When the wine is flowing and the conversation is about rental properties, sooner or later someone brings up the elephant in the room: the tenant horror stories. Almost everyone we’ve ever met has at least one. Maybe it’s your brother’s cousin’s long-lost-sister-in-law’s story—but you’ve heard all about it.
Like the one about a landlord who was threatened by a tenant who turned out to be from an organized crime network. Or the tenant who turned the heat off to save money—while it was -20 degrees Celsius outside—and the pipes froze and burst. Or the tenant family with 6 kids that had a million excuses to NEVER pay on time. And did you see that news story in Vancouver this past week: about the tenant who filled the drains with cement!
Then there’s the simple but time-consuming stories: 2 am clogged toilets, 4 am “my neighbor is too loud,” waiting around for appliance repair people, ….
The first time a landlord showed me a property he was trying to sell, and there was human feces on the floor, I was actually surprised. Now, I understand this is ridiculously common! Just another chapter in the “How do people live like that?” story.
Why would I post about the negative aspects of being a landlord? Two reasons. First, take a moment to be grateful for all those good tenants. This week we attended a service call at one of our properties, and instantly complimented the tenant about how nice her home was looking! (What I really meant was “thanks for taking such good care of this property!) And we are always appreciative of tenants who pay on time. I know, it should simply be an expectation—but we’re grateful anyways.
And second, if the only thing holding you back from investing in real estate is the fear of the “tenant horror stories,” there is a simple solution for that. Work with a partner who will take on all those headaches for you! Or hire a great property manager. Or call a Bailiff to walk you through the eviction process. Sooner or later all real estate investors deal with bad tenants. But what isn’t inevitable is how you choose to deal with them. As a working partner, part of our “skin in the game” is the time and energy to work through any tenant issues. Give us a call or send us an email to chat more about our joint venture opportunities: https://mountainsedgedevelopments.com/.
