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On one of the threads in this forum a poster said that people who do not own should not have pets.
Things happen.
I have been a property owner for more than 20 years. In addition to paying the mortgage on my own home I experimented as a landlord, through a rental agency. The first renter, an engineer with a cat, was the best. Did the cat do minor damage? I don't think so. Wear and tear, yes. I paid the mortgage on that property and made a little. So far so good.
Then a young couple, then a parent with two children. The damage increased each time. Experiment concluded. I sold and was happy to do so.
Now I need to relocate and (the terror of it) have three cats. What would you, a landlord, get if you rented to me?
You would get a quiet, middle aged person with cats you would never know were there if I was not honest with you. One car, no smoking, no parties, no noise. Someone willing to pay extra security and/or extra rent. A fico 800+.
The area is mid Oregon (not Portland, its suburbs, or the north coast). You would get up to $1000.00 per month in advance for six months for a nice one bedroom with 1 car garage and/or covered parking.
However, you as a landlord do not seem to exist. I am coming from another area; maybe you have no empty apartments; maybe the demand it high and you have a waiting list of renters. I will keep looking, just in case. But the more I learn the more I think I will board the cats and live in an extended stay while I look to buy.
It has been my experience that young children do FAR more damage and make FAR more noise than most pets, yet you can't discriminate against renters with children with fair housing. If only animals were a protected class.
To be honest, I wouldn't rent to anyone with cats, although dogs are fair game. Cats odors and allergens never really go away, while you can get rid of dog evidence with a good, deep cleaning.
I do feel your pain. It's hard to find a good home with animals.
Location: When you take flak it means you are on target
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Well, there is an old landlord saying, "one cat is company, two cats are companionship, three cats and you are a cat lady."
It is very difficult to rent sight unseen from another location. It is even harder to rent with pets, and the more pets the more difficult.
If you are in an area served by larger complexes, many will take multiple pets.
Now I love kitty cats, but the fact is as a landlord and rehab specialist, every time I enter a property that has had a cat I have had to replace thousands of dollars of carpet, deodorize, despray, replace drywall, etc. It is just a fact. Pet deposits don't cover the damages and the fact is that unless the property is reclaimed even pet owners won't rent it due to the smell when they inspect the property.
I would rather have a unit sit vacant than have to rebuild it.
My suggestion is try to find an extended stay suite, or a room with someone who has pets, or perhaps buy a trailer in a trailer park. Best luck.
Keep looking! And good luck to you. Maybe you can find a private landlord that isn't so anal (and wrongly so!) about cats ... Be sure and tout the fact that your cats are neutered, that they're box trained, etc. Offer a larger deposit, if you can afford it.
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Hmm, if you don't want to seem like a "crazy cat lady"...
You need more than three cats to be considered a crazy cat lady. Three is just the beginning.
Now I love kitty cats, but the fact is as a landlord and rehab specialist, every time I enter a property that has had a cat I have had to replace thousands of dollars of carpet, deodorize, despray, replace drywall, etc. It is just a fact. Pet deposits don't cover the damages and the fact is that unless the property is reclaimed even pet owners won't rent it due to the smell when they inspect the property.
You've probably not been renting to the right cat people. If cats are cleaned up after, cared for properly, trained, etc., there shouldn't be any bad smells or damage. I intentionally avoid apartments with carpet--trapping all that dirt, human or animal, just doesn't appeal to me at all. In the house before the one we currently own, we had our realtor come through and look at every nilk and cranny to let us know what to do to the house before we put it on the market. When she was done making her evaluation, I asked her for suggestions about the cats. She replied, "you have cats?" I had put them out in the backyard so they wouldn't be in the way or freak out. She hadn't even noticed the craftily hidden litterbox we had. I hadn't done any out-of-the-ordinary cleaning or deodorizing, either.
I'm not sure how you would evaluate pet owners, but maybe out there is a series of pointed questions that you can specifically ask that would give you cues as to whether the animals are taken care of properly. Just a suggestion.
As for the OP, another suggestion could be putting a "housing wanted" ad in Craigslist and explaining your situation. It didn't work for us as well as I had hoped, but it's free and low-risk.
Thank you to all who have responded. While I wish some of the content was different it is better that I know what the situation is than to just take off with them.
I really did not expect it to be as difficult as it is turning out to be. I based this mostly on information that $1000 for a one bedroom in that area or Oregon is a generous rent and shows that I am looking for a quality apartment. The second was that I have a stellar credit score and so the prospective landlord would not be concerned about ability to pay (and willingness; I'm not going to skip out owing or get into any snit to damage that score). Third is that I respect owner's property, based on principle but also based on the fact that I respect myself. Admittedly, this last point, as chet everett pointed out cannot be known ahead of time. And if the landlord truly believes I am crazy or a liar I probably would not want to live there anyway.
bentlebee, the cats are neutered but are not declawed. I have their nails trimmed. They don't spray, are current on shots, are microchipped, have tags and are registered. They are indoor exclusively and are box trained. They are all rescue cats who would not have been born if others had bothered to neuter.
jamies and seiketsu provided information I just didn't know.
Extended stay looks like it will be the solution, for me anyway. Not for the cats though; I have spent countless hours on the net and have found none that will take three. I would agree to, and would probably decide on my own anyway to place them in their padded, soft-sided carriers while I go condo hunting but would never attempt to "hide" them or drive around every day with them.
So, it looks like they will board, and so, in a sense will I.
Ohiogirl81- thanks for the smile- I need it!
If anyone knows the name of a good complex or can recommend boarding I would love to know. Any area from Lincoln City down to Port Orford, or any place between Salem and Eugene could work.
Oh, and just something else I wanted to throw out there as a suggestion: If you want to minimize the scratching problem with an untrained cat in your rental, consider cut loop carpet (frieze is a good example). Berber, while cheap, is the perfect scratching surface for a cat to get her claws into. Carpet with cut loops and longer strands doesn't give them a good grip, so they are less likely to scratch it. Also, I don't about all cats, but I went to the hardware store, bought a 2'+ scrap piece of wood and a roll of sisal rope and wrapped it around the wood tightly and secured it. It only took a few minutes to make. My cat likes it better than any specially-made, overpriced cat scratcher. I had it secured to the wall at cat-stretching height in our old place, but now it's just sitting on the floor and she still uses it. Could make a nice welcome gift for your new cat-owning renters.
Maybe you can find a private landlord that isn't so anal (and wrongly so!) about cats ...
The huge problem that I have with cats is that I'm extremely allergic - think severely asthmatic and my throat swells shut and face swells up too. Not a pretty picture, and it's certainly scary and worth a trip to the hospital. No amount of cleaning can get that dander out of carpet, drapes, upholstery, etc. The dander sifts down and stays where it lands.
So, no cats here.
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Hmm, if you don't want to seem like a "crazy cat lady"...
