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As some if you know I've been a LL for a long time. I'm fairly easy going but not a push over. What unreasonable demands have you had from applicants when negotiating.
I had a applicant demand I change the color of the kitchen paint. Not only that but he wanted to sign a lease that day, but not move in for another 1.5 months. I was ok with it (signing a lease) , but then after conversing he wasn't going to pay for that 1.5 months. He just wanted me to sign the lease now and he could give notice then move in later. No thanks
Had a applicant try to get a 20 month lease. But he wanted to pay in advance for 18 months only. No thanks
Had a applicant offer to replace my carpet with wood flooring as their kids were allergic to carpet. No thanks
Few other I dint like the paint color can I repaint. No thanks
People wanting to have a garden or add some flowers (I tend to use succulents as they really are ratty maintenance free) I dint much care if they wantbto add some flowers.
Last edited by Electrician4you; 06-17-2017 at 04:19 PM..
My parents had a rental in a rent control area where they had little ability to raise rents or easily evict renters.
The renters decided to get custody of his teen age kids...three in addition to the kids they already had is the house, and one teen came with a 2 year old Down's Syndrome affected child. Small 3 bedroom house.
They decided the pool was too dangerous for the special needs child, and besides cost too much money, with the pump electricity and the water use...and trash was too expensive too. So they filled up the pool with trash, lawn mowings, bushes they let die, whatever. Put a layer of dirt on top, and had a backyard without the $40k pool.
Then they decided they could not afford the rent with all the kids, so they stopped paying. Mom and dad evicted them. They had all the neighbors write my parents about what wonderful people they were, calling my parents money grubbers, etc. And the house was rented well under market. The neighbors were asking my parents to forgive their past rent and start a new lease with them.
So, they left with the police escorting them out, but it was just to make a point as all their stuff was gone...except the trash. And that is when mom and dad found out that they also packed up the stove, refrig, oven, furnace, central air, and all the cabinet doors in the kitchen and bathrooms. And that the pool pump and filter was gone, and the pool was filled in. No window had a screen and most windows were newly broken. The house smelt like bleach and it was newly trailed from room to room ruining the flooring---carpet, wood and linoleum!
Mom and dad fixed up that house and sold it immediately. No more houses in rent control areas! They did get a high judgement from the court for the damage, but you can not get blood from a turnip and did not see a cent of it.
They did do well though when they sent an invitation to each house on the block to let them see the house post their buddy renting it. The neighbors were shocked to see what they had done to the house.
I had one lady ask me to drop the rent by $200 and no deposit because she was a single mom with a 6 yr old boy and wanted in the school district, which you can do anywhere here in AZ.
I have people ask me to remove the carpeting all the time even on brand new carpet, I only carpet upstairs and bedrooms.
The strangest request from possible tenants had to be one guy asked me to remove all the window screens and blinds. I've got 90% sun screens on everything and faux wood blinds so I really don't get that one.
Unreasonable demands are so frequent that they are industry standard. Tenants who want to paint a freshly painted house, tenants who think that I should make a special exception for their smoking or pit bull, even though the ad specifically says no smoking and no pit bulls, tenants who want to tear the lawn out to put in a veggie garden, tenants who want to move in with no payment who promise to pay their rent a week from Tuesday.
Most unreasonable was a couple who had just sold their house and were looking for a place to rent just while they found a new house to buy. She didn't like the carpeting, so told me they would take the house if I pulled out the nearly new Berber and put in a short pile carpet that she preferred.
So I asked, "if I spend $3,000 on brand new carpet, you will agree to rent from me for 2 months?" (rent was $900 a month)
She didn't even bat an eye when she agreed that was the deal. I just never occurred to her how unreasonable that was and she was gobsmacked when I turned her application down.
Then there was the tenant who decided I should buy him a hot tub. When I refused, they gave notice and moved to a rental that had a hot tub. He came back a couple of months later saying he'd made a mistake and wanted me to take him back. The hot tube didn't even work and the new landlord wouldn't fix it and there was no place to park their trailer and the rent was $300 a month more. Sorry, I didn't hold your house vacant for three months just in case you wanted to come back.
My parents had a rental in a rent control area where they had little ability to raise rents or easily evict renters.
The renters decided to get custody of his teen age kids...three in addition to the kids they already had is the house, and one teen came with a 2 year old Down's Syndrome affected child. Small 3 bedroom house.
They decided the pool was too dangerous for the special needs child, and besides cost too much money, with the pump electricity and the water use...and trash was too expensive too. So they filled up the pool with trash, lawn mowings, bushes they let die, whatever. Put a layer of dirt on top, and had a backyard without the $40k pool.
Then they decided they could not afford the rent with all the kids, so they stopped paying. Mom and dad evicted them. They had all the neighbors write my parents about what wonderful people they were, calling my parents money grubbers, etc. And the house was rented well under market. The neighbors were asking my parents to forgive their past rent and start a new lease with them.
So, they left with the police escorting them out, but it was just to make a point as all their stuff was gone...except the trash. And that is when mom and dad found out that they also packed up the stove, refrig, oven, furnace, central air, and all the cabinet doors in the kitchen and bathrooms. And that the pool pump and filter was gone, and the pool was filled in. No window had a screen and most windows were newly broken. The house smelt like bleach and it was newly trailed from room to room ruining the flooring---carpet, wood and linoleum!
Mom and dad fixed up that house and sold it immediately. No more houses in rent control areas! They did get a high judgement from the court for the damage, but you can not get blood from a turnip and did not see a cent of it.
They did do well though when they sent an invitation to each house on the block to let them see the house post their buddy renting it. The neighbors were shocked to see what they had done to the house.
THINGS like that (can't even call them people) deserve a special spot in hell.
I'm only a tenant and I've never demanded (or even asked) for anything above what was advertised. I don't understand why other renters think that's even acceptable. If the rental isn't to your standards as is, find one that meets them.
This January I had a 3000 sq ft studio lofted listed for $700. Two different applicants each wanted to sign a lease and for me to 'hold it for them' until June. [there is a nearby university, so many of the 100-unit complexes have leases that run July to June]
My reply was that I am not 'holding' anything for anyone. if they were willing to start paying monthly rent, then we can discuss it.
Then they decided they could not afford the rent with all the kids, so they stopped paying. Mom and dad evicted them. They had all the neighbors write my parents about what wonderful people they were, calling my parents money grubbers, etc. And the house was rented well under market. The neighbors were asking my parents to forgive their past rent and start a new lease with them.
The neighbors should have ponied up the back rent.
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