Author Topic: No pet policy from now on  (Read 7174 times)

Bearded Man

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No pet policy from now on
« on: September 02, 2015, 12:17:31 PM »
Ugh. I only allowed cats, no dogs, but apparently after carpet cleaning the smell is worse. Likely just because it's wet, but still...I worry it won't go away after it's dry. New tenant said she was unable to sleep in the one room with pet smell at all.

Sigh, I will no longer allow any cats or dogs, birds, rabbits, fish tanks, etc. The damage is not terrible, but aggravating enough that my first tenant of 2.5 years was a bit disappointing in their care for the place. Half the blinds were shredded (they replaced MOST after I prodded them), carpet torn in one spot (they """"fixed"""), kitchen and bedroom walls dirty from their grubby ass kids (they painted at my expense). Hole in bathroom cabinet, bedroom door. Screens torn in every window. Ugh.

Too bad I used people skills to get them to repair since I can't withhold their deposit by law on account of not giving them a condition report upon move in. Tried, but they elected to take pics instead, but by law I'm required to give them a signed condition report to even get a deposit...I did when they renewed their lease, but not sure if that counts since their original lease was when the deposit was given.

Glad I started visiting prospective tenants where they live now before they sign the lease so I can see how they live. I did that with tenant at other rentals starting a year ago when I first heard of this tactic. Ugh...

After the current tenant moves out in a few years, I will likely consider an interior/exterior paint job, as well as new flooring, kitchen and bath so I can maximize profit if I sell. Could stick the money in O REIT. Dividends look good, and +/- 500% growth in price since inception. No hassle.
« Last Edit: September 02, 2015, 12:20:09 PM by Bearded Man »

El Marinero

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #1 on: September 02, 2015, 12:30:29 PM »
Being a landlord can be a crapshoot.  I've had similar (but not as bad) experiences so you have my sympathy.

I have found that responsible dog owners can make good tenants - it's hard to find a rental with a yard that will take dogs, so they tend to stick around.


Anyway, no one should say that being a landlord is any easy way to wealth.
« Last Edit: September 02, 2015, 01:56:27 PM by El Marinero »

Gone Fishing

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #2 on: September 02, 2015, 12:51:58 PM »
 Renewals in the financial world are legally treated like brand new loans despite most of the original documentation remaining in place. Nothing says you can't withhold the deposit then give it back to them if they balk to the point where it would cost more to defend than refund. 

I'm a red panda

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #3 on: September 02, 2015, 12:53:50 PM »
I think cats do more damage than dogs.  Anecdotally of course.

Our renters had a large lab, and there was no pet damage.

beltim

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #4 on: September 02, 2015, 12:59:05 PM »
Glad I started visiting prospective tenants where they live now before they sign the lease so I can see how they live. I did that with tenant at other rentals starting a year ago when I first heard of this tactic. Ugh...

Does anyone else find this super creepy?  It would also be useless any time someone moved a long distance, which in my experience is most of the people who rent - the people who stay in one metro area are more likely to buy.

JLee

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #5 on: September 02, 2015, 01:00:45 PM »
I think cats do more damage than dogs.  Anecdotally of course.

Our renters had a large lab, and there was no pet damage.
My roommates had two cats and there was no pet damage. :P

We had dogs when I was a kid. Chewing is a problem...more so with puppies, though.

MaikoTsumi

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #6 on: September 02, 2015, 01:24:46 PM »
I allow dogs, but never cats.  As you've found out, cats are notorious for marking territory.  The other thing is the allergens they produce are just as hard to get rid of and a tenant with allergies that comes in afterwords just multiplies the headaches.


dorothyc

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #7 on: September 02, 2015, 03:31:16 PM »
I live in an apartment upstairs from a dog owner, and they go out and lock the dog in the house and leave it barking, so they can be a nuisance as well. I talked to the management company about it, but their only suggestion was to contact the other tenant ourselves, which I don't want to do as she is an elderly lady and I don't want to come off sounding like a b*tch.

Our 15 year old female cat who we have owned from a kitten is no trouble at all, but she is the only reason we rent in a pet friendly complex. We won't replace her when she passes because pets limit renting options so much.

Bearded Man

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #8 on: September 02, 2015, 03:49:12 PM »
Noise issues ARE the property managers concern. You cannot be expected to police other tenants. I'd take it up with the property manager again if I were you...Offer to go to the State Attorney Generals office with a consumer complaint if nothing is done.

