This.
I have worked for a company that owns rental properties among other things for several years, and I have seen some horrific damage left by tenants. We have over 300 residential and commercial properties. I don’t want to get jumped on by a bunch of college students/parents of college students, but in general they have been the absolutely worst tenants we’ve had. They think nothing of trashing the place and then getting upset when they don’t get their deposits back and owe for damages. Most of them have no concept of personal responsibility and don’t think they’re responsible because it’s not their house.
Among the not all that uncommon:
[ul]
[li]writing on the doors and walls with permanent markers.[/li][li]punching holes in the walls with pool cues, fists, heads, small appliances[/li][li]leaving for the summer and turning off the electricity so they don’t have a bill anymore, since they plan on moving out at the end of July - but not cleaning out the fridge and freezer. That was disgusting and the appliance had to be replaced.[/li][li] repainting without landlord’s permission - badly in horrid colors.[/li][li]pets destroying wood facing, lawns, screens and mini-blinds.[/li][li]the kid who decided to take his target rifle and shoot up the duplex - both sides.[/li][li]the group that decided the garage was the perfect party room and decorated it accordingly, including painting the concrete floor- with accompanying damage.[/li][li]parking in the grass and running into porch and patio supports - sometimes bringing them down entirely and ruining the lawn.[/li][li] parties that were so big that the fire department came out to tell them they were violating fire code with that many people in their house. Neighbors weren’t too happy either.[/li][li]tossing bear caps in the garbage disposal and expecting that to not break it.[/li][/ul]
We’ve had to rewrite the lease to list things like this as explicit violations because apparently “Tenant will be responsible for any property damage that occurs during their lease term” isn’t good enough for Mommy’s Little Snowflake. We have an employee whose main main responsibility is filing in Smalls Claims Court and going to Court.
Other damages from otherwise sane looking people:
[ul]
[li]interior doors removed and left outside[/li][li]smoke detectors removed and damaged/lost[/li][li]stickers on doors/windows/walls[/li][li]carpets not vacuumed for the whole lease term[/li][li]bones in garbage disposal [/li][li]sneaking a pet in and then trying to deny when the evidence is everywhere in destruction and stench[/li][li]windows broken from them banging on them[/li][li]working on their car in the drive and not cleaning up the oil/radiator fluid spill[/li][li]leaving without giving notice and breaking their lease[/li][li]never cleaning the bathtub/shower. Gross after a year or more. Really gross.[/li][/ul]
Most of these are now individually listed as lease violations in the lease. What used to be 4 pages is now nearly 20 because people are idiots.
If they do decide to rent, some things to keep in mind:
[ul]
[li]Do NOT let the tenant apply the security deposit to the last month’s rent. It’s illegal in OK, but I don’t know about other places.[/li][li]In OK, Security Deposits are legally required to be put into a separate bank account from rental payments.[/li][li]Ask for first and last month’s rent PLUS a security deposit. It’s to cover the owner’s butt in case they decide to leave early. There is at least that one month’s cushion.[/li][li]Have the lease looked over by a lawyer and spell every little thing out. [/li][li]Have the tenant initial every page of the lease to show they read it. Otherwise you’ll get a whole lot of “What do you mean that’s in the lease?”[/li][li]Assess a late fee for late rent. Make it enough to make an impact. Ours is $100.00 after the 5th rent is due the 1st but they can pay without penalty until 5:00 on the 5th. No excuses for holidays, being out of town or weekends. If they know the office is closed on Sunday the 5th, or they’re going to be out of town when rent is due, they need to pay it before that. It isn’t rocket science, and I don’t know why it they act like it is.[/li][li]TAKE PICTURES at move in and move out. Burn them to CD and file them with the lease. This is the only way to get the costs of damages in some cases. They’ll be needed for court. You’ll be surprised how many people will look you in the eye and tell you that hole was in the floor the whole time or the carpet smelled like wet dog when they moved in. If a Property Management company is handling the rental, have them send the owners copies of the CDs AND the lease.[/li][li]If pets allowed, take a non-refundable pet fee, not a deposit.[/li][li]If you think that dog is too big for that house, or that more than 2 pets is too many, it is. [/li][li]Check references and the BBB on a Property Management company before they hire them. We had an out of town property managed by a company in that town and they didn’t collect the rent in a timely manner or charge late fees. They also didn’t handle routine maintenance. They did collect bids and call us if anything major was needed: replacing the AC compressor, rebuilding the fence after tornado.[/li][li]When a tenant is being checked in, have the person checking them go over the property with them, write down anything wrong and have them and the tenant sign it (and take pictures). Repeat at move out.[/li][li]Make sure the keys are imprinted with Do Not Duplicate so they can’t hand out a dozen copies that you’ll never get back.[/li][li]Charge a key deposit or expect to have to have the locks changed every time there’s tenant turn over. We charge $20.00 per key. We tend to get them all back.[/li][li]Run a credit check and ask for references for the rental application - personal, employment and previous landlords and CHECK THEM.[/li][/ul]
Frankly, I’m surprised my boss is still in the rental business. It’s terrible for his blood pressure.
