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Old 01-30-2014, 04:29 PM
 
Location: Full time in the RV
3,417 posts, read 7,748,283 times
Reputation: 3331

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The background:

We have 2.5+ fenced acres which our two dogs use (let the dog in...let the dog out...repeat...)

Main house is only the wife and I. Guest house was mom's until she died about a year ago.

The dogs will run out if the gate is opened while they are in the yard. This means every time someone enters or leaves the property we must call and make sure the dogs are in one of the houses. Mom did not drive so that simplified things. If she was not with us, we knew she was home and we would call before opening the gate.

Since mom died four people have inquired about renting the guest house-all in financial distress. Wife wants to rent it and I am totally opposed to it. She seems to have this desire to be charitable and wants to rent it at far below market rates.

We don't need the money, especially at the silly rent she thinks we should charge.

The problems:

-The dogs. EVERY TIME someone enters or leaves they, and us, will have to make phone call(s) checking the status of the dogs. On top of that one dog is not friendly to strangers so there is that to worry about. The wife's solution is to take them out on a leash-every time. That won't work as it is time consuming plus not fair to the dogs who are used to running around a big yard. This bizarre desire to be generous is clouding her judgement.

-It is illegal to rent a guest house due to zoning. That means no lease. Plus, an upset tenant could file a zoning complaint which would be an unnecessary headache.

-Since we can't have a lease there is no enforceable way to evict someone in the event of problems.

-We are moving in about three years. I don't want hassles getting tenants out (or buyers wanting to look) if they refuse to move. Plus there is the risk of damage.

To me the rent would not compensate for the risk and hassles of being a landlord for such a small amount of money.

Thoughts? I would especially like to hear opinions from landlords.
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Old 01-30-2014, 04:35 PM
 
639 posts, read 1,953,688 times
Reputation: 1324
This is such a nightmare I've not even going to go over all the reasons this is a terrible idea. Just don't do it. Don't.

Tell your wife to donate money to all the people she meets in financial distress if she wants to help. She could give them each a couple thousand and still save money by not giving a free house to these people to trash.
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Old 01-30-2014, 04:54 PM
 
10,746 posts, read 25,861,673 times
Reputation: 16022
Just say no.

It doesn't matter if you have a written lease or a verbal lease, if they are living there and paying you to do so, you're a landlord and they're a tenant.....and you already said it was illegal to rent so..just say NO!
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Old 01-30-2014, 04:59 PM
 
Location: Bloomington IN
8,590 posts, read 12,225,138 times
Reputation: 24241
That you stated it is illegal to rent a guest house due to zoning is more than enough reason to not do so.

While I appreciate your wife's generous spirit this is the wrong way for her to express her generosity. Perhaps she misses the company of Mom and is looking to fill that void by helping another.
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Old 01-30-2014, 05:02 PM
 
35,095 posts, read 50,957,501 times
Reputation: 62660
Quote:
Originally Posted by RMD3819 View Post
The background:

We have 2.5+ fenced acres which our two dogs use (let the dog in...let the dog out...repeat...)

Main house is only the wife and I. Guest house was mom's until she died about a year ago.

The dogs will run out if the gate is opened while they are in the yard. This means every time someone enters or leaves the property we must call and make sure the dogs are in one of the houses. Mom did not drive so that simplified things. If she was not with us, we knew she was home and we would call before opening the gate.

Since mom died four people have inquired about renting the guest house-all in financial distress. Wife wants to rent it and I am totally opposed to it. She seems to have this desire to be charitable and wants to rent it at far below market rates.

We don't need the money, especially at the silly rent she thinks we should charge.

The problems:

-The dogs. EVERY TIME someone enters or leaves they, and us, will have to make phone call(s) checking the status of the dogs. On top of that one dog is not friendly to strangers so there is that to worry about. The wife's solution is to take them out on a leash-every time. That won't work as it is time consuming plus not fair to the dogs who are used to running around a big yard. This bizarre desire to be generous is clouding her judgement.

