Need opinions from Landlords and Tenants - SORRY LONGWINDED

[Raen]

Whether I kept them or not would depend on how well they're maintaining the property--when you go check things out, is the place a complete disaster? Are the dogs chewing the trim? Does the place stink? Are you going to end up with $1000 worth of repairs when they leave? If so, I'd boot them, otherwise I'd stick it out. If they want you to install a water softener, just say no, and leave it at that.

 

[debilorrah]

Quote:
I completely agree with this. They are not going to get better. I am a renter, and I already know going in that I need to learn how to use the stove/oven in each place I move to because every one of them is different. Hard water is not my landlords problem. We have hard water and we use a filter that belongs to us and will go when we do.

To me, it sounds like they are just going to continue to have issues.

 

[LoDoSilkies]

DH and I are building managers if that counts for anything.

Pretty much, people only get evicted for late rent/non-payment for 3 months. We are in a pretty good area overall with pretty secure jobs, so we've not had a lot of problems. It's just the walk-thru at the end, we sometimes find a total mess that's not been cleaned for a year, or like our chickens who were left behind.

 

[mom'sfolly]

I don't think there are a lot of rental options in Canyon Lake, but I could be wrong. They maybe slightly annoying, but they are paying on time. However, they do has a history of skirting the edge with payment, and that raises a small red flag. I think you could do much worse, but with limited rentals available, maybe you could do much better. I have a neighbor here in Central Texas who as a landlord is having a very hard time getting timely and full payments from his renters. He is stressed and unhappy. An annoying person who pays is better than a quiet renter who is a mess and can't pay.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:
Or if they want soft water, to rent service from a company that supplies water softener rentals.

 

[mulewagon]

Speaking as a former tenant (yay! former!) I can understand where they're coming from. I've had to deal with a stove and fridge from, I'm not exaggerating, the 1920s. The gas to the stove hadn't been connected within power company records, and the fridge was dying a slow, lukewarm death. The landlord was peeved at my repeated complaints, but I kept at it until I had working equipment - working for me in reality, not in his mind

On the brush pile - were they objecting to it because it would make a home for rats or snakes? If so, they were in the right to fuss about it.

About the other requests - if you don't ask, you don't get. As long as they take refusals peacefully, that's not a problem. (I once did a cleanup on an apartment office that a disgruntled tenant had set fire to!)

The only thing that would worry me was the shifting number of cats - but I guess you can check for swarms when you're doing repairs.

It's important to keep in mind that this is a business relationship - the main points are, do you get paid on time, and is your property staying in reasonable shape? Y'all don't have to be best buddies, just have a civil relation.

(Oh, the stories I could tell about apartment move-out cleaning! Lots of folks pass the background check, but live in filth. Dogs kept on the back patio without being shoveled out, grease in a solidified inch-thick blanket on the stove, the carpet black around light squares where the furniture was... Bleh!)

 

[domino7]

I would keep them, but as others have said, I would continue on a month by month basis. I have a couple rentals, and having the rent paid in a timely manner, and tenants not destroying the place is huge.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

What no one has yet mentioned is verifying exactly what your legal responsibilities are as a landlord, and making sure that you are doing everything legally correctly. It does not sound as if any of their issues are truly ones you have a legal obligation to repair, but the stove would be an issue if it truly does not cook properly.

I suggest making a personal inspection, with an advance appointment to look at the stove. Bring something simple to cook, and do a test run. (heat water for tea, heat up a can of veggies, bake biscuits or cookies--something to tet both the cooktop and oven portions of the stove). Make sure that at least one of the tenants is present to see you operating the stove, and ask if they have any questions on operating it.

In many states, once the end of a lease is reached, it transitions to a month to month rental, requiring 30 days notice for them to leave or for you to raise rates or change terms. Consider whether that is what you prefer, or whether you would prefer to lock them into a new lease. With a new lease, you are likely guaranteeing rental rate and other terms, which you can raise from what you are getting currently or be more specific on pet deposits and fees are. But you, too are locked in with a new lease. Continuing month to month, you can change the terms as many times as you prefer, or give them notice to leave--all requiring that you give them 30 days notice.

 

[pdsavage]

Just look at it this way you could wind up with worse....
http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-03-09/news/nyc-ten-worst-tenants/

 

[pips&peeps]

Am I the only one that read 5 CATS????

I think you need to do an inspection of the place and then make your decision.