Renting your home. Lesson learned

[obsidian]

When I was living abroad, I made it a point to thrash each house that I rented. I flooded my first house with water from the shower and the police came because they thought I was growing marijuana and the inside of my last house was overgrown with mould. The whole place was ruined; it resembled a sklugging forest. After that I fled the country, breaking the owner's heart (and bank account). I never paid any security deposit either. I betrayed their trust basically.

And why or are you trolling?

[Ron Harrigan]

And why or are you trolling?

I loathed my landlords. Money-grabbers.

[The Ugly]

If you bought a backhoe and had no idea how to run it or service it


would you be a good backhoe owner?

Really enjoying how you randomly shoehorn the new backhoe into threads. Well played.

[_aj_]

And why or are you trolling?

Whenever Harridan Harrigan posts, he's trolling.

[Tapeworm]

Really enjoying how you randomly shoehorn the new backhoe into threads. Well played.

It's 6 Sun morn here now and if the transporter picks it up at 8 on Mon he'd be here by 10.  Andiamo andiamo andiamo!

[The Ugly]

It's 6 Sun morn here now and if the transporter picks it up at 8 on Mon he'd be here by 10.  Andiamo andiamo andiamo!

Six? Where the hell are you, Tape?

[Tapeworm]

Six? Where the hell are you, Tape?

West Australia.  Home of the blowfly.  Habitat of the Tiger Snake.  Land of the kangaroo in the middle of the goddamn road.  Wtf.  Fauna of peace.

[ritch]

Just rent to mid to older aged women who seem to live low key lives.

[The Ugly]

West Australia.  Home of the blowfly.  Habitat of the Tiger Snake.  Land of the kangaroo in the middle of the goddamn road.  Wtf.  Fauna of peace.

I'll be damned. Had you pegged as a Yank. Apologies.

[DanielPaul]

Navy mike what part of Tx?

[Thong Maniac]

When I was living abroad, I made it a point to thrash each house that I rented. I flooded my first house with water from the shower and the police came because they thought I was growing marijuana and the inside of my last house was overgrown with mould. The whole place was ruined; it resembled a sklugging forest. After that I fled the country, breaking the owner's heart (and bank account). I never paid any security deposit either. I betrayed their trust basically.

anyone surprised by the resident home schooled christian weirdo NOT being a good person? nope...

pretty standard behavior from an out-spoken "Christian"

[ritch]

anyone surprised by the resident home schooled christian weirdo NOT being a good person? nope...

pretty standard behavior from an out-spoken "Christian"

Ha, burned asshole!!! Karma will catch up with him, always does...
But he probably figures he can just pray and be forgiven. Then commit the same sins over and over.

[oldtimer1]

In the US it' a common scam. They rent with children. Don't pay the rent and wait for 6 months to a year to get legally evicted while they live rent free. Then wreck the apartment/house cause in the their delusional mind they were wronged because a facet leaks, mold in the garage or some other nonsense. Now many apartments run a credit check, want a pay stub and sometimes months in security.  They often leave with a law suit blaming your house for some bs health/injury knowing you will pay rather than paying massive attorney bills fighting it.

[ritch]

If a credit check and such is not done first hand, then I have a hard time feeling sorry for the person who rents out the place.
But how the hell do people keep finding places to live if they always screw over the owners? Oh yeah, the owners never did a credit check... Should not happen to you twice to have your place wrecked...

[2Thick]

I agree that you should screen potential renters carefully, including a credit check, rental and employment history, criminal background check, etc.

But I'm shocked you found anyone with an 800+ FICO who chose or needed to rent a residential property, particularly if they were retirement aged. I think in the whole 10 years I worked in lending I may have seen a handful of 800+ scores, and those people were always homeowners that I can recall.

Lots of rock-solid people who've never been 30 days or more late on anything over decades may not make it to 800, for such simple reasons as not using credit "enough" in recent years.

Your “friend” was certainly a jerk, but the fault was yours.  The lessons you learned could have been culled from common sense.  Did your friend pay first, last, and security deposit before he moved in or did you let that slide because he was a “friend”?  Did you review all 20+pages of his credit report?  Or did you let that pass too?  Renting is always a gamble, and you must do what you can to hedge your bet.  I suspect you did not do that.  As you now know, you should never rent to a “friend.”  Use a realtor or place an advertisement in a suitable venue and screen your tenants rigorously.  Most landlords are so greedy for the money that they end up taking a tenant that they shouldn't.