Bearded Man

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #9 on: September 02, 2015, 03:56:57 PM »
Glad I started visiting prospective tenants where they live now before they sign the lease so I can see how they live. I did that with tenant at other rentals starting a year ago when I first heard of this tactic. Ugh...

Does anyone else find this super creepy?  It would also be useless any time someone moved a long distance, which in my experience is most of the people who rent - the people who stay in one metro area are more likely to buy.

I'm not sure where you get your "facts" from. Most people who rent aren't those moving across the country. And whether someone buys or not has nothing to do with whether they are local or not. It has to do with credit score, income, down payment, etc. All of my tenants are local, as are most tenants in most cases. I can't even fathom how anyone would think anything like what you said being accurate at all.

Furthermore, at the end of the day, if someone has an issue with me visiting the place they live now when we do the lease signing, then they can go rent somewhere else. I'm not obligated to rent to them, and I have an army of people beating down my door for every rental I own. It is not an unreasonable thing to do, to ensure that they are not ghetto trash.

At the end of the day, my paid off house is my paid off house, and I can do what I want with it, including setting the rules for screening the tenants. Most tenants can barely come up with first, and last months rent, security deposit before they move into a house I paid cash for in my twenties. I'm not going to risk having ghetto trash living in my investment just because someone erroneously thinks it's creepy.

GreenPen

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #10 on: September 02, 2015, 05:16:04 PM »
Glad I started visiting prospective tenants where they live now before they sign the lease so I can see how they live. I did that with tenant at other rentals starting a year ago when I first heard of this tactic. Ugh...

Does anyone else find this super creepy?  It would also be useless any time someone moved a long distance, which in my experience is most of the people who rent - the people who stay in one metro area are more likely to buy.

I'm not sure where you get your "facts" from. Most people who rent aren't those moving across the country. And whether someone buys or not has nothing to do with whether they are local or not. It has to do with credit score, income, down payment, etc. All of my tenants are local, as are most tenants in most cases. I can't even fathom how anyone would think anything like what you said being accurate at all.

Furthermore, at the end of the day, if someone has an issue with me visiting the place they live now when we do the lease signing, then they can go rent somewhere else. I'm not obligated to rent to them, and I have an army of people beating down my door for every rental I own. It is not an unreasonable thing to do, to ensure that they are not ghetto trash.

At the end of the day, my paid off house is my paid off house, and I can do what I want with it, including setting the rules for screening the tenants. Most tenants can barely come up with first, and last months rent, security deposit before they move into a house I paid cash for in my twenties. I'm not going to risk having ghetto trash living in my investment just because someone erroneously thinks it's creepy.

I definitely find this creepy, and wouldn't rent from you if you asked this.

I'm just throwing this out there, because even though you might have "armies" of people looking to rent, it sounds like most of these people (in your words) "can barely come up with first, and last months rent, security deposit before they move". And it sounds like a lot of these people have cats that piss all over your carpets.

So you can obviously do what you want here. But it sounds like it might be your loss if you scare away a good prospective tenant who enjoys a bit of privacy.

SwordGuy

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #11 on: September 02, 2015, 05:22:34 PM »
Glad I started visiting prospective tenants where they live now before they sign the lease so I can see how they live. I did that with tenant at other rentals starting a year ago when I first heard of this tactic. Ugh...

Does anyone else find this super creepy?  It would also be useless any time someone moved a long distance, which in my experience is most of the people who rent - the people who stay in one metro area are more likely to buy.

I think it makes perfect sense if your renters come from the local area.  My uncle did it for decades and it worked like a charm for him.

Made it very easy to discard a lot of problem applicants before they became problem tenants.

My area has lots of military moving in from elsewhere so it's not a tactic that will work so well for me. 

david51

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #12 on: September 02, 2015, 05:59:06 PM »
Glad I started visiting prospective tenants where they live now before they sign the lease so I can see how they live. I did that with tenant at other rentals starting a year ago when I first heard of this tactic. Ugh...


Does anyone else find this super creepy?  It would also be useless any time someone moved a long distance, which in my experience is most of the people who rent - the people who stay in one metro area are more likely to buy.


