I haven't closed on my little 1/1 house yet - clearing up the title. But, this morning I got a call from the tenant. It was thought-provoking for me, so just thought I'd share it.

The Realtor had previously told me the tenants are glad I am buying it because I seem like a good landlord, and I see this call as evidence that they don't feel comfortable dealing with the current landlord. Interesting - I never made any crazy promises, just acted respectfully and explained my plan to NOT put a lot of $ into the place - although some basic things are needed. I think it really is a shame how some people mismanage (my personal opinion) their properties and tenants.

The subject was trash - the seller had put a big pile of it on the adjacent vacant lot. The city trash guy asked her who did it and mentioned a hefty fine. They will not pick it up because it includes prohibited items. (The seller had told her he was coming back with a trailer to get stuff he had left in the back yard.)

I explained to her why I can't do anything (yet) but gave her some advice: Call your current landlord and tell him everything the trash guy said. Tell him you are trying to hep him - to avoid the fine, and so that he knows to be prepared for multiple trips when he comes back with the trailer - to remove everything. I also explained a little more about the sale procedure / progress. Apparently I am the only one who talks/explains anything to them.

I've seen this same type thing when viewing other occupied properties for sale - the tenants are all nervous and have no clue what their future is, even didn't know it was for sale. I just don't understand why someone would not communicate with their tenants - Just Sayin!

I am also grateful for the call, because it allowed me to document the situation in case the bill ever landed in my lap, and action has to be taken.

Seems par for the course, IMHO average in terms of landlord is so low that with even a tinny bit of effort you can be above.

Like taking trash to the dump like a normal contractor and not dumping it in one of your rentals back yards.

Interesting call, indeed. It matches a lot of what I've experienced in purchasing Class C rentals. Lots of terrible land lords out there. Ignorant, lazy, greedy, sometimes all three. And I'm talking about LLs! Not the tenants.

I picked up two houses for $14K each recently. Seller is a nice guy, but he runs his biz differently than me.

He doesn't do leases or screening and lets tenants work on the property in exchange for rent reductions. What I found is this leads to slip-shod, half-butt "repairs" and walls painted goofy colors. I'd never seen this color I call "neon teal" in a kitchen before...or anywhere else. One guy was really creative: he used bent metal forks and spoons with screws thru them for cabinet handles.

In another case, had a gal call on a vacancy. After a few Q&A back 'n forth she confesses to two evictions. I told he those have to be cleared up (i.e. judgments paid) before we can do a lease. She thanked me for not "cussing her out or hanging up on her." Didn't try to wheedle or tell me a story. I get the feeling she'd gotten a lot of bad treatment (probably some of it deserved, but nevertheless) over the years. Basic civility stuff.