When I rented my place I told the realtor that anyone who wanted to rent my house had to have first/last and security.  They had to have a credit score above 800 (no exceptions) and they must be willing to show me all pages of their credit report.  The realtor kept bringing me applicants who had first/last and security, but they didn’t have the credit score or they could not provide me with the complete report.  I rejected them. At one point she brought me a few people who wanted to pay first/last or security in installments.  I rejected them too.

Eventually, she told me that I needed to be more flexible because many people had been hurt by the economy and their credit scores had suffered.  I told her that I understood this, but that was not my problem and if she couldn’t get behind my criteria then I would find another agent.  That shut her up.  The next person she brought me was a single retired widower.  His grown kids did not live with him, he had no pets, and did not smoke.  His credit score was above 800 and I saw the entire report.  I let him move in and never had a problem, late payment, excuses, etc.  We actually had a great relationship.  I visited the home about twice a year to inspect the property, landscaping, and work I had contracted for.  Mr. tenant always greeted me warmly, invited me in, and told me I was free to enter the home even when he was not there.

If you do the heavy lifting before, it eliminates all the problems later.  By the way, I never used a landlord.  Again, if you find the right tenant, you don’t need one.  I had a local handyman who would address small issues for me and never had a problem.

[NaturalWonder83]

Sounds like greed caused your troubles
U and pj won't give free supps Braun should talk sometime

[Competitor 9]

I think he put a ring on that!

I did!!

[The Ugly]

Damn, he's posting bout some heavy machinery.
I assumed he was talking about trying to shoehorn his cock up his boyfriends tight backhole. ALL Homo.

Another gut-slapper, H. Extra perfect if you'd crammed in one of your zany fart jokes as well.

[BayGBM]

I agree that you should screen potential renters carefully, including a credit check, rental and employment history, criminal background check, etc.

But I'm shocked you found anyone with an 800+ FICO who chose or needed to rent a residential property, particularly if they were retirement aged. I think in the whole 10 years I worked in lending I may have seen a handful of 800+ scores, and those people were always homeowners that I can recall.

Lots of rock-solid people who've never been 30 days or more late on anything over decades may not make it to 800, for such simple reasons as not using credit "enough" in recent years.

Do not be shocked.  He was a widower.  He had been living in a condo at the beach, but wanted to live in a house (with the extra space it provided) for a year or two while he sifted through his wife's belongings and got himself together.  If my memory is correct his credit score was 810.  He had money; in fact he later asked me if he could buy the house.  People with money and good credit scores rent properties all the time.  If you frequently look at rental listings you can find (multi) million dollar homes for rent all over the country.  Here are a few.

If you can afford $50,000/mo why are you renting?
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/Toro-Canyon-Park_Santa-Barbara_CA_M27003-31664?row=1

If you can afford $25,000/mo why are you renting?
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/240-N-Compass-Dr_Fort-Lauderdale_FL_33308_M55849-72280?row=1

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/5677-Kalanianaole-Hwy_Honolulu_HI_96821_M89727-17917?row=4

Doesn't matter why.  People have their reasons.

[BayGBM]

Ask a Real Estate Pro: Landlord shouldn't try to be friends with tenant

Q: We recently bought a new home and will rent out our existing property. Can you please give some advice to a new landlord? – Julio

A: Renting property can be a rewarding business — if you approach it correctly.

When selecting your tenants, be very picky. Do credit and background checks and make sure their employment and financial pictures are stable. It's better to take longer to find a good tenant than to have to evict a lousy one.

Once you have a tenant, don't try to be friends with him or her. This a business relationship. If you go golfing with your tenant every Saturday, how will you feel if the rent payment is past due and you have to post a warning notice on the door? If the payment is late, you must take immediate action. Don't get in the habit of accepting excuses.

A good landlord immediately responds to the tenant's request for repairs and maintenance. Also, save all of your receipts. These expenses can help offset the rent you receive on your taxes.

The landlord-tenant statute is not hard to understand. Familiarize yourself with it. The procedures for enforcing the lease are set forth step by step in the statute. Make sure to have a good lease form that is current and state specific. Entering and exiting leases can be intimidating for beginners, so don't be afraid to seek help from a qualified real estate professional.

[oldgolds]

I loathed my landlords. Money-grabbers.

You are a disgusting cretin...