Finding a decent tenant is the pits! (Kind of long)

The BBQ Pit
1

OK, as rants go this one is not all that bad but I have to vent SOMEHOW!! I’m a landlord(please don’t throw anything at me, it’s not as if I were a telemarketer). I own a large house and live seperately upstairs and try to keep the downstairs rented. Currently I am between tenants, and absolutely hating the search process for a new one. Some of the things they say, over and over, really get on my nerves. When I tell people that no dogs are allowed it’s always “but I’ll keep him outside” or “it’s just a little dog and he’s housebroken” Early in my renting days I learned, through sad experience, that many indoor dogs are destructive. It’s not their fault, it’s the stupid owners that don’t train them. One let their Great Dane poop in my basement! Another thing, I will NOT “work with you” on the deposit or the first month’s rent. Anyone needing help that early has NEVER paid up or been prompt with later ent payments. Another question I am asked “Do you take Section 8?” (It’s US government rent aid) When I say no, because I prefer not to have the city looking up my ass, some have gotten hostile. And if you want to come over and “look the place over” PLEASE show up. The actual average of folks who keep their appointments is about 1 in 4. And don’t say “Shit” and hang up on me when I tell you I do a background check before I will accept your application.

I try to be a good landlady. I don’t enter the apartment without notice. I keep the appliances in good repair, and have the place sprayed for bugs on a regular basis, as well as providing smoke detectors and having the furnace inspected annually. The yard is mowed in the summer. But right now I am waiting an a person that was eager to rent, passed the background check, called several times to assure me that they would show up today(first of the month) to sign the lease, and is over an hour late for the time we set. Grrr!!! Sorry to be so long, I HAD to let it out!

2

Could you come be the landlady of the off-campus student apartment complex I live in? Please?? I’ll give you a bag of Skittles with every (prompt) check!

3

If your apartment complex is in Topeka Kansas I will.

4

In appreciation of my landlord;

Ehem.

Because good tenants are hard to find, my landlord has:

Put up with both my dogs. One indoor, one mostly indoor but stays out when I’m at work.

Put up with me being late with the rent, though very seldom.

Made a few repairs that improved the place enormously.

Because he has done so, he’s gotten a tenant who:

Pays his rent on time, mostly.

Alerts him to maintenance issues well in advance, throughout the houses on his property, which, since he lives two hours north, he has trouble anticipating.

Helps show the houses when they’re vacant.

Does most of his own repairs, including swamp cooler maintenance and carpentry.

Has been very happy to occupy his property for over seven years.

If you can figure out how to be a good tenant, life is easy, cheap, and good. My landlord hasn’t raised my rent in six years. And one time, when I had it tough, he reduced it for several months.

So, keep searching. We’re out there; people who understand the work that goes into being a landlord, and who do what we can to make life easy all around.

5

Baker, have you ever considered using an agency to help you find a tenant? I owned a condo, was moving out of the country for an indefinite period of time and needed to find tenants to rent it. I contracted with a company who did all the legwork for me - background checks, credit checks, scheduling appointments, showing the place, and, when I’d chosen a tenant they’d referred, doing all the paperwork, getting the lease signed, collecting the first month’s rent & security deposit, etc.

It cost me a tidy sum, but it was worth every penny. I had the best tenants anyone could ask for (and I’m currently in the property manangement business, so I’ve seen my fair share). They paid their rent early every month, kept the place up as well as (if not better than) I did and even referred me to a friend of theirs who wanted to buy it when they gave notice that they were moving. I did end up selling to the guy, too!

Good luck - I hope you find a great tenant!

Jeg elsker dig, Thomas

6

Actually, Shayna, I had never thought of an agency. I’ll have to look around and what they have like that in Topeka. Yellow Pages, here I come.

7

Look under Real Estate Management in the Yellow Pages, you’ll find tons of property managers that can do your screening for you as well as any other service you may want.

Many of the properties I manage are owner occupied, but they prefer to maintain a neighborly relationship with their tenants rather than act as landlord.

Get references and check them, just like you would a tenant.

8

Finding someone to do the full-on property management isn’t a bad idea, either. But I didn’t go quite that far. I just used an “apartment search” firm to find tenants and then had my father act as property manager in my absence.

I take it your potential tenant didn’t show up today?

9

Is this legal in Kansas? In Massachusetts, you can’t refuse to rent to someone just because they’re Section 8, so the only solution is to set the rent high enough that most Section 8 tenants won’t be able to pay it even with the subsidy (not a problem given the hot rental market out here).

10

In my experience, a large percentage of people will dishonor their committments if (1) it’s in their immediate interests; and (2) there are little or no consequences.

Just an observation.

11

Couple things here… there may not be any immediate consequences to not showing up for an appointment, it happens to me all the time. I would estimate that at least half of all the people that I am there to show a rental to, don’t show up and don’t call to re-schedule. There may be lots of very good reasons for this. Fact of the matter is, it is not only inconvenient, (I have to drive at least 15 miles one way to show a place), it is just damn inconsiderate.

People that don’t show up for appointments or fail to call go on my BLACK LIST; I would never rent to them because they would probably make poor tenants. This list is shared with any other property managers in the area, they get my list and I get theirs. It may not matter in a large city, but it does here when I manage half of the rental property available in the county.

Bottom line, if you rent, be good to your landlord. We have way more resources than you will ever think of having at our disposal.

I’m definitely not a bad ass, I’m known for bending over backwards to help anyone out, but if you rent or ever may have to in the future, maintain a good relationship with the owner or the property manager.

Section 8 is a whole different ballgame. Each state and most major cities have their own landlord tenant rules.

Here in the rural area and small town I live in there is little if any section 8 housing because of the federal requirements. I don’t know why, but rents here seem to exceed what section 8 will allow. Most of the rentals will easily pass or exceed what’s required. Here in Idaho, one is not required to rent to anyone available for section 8. It would be desirable from a landlords perspective because of the government backing up the monthly rent.

Problems I’ve seen in the past, are a lack of a railing on one step into a rental, a window that is solid instead of an opening window in a bedroom. Not to mention the reams of paperwork that is required both by the prospective tenant but of the landlord to prove and maintain compliance. Section 8 is a needed assistance, it’s too bad there are so many stumbling blocks to properly run it.