 Good house keeping (by jill [MD]) Dec 26, 2014 1:45 PM
 Good house keeping (by Landlord ofthe Flies [TX]) Dec 26, 2014 1:52 PM
Good house keeping (by RR [WA]) Dec 26, 2014 2:17 PM
Good house keeping (by Moshe [CA]) Dec 26, 2014 2:21 PM
Good house keeping (by Ken [NY]) Dec 26, 2014 2:55 PM
Good house keeping (by BillS [CO]) Dec 26, 2014 2:58 PM
Good house keeping (by Gail [MO]) Dec 26, 2014 4:07 PM
Good house keeping (by CTLL [CT]) Dec 26, 2014 4:33 PM
Good house keeping (by Robert,Ontario,Can [ON]) Dec 26, 2014 5:34 PM
Good house keeping (by BRAD 20,000 [IN]) Dec 27, 2014 1:16 AM
Good house keeping (by BillS [CO]) Dec 27, 2014 6:26 AM
Good house keeping (by Mike [CO]) Dec 27, 2014 3:58 PM
Good house keeping (by Mike [CO]) Dec 27, 2014 3:58 PM
Good house keeping (by Mike [CO]) Dec 27, 2014 3:58 PM
Good house keeping (by Mike [CO]) Dec 27, 2014 3:58 PM
Good house keeping (by jill [MD]) Posted on: Dec 26, 2014 1:45 PM
Message:
State Specific Question About: MARYLAND (MD)
I recently placed a very nice family into my high end townhouse. This is a Section 8 arrangement and I actually had a referral company find the tenants to save me time. The tenants have no criminal background, the husband works, and both husband and wife are pleasant and seemingly intelligent. Additionally, there is a mother in law who is helping them financially and appears to be involved helping them in other ways (like driving them places since the couple has no car). The problem is: they are not good house keepers. Their furniture, the little that they have is in total disrepair with holes and tears in the couch (which was positioned in such a way as to cover all the outlets), caked on dirt on the TV set, and an end table with only 3 legs that should have been thrown out. When I visited a week after they moved in, I saw roaches in the kitchen and the toilet paper holder in the bathroom was already broken. They say they love the house with all its amenities and in a very nice neighborhood and I like the family as well as the amount of rent Section 8 is paying. Is education to help this family learn better home making skills possible? If so, how do I do it effectively and without insulting them to make this a win win? --69.251.x.xx |
Good house keeping (by Landlord ofthe Flies [TX]) Posted on: Dec 26, 2014 1:52 PM
Message:
Offer them a prize or cash back or something they want like credits towards an appliance upgrade if it passes cleanliness inspection once a month or quarter. If you are both working to achieve the same goal of their getting a reward, anything you say will be seen as helping them to accomplish their goal and not taken as criticism. --99.125.xxx.xxx |
Good house keeping (by RR [WA]) Posted on: Dec 26, 2014 2:17 PM
Message:
If market is good in your area, sell the unit now with tenants in place.
Otherwise, wait for a year until Section 8 lease expires. Then fix the unit and install better tenants.
In the meantime, do quarterly inspections with a witness and provide written documentation to tenants with items that need to be corrected. Also, schedule a pest control company to visit every 1-2 months to keep the roaches from spreading through the building/complex.
Make sure your insurance policy is paid up.
And good luck.
--67.160.xx.xxx |
Good house keeping (by Moshe [CA]) Posted on: Dec 26, 2014 2:21 PM
Message:
You should send an official letter to the tenants, telling them that the house needs cleaning and on a continuing bass, and that failure to remedy the situation could result in their being released from their tenancy.
You might want to incorporate ideas suggest by Landlord ofthe Flies, or other conciliatory language, and you might want to assist them in other ways to achieve the level of tenancy that you require. But the bottom line should be that the premises must be kept clean, and if not, then you need better tenants.
--96.247.xx.xxx |
Good house keeping (by Ken [NY]) Posted on: Dec 26, 2014 2:55 PM
Message:
Common sense tells me not to put someone on government assistance in a high end unit,there is a reason they need help,because there are problems with there life which will lead to problems for you if they are put in a neighborhood where they do not belong.Whenever I put a low end tenant in the same building with a middle class tenant there are problems.Get rid of them as soon as you can.How will the neighbors like it when the roaches finally get into there units?They don't think there is anything wrong with how they the house now so how will you get them to clean up? --24.92.xx.xx |
Good house keeping (by BillS [CO]) Posted on: Dec 26, 2014 2:58 PM
Message:
I can't begin to describe the heart ache forthcoming. Section 8 and high end anything don't mix. Your house is going to look like the tenant's belongings in about 6 weeks.
Based on what you have said, it would be cheaper to pay for this family to move out right now while your place is still in some sense of repair. Find them a new property and offer to pay them to live there instead of your place.
It will be lots cheaper in the long run. --67.161.xxx.xx |
Good house keeping (by Gail [MO]) Posted on: Dec 26, 2014 4:07 PM
Message:
I can only say that once this is over, it is a mistake you will never make again. --72.161.x.xxx |
Good house keeping (by CTLL [CT]) Posted on: Dec 26, 2014 4:33 PM
Message:
You asked: Is education to help this family learn better home making skills possible? If so, how do I do it effectively and without insulting them to make this a
win/win?
Lots of luck trying to educate this family on house cleaning. Just so you know, you can't tell people how to live. So doubt very much that you can step in and be their trainer.
