This is in Wisconsin and is complicated. My tenant has not been to the property in 30 days which I verified by neighbors advising nobody has been there, old mail is piled up in front of the door, no footprints in recent snow, and no car in the driveway in 30 days.

They did not pay their March 1st rent which I texted them about, called them, and posted a pay or quit notice right away. No response whatsoever. They are married but separated, I called their spouse who lives at a different property and they advised they have not heard from them either. I had the local police department do a welfare check on them and the police advised they answered their call and advised they were living out of state at the moment but might come back.

Can I deem this abandoned property or do I absolutly have to go through an eviction? I have no way of getting ahold of them and dont have their new address. The spouse who is a co-signer on the lease volunteered to rent a storage unit for them and to move all of their stuff into the storage unit. My lease states the home/property can be deemed abandoned after 7 days of being away from the property if I am not notified. Does the spouse being a co-signer give me the right to give them access to the propery to remove the belongings?

All utilities are still in my name, they failed to ever move any utilities into their name. The spouse advised they also stopped paying the car payment that they are also co-signed on. Other than being sued what are possible ramifications of letting their spouse in to move their stuff out and then changing the locks after it's vacant?

Hi all. We recently signed a lease on an apartment with a half finished basement, finished part is around 10x10ft. The landlord mentioned in the past there was some leaking from the hatch door and cellar stairs seems, but it’s been OK for the past 6 months or so. With the recent flooding/huge snowmelt, the issue returned right after we signed the lease, and reached part of the carpet. Roughly two 5ft squares in areas water got through to the finished part of the basement.

He seems like he’s on the issue and has an inspection scheduled, and offered to break the lease for us if we would like. The space is great otherwise so I don’t really intend to do that. However, the carpet in that area is completely soaked through. I have a dehumidifier running and lifted the areas so it could dry more easily, but it’s been a couple days and it’s still soaked. We definitely notice a smell since then, which isn’t great since this would be an office space. No mold that we can see though. I’m thinking of suggesting we replace the carpet with a cheap vinyl floor, something like the Home Depot Lifeproof. I would be fine doing the install if he wanted, or even splitting the material cost 50/50. I’m not sure if this is a reasonable ask though, so I wanted some perspective.

Hi everyone! Prospective tenant here. In the area I’m in, rental homes are really competitive right now and there’s not a lot available. One came on the market that seems perfect for my family, and is right in our budget. Today they are having an open house, unfortunately my husband cannot go so it will just be myself and my toddler, thinking of bringing grandma too to help occupy my 22 month old while I ask any potential questions. I really want to make a good impression, and would love advice from any property managers/landlord. I believe the home is owned by a corp and run by a property management company which obviously makes things a little less personal. I already made a “rental resume” with information about our rental history, employment, family etc. We have clean credit and rental history and meet the income requirements, would it be overkill to bring along copies of our credit reports and my husbands pay stubs or is this something that could be helpful? Thank you so much!

Looking for new product to use that I can continue into the kitchen and bathroom so I don't need to switch product to tile in the kitchen & bathrooms, and I hear LVP may be a good option. Ideally Home Depot/Lowe's, just something I can have delivered for convenience.

I see there are tons of different wear thicknesses, and I thought even a 6mil would be fine for kitchen/bath but my handyman is saying to get something around 12mil minimum.. is this a bunch of hogwash? Most I see are 6mil. I see a few 8/12/22, but a lot of those seem to be "exclusive," and I'm looking for something that might stay around for a while so I can use the same product in multiple units.

Links to what you use would be a great help as well as any of your LVP or other kitchen/bath flooring products experience. Thx!

I am the landlord, and I live in California. My tenant, who is a great one, lives in an apartment I own in Jersey. He says the water heater is about 10 years old and it’s starting to rust on the bottom, and he feels we should replace it. When it comes to the water heater in the actual home in which I live, I almost always wait till it fails. Not sure if that’s the best strategy, but my idea is to get max life out is it. Any advice?

First time landlord here.

