Registered Sex Offenders
All,
I'm a new investor with only a few properties. Today, my tenant learned from a neighbor that a registered sex offender has moved into a house only a few doors down. She's frantic, and understandably so. I never received notice of this in the mail.
So my questions are these:
1) My tenant wants out of the lease. I don't have much of a problem with this. Do you agree?
2) How do I let prospective renters know that there's a registered sex offender living down the block? is there a protocol for this? I don't think I can just not tell them now that I know.
3) Should I just sell the damn thing? I don't want to, because I love the house, I love the neighborhood, and it makes me great money. But this is definitely going to make renting it more difficult.
Please advise!
1) If she wants to go, then let her go. She's going whether you "let" her or not. Much better to get the property back in good shape rather than torn to pieces.
2) You'll need to check your state's requirement for landlords concerning whether you are legally required to inform your tenants. Ethically, I believe that you should tell potential tenants about the neighbor, especially if there will be a person living there that could be a possible victim to his type of offense (ie a child or single woman, etc.).
3) To sell or not sell is a decision that only you can make. My guess is that if the offender living in the neighborhood affects rentals, then it will affect buyers (and prices) as well. Unless you're willing to sell at a discount, this may not be the best time to do so.
Roger
Hello,
First of all don't panic. Tell the one you rent to about the situation. Find out if you have to tell them or not. After that who knows if the guy moves or is still there and it won't be your job to track him. Around here people get the sex offender title for peeing on a public street or alley. While I do not approve of this, there is a diiference. Try to calm the situation down a bit and it will take care of itself.
I had lived around the corner from one so I have been through it. But at least I'm 6' 4" and 215 pounds. Try to get some guys in there for a year or so until this passes. Good Luck!
Jeff
studlee is right. Don't panic. First of all, check to make sure this isn't just some stupid rumor. Also, sexual offenses of any type are of course unacceptable. But I think we can agree that they are not all equal. I don't know how they're classified, but I imagine that George Michael's arrest probably qualified him as a sex offender. Although, maybe not. Depending on your local and state laws, I would be careful about telling every possible tenant about the child molester down the street. You may or may not have a legal responsibility to do so. And you may or may not be liable for what you do or do not say. This is a question to pose to your lawyer.
Anyway, I know there is a free database of sex offenders. I don't recall the address, but you can do a Google search to try to find it. Through a database like this, try to find out what sort of crime this person was guilty of. At least this way you'll know if you have a child molester or someone guilty of date rape on your hands. Not that either of these crimes is anything but terrible. But based on what it is they're guilty of, you'll know what sort of tenants you want to try to encourage for your place.
Finally, keep an eye on the neighborhood. If lots of "For Sale" signs start popping up, it may be time to get out or start buying.
Good luck.
If the person is a registered sex offender it means that they must be registered somehow. Call the local police as they are suppose to know about this.
After you have confirmed that it is not a rumor but fact then speak with your present tenant.
Otherwise listen to the advice provided by others here who have already posted.
John
Thanks for all the advice so far. I've done a bunch of research, found the offender online, spoken with law enforcement officials, etc. I've provided the tenant with numbers to call to learn more about this, but ultimately she'll make her decision and i'll abide by it. The lease has a clause that holds the tenant responsible for any vacancy time if the lease is broken, but hopefully i'll be able to avoid that.
I'm going to have to tell prospective tenants about this, which I believe is the ethical thing to do, and it'll surely limit my options.