Here is the walk through: what a nightmare. No rant needed; what the hell is wrong with people. These people were good the first three years and trashed it the last; what the hell?
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Here is the walk through: what a nightmare. No rant needed; what the hell is wrong with people. These people were good the first three years and trashed it the last; what the hell?
My parents used to own some rentals, but when it seemed like damage was more and more common, they sold them off.
I will never own a rental. There isn't enough money in the world to deal with most of the trash that I see wanting to rent from people I know with rentals.
I was thinking about getting into the landlord business when my dad came out here and would need a place to stay. Sounds like a P.I.T.A. to deal with folks like this.
I was stuck with this house when the market crashed, didn't want it, couldn't sell it, and I didn't want to go into foreclosure because I believe in honoring my commitments. However, my patience is wearing thin!Quote:
Originally Posted by Grant H.
Too bad you can't only rent to Military. One call to the CO... problem fixed. At least when I was in.
I'll post some pics when I get them off my camera; the main bathroom is a wreck. How in the hell do people live like that or the smell of pet urine...WTF! It's been a long ass day so I am done with it. I just had to mail the summary tomorrow.
Best to be a slumlord if you're gonna own property.
Broken windows? Tub full of old water? Missing smoke detectors and bathroom hardware? What the F***? Was it a meth lab?
Can you legally do regular home inspections? You know... to make sure that the "safety features" are all in good order? If I were a landlord I would run that shit like the military does.
And you wouldn't get many tenants...Quote:
Originally Posted by rbeau30
Yes, You can legally do as many inspections as you would like, in accordance with your contract. The contract I have for my rental house stipulates that I will give 72hrs written notice and coordinate the visit with the tenants, but I can inspect as many times as I'd like. Because I am not currently living within a reasonable distance of the rental, my contract also stipulates that I may elect to have an agent of my choosing do the inspection, once coordinated.Quote:
Originally Posted by rbeau30
It's all about doing your homework before signing the contract. I spent 3 months screening for good tenants and so far I haven't had a single issue. Hopefully it stays that way.
Not true at all in this market. I just listed my house on Zillow (didn't advertize anywhere else) and was getting 3+ inquiries every day for several months. I could have signed a contract in a week if I wanted to.Quote:
Originally Posted by hurley842002
This is nothing on the rental I just fixed. Maybe ill post the YouTube video
How much are you looking to unload it for? What area?
Run your rental like the military, with similar inspections and such, and see how many tenants you get, but remember you have to put it in the contract that beds must be made every morning...Quote:
Originally Posted by HoneyBadger
Nope, a married couple and their kids. I Thought a family would be good...nope!Quote:
Originally Posted by HoneyBadger
I will be writing monthly inspections in my rental agreements in the future, and spending a lot more time there. I hate going into a home, but I can't have this happen again.
I'm renting my house in Virginia. Thankfully I found a great property manager to handle everything.
If think people treat rentals badly, you should have seen the foreclosure next to me after the owners left.
The garage door was driven through, and everything that could be torn out, was ! Light fixtures, outlets, toilets, sinks, cabinets, appliances, water heater, interior doors, garage door opener & springs. Trash and crap (literally) were a foot deep in most all rooms, dry wall was punched and or kicked out almost completely. Even the irrigation valves & timer were taken. Even the gas fireplace was removed.
Thank your lucky stars that you have some recourse to go after or at least keep the security deposit from your renters.
We bought our house in 2008 after looking at close to 40 foreclosures. It's amazing what someone will do to a home once they no longer care.
Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk
Quote:
Originally Posted by HoneyBadger
If I rented out a property worth 6 figures to anyone, you betcha I would be really ... really involved.
I'm so happy the wife's condo is under contract.
Don't fucking scare me like that!!! I'm putting my house up for rent. I have in my lease that I can stop by anytime within reasonable hours. Plus my neighbors all know me and will call me at a drop of a dime. But I hope that my tenants are good, I know them. Have been at their current house and it's spotless.
Why did I rent it? Can't stomach selling it and "loosing" money (6-9%) in fees.
Home Depot sells some excellent stuff called Odoban- that's take care of the pet urine. Use a black light to find any stains.Quote:
Originally Posted by MED
I'm sorry you're going through this- I'd write a rental contract that outlines everything you think should be common sense (use of trash bags, no garbage down the disposal, pet messes must be cleaned up within X hours, etc). Make sure a walk-through is required before they leave. In this market, you'll find renters easily.
I'm guessing they've lost their security deposit and their pet deposit after that list!
Try finding a 5 figure rental round here. On a serious note. People can be terrible. I bought my house as a foreclosure. Main water shut off then they busted the valve. Extra plugged up sewer, line needed replacing. Everything stripped. Last owners were animals.Quote:
Originally Posted by rbeau30
Can you do a credit check before you rent or is that illegal? Also a background check for criminal record?
