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I have these tenants who have just moved in a week ago and already have a big list of issues they have noted in the house. It is hard to believe because we inspected the house thorougly before we handed the keys to her. She was not present during that inspection.
She says we need to get a exterminator and the house needs to be cleaned. Our previous tenants who lived there for a year never complained about any bugs etc. They also did a good job in cleaning the place up before they left so we did not get it professinally cleaned. She says the dishwasher is not working after being in the house for 5 days. When we had inspected all appliances were working fine, the house was clean and there were no issues.
If there are issues as she is suggesting do we need to meet her demands. If the dishwasher is not working we don't mind getting it fixed but about getting an exterminator and cleaning the house etc. are we obligated to do that? Its been only 5 days since they have moved in and they are already getting to our head by texting us every other day about issues they note. We told them to compile a list of issues alongwith pictures and send it to us.
If the dishwasher is not working or we need to clean up the house professionally who would be responsible for paying (previous tenants, us or the current tenants)?
Please advise.
Thanks
Be ready for this not to be over until they move out. How long is their lease?
Repair the DW but first ask her "what exactly is it NOT doing properly?"
She moved in without being present for her walkthrough which was #1 bad idea Don't let that happen again.
At the move in among other things we have a single page "Acceptance of Property" which basically says that they accept the condition, will report problems, and will clean according to their lease/handbook when they vacate.
You need to go over and check the dishwasher and have it repaired if it isn't working. But check it, because "not working" is sometimes tenant speak for "I want a brand new one".
You inspected. Was the house really clean when the new tenant moved in? If it was, tell her she is welcome to do all the cleaning she wishes to do to get it up to her standards. If it wasn't clean, you have the option of "what you see is what you get" or else, more responsibly, getting it cleaned.
I do my own cleaning and I know that my houses are clean, top to bottom. So when I get complaints that the house wasn't clean, it is from tenants who are planing to leave it dirty and claim it was filthy when they moved in. Or else it is from tenants who want upgrades like new paint. But, like I said, I know the house was clean.
After I clean, I spray the house with Spectricide bug stop and I place mouse bait in appropriate places. Then the rental agreement says the house was treated and it is the tenant's responsibility from then on (Single house, not apartments). Any sign of any bugs or vermin while I clean, and the house gets treated.
OP, it sounds like you have a difficult tenant, but it also sounds a bit like you mistakenly thought that having a rental would be hands-off income for you. Not so. A rental requires constant maintenance and repair and you will be receiving calls from any and all tenants you ever have living there, very often after hours. If that annoys you, maybe you aren't cut out to be a landlord. Its a job, not a trouble free monthly payment.
Everyone's idea of clean is different. We do a good job cleaning our rentals, and I tell new tenants that the condition they receive it in is the condition we expect to get it back in. If they want to do additional cleaning when they move in, that is on them. I've had people complain that a house is filthy because there was a tiny dust bunny in one corner, or because there was a streak on a window. I've also had people tell me the house was "move in ready" or "immaculate" that I would grade as a total and complete fail. One person who said the house was move in ready required 20 more hours of cleaning.
So I wouldn't necessarily agree to do more cleaning, but the fact that you just went with the cleaning the prior tenant had done and didn't do any additional works against you. If you didn't open up all cabinets, all drawers and all appliances, as well as pull out the range and fridge, your walkthrough was incomplete.
For the exterminator and dishwasher, I would tell them what I tell all my tenants. I will have the appropriate professional take a look, and if there isn't a problem/infestation, the tenant gets the bill for the service call. If there is an issue, then it is my expense. If there is a pest problem, the way I handle that is if it is a local bug, I pay for it, if it is not a local bug, the tenant pays for it. (All my properties are houses or duplexes, no apartments). The question here is which tenant introduced it? If you can't determine that definitively, you'll have to just pay for it.
We did do the walkthrough thoroughly after the previous tenants left. Checked all the cabinets, appliances from inside as well and did not find any dirt. Infact we also started the dishwasher to make sure it is working. We don't have issues fixing it and if it needs fixing. Also, we don't have issues doing a pest control if it really needs one. I like your idea of telling them that you will have a appropriate professional look at it and determine if work needs to be done.
We did do the walkthrough thoroughly after the previous tenants left. Checked all the cabinets, appliances from inside as well and did not find any dirt. Infact we also started the dishwasher to make sure it is working. We don't have issues fixing it and if it needs fixing. Also, we don't have issues doing a pest control if it really needs one. I like your idea of telling them that you will have a appropriate professional look at it and determine if work needs to be done.
We also offered the tenant to come in and check the dishwasher out. But she refused and said she will send us a list next week of issues she has noted. If a tenant really has issues why would he/she wait till next to resolve it? If the dishwasher was not working why would she wait 1 week to get this resolved when we offered to go in earlier and get it fixed if needed.
You need to go over and check the dishwasher and have it repaired if it isn't working. But check it, because "not working" is sometimes tenant speak for "I want a brand new one".
You inspected. Was the house really clean when the new tenant moved in? If it was, tell her she is welcome to do all the cleaning she wishes to do to get it up to her standards. If it wasn't clean, you have the option of "what you see is what you get" or else, more responsibly, getting it cleaned.
I do my own cleaning and I know that my houses are clean, top to bottom. So when I get complaints that the house wasn't clean, it is from tenants who are planing to leave it dirty and claim it was filthy when they moved in. Or else it is from tenants who want upgrades like new paint. But, like I said, I know the house was clean.
After I clean, I spray the house with Spectricide bug stop and I place mouse bait in appropriate places. Then the rental agreement says the house was treated and it is the tenant's responsibility from then on (Single house, not apartments). Any sign of any bugs or vermin while I clean, and the house gets treated.
