I'm Movin' Out
Anthony works in the grocery store
Saving his pennies for someday
Mama Leone left a note on the door
She said, "Sonny, move out to the country"
Oh, but working too hard can give you a heart attack-ack-ack-ack
You oughta know by now (you oughta know by now)
Who needs a house out in Hackensack?
Is that all you get for your money?
And it seems such a waste of time
If that's what it's all about
Mama, if that's movin' up then I'm movin' out!
Mmm I'm movin' out
-Billy Joel
If you are lucky when you own a rental, your tenant’s will write a song and make it obvious that they are “Movin’ Out”. As you know, it is usually not this clear.
But there are signs. One rental owner who came to us for help was stunned every year when he experienced rental turnover. He even presented us with a list of the things he now recognizes are problems like a flare shot off in the night screaming for help.
For example, one year the new tenant paid on time in months 1 to 3, but in month four started paying mid-month. Then by month twelve, they had increased to being a month behind. And the owner learned another lesson..this tenant was movng out and planned that their one month security deposit could be used as rent in month twelve. As we have covered before, this is a common plan by tenants and it has to be aggressively stopped before month twelve.
We have heard of tenants who just come out and request to use the security deposit for the rent. That is a whopper of a sign they are done.
Our new client also told us that he had one tenant who started complaining about items that were clearly his obligation in the lease. Like cutting the lawn suddenly was not possible due to equipment problems. And then a small oversite of paying an electric bill, which the utility company reverted to the owner. That tenant was on her way out and was just slowly releasing herself from the lease. In that case. three months early.
Another sign-the unauthorized pet. A tenant did not want to go through our pet screening process so they thought they could sneak Fido in and nobody would notice. Except for the trail left in the side yard..possibly our maintenance people might have missed that we had a new occupant. But, when they ended up with evidence on their boots, we heard all about it in the office. That tenant did not want to pay pet fees or rent or get rid of Fido. No surprise after Fido was found that the rent stopped, and tenant disappeared.
There are some tenants with hardships that deserve an opportunity to work with the landlord to early term the lease. One option, have a plan and offer it to the tenants. A plan that covers your costs but helps the deserving tenant get on their way.
You also need a plan for the tenants who just pick up and leave believing there are no consequences for failure to honor a contract. You need for your lease to be specific on early move out penalties, so that you can use all that background information you obtained when you rented to this tenant (you did get their social and a copy of their driver’s license at least..right?) to legally pursue them for compensation.
Otherwise, it may just seem like a waste of time, and all you have is a house and a tenant who has moved out.
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Learn more about hiring the TIGERS of Indianapolis property management and read about the WILMOTH Group’s values, bred in 29 years of service to the residential investment community. Or get started now by requesting a free, no obligation consultation.
Don’t let your tenant’s live as care-free as Sonny Leone.
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