My PITA Tenant in my AZ House is Out! Update at 18

[Bonny]

Oh man, I wish I could share some of the abusive e-mails I've received from her over the last year. They are unbelievable!

My friend who is a school nurse who specializes in disabled (including mentally disturbed) children thinks my tenant has borderline personality disorder.

Now she's someone else's problem and I have one less crazy person in my life!

<Bonny heads out to the store to buy some wine to celebrate>

[busymom]

  Congratulations!!  Let the party begin. 

[buystoys]

[Timberwolf]

Is it just me or has your batting average been bad lately with these rentals?  So sorrry.

[Jake 48]

[vonna]

Yay! Enjoy your celebration wine!

I think I will join you!

[Jaguar]

Go and celebrate Bonny, you really earned it hon.

[Works4me]

Yippee!!! To quote Carnac the Magnificient (aka Johnny Carson): 

May the fleas of a thousand camels nest in her armpits!

[Bonny]

Dec 13, 2013 18:12:21 GMT -5 Timberwolf said:

Is it just me or has your batting average been bad lately with these rentals?  So sorrry.

When it rains it pours!

In her defense she paid rent on time for 4 years and kept the house cleaner than I ever did. But oh what a PITA she turned out to be and just started going pyscho in the last year.

Good bye and good riddance!

Now of course I have to find a replacement tenant.

[NoNamePerson]

Forget the wine, get some of the hard stuff.

[Timberwolf]

Well at least you were in the U.S. for this last one.  That makes it a little easier in theory.  Good luck with the tennant hunt search.

[Nazgul Girl]

   Yes, her vacating your rental is truly a little Christmas bonus from Santa !!!  

[Bonny]

Dec 13, 2013 19:48:24 GMT -5 Nazgul Girl said:

   Yes, her vacating your rental is truly a little Christmas bonus from Santa !!!  

Now if Santa really wanted to be nice he'd give me a tenant just like the ones in my Oceanside (San Diego County) house. Nice, nice people, they pay their rent TWO WEEKS early(!), take good care of the house and only contact me when something breaks. She even stained part of my back yard fence! I'm going to cry when they move out at the end of June. He's been accepted to Commander school and they will be moving out of the area.

And my tenants in the San Diego condo have also been very good. They've been very patient about some of the repairs that have needed to be done (including part of the ceiling and the living room wall due to a flood from the unit above).

But it's the CRAZY ones that are great YM fodder!

[NastyWoman]

Dec 13, 2013 20:19:39 GMT -5 Bonny said:

But it's the CRAZY ones that are great YM fodder!

True, but  that means I wish upon you a crazy one who pays early and does not destroy your property! And not too many headaches, but just enough craziness to keep us entertained 

[Bonny]

Dec 13, 2013 21:40:58 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

Dec 13, 2013 20:19:39 GMT -5 Bonny said:

But it's the CRAZY ones that are great YM fodder!

True, but  that means I wish upon you a crazy one who pays early and does not destroy your property! And not too many headaches, but just enough craziness to keep us entertained 

Nooooo! Isn't my MIL enough?

[NastyWoman]

You're right of course Bonny. Mea culpa . So my hope for you now is that brings you the perfect tenant asap.

[Bonny]

Ah NastyWoman, no harm no foul. It's all in good fun.

[Bonny]

Update:

We got our first offer from a prospective tenant.

They went through the house with some kind of meter looking for contaminants.

Wanted me to re-paint the color of the wall in one of the bedrooms (doesn't need painting, they didn't like the color).

Only want 10 months because they are settling an estate.

Offered $300 less than what we listed ($2200 instead of $2500).

Want to move in Thursday.

They make my PITA tenant look good!

[Works4me]

Maybe offer 10 months at full price?

How are their references? Any idea why Thursday?

What is the color now and what color do they want?

Inquiring minds want to know!

And besides a 10 month lease should expire just in time to give us great entertainment value for late 2014! After all, Bonny, although it is regrettable that you are living through these events, they do provide those of us out here in the cyber-world with our own real reality show!

ETA - although I appreciate you sharing your MIL stories with us, just think how much more fun I could have with a challenging tenant - after all, it is ALL about me! lol

BTW - so glad you are back and appreciate your support.

[Deleted]

So how does "no thank you" sound? LOL.

This said, I might be willing to negotiate on ONE of those issues (but certainly not all 3). 