-It is illegal to rent a guest house due to zoning. That means no lease. Plus, an upset tenant could file a zoning complaint which would be an unnecessary headache.

-Since we can't have a lease there is no enforceable way to evict someone in the event of problems.

-We are moving in about three years. I don't want hassles getting tenants out (or buyers wanting to look) if they refuse to move. Plus there is the risk of damage.

To me the rent would not compensate for the risk and hassles of being a landlord for such a small amount of money.

Thoughts? I would especially like to hear opinions from landlords.

Make the home into a studio of some sort or an office, craft room, work room, etc.
That way it is no longer an issue.
Otherwise is there a cost effective way to section off that home so the dogs have no access, the renters would have open access and no phone calls would have to be made to check the location of the animals?
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Old 01-30-2014, 05:05 PM
 
Location: State of Transition
102,055 posts, read 106,836,948 times
Reputation: 115795
Do NOT rent to people in financial distress! That's just inviting problems.

If you're moving in 3 years, it's a moot point, imo. Besides, it's nice to have someplace separate from the home to put guests. In the meantime, one of you could use it for a home office, a studio or a retreat/man cave/whatever, with the TV out there.
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Old 01-30-2014, 05:09 PM
 
Location: OCNJ and or lower Florida keys
814 posts, read 2,032,770 times
Reputation: 842
I would tell the wife if we rent out the guest house we must get rid of the dogs. Most people love their animals and would do anything for them. I bet she would choose the dogs over charity. If all else fails go rent "Pacific Heights" and spend a cozy night at home watching the best "screw the landlord as much as possible" movie ever made.
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Old 01-30-2014, 05:17 PM
 
Location: NJ
17,574 posts, read 45,971,621 times
Reputation: 16266
The first word that comes to mind is "insane". That would be the only excuse for agreeing to this.
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Old 01-30-2014, 05:24 PM
 
Location: St Thomas, US Virgin Islands
24,665 posts, read 69,424,020 times
Reputation: 26726
This is all too simple. Your property isn't zoned to include a rental so what your wife is planning on doing is ILLEGAL. Renting out an illegal unit can come back to bite you so hard you'll be writhing in sheer agony. What about your home insurance? Has your wife bothered to look into that?

I suggest you park her in front of the computer and have her read through this forum which is overloaded with landlord tenant issues she's never even dreamed of. Sheer madness!!!
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Old 01-30-2014, 06:12 PM
 
16,376 posts, read 22,353,618 times
Reputation: 14391
Quote:
Originally Posted by RMD3819 View Post


-Since we can't have a lease there is no enforceable way to evict someone in the event of problems.
Your assumption is incorrect. Even if you don't have a written lease, your state law defaults to the state's default landlord tenant law lease terms. Each state has them. You can evict someone if they don't pay or if you want them out for other reasons. Even if you guest house is not supposed to be rented.

Here's the problem. These people that inquired were all in financial distress. You never want to rent to someone in financial distress. There financial problems will then become YOUR financial problems.

IF you wanted to rent the place, then first investigate what you occur if you got busted for renting an illegal apartment. If you decide the penalty is worth the risk, then rent it at market rate and rent it to people that qualify to pay the rent and people with good credit and good rental history. If you don't do this then you will have an immediate headache on your hands.

The other issue is the dogs. There is no way that you can still let your dogs out if you want to rent the place. You cannot control how/when someone opens/closes the gate or drives in/out. The renters could have visitors that drive in/out and they wouldn't know (or care) about the dogs.

I suggest you do NOT rent the place out for all the reasons above. There's too big a real big risk of things going bad.

If you decide to rent anyway, then you will need to build a 2nd fenced area for the dogs that allows the renters to drive in/out and have the dogs in different area where they cannot get loose or hurt/scare the renters or their visitors. You could get sued for allowing your loose dog to jump on someone and they fall down or get hurt.

Your dogs can get loose and hit by a car if you rent the unit the way it is now.
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