If you are a property owner and you are trying to juggle multiple properties and not being as successful as you would like, keep reading to hear about some stories from other landlords who have been in the same situation as you, only their days went from bad to worse in a hurry. Some of these stories will make you want to list your properties today and sell them to the first person with cash in hand. But don’t worry, we will provide a solution to your property management problems at the end. Let’s get started:
Tenants Of Mass Destruction
In an article published in ‘Tenant Horror Stories Magazine’, (yes, there is such a thing), a landlord told this tale of tenant-related disaster: “A couple moved into a unit after paying the first and last month’s rent upfront but afterward they never paid a dime. After going through the necessary eviction process, the landlord had to involve the police to remove the occupants. After being told to leave the tenants:
- Broke Off The Door
- Poured Paraffin Wax Down The Drains
- Shorted Out The Electrical System
- Ripped Up The Carpet
- Stabbed Holes Into The Drywall
- Poured Battery Acid On The Tile Floors
- Broke All The Windows
- Sold The All The Appliances
- Spray Painted The Walls
Needless to say, after such a traumatic experience, the landlord has since left the rental business.”
Tenants’ Rights
Next up is a tenant horror stories posted on Reddit.com. Let’s have a look: “A lessor in London rented to what seemed like a nice young couple, who diligently paid their rent on time in the beginning. During their lease, however, the woman got pregnant and quit her job causing the couple to no longer be able to afford the monthly rent. When the landlord tried to confront the tenants, they changed the locks and cut off contact with the landlord.” While it is obvious that the tenants were in the wrong, in London, tenants are able to stay in the property for up to eight months after they have been evicted. The landlord had to pay the mortgage and was not allowed to let the property to anyone else until the tenants had left. She also had to pay the rental costs of the tenants and legal fees in the eviction process.
Run Background Checks
Finally, we have a tenant horror story from an independent landlords association which teaches us a valuable lesson about background checks: “A man with nice clothes and a nice car applied to rent an apartment. The landlord wanted to run a background check but the man said he needed to rent immediately as his wife recently died. The sympathetic lessor gave the guy a break and let him rent the unit with no background check. After the first month, the landlord stopped receiving rental payments. Turns out the tenant filed for bankruptcy prior to signing the lease and did not legally have to pay rent while in bankruptcy court.” The tenant lived in the unit rent-free for seven months and this isn’t the first time he had done this. ALWAYS run a background check on every tenant to avoid costly situations like this one.
Contact Homyplace
Don’t be haunted by too many mistakes while owning multiple properties. Learn from these lessons and let our experts make your property management a breeze. Contact Homyplace today!
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