Deadbeat Tenants Win the Day in this Eviction Video

I came across this in an email newsletter from Landlord2Landlord.  Video is of a landlord in Baltimore, MD trying to legally evict a tenant who hasn’t paid rent in three months – since they moved in. 

Baltimore Sun

Poor guy is trying to do it the right way – pay attention to what the city official tells him about the number on the house.  This is the nightmare scenario – a professional deadbeat moves into your property.  God only knows what the inside looks like.

This video and my pictures from Really, Really, Really Bad Tenants , Even More Really, Really, Really Bad Tenants  and How Much Really, Really, Really Bad Tenants Cost should make you think twice about owning rental property.

How Much Really, Really, Really Bad Tenants Cost

The results are in – the terrible tenants who recently vacated my in laws’ house have cost them over $4,400.

  

Here are the expenses they’ve incurred that are directly attributable to damage done by the tenants:

 $1,600 – Cat urine odor removal, includes labor.  When the guys who clean up smelly houses for a living have to leave the house because it smells really bad, you know you have a problem.

$1,200 – Dumpsters for trash left in house and in yard, including over 100 empty cat food containers, two dog houses, a swing set, a riding lawn mower, etc.

$1,000 – Paint, new doors, new subflooring, hardware and other miscellaneous supplies.

$600 – Bathroom fixtures and lights.

Except for the cat urine odor removal, the cost is only for material, not labor.  The labor is being provided by family.  Also, this figure does not include lawyers fees or eviction costs since the tenants left on their own.

Also not included in figures above are items that were probably going to be replaced anyway, including:

$4,000 -New wood floors to replace the destroyed carpet and new tile in the bathroom and kitchen – also just for materials.

$4,000 – Kitchen cabinets, countertops and fixtures – materials only.

$800 – Exterior doors – materials only.

Had my inlaws not intended to replace these items anyway, these would also have been included in the total damage. 

For more pictures, go to Really, Really, Really Bad Tenants and Even More Really, Really, Really Bad Tenants.

Even More Really, Really, Really Bad Tenants

A few weeks ago, I snapped some photos of my in-laws’ property that had been recently vacated by tenants.  They left the home in really bad shape, as evident in the title of my post Really, Really, Really Bad Tenants. 

If you can believe it, those pictures only revealed part of the damages they caused.  The carpet and cabinets have been ripped out and all the trash they left behind has been removed.  What’s left behind are cat urine soaked sub-floors.  According to a contractor that specializes in this kind of work, the pressed board sub-floors have to be ripped out and replaced in the living room, dining room, hallways and 1st floor bedroom/office.  Then, the rooms have to be bombed. Then, we need to treat and seal all the floors, from above and below in the basement with Kilz. 

Really, Really, Really Bad Tenants

I’ve been lucky so far with my tenants but my in-laws have not.  They just moved out tenants they’ve had for a couple of years and it isn’t pretty.  If you want to be a landlord, look at these photos.  While I can’t share with you the before pictures, I can tell you that the house was built in 1974 and was mostly remodeled 4-5 years ago, before these tenants moved in.   

Luckily for all of you, the Internet is not capable of bringing you the full experience of all the senses.  On the cat urine smell-o-meter scale, this house was a 10 on a scale of 1-10.  (Remarkable, since the tenants were not allowed to own cats!)

Ta da!  Here’s the stunning entry into the house.  What you can’t see is me holding my nose – this was the cats toilet room.  Cat pee and plywood – not a good combo.  All of the plywood and sheet-rock will have to be removed because it is swollen with liquid.

At least they tried to fix the hole in the wall with some Spackle or is that toothpaste?  This is one of many holes.

The tenants really had a thing for punching and kicking holes into the walls and doors.  Every single door has to be replaced.

This was one of many closets filled with garbage.   Under and among all of it and on all the carpeting were little petrified kitty poo packages.  The yard was also littered with trash and the basement was full of more garbage, and you guessed it, petrified kitty poo. 

Proof that the tenants owned a vacuum cleaner (it’s the little yellow thing on the floor) but just decided to never actually use it.

Amazingly enough, the tenants were very sure they were going to get their security deposit back.  I don’t think so – the repair, cleaning and trash removal expenses for this house will cost thousands of dollars. 

PS- They also left 9 cats behind.  The neighbors are feeding them until I can trap them, bring them to a vet, spay/neuter them and find them homes.  Anybody want a cat?