- Let them repaint the wall (assuming it's an "acceptable" color) if they want. (I'm assuming they don't want to paint it black or dark purple)
- Compromise on 11 months?
- Offer $100 less in rent? 

People be crazy LOL. This said, Bonny, I don't know that market AT ALL, I have no idea how hard or easy it is to rent there. 

Everything is relative ... we got some TOTALLY crazy-arsed emails, for example. (Note: we and our PM both posted ads, and some people figured that out.)

- We applied for your apt via your agency but we didn't get it because your agency refused to take my boyfriend's salary into account because he had no payslips because he's an illegal immigrant who is paid under the table. So this time I'm applying to rent it on my own. I know I don't earn enough but you know my bf earns a salary and I am counting on you to take his salary into account even though your nasty PM refuses to.

- Nobody wants to give me a chance, even though my mom is a civil servant who lives and works in that suburb, and I want to live near my mom. I know you'll give me a chance, right? Because you're decent people who want to do the right thing, and help a girl get ahead. What is money in the face of doing the right thing for a fellow human being? (I actually felt really sorry for her, but didn't rent to her anyway.)

- Thank you, this apt is just PERFECT for me, my SIL, and my adult son. (It's a one-bedroom apt). When can we sign the papers and move in? And by the way, we may need a bit of extra time to get the security deposit together. 

- We can't wait to move in and start our family, it's the perfect apt for a young couple and a baby! (um, have you even LOOKED at the photos and seen that tiny, narrow, cement spiral staircase?!)

- From a couple who earned enough: the agency asked (per usual) for their tax declaration(s). She gave hers, and (proudly) told the PM that her BF has payslips, but no tax declaration, even though he has been employed for nearly 4 years, because he refuses to pay taxes.

So to me, Bonny, all your issues seem eminently negotiable LOL! ;-)

[Bonny]

Dec 15, 2013 18:59:45 GMT -5 Works4me said:

Maybe offer 10 months at full price?

How are their references? Any idea why Thursday?

What is the color now and what color do they want?

Inquiring minds want to know!

And besides a 10 month lease should expire just in time to give us great entertainment value for late 2014! After all, Bonny, although it is regrettable that you are living through these events, they do provide those of us out here in the cyber-world with our own real reality show!

ETA - although I appreciate you sharing your MIL stories with us, just think how much more fun I could have with a challenging tenant - after all, it is ALL about me! lol

BTW - so glad you are back and appreciate your support.

You are channeling NastyWoman!

[Bonny]

Oh debthaven2 those are priceless!

My agent was so sweet. He sent me an e-mail saying he wasn't sure if we wanted a difficult tenant...and that it might get worse down the road.

I sent him a return e-mail saying "OMG someone more of a PITA than (tenant's name)?"

Yeah, I would have been willing to negotiate on any one of the items but the whole package with the environmental meter was just wrong, wrong, wrong.

[Bonny]

Works4me,

I'll PM you with the link to the listing. The wall is turquoise. I know, so 90s southwest but I like it. There's also two cellular blinds that would have to change otherwise it would look like two blue eyes looking at you! None of it is that expensive and if the right tenant came along or my agents told me to change it I would. But a lot of that market is in their 60s to 70s and really liked the 1990s!

[Deleted]

I agree ... but you never know, he may be BAACCCK LOL!

Gd bless our hotel lady who finally rented it!   Apparently she wants to buy it, but can't afford to before a year or two. DH grumbled, she'll want a discount if she buys it, after paying rent. I said SO WHAT?! We are under NO obligation to sell it to her, either we make a deal we both feel happy with, or we don't. 

In the meantime, she's paying the mortgage, so more money in our pockets if / when we decide to sell. 

ETA: By the way, Bonny, thank you for saying that after all we've been through with that apt, maybe now, in winter, wasn't the best time to sell ... you were absolutely right. This said it looks like by renting it again we'll miss the Aug 2014 window for -25% on CG, so we'll probably hold onto it for another few years. 

[milee]

Dec 15, 2013 19:29:14 GMT -5 Bonny said:

Oh debthaven2 those are priceless!

My agent was so sweet. He sent me an e-mail saying he wasn't sure if we wanted a difficult tenant...and that it might get worse down the road.

I sent him a return e-mail saying "OMG someone more of a PITA than (tenant's name)?"