I'm not sure where you get your "facts" from. Most people who rent aren't those moving across the country. And whether someone buys or not has nothing to do with whether they are local or not. It has to do with credit score, income, down payment, etc. All of my tenants are local, as are most tenants in most cases. I can't even fathom how anyone would think anything like what you said being accurate at all.

Furthermore, at the end of the day, if someone has an issue with me visiting the place they live now when we do the lease signing, then they can go rent somewhere else. I'm not obligated to rent to them, and I have an army of people beating down my door for every rental I own. It is not an unreasonable thing to do, to ensure that they are not ghetto trash.

At the end of the day, my paid off house is my paid off house, and I can do what I want with it, including setting the rules for screening the tenants. Most tenants can barely come up with first, and last months rent, security deposit before they move into a house I paid cash for in my twenties. I'm not going to risk having ghetto trash living in my investment just because someone erroneously thinks it's creepy.
  You can tell who the landlords are and aren't.  Your technique bearded man will save you a lot of headaches.  If they don't let you in thats their choice.  I don't do it, but it is a great method of filtering the tenants.

beltim

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #13 on: September 02, 2015, 06:03:54 PM »
Glad I started visiting prospective tenants where they live now before they sign the lease so I can see how they live. I did that with tenant at other rentals starting a year ago when I first heard of this tactic. Ugh...

Does anyone else find this super creepy?  It would also be useless any time someone moved a long distance, which in my experience is most of the people who rent - the people who stay in one metro area are more likely to buy.

I'm not sure where you get your "facts" from. Most people who rent aren't those moving across the country. And whether someone buys or not has nothing to do with whether they are local or not. It has to do with credit score, income, down payment, etc. All of my tenants are local, as are most tenants in most cases. I can't even fathom how anyone would think anything like what you said being accurate at all.

Furthermore, at the end of the day, if someone has an issue with me visiting the place they live now when we do the lease signing, then they can go rent somewhere else. I'm not obligated to rent to them, and I have an army of people beating down my door for every rental I own. It is not an unreasonable thing to do, to ensure that they are not ghetto trash.

At the end of the day, my paid off house is my paid off house, and I can do what I want with it, including setting the rules for screening the tenants. Most tenants can barely come up with first, and last months rent, security deposit before they move into a house I paid cash for in my twenties. I'm not going to risk having ghetto trash living in my investment just because someone erroneously thinks it's creepy.

Calm down there, buddy.  No one wants to take away your right to prevent "ghetto trash living in your investment" (as long as you do so legally).

You read too much into what I said, which is understandable and partially my fault because it was short.  Let's unpack:

First, I asked a question:
Quote
Does anyone else find this super creepy?
Yes, it seems creepy to me that someone with whom I want to engage in a business transaction would make the transaction contingent on them inspecting my living premises.  I understand the reasoning behind it, but I've never heard of this before, and it seems weird.  I wanted to know if anyone else felt this way, or maybe it was a common practice.

Next, I mentioned a drawback:
Quote
It would also be useless any time someone moved a long distance, which in my experience is most of the people who rent - the people who stay in one metro area are more likely to buy.
The first clause is pretty self-apparent, and I think doesn't need any more discussion.  The rest, though, talks about my experience - highly educated young professionals.  I can see why you'd read it to mean more, but I literally was only talking about my experience.  Inspired by the discussion, though, I looked up some data, which indicates that 35% of moves are between different metropolitan areas (https://www.census.gov/hhes/migration/data/cps/cps2011.html, Table 15), and this percentage goes up for the more highly educated.
« Last Edit: September 02, 2015, 06:09:24 PM by beltim »

Papa bear

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #14 on: September 02, 2015, 07:21:59 PM »
Refundable pet deposit + non refundable monthly pet fee will alleviate problems.   It is not creepy to check on the current living conditions. If they have pets, I would like to see them first as well.   




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mskyle

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #15 on: September 02, 2015, 07:32:41 PM »
Yikes, I would think visiting people at home is going to screen out a lot of *good* tenants who have other options and don't have to put up with that shit. Maybe that's just the reality of your property and your rental market, that you're already attracting low-quality tenants, but speaking as a pretty awesome tenant (petless), there is no way I would rent from you!

fishnfool

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #16 on: September 02, 2015, 07:46:45 PM »
I doubt that you'll be able to ever get rid of the pet odors no matter how much carpet cleaning you do. The odors get into the pad and stay there. If you want to keep renting to pet owners, most won't care and will be happy to have a home for their pet. Otherwise start ripping out your carpet & pad!