Roaches. They brought them when they moved in. Lots of luck now to get rid of not only the tenants, but also the roaches because they are/were in the old broken dirty furniture. Perhaps they brought bedbugs as well.
If the townhouse is attached and not free standing, the roaches will soon spread to the adjacent units, even if and when you get an exterminator.
Roaches, on that health issue alone, I would break the great paying section 8 rental contract (and bet they aren't even paying a portion of the rent) and start eviction proceedings. Perhaps that would make them clean up their act, but doubt that because that is the way they live.
From the gentle tone of your post, you appear to be very kind hearted. But believe the tenants will turn the tables on you and accuse you of interference.
Section 8 will not care about your problem. They get their share of federal money for finding homes for people and making sure that your home passes their inspection before they move in. Now it's up to you to keep section 8 inspection standards that the house is habitable.
Good luck to you in getting rid of these problem tenants.
--98.182.xx.xxx |
Good house keeping (by Robert,Ontario,Can [ON]) Posted on: Dec 26, 2014 5:34 PM
Message:
One had better start to get rid of the roaches as the roach problem is only going to get worse. Three elements for survival are food, water and warm place to live. Behind the fridge and stove there needs to a cleaning along with getting rid of garbage as this a food source for the roaches. More then likely if the roaches are not controlled the roaches will start to move to the other townhouse units. Start off by chalking all the cracks in the kitchen cupboards, baseboards along putting insulation foam where pipes enter floors or walls. Put bleach in the defrost pan of the refrigerator. Buy some of those sticky roach traps then put them in the kitchen cupboards then around the edges of the wall. Then go out buy Combat gel or Max Force gel then put around the perimeter of a room or in kitchen cupboards. As long as the tenant is dirty where there is food source for the roaches where it is going to be very difficult to get rid of the roaches. This year in the apartment building a dirty tenant moved out where once and for all got rid of the roaches. First the food and water source were eliminated then chalking along with foam then completely drained the refrigerator defrost pan. After a few weeks the roaches were gone for good. One can be sure the tenant will have roaches in the rental unit where they moved to. --74.220.xxx.xx |
Good house keeping (by BRAD 20,000 [IN]) Posted on: Dec 27, 2014 1:16 AM
Message:
Jill,
Shy about insulting??? Timid LLs raise skinny kids. Tell them the truth "You are filthy and must find another place."
Fact: education on cleaning is useless. This is their lifestyle. I have residents who lost their 3 children to the state because they refused to simply clean.
Fact: YOU now have bugs. They will get worse every day.
Fact: Res will not lift a finger to treat or control bugs so YOU better start treating RIGHT NOW!!
Probably a fact: you now have bedbugs...or will very soon. Pre-treat.
Fact: you can request a special Sec8 inspection. The inspector might write them up for filth but YOU lose the rent and have to evict them.
Also know that her case worker has probably jumped thru hoops to keep her on the program and might not help you.
Fact: a simple in-home inspection during screening would have saved you from this mess.
Fact: most LLs I counsel will not follow my advice UNTIL they lose about $3000 on a single res.
Don't beat yourself up - this is exactly how we ALL learned to be more careful! Been there...too many times!
-Brad --67.175.xx.xxx |
Good house keeping (by BillS [CO]) Posted on: Dec 27, 2014 6:26 AM
Message:
One more thought. I have found that we think that everyone else is like ourselves. You think these tenants are like yourself. For you when you learn something you take the information and change.
In reality, most people are not like us and these tenants are nothing like yourself. They probably already know the information that you would teach them and don't care.
Read the following book. A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby K. Payne.
You have no idea how different these people are from yourself. When you get done you will look back and see the signs and the light will come on.
Everyone here has basically told you the same thing and it's because we have lived it. You have a small window to head it off for yourself but it will take great commitment and initiative. Sadly you don't have a good start on this because you pushed the easy button and let someone else find your tenants for you. "I actually had a referral company find the tenants to save me time." To save yourself thousands in repair costs you are going to need to invest lots of time now. The bottom line is that NO ONE cares about your time, money or property like you do and if you don't take charge NO ONE will. In the end, doing it now will save you about 10 times what it will cost you in time and money to put it off to the future. --67.161.xxx.xx |
Good house keeping (by Mike [CO]) Posted on: Dec 27, 2014 3:58 PM
Message:
BillS,
great posts.
Looks like we're from the same state. If there's a way to connect, I enjoy helping and sharing information with other landlords. Do you go on the cruise?
--172.56.x.xxx |
Good house keeping (by Mike [CO]) Posted on: Dec 27, 2014 3:58 PM
Message:
BillS,
great posts.
Looks like we're from the same state. If there's a way to connect, I enjoy helping and sharing information with other landlords. Do you go on the cruise?
--172.56.x.xxx |
Good house keeping (by Mike [CO]) Posted on: Dec 27, 2014 3:58 PM
Message:
BillS,
great posts.
Looks like we're from the same state. If there's a way to connect, I enjoy helping and sharing information with other landlords. Do you go on the cruise?
--172.56.x.xxx |
Good house keeping (by Mike [CO]) Posted on: Dec 27, 2014 3:58 PM
Message:
BillS,
great posts.
Looks like we're from the same state. If there's a way to connect, I enjoy helping and sharing information with other landlords. Do you go on the cruise?
--172.56.x.xxx |
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