Tenant Battle Already (by GKARL [PA]) Jun 19, 2018 6:23 PM
Tenant Battle Already (by NE [PA]) Jun 19, 2018 6:28 PM
Tenant Battle Already (by Hammer [TN]) Jun 19, 2018 6:45 PM
Tenant Battle Already (by Hammer [TN]) Jun 19, 2018 6:48 PM
Tenant Battle Already (by Deanna [TX]) Jun 19, 2018 8:39 PM
Tenant Battle Already (by cjo'h [CT]) Jun 19, 2018 8:45 PM
Tenant Battle Already (by Hoosier [IN]) Jun 19, 2018 8:58 PM
Tenant Battle Already (by Andrew,Canada [ON]) Jun 20, 2018 4:02 AM
Tenant Battle Already (by LindaJ [NY]) Jun 20, 2018 4:52 AM
Tenant Battle Already (by Vee [OH]) Jun 20, 2018 5:22 AM
Tenant Battle Already (by RathdrumGal [ID]) Jun 20, 2018 7:10 AM
Tenant Battle Already (by GKARL [PA]) Jun 20, 2018 8:00 AM
Tenant Battle Already (by GKARL [PA]) Posted on: Jun 19, 2018 6:23 PM Message:
This is a tenant in my new six unit MFH. It's not been a month and two of them are seeking to bring in roommates. The prior owner ran a very loose ship and I don't intend to operate that way. All of these tenants have been there a long time and are way under market in terms of rent. As I bought the property with a few code violations, my focus was to resolve those first and not increase the rent until further down the road, so other than having them sign my lease, I kept the rents the same.
Today one of them comes to me saying that he's selected a roommate and wants him to move in July 1 and needs another key. He had his old roommate move out shortly after I bought the place. I tell him that the roommate must submit an application and that there's a sharing charge of $ 100 that will be assessed. He gets in a huff about that and the fact that the roommate has to undergo any vetting other than his. I ask him where the roommate works and he hasn't a clue. He simply wants to move him in because he seems like a nice guy and is the nephew of a lady who owns a local Mexican restaurant. He then accuses me of not liking Latinos and they're going to "run from my place" and this is after even considering the situation. The problem is that the old owner was hands off, operated very informally and let them do as they pleased. I'm not about to operate that way and if he's going to run, I prefer he do it now when renting season is high. His apartment is in decent shape with minimal fix up. It could be turned over quickly. If he doesn't put in a notice, I may terminate his agreement myself. I feel he needs a roommate to afford an apartment already $ 150 below market and may be a problem later anyway.
I decided to put in a change of use application to convert the commercial portion to residential. I won't get a hearing until August. Between that and dealing with deferred maintenance, I was hoping to defer any tenant issues until later. If I get the change of use, I won't start of the conversion until the fall and won't be likely renting until late in the year. Given the delay, it may make sense to deal with all of the existing tenants now and bring them to market. That may mean some vacancies. Thoughts?
--207.172.xx.xxx |
Tenant Battle Already (by NE [PA]) Posted on: Jun 19, 2018 6:28 PM Message:
Give him notice. He's probably mouthing off to all the other tenants in the building. Set the tone real quick that there's a new sheriff in town. --50.32.xxx.xxx |
Tenant Battle Already (by Hammer [TN]) Posted on: Jun 19, 2018 6:45 PM Message:
Haven't bought a property with renters already in it....yet.
What do you do for the "new Sheriff" notification? --137.119.xxx.xxx |
Tenant Battle Already (by Hammer [TN]) Posted on: Jun 19, 2018 6:48 PM Message:
Haven't bought a property with renters already in it....yet.
What do you do for the "new Sheriff" notification? --137.119.xxx.xxx |
Tenant Battle Already (by Deanna [TX]) Posted on: Jun 19, 2018 8:39 PM Message:
When I bought my batch of five-units-for-$2k the other year ago, only one of them was inhabited. The former owners asked me to please keep the current tenant in place for at least six months. He had graduated high school a year or two ago; he had drug charges against him in the next county over; he earned a little money doing yard work for people. His grandma paid all his bills; he had a pb. He also had brought in a roommate without permission a month or two earlier, and his roommate had another large dog as well.
