Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
While it refers to specific cases within The Minneapolis-St Paul area, it does make one excellent general point. Namely, that there is no practical way for renters to check on the histories of landlords. I would never want to suggest that all, or even most landlords are problematic. However, it doesn't seem unreasonable to me for a state to maintain a public database of landlords who have been sanctioned--a list which could be readily accessed by potential renters.
...it does make one excellent general point. Namely, that there is no practical way for renters
to check on the histories of landlords (that they don't know or in advance).
Any opinions from renters and landlords?
Most states have Court Case records online. Use them.
You'll find that some LL's never have to file a case... while others are in Rent Court every week.
Balance that against the neighborhood and make your own judgments about how much is based
in tenant actions vs how much is poor management or worse intentional handling.
Most states also have Tax and Property records online. Use these too.
You can also find plenty of stuff online. There are google reviews, yelp reviews, reviews at third party real estate sites, and more to tell you. In this day and age, if you are neglectful on any scale, both as a tenant or a landlord, there is more often than not a record of it.
You can also find plenty of stuff online. There are google reviews, yelp reviews, reviews at third party real estate sites, and more to tell you. In this day and age, if you are neglectful on any scale, both as a tenant or a landlord, there is more often than not a record of it.
As the article points out, most actions against landlords are filed by municipalities. In the Minneapolis area, for example, there are nearly two hundred different municipal governments. There are no data sets which combine complaints or actions taken against landlords who operate in multiple municipalities.
As the article points out, most actions against landlords are filed by municipalities. In the Minneapolis area, for example, there are nearly two hundred different municipal governments. There are no data sets which combine complaints or actions taken against landlords who operate in multiple municipalities.
And, I also think that the renter in this case ws somewhat at fault for renting the place in that condition. I have done my research, when renting when I lived in Minneapolis, and passed on places that looked ok, and found information in one form or another that told me that I didn't want to rent from the property manager or landlord. For every action against a landlord by a city, there is three more pieces of information often from angry residents, all available online.
Most states have Court Case records online. Use them.
You'll find that some LL's never have to file a case... while others are in Rent Court every week.
Balance that against the neighborhood and make your own judgments about how much is based
in tenant actions vs how much is poor management or worse intentional handling.
Most states also have Tax and Property records online. Use these too.
I know landlords who put each property into a separate LLC (which makes perfect sense if you're going to operate under a LLC structure). So looking up 123 Main Street LLC probably won't be much help.
Portland has an online property database but they intentionally do not have a lookup by owner.
I considered developing my own landlord database for profit, but that's illegal here without a property manager license.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