That's the wrong attitude for a rental. Rentals are for making money, period. Stuff is going to get broken and trashed, guaranteed. If your heart is attached to your rental (like if it was your first home), it will be very difficult for you.Quote:
Originally Posted by rbeau30
Absolutely. That is common practice, and making the applicant pay for the background check is pretty standard.Quote:
Originally Posted by BushMasterBoy
People are filthy. Every time I have to go in to someone's home, I am surprised and disgusted at how humans can live...
There are several services that do criminal and credit background checks for landlords; anywhere from $25-$75 depending on what you want done.Quote:
Originally Posted by BushMasterBoy
Sorry I missed this. It is near AIrport and 6th in Aurora. I owe around $156,000 on it. If I sell, the price depends on how close it is to "as is". I need to clear $10,000 after the sale for taxes and such. I may have somebody I know rent it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Irving
I had something similar in one of my rentals including photos dated before they moved in and photos the day they moved out. I had signed documents and everything you need to protect yourself as a landlord... right? Wrong. I ended up in small claims court with the lady even admitting that they had done the stuff in the photographs. The only piece they had was an 'email' supposedly between them and myself claiming I was going to return their deposit in full. It was literally a piece of paper printed out from what looked like MS Word that was supposedly an email between them and myself. No header. No details. Nothing. That was all she had. The husband didn't even show up. I brought my LEO buddy because he was in town and he wanted to see them squirm since he was privy to the evils they had committed and wanted to see the slam dunk case first hand. Judge went into his chambers after listening to both of us (including her basically admit to all the damages being committed by her and her family) and then ruled that I was to refund their security deposit in full because I lead them to believe I would as was evidenced by the 'email'. Dafuq?!?! That was the day I decided to never rent a house again. I haven't. I sleep better now. It's just not worth the stress.
tldr; Don't rent houses in Colorado because it's not 'if' you get effed by a tenant but when and how hard.
Your list doesn't seem too bad. I used to own a good sized trailer park that I owned most of the trailers and it also had about 10 apartments. I've got stories for days.
Here is a quick list off the top of my head:
-One tenant removed the top 1 foot of drywall from the entire apartment and filled the walls with trash/dirty diapers/animals feces/food scraps.
-One tenant had so many cockroaches I went into the bedroom, pulled the sheets back and the ENTIRE surface of the bed was covered and scattered.
-Had several meth labs busted by North Metro task force.
-Evicted one guy that was a major drug user. Had to clean apartment and removed over 200 used syringes. I also think this person didn't take their trash out once for the entire 2 years they lived there, every spot you could fit a piece of trash was packed full.
I suppose. I mainly would keep tabs on it for documentation.Quote:
Originally Posted by Irving
I am sure there is ways for tenants to screw over landlords. If you know the soonest when there is a problem, you can start documenting the problems and perhaps fair better in court. (thus loosing less money) I am assuming being a landlord is going to get you in court more. Would be nice to appear before a judge with documentation in hand.
I would not be attached to broken stuff. When that broken stuff starts making me loose money that is a problem. When they start destroying more than the deposit pays for isn't it time to let them move on?
My neighbor has been renting out her house while she pursues her goals working in Cali.. the first set of tenants she had TRASHED the house. White couple, late 20s... the dogs and cat ruined the floors.. peed on EVERYTHING.. the house smelled like an amonia factory.. howTF do people live in that.
She kept their deposits and they're suing her for keeping their money as they don't feel it was that bad.. they wouldn't come for a walk through. I know I'm going to get called to testify about their little shit head dogs..
Quote:
Originally Posted by rbeau30
Most of what you said here is true. The problem is that if someone is trashing your place, even if you "win" in court, they don't have any money for you to recover anyway. It's very important to build up a safety net with a rental, because you WILL need it.
Yeah, no blood from a turnip.Quote:
Originally Posted by Irving
Rentals can be great but they can also be a big downer. I'd rather do fix/flips then have rentals.
That's how I started and once flipping slowed down I became a landlord. Once that start slowing down I became bankrupt. Wee real estate investment!Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave_L
I have managed rentals before, and only occasionally had problems. The biggest thing is the background credit check. You also don't want to be a slum lord, cheap places poor aesthetics or you wind up with crappy tenants. It is important to set the tone at the first communication that you are in charge and the tenants are not.
People are disgusting. I'll toot my own horn for a second though, because my wife and I are renting (hopefully will be getting our own house in the next couple years) and we've taken very good care of the 2 houses we've lived at. She cleans EVERY DAY. I've also volunteered to help fix our current place up. If our LL buys the materials or reimburses us the following rent payment, I've fixed up a lot of stuff around the house. Our house is NOT in great condition, but in exchange for a very reasonable price, I have no problem helping out with labor.
It blows my mind how people could live in squalor. Blech
I thought now was a good time to sell a house?
I say get rid of it, make a quick bit of money and move on.
Big time.Quote:
Originally Posted by ray1970