenant has 3 mental Illnesses in the DSM. So it is valid. But do I have grounds to evict for this animal being there before I received the proper paperwork? They are great tenants. Been living there for 3 years, no damage, never a day late on rent or utilities . The only issue is them bringing in a puppy before giving me the paperwork. Is this grounds to evict? Everything I am reading seems to point to me being stuck because there’s no laws regarding when the animal can appear. It’s a 12lb Dog
so it’s not a huge breed or an “aggressive” breed. This is new territory for me. So I apologize in advance I know this has been asked over and over. Just wanting to see if there’s any updated laws out there regarding having the animal on property before I opened mail with paperwork. Thanks! 

Thanks everyone! How many inspections are too much? I was thinking once every 6 months or just a yearly one. They’ve been here for almost 3 years and there’s been no damage so far so I’m not too concerned with that. Also, this letter was from a licensed psychiatrist here in our town, that she has seen monthly and every two weeks some months. I verified this. 

I am not living in the duplex. I guess the upside is this young lady seems to be honest and could benefit from an ESA, I am highly annoyed by people who do not have the need and try to lie their way in with fake online registrations but this seems valid. I guess it could be much worse. Thanks everyone!