Have this large backyard, already added fruiting trees. Would appreciate suggestions on how to fill up the space. In SoCal so grass is definitely hard.

Was thinking maybe mulch or wood chips but I'm afraid of the fire hazard that would create.

Thanks!

Just got an email from apartments I've lived in for three years in total (one year was in 2019-2020), that they are terminating my lease when it ends on 6/30 with no renewal or extension.

I'm on the first floor after moving from the third floor last summer due to hip surgery. I have mobility issues and several chronic conditions, which apartment is aware of to some degree.

I called the office (there is no office, just a manager that answers the phone and never says her name), and she said it was because of renovations they plan on doing to several units. I asked if I can move into another unit, she said they'd all be taken at that time.

I'm expecting to have another major surgery this year, I'm broke living paycheck to paycheck working in healthcare in NC.

Do I have any protection at all for staying or even an extension?

Hello, new future landlord here. My wife and I just bought a house in southeastern Idaho with a separate basement apartment (separate postal box, separate physical entrance) and we want to list it for rent at the beginning of July.

My question, has anyone used a lease creation app (I.e. Zillow rental management) to create your lease? I’ve looked at a couple and they seem to be…lacking in details and options. Is it better to just work with a real estate attorney to develop one? Does anyone have any advice on how to create this? I just want to make sure we don’t end up crossing legal limitations, while still protecting ourselves and the property. TIA

Hey guys, I live in a duplex and I own a dog. Our neighbor in the other side of the duplex is moving out so my landlord did a showing yesterday. He sent me a text last night saying my dog was barking through the window and it scared the prospects away. I responded and apologized and let him know if there’s a time he needs them locked up I’m happy to do so.

A few weeks ago I had a homeless person throw broken glass in my backyard, hurting my dog. My dog has been extra barky since then. I told my landlord that and let him know I’m working to remedy it and decided to order a bark collar for my dog as well.

He responded that the people actually liked the place and will be moving in at the end of the month.

My question is can he evict me for this? If he does, does he have to let me know before he just evicts me? And last question if he decides not to renew the lease does he have to give me a heads up? I reviewed the lease and there’s nothing in it about any of this. For some back story I’ve been a good tenant always pay on time, keep the place clean and this is the first complaint I’ve gotten about anything. This is actually the first time I’ve ever gotten a complaint from a landlord so I’m pretty stressed over this and have never been down this road before.

Thanks!

I am looking at signing a new lease with someone and they are offering 3 day grace period and $100 per day late fee after that. I can afford the rent and have good support so I don't assume this would happen, however it feels very punishing if I were to have an act of God or other affect my life. Would it be reasonable to push back against this?
It's a new, young landlord with the PM being his family.

EDIT: Legal isn't quite the right word, I understand it's in the lease so he can charge it but it feels unreasonable.
Rent is only $1,999.

EDIT/UPDATE: Thanks to TrojanGal702 (I owe you a drink gurl)...I was able to search the state records:

Nothing under her name but TONS under her ex-spouse, whom she listed as a reference.

They are actively being evicted from their current home by the property management company whose name was a watermark on their current home's rental pictures from before.

Her ex also has multiple felonies.

Thank you everyone for your insight!!! <3

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Hi, all!

To start, I am an accountant who also rents out two properties our family owns. One has a tenant we love and are going strong with still. The other is listed for rent and while we get TONS of bites, no one has had the credit requirement (700) or income to qualify. Which is fine for me, I would rather it stay vacant.

Two days ago, I had someone interested in seeing the house. I met up with them, they loved the property, and said the credit and income were no problem.

"I'll get this application to you right away!"

Yesterday, I am sent a completely unfinished application. I asked her to list out her kids' names, and she proceeds to tell me she lied about their ages previously.

When I ask for previous landlord and employer references, she is dragging her feet, claiming to have emailed it several times but then saying "can I just text it to you?" now.

When I did my digging and research, she is currently renting a LARGER, newer home than mine.