Yeah, I would have been willing to negotiate on any one of the items but the whole package with the environmental meter was just wrong, wrong, wrong.

Totally agree with your gut instinct here. The money, rental period and color of one wall wouldn't be a red flag and would be things you could talk about, but to have that in combination with someone showing up with a meter to test for contaminants? NFW. Next!

With people who are that fringe, you can't begin to imagine the issues, requests and demands there will be. No thanks.

[Bonny]

Dec 15, 2013 19:36:22 GMT -5 @debthaven2 said:

I agree ... but you never know, he may be BAACCCK LOL!I know. I said to DH, if they raised the price to what we're asking would you want to take them? He said no. In my e-mail back to my agent's partner who had listed 10 items they questioned/complained about I stated that I didn't think this would be a good house for someone with allergies since both we and the prior tenants had cats, dust issues living in the desert, and some of the landscaping trees (Palo Verdes) were highly allergic. That should put the kibosh on the deal.

Gd bless our hotel lady who finally rented it!   Apparently she wants to buy it, but can't afford to before a year or two. DH grumbled, she'll want a discount if she buys it, after paying rent. I said SO WHAT?! We are under NO obligation to sell it to her, either we make a deal we both feel happy with, or we don't. 

In the meantime, she's paying the mortgage, so more money in our pockets if / when we decide to sell. 

ETA: By the way, Bonny, thank you for saying that after all we've been through with that apt, maybe now, in winter, wasn't the best time to sell ... you were absolutely right. This said it looks like by renting it again we'll miss the Aug 2014 window for -25% on CG, so we'll probably hold onto it for another few years. 

Well you could offer it to her in the Spring with a one-time discount (say 10%) if she can successfully close by July 1. She can "terminate" her own lease.

[Deleted]

Well you could offer it to her in the Spring with a one-time discount (say 10%) if she can successfully close by July 1. She can "terminate" her own lease.

That's not a bad idea at all, IF we decide we prefer to get rid of it. As you may remember, she signed a 3 year lease (standard lease here). As long as she pays, I don't really care either way. We will still gain 6% every year we keep the place, plus appreciation (per today's laws. They may change, but if they do, I think it would only be in our interests, because RE is still not moving here.) So I'm not really bothered either way, for now. What I mean is, every February 15, we would pay CGT on 6% less of the CG, compared to the year before. 

I'm just thrilled not to have to deal with it anymore!!! And hoping to "coast" for a while, and see the mortgage balance go down without any drama. 

[Bonny]

They're BAAAAAACK!

This time full price rental and full term 1 year. Still want to move in on Thursday. The rush to move in is always a concern to me.

Sounds like she's got some severe allergies; especially to mold. I do too but have put up with it.

I don't want to turn down a well-qualified tenant but also don't want another PITA tenant. I've asked the agent to have the prospective tenant call me so I understand what her health issues are, the urgency to move and whether this is something we can work around.

[milee]

Dec 16, 2013 12:54:17 GMT -5 Bonny said:

They're BAAAAAACK!

This time full price rental and full term 1 year. Still want to move in on Thursday. The rush to move in is always a concern to me.

Sounds like she's got some severe allergies; especially to mold. I do too but have put up with it.

I don't want to turn down a well-qualified tenant but also don't want another PITA tenant. I've asked the agent to have the prospective tenant call me so I understand what her health issues are, the urgency to move and whether this is something we can work around.

I'd still be leery of this one. Is she renting now? Definitely talk to the current LL, although if she's been a huge PITA, they'll give her a good referral to be rid of her. See if there's a LL 2 moves back that you can call and hopefully get the real scoop.

BTW, my family and I are allergic to some stuff as well, so I'm not being unsympathetic to the idea that a person with allergies should be careful. I'm just worried for you as a LL on this one. She'll be in charge of keeping the place clean enough (and without any standing water) so it doesn't get mold, but if it does get mold, you'll be the one she'll want to fix it. Also, anybody with their own meter sounds like a possible hypochondriac. If her issues are that severe, you'd want her to pay you a premium to rent the place for the hassle you know you're going to go through dealing with her. JMHO.

[Bonny]

milee,

All good points.

Unfortunately,  I have a feeling that the normal LL reference isn't going to work though. I'm going to ask about their current situation but what do you want to bet that they are currently living in the "Estate" house rent free and are long term homeowners so I won't be able to get a LL reference?