All Forum Posts by: Tony Murphy

I have a situation with two tenants (two single women) in an up/down duplex who are currently feuding. I originally told them to work it out themselves but I then foolishly allowed myself to get dragged into the middle and I’m not sure how to handle it at this point. They lived there in relative peace for almost 3yrs until the downstairs tenant’s sister screamed at the upstairs tenant for playing music too loudly one day two months ago. Since then, it’s been a constant back and forth. They’re both retired and don’t leave very often so they’re in house house almost 24/7. One makes a noise and the other bangs on the floor/ceiling and then it just escalates. So bad that they we’re screaming at each other and a police cruiser driving by stopped and got involved. I’m not there so I get two completely different stories from each tenant. One says the other is banging all day and one says the other is doing it. Neither is innocent and I’ve told them both multiple times that they need to act like adults and be respectful of the other (music and noise to a minimum during the day and nothing at night as stated in the leases.) Yesterday, the upstairs tenant actually tried to extend an olive branch by offering to help shovel snow and talk to the downstairs tenant about the situation. Downstairs tenant shot her down and said she had nothing to say to her (told me she sounded phony and not sincere) so at midnight the upstairs tenant supposedly started pounding on the floor for an hour, I guess in retaliation...

These two grown women are both acting like petty children and they expect me to be the parent. Both pay their rent on time and the house is in Massachusetts so evicting either could be a potential nightmare dragged out for god knows how long. What’s my next step? 

Thanks for the advice. She's lived in the house for 14yrs (5 with me) and the previous owner allowed it so the damage had already been done when I bought the house. The house is straight out of 1970 so I planned to completely redo anyway when she leaves (even if every surface wasn't nicotine stained.) She's paying well above market rent and after redoing it, I won't get much more than I am now so I don't see the incentive to have her leave now.

Nathan, when she leaves, I planned to do what you said, scrub, oil prime and then latex. I hated the idea of going through all the extra effort cleaning now since she's still going to smoke like you said and it's not like I need to remove the smoke smell. 

She never asks for anything so I didn't mind spending a couple hours painting. I just don't want to create extra work in the future since the nicotine will be behind a layer of paint.

I think I may actually tell her no and explain why.  

A long term inherited tenant who smokes has asked me to repaint her living room.  She’s paid her rent on time for 7yrs so I don’t mind doing it for her.  Since she’s still smoking and the paint will eventually stain again, do I need to scrub the walls clean before priming and painting? or would painting over the nicotine without cleaning it seal it in and create more work in the future when she moves out and i repaint again?

Thanks! Water and sewer are included in the current rent.

I'm located in Massachusetts (extremely tenant friendly) and was talking with a friend who also owns rentals. He said that I may be better off not having her sign a lease since for the landlord, leases are basically worthless in court and they only benefit a tenant. My current tenant says that she will still be paying the rent in full every month since she's helping her niece get on her feet so the niece won't be paying anything anyway. He suggested that if something did go wrong and I wanted her out, by not having a lease, she would be considered trespassing (violating a clause in my current tenant's lease in regards to guests) and it would make the process easier instead of possibly dragging out for a year or more.

We've had a fairly good tenant (single mom with 14 yr old) renting out an apt in our duplex for the last two years.  I got a call that she wants her niece (18yr old) from Texas to move in short term for a few months until she gets her feet on the ground.  She gave me the whole story i.e. moved here to be with a boyfriend, broke up, she's a great kid, etc.  My tenant pays fair market rent already (in fact a little more since rents have gone down slightly in the area) so I'm wondering if I should still ask for additional money each month to at least cover the increased cost (water/sewer, etc).  I also plan to have her niece go through my screening process and fill out her own lease.  Am I missing anything else? 

Hahaha too funny! 

What type of screening would section 8 tenants require?  If the authority pays for the full rent (or majority), would income requirements matter?  Obviously, a criminal background check and a landlord reference but what else am I overlooking? 

So I have an interesting situation and wanted to get others' opinions on this. We are currently renovating an apt in a small duplex and will be looking for tenants shortly. The duplex next door is scheduled to be sold in October but will be converted back to single family. As a result, the current tenants are being evicted. Yesterday one of the tenants introduced herself to me and inquired about my apt, saying that she is very interested since she works down the street and doesn't want to change her son's school. She told me that she is on Section 8 and with all of the horror stories out there, everyone I tell says to deny her right now. A friend suggested that I request to see her current apt and inspect the condition.

I wanted to know, first, if that's legal (in MA) and secondly, if it's a waste of time since she could clean it up anyway before I come.

It's our first time turning over the apt so we're just a little scared about the section 8 idea but at the same time, love the guaranteed payment each month.  

I'm actually removing popcorn ceilings from one of my rental units now. The ceilings are low and they seem to darken the room, plus they had some staining. I figured it was better to deal with it now, rather than paint them and regret it later.

However, my house was built in the 1870s so the ceilings are plaster and I can soak them without worrying about water damage. Water and drywall do not mix so I'd be scared of ripping the paper face and then having to deal with that.

We tested for asbestos and lead paint and we're negative. Western Analyitcal did the asbestos testing. They were very reasonable with a fast, 2 day turnaround.  

Mike, unfortunately, the statute only applies to owner occupants, there's some other clause the inspector cited stating it excludes non-owner occupants. Even though I own the house, I'm not allowed to pull a permit since I don't currently live there.

Eric, I thought it would involve changing my driver's license. In Mass, the RMV doesn't actually issue a new license with the change of address. I am supposed to simply write the new address with a Sharpie on the back. I'd be able to just change it back after the project is done and it would still have my correct address on the front.

I may just give a shot in July. I guess I have nothing to loose except for the inspector saying no.