OP, it sounds like you have a difficult tenant, but it also sounds a bit like you mistakenly thought that having a rental would be hands-off income for you. Not so. A rental requires constant maintenance and repair and you will be receiving calls from any and all tenants you ever have living there, very often after hours. If that annoys you, maybe you aren't cut out to be a landlord. Its a job, not a trouble free monthly payment.
Thanks. We did make sure the house was clean inside out and we did the inspection not once but thrice to make sure its all good before the new tenants move in. And we do not think that a rental is a hands off income for us. We understand that it required regular maintenance and repair and we are willing to do that if it really needs it. When they came to see the house the previous tenants were in the process of moving out and so it was a big mess. Inspite of that this lady was in a haste to sign the lease the same day. We told her to take time and think it through before making a hasty decision.
Another funny thing to note, she has been complaining of dirt/filth every since she moved in and we told her to send pics and we will fix things. Its been over a week since they have moved in and I have not seen one pic as we told her. When we call her asking her what is the issue she says that she is old and gets picky on things and not to worry she will take care of it herself. After 2-3 days I again get this nasty text from her complaining. So I don't know what to derive out of this. Is she just using us to remove her frustration or is she really serious?
It sounds to me (based on this and your other post) that you just woke up one day and said "hey, I think I'll be a landlord" without really understanding what it entails.
While you think that the renters are being unreasonable, and they have made some errors like not asking for repainting before signing the lease, you are not doing relatively minor and definitely expected things like making sure the place was scrubbed from top to bottom before they moved in, doing preventive pest control, and repainting things neutral colors instead of leaving old and garish designs up.
Fulfill the terms of the lease on your end, complete all the required maintenance/repairs and grant their reasonable requests. Then, don't rent to anyone ever again because you don't really understanding and/or care what is actually involved in being a good landlord.
I totally don't agree with you. We have offered to fix things for the tenant numerous times. Please read my posts later on in the thread and you will know what I am talking about. And per the agreement we are not obligated to paint any room because the tenant does not like the color. The tenant saw the house before they decided to rent.
When we call her asking her what is the issue she says that she is old and gets picky on things and not to worry she will take care of it herself. After 2-3 days I again get this nasty text from her complaining. So I don't know what to derive out of this. Is she just using us to remove her frustration or is she really serious?
If she's serious she'll send you what you're asking for. If she persists you might gently remind her (I would do it in writing - by email if you must but not through texting) of what she has said. Tell her that you're more than happy to address maintenance issues but that they should be submitted in writing (this is in accordance with common landlord tenant laws).
Did you take photos of the place after it was all cleaned up? That's something you should do as a matter of course in case there's a dispute later on when tenants leave and you need to make deductions from their security deposit for any damages.
If she's serious she'll send you what you're asking for. If she persists you might gently remind her (I would do it in writing - by email if you must but not through texting) of what she has said. Tell her that you're more than happy to address maintenance issues but that they should be submitted in writing (this is in accordance with common landlord tenant laws).
Did you take photos of the place after it was all cleaned up? That's something you should do as a matter of course in case there's a dispute later on when tenants leave and you need to make deductions from their security deposit for any damages.
Have you actually gone over there yet?
Unfortunately we did not take pics of the place after it was all cleaned up and I agree that is our mistake. We should have had her be with us when we were inspecting. Lessons have been learned. We offered her to go in Friday and she refused and said she will email the list of issues next week. Unfortunately we have signed a 2 year lease with her and I'm so dreading that. She wanted to sign a long term lease. When she first saw the house in a very messy condition she said that she is love with the house and wants it right away.
We offered her to go in Friday and she refused and said she will email the list of issues next week. Unfortunately we have signed a 2 year lease with her and I'm so dreading that.
State laws generally require that you give 24 hours notice of intent to enter the premises - check what your state says specifically. Follow the instructions (it's usually required to be in writing) and go to the residence. Presumably you have a key if she's not home? Ideally you should have had the locks rekeyed when the previous tenant left and then given the new tenant one key and retained a second for yourself. This you can still do. Take a camera with you and take pictures of the place. Not of her but of the premises, inside and out, so that you have at least something of a record. You can check the D/W at the same time and anything else your tenant is complaining about.
It IS unfortunate that you signed a two year lease. That's highly unusual for a residential lease. You really do need to hone up more on the business of being a landlord as it seems you've become a bit lax in having a former tenant who stayed for some time and was no problem at all. This tenant (and I'm only making an assumption based on a couple of things you've mentioned) sounds as though she's viewing the property as her "home for life" before she's barely moved in and it's only going to get worse the more you give in to her. Boundaries have to be set. It's a business.
We also offered the tenant to come in and check the dishwasher out. But she refused and said she will send us a list next week of issues she has noted. If a tenant really has issues why would he/she wait till next to resolve it? If the dishwasher was not working why would she wait 1 week to get this resolved when we offered to go in earlier and get it fixed if needed.
Keep in mind that it's not the tenant's choice whether you can come to check the dishwasher or whether a professional comes to look at it (unless tenant wants to pay full bill if they contact someone on their own).
It's ok to wait a week. But before you call/pay an appliance repair person, YOU go check the dishwasher and run it through a cycle first. Maybe it works fine but it doesn't clean dishes as perfect as tenant prefers?
My dishwasher that I bought brand new doesn't clean as good as I would prefer, so I have to rinse the dishes extra good before putting them in the dishwasher and then I often run it on "pots and pans" cycle to get them cleaner than the standard cycle. And tried tweaking various dishwashing soaps and rinses and found a nice combo that helps quite a bit. But it's a working dishwasher - nothing broken about it.
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