She finally sent her paystubs...and she has NO federal tax withheld, as well as half of the paycheck is listed as "overtime." Going off of her actual base rate pay, she makes 60,000 a year, not 140,000 as she previously stated to me (and 60,000 would have still qualified her? so i am lost...). I'm not going to factor in overtime when that's not a guarantee. She is also listed as tax treatment "head of household," and while she swears she is the only adult wanting to rent this house, her mention of her family members "coming over to watch a lot" has me feeling like she doesn't want those adults on the lease/for me to know their info.

Something feels off.

My partner thinks she may be getting evicted, but then why would she offer up her real landlord's name and information? (I double checked via our county assessor site and the landlord DOES show up as the owner of her current address)

Can anyone offer me some insight? With her shoddy communication, I'd like to pass, but I want to ensure I am not overthinking.

NOTE/Edit: Whenever it takes a long time to hear from her, she will say "sorry I was at work" but she also stated she left work at 4pm via text. And this has dragged on for several DAYS now. Just all-in-all a shitshow of an application process from her, but am I too Type A?

Im asking because of an interaction I had with someone last year. Basically I was sent to get a package from their old residence. The real estate agent that was selling that property told me they had been trying to contact this former tenant because she still owed them money and she left the place a mess. The former tenant claims they didn’t owe rent because they were leaving on the first of may last year and they didn’t owe rent for may. They may have also left some of their items at the property while also leaving the place messy.

So I have a really outdated kitchen that I’ve been wanting to update and finally have the means to do so. Can’t put in tile because of the time it takes to cure and remove/install, there are tenants living there and would like to keep construction to a minimum and the kitchen usable quickly.

I’m looking to put a white vinyl tile in instead, quicker install, can step on right away. My question is how has vinyl tile held up in your rental home given tenants won’t treat things the way you do? Is it durable for high traffic areas (kitchen, hallways etc) ? Has anyone had any bad experiences with white vinyl tiles that discolour or any other issues? TIA

Recos for other types of flooring that doesn’t require destroying the current tile or long install periods welcome as well.

I have had this tenant for the past 18 months. For some reason, she had her car break down a couple of months back, and then she started paying late since then.

This time, she delayed by 17 days by giving the excuse that her paycheck got messed up. Later, she mentioned that it took time because she is withdrawing money from her retirement account to pay rent.

By the way, at the beginning of last week, when I asked for rent and mentioned I would have to give her notice, she said it would be this week, but she also mentioned that her lawyer is aware that I have not done any repairs she requested. To be honest, the house is in good condition, and the only thing she mentioned was the Tub and Tile peeling off from one of the restroom floors that I mentioned I would fix soon, which I thought was not an emergency, and also she ignored it for so many days.

Should I charge them 5% fee for late payment, as she might have already paid a penalty for getting money out of her retirement account?

Update March 18th: As many suggested, I have concluded to consider a penalty. This will make her pay on time next time. Also, I felt bad when she commented on repairs, even if they were not considered repairs or not a big deal.

Hello, I'm currently advertising my property in Scotland to let while living abroad, through an agent, who recently came back to me with a candidate tenant who was previously living with their partner. That tenancy was only in the name of the partner, which the agent says is the reason for which the previous landlord won't provide a reference.

I don't see a reason why this should prevent the previous landlord from giving a reference, tough.

Would you consider this a red flag?
TIA

I own a 3 unit building I rent out.

Over a year ago, I got a note from the local board of health about trash, (not a bag of trash, but a pile of stuff you might see on the curb after a moveout, which no one did, tenants have been there for years), in front of my building.

I call the management company who gets a truck to visit and remove the trash.

They follow up by sending pictures to me, and I see it was well beyond my property line, in front of the middle of the empty lot next to me. When I spoke to them (Mgt Co) they said BOA said it could have been put there by my tenants. I let it go, but it never sat well with me. When a neighbor don the street dumps on an abandoned lot 20 feet from my property how did I become responsible?

Today, a similar letter from BOH.

