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........... I think having that monthly check on time on time for over ten years is worth a little elbow grease.
That's all well and fine if your human pigs stay for 10 years. But it is not unusual for tenants to only stay for one year. It's kinda tough to have to do $10,000 worth of repairs for one year's rent.
The big problem with slobs is that they don't slob around for the first month and then leave the house in that condition. For every month that they stay, they add an additional month's dirt and damage.
I have a friend with a management company and his lease states they will replace the AC filter monthly - all for the purpose of watching the condition of the home.
I surely do not expect to get back into rentals. But if I do that will be in the lease. Really great idea.
Thanks for the advice, I'm sure my lease agreement contains something to protect me against this type of tenant, I haven't had a chance to read it since I'm rehabbing another property plus a full time job, this weekend I'll sit down and see what I have.
Someone else already commented on this, but I want to emphasize this is a major issue. You signed a lease with a tenant and don't know for sure what it says. Furthermore, the tenant has been there for a month and you still don't know what it says.
I can tell you every single clause in my lease. I'm pretty sure I could sit here and type a summary of the entire lease (what each clause intends, if not the actual verbiage) without referring to a paper copy. When I sign a lease with a tenant, I do it upside down, and the only thing I look at on the paper is enough to make sure I'm telling them the right clause at the right time. For example, I can look down, see the word "utilities" and tell them everything they need to know/everything the lease says about utilities. After that, the next section is "yard", and so on. As my boss always says "don't summarize if you don't know what the actual wording says". If you can't explain the clause without looking at it, you shouldn't summarize. I summarize everything. If the tenant asks a follow up question, I know whether the answer is in the lease or not, and where and what it says.
I can also tell you at least the topics that are covered in the landlord/tenant guidelines for my state, as I keep a copy on my desk, and refer to them at least once a month for something or another. I don't know them quite as precisely as my lease, but I know where to find what I need, and have a working knowledge of what most of the guidelines say.
If you are going to be a successful landlord, you need to get to that point. If you don't have the time or inclination to get to that point, hire a property manager to do it for you.
And wonder why your tenants always leave after the lease is up...
This would drive me away. Well, I'd be smart enough not to sign the lease in the first place.
How'd you like it if someone came to inspect how you were living every month? Yikes.
I understand your point. I could see coming to the good tenants door with the filters and asking "Do you want me to put them in?" Others I would say" I am here to put the filters in."
As I said I am not planning on EVER having another rental property. Some tenants are great and deserve respect. Unfortunately others not so.
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you're pretty much stuck here.
- You'd have a tough time evicting on the grounds of an omission on a rental application, especially if that omission was voluntarily relayed to you by the tenant. They could easily take the position that they were telling you because they knew they forgot to include it in the application. Either way, very little chance a judge would accept that as grounds for eviction at this point. Second, why did your screening not catch this? It's possible that they may have been served a pay or quit notice and mistaken that for a legal eviction.
- Lease provisions mandating cleanliness (or any other subjective criteria) and tough to enforce due to their subjective nature. It would take an extreme case and I'm not sure if this rises to that level yet.
I would simply call them or send them a letter expressing your concerns and ask what they plan to do to keep the house cleaner.
Today, a unit was shown to prospective tenants. Rooms were neat but the bathroom and kitchen are disgusting. Everything in the unit was brand new brand new when they moved in, so you can really see it.
I understand cleanliness is subjective, but to what point? I've seen dirty, I've seen filthy...and these two rooms were filthy. It really doesn't look like any surface in these two rooms has been cleaned since the group of 4 moved in in September.
Another issue, that we knew about and already addressed with the tenants, is that they are smoking inside the residence. No signs of ciggs today, but I do have a picture that was taken as proof that they are smoking inside - maybe a month or so ago. They were asked to stop, obviously haven't. The entire unit smelled like smoke today.
I'm not going to evict, they are moving out at the end of May. I don't feel it would be worth it.
If I write them a letter telling them that they need to clean the bathroom & kitchen, as they are not living up to the clause in the lease that states they must maintain the cleanliness of the unit, what is their incentive to do so? What type of incentive could I give them if cleanliness is subjective? I'll give them 7 days and then we'll schedule a walk through?
If I tell them the approximate rate that the cleaning service I use will charge them to get the bath/kitchen back to how they were "given" it, could that perhaps be their incentive? Or could that be seen as "harassment"?
Same with the smoking issue. I know what my painter charged to paint the entire unit back in August, and with how badly the unit smells right now, I can't see another way to get the odor out.
If I tell them the approximate rate that the cleaning service I use will charge them to get the bath/kitchen back to how they were "given" it, could that perhaps be their incentive? Or could that be seen as "harassment"?
Same with the smoking issue. I know what my painter charged to paint the entire unit back in August, and with how badly the unit smells right now, I can't see another way to get the odor out.
When you gave it to them, it wasn't lived in. They can't be expected to keep their HOME in a perpetual state of "un lived in". Is there a no smoking clause in your lease?
Not necessarily true. One of my criteria for prospective tenants is how they keep their car. If they show up to view my available rental and their car is littered with trash (fast food wrappers, empty water bottles, lots of various papers/bags/etc.) or the outside of the car is excessively dirty, I will not rent to them. It's a good indicator of how they will maintain my unit. If they keep their car (that they own) that gross, I don't want to imagine what they'll do to my property (which they don't own).
Again, it can be, but not necessarily.
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But if I do that will be in the lease. Really great idea.
