What Would You Have Done?
I have a tenant that has been in my property for two months and it's been nothing but problems. She called me on Tuesday and stated that the drain in the kitchen and the basement was backing up. I had a difficult time getting a plumber this week. However, yesterday I finally got someone to rod the drain in the basement and it appears that she's been putting toilet paper, in large quantities in the toilet.
Also, the pipes are frozen. One, I need to have the pipes insulated but the plumber informed me that grease is being poured down the drain and she used Draino which is bad for pipes. However, the tenant swears she didn't do it.
She’s upset with me because I had a difficult time getting a plumber out this week and yesterday she had to wait for him to come out and by the time he came the bank was closed so she could not cash a check. Therefore, she asked me to lend her money to buy Christmas dinner for her family and I refused.
She never pays her rent on time, she still has not had all the utilities changed to her name and I'm still receiving bills. If she hadn't been pouring grease down the drain maybe this wouldn't have occurred. The plumber said it was nothing he could do until the pipes thaw out.
I know it's Christmas but I don't think a landlord should lend money to a tenant. Does anyone feel differently?
I would not lend money to a tenant period. Turn off the utils that are in your name (after christmas), I do not ask them to put it in their name, I tell them when it will be off and they need to have it straightened out.
If she doesn't pay rent on time I hope you have it in your lease to charge a late fee. You should also have in the lease that they are responsible for paying for any repairs or service that are deemed to be their fault. I reccomend reading Robert Shemins, Secrets of a millionaire landlord.
HTH
[addsig]
Tell her you will meet with her - and the plumber. As the plumber goes through his list on what's wrong, explain to her you will fix it this time( do you really have a choice?) but it will be her repsonsibility to maintain her toliets properly from now on. No more large quantities of toliet paper, tampons, etc. And no more Drano-
Be nice- check out her reaction. If she argues- ask her if she likes living there. If not, maybe she would be happier renting somewhere else and everyone can start making plans to make that happiness happen. Chances are she'll straighten out when she discovers you mean business. You can't afford to have frozen pipes. There is no excuse for a tenant allowing that to happen. Get her out before she does real damage to your rental. ( We have an entire house destroyed by frozen pipes about 20 years ago)
Cordially,
Alice
Ahh, another example of why MTM leases are better than anything long-term.
You need to review two things:
1 - Your tenant selection criteria and methods
2 - The atmosphere you establish
And follow the advice mentioned above.
Good luck.
My current lease states that I'm responsible for all plumbing stoppages, regardless of the cause. I thought it was a bit excessive as I'd never seen that clause in any other lease. BUT, I've also been very careful of what goes down the drain, more than any other apartment I've lived in before. I even funnel used cooking oil into old bottles and throw it away. I've never done that before.
It's an old 1930's building and the plumbing seems a little frail anyway (the pressure's a bit low and the drains are just a tad slower than newer properties I've lived in) so I guess it's a good idea for the management company to put that clause in there.
Thanks for the comments. I'm meeting with her on Wednesday. I would prefer that once the weather breaks she moves out. I've decided that I don't want to rent single family homes. I have two other properties that I'm selling. My plans are now to rehab and resell single family homes and hold mult-units.
Happy Holidays,
Yhagood