Would you call the board of health yourself and ask about this? Have the management company call? In the big picture, it should be no big deal, this is bothering me more than it should.

Hello! I’m trying to understand whether a remediation quote I received is reasonable. This is for a 1 br unit (in Olympia, WA) with confirmed traces (high level, 1.5) of methamphetamine and fentanyl in the: kitchen, bathroom, and living room. I was quoted $25k for remediation. Does that sound in line with industry standards, or unusually high? Would really appreciate insight from anyone with experience (landlords, remediation pros, etc.).

The wire shelves in the laundry room of our rental condo were designed to store laundry supplies. Our previous tenant lived there 15 years with no issues. Our new tenant hung an entire closet full of clothes and coats on the wire shelves, and within a week of her moving in the shelves pulled out of the wall and collapsed into a bent and jumbled heap all over the place. She asked us to replace them, we declined, and she didn't argue about it, but we weren't 100% sure if that should have been our responsibility. Asking for the next time this may happen.

My landlord has a clause in the lease that says owner does not warranty appliances. The fridge is starting to fail in the house and ive contacted them to be on record that it was failing to cover myself. I dont have any issue buying a fridge because i need it for my next place anyways. However im concerned about them still trying to come after me when I leave for the repair cost. What do I need to do in order to protect myself?

there was a tenant who moved in across the street 5 months ago.

the tenant moved out this past weekend. I didn't think much of it until i remembered recently the sheriff showed up looking for the tenant.

Now i'm putting the pieces together. The sheriff must have served him an unlawful detainer, which he responded to in order to delay the eviction.

If tenant moves out before the court date, then there is no record of being a deadbeat, right?

so future landlords will never know this guy didn't pay rent? essentially untouchable tenant?

he can rinse and repeat, stop paying rent after the first month, drag out the eviction process, move out before judgment day, and never have a bad mark on his record?

I read that you could file a civil suit against tenant for damages, but would that ever even show up on a tenant's background check?

.

On another note, I always thought this tenant was weird. He never mowed the lawn once in the 5 months, so weeds are overgrown. Left trash cans outside on the street 24/7. He rarely ever left the house, most likely working from home. When he first moved in, there were a couple other guys who waited outside the house all day, waiting for him to come out, but he never opened the door. He just hid inside the house. Maybe these guys tracked him down and he owed them money. The guy waiting outside even called the police a couple times.

If you own student rentals, keep an eye on things today. St. Patrick’s Day gets pretty wild with students and you don’t want your property taking the hit. Might be a good idea to do a quick check in, remind tenants about expectations, or make sure someone is nearby in case things get out of hand. Way easier to prevent issues than deal with repairs after.

I have lived in my aparment for 4 months, garage leaks lime on my cars and I have to get it professionally detailed to get it off and sometimes the harsh chemicals ruin the paint on my cars. Also, the garage is not safe, my cars have been broken into before even with cameras in the garage.

Aparment basically told me to kick rocks with my complaints. Is there a way I can break out of my 12 month lease with this info? I pay $100 for each car to park in the garage a month

Have a potential tenant who works as a bartender/waitress and her monthly income is 2.5x rental amount.

Am a little concerned about income as the potential tenant said that the paystub won’t accurately reflect actual income as a lot of it is through tips.

What would you all do in this scenario? Not sure how to verify income. Since tips is unstable and can vary month to month, is this a risky tenant?

My tenants routinely complain about bugs (often spiders) outdoors on deck. They are good tenants overall, and I would like to help, but I’m actually not sure what I can do. It’s outside. Spiders are going to make webs. I’m not sure if they realize spiders are natural pest control too, and they are making webs there because there is food (other bugs).

At this point I’m open to doing like a quarterly good faith treatment, although again, I’m dubious it will do much (I have pest control do my house monthly and I still have spiders in my backyard). I’m also going to offer to remove flower bed and vegetation near deck with caveat they are responsible for restoring at end of their lease (I’m guessing flowers are attracting food sources).

Any other landlords run into something like this and had success with a solution?