Hello all! It's getting close to the time where we need to decide if we're willing to renew the lease with our tenants. I don't know how the tenants feel or what they're planning, so we're trying to decide what we want to do. I've never been a Landlord before and I've never rented, so I'm not quite sure what is more or less the norm. These people can be what I consider a nightmare, but in actuality, be dream tenants, or vice versa. DH is fine giving them the boot, but I'm the one who does just about everything: repairs, painting, cleaning, collecting, applications, legalities, etc., so I feel I have a bit more of a vote than he does.
Here's why I think we should drop them like hot potatoes:
1. We accept 3 pets, more upon approval. They called with 2 dogs and 2 cats, at the appointment it was 3 cats, after move-in turned out to be 5 cats.
2. Deposit check - bounced, they notified us and paid the required fee and deposit in cash
3. 1st Month rent - was post dated (as approved), but short $50 dollars. Recitified asap with cash.
4. Pet deposit - we negotiated down to a very, very fair amount and accepted a payment date of 10 days after move-in. On that day, I received a request if they could pay late, because they had to take their dog to the vet. I refused, they paid that evening with cash.
5. They hassled us for 2 weeks regarding the burn pile in our empty lot next to the rental. They wanted us to pay to have it hauled to the dump. I explained to them that the lot was not part of the rental agreement (they we're given a copy of the survey w/ the lease agreement) and therefore, they have no say in what I chose to do with my property. They offered to haul it away themselves, I agreed, provided they pay for all of it. Turned out it was more than they wanted to pay. We eventually agreed to let the teenage boys we hire on the weekends, spend 2 hours moving the brush pile to another pile of the empty lot.
6. They complained that the 20-odd year old electric stove is burning their food. I call in our warranty service. They adjust the oven exhaust fan, but don't fix the stove. I call the warranty service again and this time, the repair tech orders new parts and installs that on the stove. They are now complaining that they're still burning their food. My advice to them was to dial down the knob. Both repair techs said the stove is fine, just old, no safety issues and that the tenants are just used to cooking with gas, not electric. We eventually will replace the stove, but the current stove is drop in, and to replace it with one with the same dimensions would cost around $1500. We want to install a freestanding range, but will have to remove cabinetry and countertop, in order to make the space. We do not want to do this while someone is living there.
7. The tenant is now hinting around about the hard water. I know what they want, they want a water softener. Not gonna happen.
Here's why I think we might want to keep them:
1. After the first month, they have paid their rent and utilities on time.
What do you think, should we keep them? Any opinions and input would be greatly valued.
Here's why I think we should drop them like hot potatoes:
1. We accept 3 pets, more upon approval. They called with 2 dogs and 2 cats, at the appointment it was 3 cats, after move-in turned out to be 5 cats.
2. Deposit check - bounced, they notified us and paid the required fee and deposit in cash
3. 1st Month rent - was post dated (as approved), but short $50 dollars. Recitified asap with cash.
4. Pet deposit - we negotiated down to a very, very fair amount and accepted a payment date of 10 days after move-in. On that day, I received a request if they could pay late, because they had to take their dog to the vet. I refused, they paid that evening with cash.
5. They hassled us for 2 weeks regarding the burn pile in our empty lot next to the rental. They wanted us to pay to have it hauled to the dump. I explained to them that the lot was not part of the rental agreement (they we're given a copy of the survey w/ the lease agreement) and therefore, they have no say in what I chose to do with my property. They offered to haul it away themselves, I agreed, provided they pay for all of it. Turned out it was more than they wanted to pay. We eventually agreed to let the teenage boys we hire on the weekends, spend 2 hours moving the brush pile to another pile of the empty lot.
6. They complained that the 20-odd year old electric stove is burning their food. I call in our warranty service. They adjust the oven exhaust fan, but don't fix the stove. I call the warranty service again and this time, the repair tech orders new parts and installs that on the stove. They are now complaining that they're still burning their food. My advice to them was to dial down the knob. Both repair techs said the stove is fine, just old, no safety issues and that the tenants are just used to cooking with gas, not electric. We eventually will replace the stove, but the current stove is drop in, and to replace it with one with the same dimensions would cost around $1500. We want to install a freestanding range, but will have to remove cabinetry and countertop, in order to make the space. We do not want to do this while someone is living there.
7. The tenant is now hinting around about the hard water. I know what they want, they want a water softener. Not gonna happen.
Here's why I think we might want to keep them:
1. After the first month, they have paid their rent and utilities on time.
What do you think, should we keep them? Any opinions and input would be greatly valued.