Paul der Krake

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #17 on: September 02, 2015, 07:47:18 PM »
Bearded man, do you explicitely state that the lease offer is contingent on an inspection of their current apartment, or are you just finding an excuse to drop by and then refusing if they get defensive?

electriceagle

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #18 on: September 02, 2015, 08:07:53 PM »
Ugh. I only allowed cats, no dogs, but apparently after carpet cleaning the smell is worse. Likely just because it's wet, but still...I worry it won't go away after it's dry. New tenant said she was unable to sleep in the one room with pet smell at all.


Try "nature's miracle". Its an enzyme type cleaner that attacks urine specifically.

You should use it before any other cleaning agents; it may not be able to reach the pee if residues from other cleaners are present. Also, steam cleaning can bake pee in, so don't do it.

MMMaybe

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #19 on: September 02, 2015, 11:53:51 PM »
This blanket approach to renting  is kind of annoying actually. Some pet owners do live like pigs but some non-pet owners are even worse.

I have a cat that does not piss around the house because he is a) neutered and b) is very well trained and extremely well taken care of. He also does not scratch up the place. That being said, I would never rent a place with carpets as I think carpets and animals do not mix.

When animals urinate around the house, there is usually an underlying issue with them like an infection or an owner that isn't taking care of the litter tray. Plus it stinks so the tenant is probably a bit on the slovenly side to begin with, if they are willing to live with the smell. NASTY.

I think what you are looking for is a responsible pet owner who takes good care of their animals. This should also result in them being a good tenant. We have never had a problem and have always got our bond back in full.


Another Reader

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #20 on: September 03, 2015, 04:53:52 AM »
No pet policies don't always work.  Tenants can and will adopt a pet after they move in and not tell you or just out and out lie about their pets on the application.  When we discover pets, we evaluate the situation.  If they have a dog breed that the liability insurance won't cover, the dog or the tenant AND the dog goes.  It's an enforceable lease violation in Arizona.  If it's something else, it's usually easier to offer to put the pet on the lease for a substantial non-refundable pet fee.  The damage is usually already done, so we try to recover as much as possible through the fee and the deposit.

Long term tenants are tenants for a reason.  They do not manage their money well or they just don't have the ownership gene.  I have a tenant that has been in a house for 13 years, has a good job, but is usually late with the rent.  She will always be a tenant, and we just collect the late fee every month.  This type of tenant often makes impulsive, poorly reasoned decisions, such as adopting a puppy without permission from the landlord.  Tenants on the track to buy usually stay only until their credit and down payment are in place.  Your turnover is higher with these folks, but they generally (but not always) are better tenants. 

waffle

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #21 on: September 03, 2015, 03:25:24 PM »
I'm not a landlord (yet...) but I like the idea of coming by there house to check it out prior to signing the lease. I wouldn't say its a requirement though. I would spin it like you are doing them a favor. If I'm a potential renter and the landlord says something like "Hey come tour the house and if you like it then later this week I can bring the lease application by your house and we can sit down and answer any questions you might have." I'd probably think wow this landlord is pretty on top of things and I'd like to rent from him.

If on the other hand the potential landlord says "Come by and check out the house and if you like it I'll need to come check out your house before we sign the lease to make sure you aren't a ghetto trash slob who will trash my house." then yeah I'd probably be a bit creeped out and avoid that landlord at all costs...

MrMoneyMaxwell

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #22 on: September 03, 2015, 03:48:15 PM »
As a couple that just moved across the country straight out of school with 2 dogs I can tell you that it was an incredible pain in my ass finding an apartment that would rent to us.

Thankfully our household income is way higher than the national average. We basically had to settle for a less than ideal apartment because the other places we were looking wanted to charge too much ($300 extra/month) for the dogs, or just wouldn't accept our application.

"Why don't you just get rid of one of them?"

... was an actual f'ing question when we were asking questions about an apartment.




MrMoneyMaxwell

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #23 on: September 03, 2015, 04:02:49 PM »
Also, why the heck would anyone buy a house in an area they aren't familiar with? That's why I'm renting. So I can get a feel for the area before I lay down hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Bearded Man

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #24 on: September 03, 2015, 07:38:19 PM »
I'm not a landlord (yet...) but I like the idea of coming by there house to check it out prior to signing the lease. I wouldn't say its a requirement though. I would spin it like you are doing them a favor. If I'm a potential renter and the landlord says something like "Hey come tour the house and if you like it then later this week I can bring the lease application by your house and we can sit down and answer any questions you might have." I'd probably think wow this landlord is pretty on top of things and I'd like to rent from him.

