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(I can't find the "Why is it hard to find good tenants?" thread but this is in response to it).
My landlord is nuts -- lying, passive aggressive, hands-off and overall incompetent. Our last LL was even worse.
Why is it so hard to find someone willing to want me to pay them rent? I just want a reliable, clean place to live. I don't mind paying rent, but I mind paying it when the gas company knocks on my door saying that the LL is 5k behind and they are going to turn the gas off.
(I can't find the "Why is it hard to find good tenants?" thread but this is in response to it).
My landlord is nuts -- lying, passive aggressive, hands-off and overall incompetent. Our last LL was even worse.
Why is it so hard to find someone willing to want me to pay them rent? I just want a reliable, clean place to live. I don't mind paying rent, but I mind paying it when the gas company knocks on my door saying that the LL is 5k behind and they are going to turn the gas off.
Jeez.
You are basing this all on one person? That's a pretty wide brush you're using.
(I can't find the "Why is it hard to find good tenants?" thread but this is in response to it).
My landlord is nuts -- lying, passive aggressive, hands-off and overall incompetent. Our last LL was even worse.
Why is it so hard to find someone willing to want me to pay them rent? I just want a reliable, clean place to live. I don't mind paying rent, but I mind paying it when the gas company knocks on my door saying that the LL is 5k behind and they are going to turn the gas off.
Jeez.
Landlords vary... just as tenants.
I still the believe the best way to size up anyone is by word of mouth... ask around, find out through family and friends who the good Landlords are.
Be aware... good Landlords often spend very little on advertising because most have a waiting list of interested tenants.
See above. I haven't advertised in a long time. I have people who call me all the time for a vacancy. I'm kinda proud of that. I'm also very picky about who gets an apartment.
As for the gas being turned off, I would have put the utilities in my own name to make sure The utilities stayed on. I know it's too late for that or not possible because of multiple apartments with one meter.
Ask around who has a decent LL and start calling the ones who are reprted as decent and maybe you will get lucky.
We are in an era of unwilling landlords. They already have money problems and your concerns are last on their list.
I heard someone suggest doing a title search at the county on a property you are considering to see if there is a Notice of Default or any bad liens. If so, I would pass on the unit.
Last edited by DowntownVentura; 07-13-2010 at 02:25 PM..
See above. I haven't advertised in a long time. I have people who call me all the time for a vacancy. I'm kinda proud of that. I'm also very picky about who gets an apartment.
As for the gas being turned off, I would have put the utilities in my own name to make sure The utilities stayed on. I know it's too late for that or not possible because of multiple apartments with one meter.
Ask around who has a decent LL and start calling the ones who are reprted as decent and maybe you will get lucky.
I have no gas appliances other than heated baseboard for the whole house.. no way I'm paying for that. Electric stove and electric dryer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by backandforth83
Word.
Somehow the crummiest places I've lived have had the best landlords. I've never had a good rental and a good landlord at the same time.
Our first place was a 2 room attic in a beach town for almost 1100/mo, 1 room, EIK/living room. LL was awful. Whatever.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DowntownVentura
We are in an era of unwilling landlords. They already have money problems and your concerns are last on their list.
I heard someone suggest doing a title search at the county on a property you are considering to see if there is a Notice of Default or any bad liens. If so, I would pass on the unit.
What is it that they say? It's more expensive to cycle through tenants than to just please the ones you have? I am not asking for anything crazy... a working thermostat, code-legal outlet placement, a working sump pump, a non-leaking upstairs toilet that ruins my paint/sheetrock ceiling.
We are in an era of unwilling landlords. They already have money problems and your concerns are last on their list.
I agree. That's the #1 Landlord Situation to avoid: The Underwater Homeowner. This person is the one most in need of a professional management company, but they usually are too cash strapped to afford one. The don't have the capital for any major repairs and they are always, on some level, going to resent the tenant for living in "their" house. It all comes to a screeching halt when the letter from the bank arrives and you, the tenant, are suddenly scrambling for a new place to live.
#2 The Estate Home. As in "my granny left me this house and we really didn't want to sell(translation: we are still emotionally attached), so we thought we would just rent it out". The word "just" is a big red flag. You can multiply your grief by the number of siblings who have a stake in the property. ALL repairs will be questioned; after all it was good enough for granny! The only time to rent in this situation is if there is a professional property management firm to act as a buffer.
#3 The Slumlord. Usually pretty easy to spot. Properties are run-down and over-crowded. They often pride themselves on the # of units they own, and while they may have wealth on paper,they too are often under-capitalized (the ratio of properties they own vs. liquid assets). They tend roll their rent money into buying even more run-down and poorly maintained property, instead of improving the real estate already on their balance sheets. Greedy and cheap are never a good combo.
#4 The Handyman. Not so much evil or greedy, but often just clueless. Means well, but can be tough to live with. See my funny LL story here: Funny Renting Stories?
*Note to the male LLs on the board: possession of the XY chromosome, a tool belt and Lowe's card does not automatically make you "handy". Know your limits and get professional help when needed!
Want a good private LL? Look for someone who runs it as a business. These folks have often been successful in other business ventures as well. Real estate or finance or banking are common. They understand that property management is, at the core, a service industry. The tenants are the customers. Provide a good product, make a happy customer, customer pays for the product and recommends the service to others.
For the same reason it is hard to find a good used car among a demolition derby. There is an innate distrust that will always exist between LLs and tenants and no amount of rationalization can change that. Bad renters make bad landlords and bad landlords make bad renters.
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The only time to rent in this situation is if there is a professional property management firm to act as a buffer. 
Know your limits and get professional help when needed! 