He wasn't anyone I would have accepted, but since he was already in, and the grandma was diligent about paying-- whatever. I made it clear to them that I was keeping the rent the same, and wasn't changing a thing. Except I was going to charge $25/month pet rent for the unauthorized freeloader roommate's unauthorized dog.
The unauthorized freeloader roommate was very indignant that I was going to charge him $25/month, and he decided he'd prefer to leave rather than sign my rental agreement. And even though I'd reassured the original tenant that everything else was staying the same, he was very anxious that I was going to move his cheese, and he was probably out within a month or two of closing. So now I had yet another unit in need of renovation and not bringing in any dinero.
All that to say--- sometimes the most marginal people pick the oddest things to pitch their battles over. Sometimes they do you the favor of leaving in a huff, just for the privilege of leaving on their own terms, rather than being what we'd perceive as sensible, keeping their heads down and their noses clean, and seeing which way the wind blows before starting arguments or giving notice. It's annoying in the short term, but the good thing is is that you get to start replacing malcontents with tenants of your own choosing... even if it's not on the timeline you'd prefer.
Good luck with your six-unit! It still sounds awesome. :) --96.46.xxx.xx |
Tenant Battle Already (by cjo'h [CT]) Posted on: Jun 19, 2018 8:45 PM Message:
I'd get the rents up to market yesterday.Like Andy said Nip it in the Bud..............charlie............................................... --174.192.xx.xxx |
Tenant Battle Already (by Hoosier [IN]) Posted on: Jun 19, 2018 8:58 PM Message:
I would avoid talking and get all this in writing via emails. That comment about "we're going to run" would be useful in court. I don't think it's unreasonable to vet a new tenant, but this is probably something that should be in a lease and you could say "it's right there in clause 17 that we read when you signed the lease". --99.92.xxx.xxx |
Tenant Battle Already (by Andrew,Canada [ON]) Posted on: Jun 20, 2018 4:02 AM Message:
You are very lucky that you can prevent roomates. In ontario we HAVE to accept them.
You are very lucky you dont have to renew a lease. In ONtario we HAVE to renew the lease (in fact it automatically renews).
We can only not renew, if the property is being sold to an owner occupier or we are renting to an immediate family member. The fine for misrepresenting this is many thousands of dollars. --70.48.xxx.xxx |
Tenant Battle Already (by LindaJ [NY]) Posted on: Jun 20, 2018 4:52 AM Message:
So he signed your lease. What does it say about roommates? I think raising the rent/charging a room mate fee, is in out of line in this case. He had a room mate that at that price, so you knew there were 2 people that were living at that price, even if it was below market. Did you lower the rent when that roommate left?
I would still insist you need to do your vetting, and present it that this will also give him the security of knowing it is a good room mate. With a lease, I would give him happy clause, if he wants he can leave in the next 30 days because he is clearly not happy. Even offer to prorate the rent to help him along. BUT if you have a lease, what does that say about this situation. YOU both have to follow the lease unless you BOTH agree otherwise. --108.44.xx.xxx |
Tenant Battle Already (by Vee [OH]) Posted on: Jun 20, 2018 5:22 AM Message:
The August is the new June. --76.188.xxx.xx |
Tenant Battle Already (by RathdrumGal [ID]) Posted on: Jun 20, 2018 7:10 AM Message:
Inherited tenants can be tough to deal with. They have a "we were here first" mentality that defies reality.
We bought a building that was 100% full. The prior LL had done a terrible job -- people were put in dirty units without SDs, no move-in documentation, etc. When we enforced rules, the tenants would complain "Sean (prior LL) never did it that way". I would say "Sean never made any money. That is why he sold the building". When they threatened to move out, I replied "We always expect some turn over when a building changes hands." Shut them right up.
No one ever did leave, unfortunately. We had to non-renew all the bad ones. Now we have a nice group of tenants.
--98.146.xxx.xxx |
Tenant Battle Already (by GKARL [PA]) Posted on: Jun 20, 2018 8:00 AM Message:
Linda, my rental agreement is m2m and has a provision dealing with roommates. The other roommate was in place prior to closing and moved out shortly after closing. He signed my rental agreement effective 6/1. I am leaning towards non renewal and rerent at market. He can't afford market rent nor the below market rent. He needs to go or abide by my rules --172.58.xxx.xxx |
Reply:
|
|