If on the other hand the potential landlord says "Come by and check out the house and if you like it I'll need to come check out your house before we sign the lease to make sure you aren't a ghetto trash slob who will trash my house." then yeah I'd probably be a bit creeped out and avoid that landlord at all costs...

The first way is actually how I phrase it, for their convenience, however; I take exception with your creep comment. Only a fool would think it is unreasonable for someone who owns a 300K house to not want to see how the people live at their current residence before they rent to them. That same type of fool would think it's reasonable for me to just blindly let them move in without this check...on a property they have no vested interest in.

At the end of the day, if anyone has an issue with it, they are more than welcome to rent elsewhere. When I was recently showing the place I had a prospect argue with me about my no dogs policy, what about little dogs, what if they are this, what if they are that. If people don't like my policies, they are welcome to rent elsewhere. In each case I only showed the houses to two people and each of them wanted to get the house, but I picked the best out of the group.

Both of my current rentals the tenants didn't have an issue with it, and they were the first applicants, as I said above. I have people beating down my door to rent, so if some tenant thinks it's creepy for me to see how they live before I let them live in my investment, tough cookies, go rent elsewhere, I don't want you anyway.

You say you are not a landlord yet. When you become one you will get it.

GreenPen

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #25 on: September 03, 2015, 09:31:40 PM »
I'm not a landlord (yet...) but I like the idea of coming by there house to check it out prior to signing the lease. I wouldn't say its a requirement though. I would spin it like you are doing them a favor. If I'm a potential renter and the landlord says something like "Hey come tour the house and if you like it then later this week I can bring the lease application by your house and we can sit down and answer any questions you might have." I'd probably think wow this landlord is pretty on top of things and I'd like to rent from him.

If on the other hand the potential landlord says "Come by and check out the house and if you like it I'll need to come check out your house before we sign the lease to make sure you aren't a ghetto trash slob who will trash my house." then yeah I'd probably be a bit creeped out and avoid that landlord at all costs...

The first way is actually how I phrase it, for their convenience, however; I take exception with your creep comment. Only a fool would think it is unreasonable for someone who owns a 300K house to not want to see how the people live at their current residence before they rent to them. That same type of fool would think it's reasonable for me to just blindly let them move in without this check...on a property they have no vested interest in.


Nobody is telling you to to "blindly" let someone move in. From my perspective--as a renter--after I gave you income verification, savings verification, and referrals from all of my past landlords, you could easily tell that I would be a responsible renter. The fact that you would want to visit my current residence to check out my lifestyle would be a bit creepy. What could you possibly learn that you couldn't find out by calling my past landlords? This would be a red flag for me that you might want to "check in" frequently in the place I would be moving to.

But just judging from your posts on other threads, I recommend that you keep checking in on people. Try to find someone who enjoys the smell of cat piss, since that seems to be a precondition for living at your house.

NoNonsenseLandlord

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #26 on: September 04, 2015, 08:42:09 AM »
I read somewhere 97% of all renters have pets.  Maybe it is a fish, a cat, or a dog.

Get a larger deposit, and go for higher caliber renters.  I get ~1.25x the rent for a deposit.  I never get late fees, as I never get late rent.  100% rent paid, so I can use 100% of the deposit to clean.  I also charge an extra $25 per pet.

NoNonsenseLandlord

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Re: No pet policy from now on
« Reply #27 on: September 06, 2015, 10:20:21 PM »
Glad I started visiting prospective tenants where they live now before they sign the lease so I can see how they live. I did that with tenant at other rentals starting a year ago when I first heard of this tactic. Ugh...

Does anyone else find this super creepy?  It would also be useless any time someone moved a long distance, which in my experience is most of the people who rent - the people who stay in one metro area are more likely to buy.

I used to drop off applications or pick them up, under the guise of getting more information.  It's great customer service anyway.

After buying more rentals, I find it just takes too much time.  Now I can do the same by looking at the background checks...  Solid credit score criteria will weed out the liars and cheaters.  That is what you are looking for when you stop by the renters previous residence anyway.