Landlort tenant issue

fastfredracing · 10-14-2009, 03:34 PM

This will be one of the more interesting property management issues that I have run into yet. I will try to make this short. We have one tenant that has now lived in one of our houses for 5 months. She is our only section 8 tenant. We both interviewed her, and she seemed like she was going to be a
great tenant, ( the only reason we accepted section 8 ), we usually do not. We were right, she has been as good as they come. She keeps the place spotless, never any troubles from her, and to boot, she is kind of hot .
I guess that last week , she witnessed a crime in front of the house. Some young kids shot up some cars parked on the street ( not hers, or aimed at her in any way). She said that they looked directly at her, and she looked at them. She did not call the police. She has stated that she is now scared for life, cant sleep at night, and is scared for her children's welfare . I think she is worried that she can ID them , and they may retaliate. I can completely understand this. I spoke with her on the phone the other day , she was expressing her concerns about this issue, she told me that she loves the house, and likes as landlords, but is too scared , and is thinking about moving. I told her to keep the lines of communication open, and gives us ample notice before she is going to leave, and I would confer with my partner, and we would discuss letting her out of her lease early.
Fast forward to today , she informs me that she is moving out this Friday, and wants to know If I will sign a release form for her so she can move her section 8 voucher over to another place .
I was blown away, 3 days is definately not ample notice, and I am not ready to make a shotgun decision.
I do not so much want to know what you would do , but what would a Property management company do. I broke a lease once, and was required to pay the balance of the lease.
My partner are good guys, and as much as I want to help her out, and dont want any bad ju ju, this is a buisness, and her leaving is no fault of ours .
We may put her in another place of ours that is almost finished, in a better area, and a nicer house, but if she leaves us high and dry I am wondering if we should hold her to her lease.

bell · bell's Garage

have you done an inside "inspection" of the current property? i'm sure it's good but you never know......
i think the offer for another of your properties is fair and reasonable, i'd put it in writing though for her to accept or decline..... as if something DOES happen to her and you made her wait until the end of the month she may try something stupid like blaming it on you and suing....

but.....i'm not a property manager and did not stay at a holiday inn last night.....
3 days notice is NOT acceptable imo, so i would try to hold your ground......

myamoto1 · myamoto1's Garage

First let me start by saying I have no landlord experience. However, you mentioned that you may have another building to put her in. It may be too late, but can you charge her a "transfer fee"? How soon before the other place is ready? What's you're typical time to fill an empty?

Maybe you can keep her in the current place (while searching for a new tenant) until the new place is ready. Explain how you're tyring to help her out, while gently reminding her that she has signed a lease that extends past Friday.

Now, I don't think a property mgmt co would do that, but as a "good citizen" it may be the best way to handle the situation for all parties involved. If she doesn't accept the offer, do as a property mgmt co would do and hold her to the contract.

LWJ · 10-14-2009, 06:48 PM

Yuck. Bad situation. I would suggest that this might be a time to bend the rules. I own and have owned rentals. We had a situation where our unemployed tenant's wife died at age 33 leaving 4 people without any income. We bent the rules. They were good people in a rotten situation. Your situation is not so bad but again, it is an anomoly. I would look for some kind of compromise here if possible.
Good luck.
Larry

Fud · 10-15-2009, 04:03 AM

I have 8 rental units that I have owned for some time. I would contact the section 8 person that is working with her. They can be very helpful in situations like this. I have had them pay for back rents or help with damage deposits. I think your tenant has to have you sign off or she could lose her section 8.

stomachmonkey · 10-15-2009, 05:09 AM

Good tenants are like gold.

john70t · 10-15-2009, 07:01 AM

A twelve month lease is usually structured the entire balance broken into monthly payments- a legal document signed and agreed upon by both parties.
If the landlord loses rent for the remainder of the year, then its the leasee's(section8) responsibility to make whole on the remainder of the contract.

This story sounds fishy to me. Mabye she got a new boyfriend or was offered a better place.
Offer her the other place or the consequenses, in a nice way.

fastfredracing · 10-15-2009, 07:54 AM

John, that is exactly what I was thinking. I always take what a tenant tells me with a grain of salt . We are thinking of just sticking to the terms of the lease, and let the cards fall where they may. She is braking the lease not because of any fault of ours or the house.

Eric Coffey · 10-15-2009, 09:11 AM

Tough spot. Sounds a bit fishy to me too. Maybe she got a voucher increase, and found another home/area she likes better. However, if you can verify her story (witness accounts, bullet holes, etc.), I would consider letting her out of the lease early, but not until another tenant is secured. Of course I would also retain any/all security deposits. You might call her sec.-8 case worker, and see if an agreeable solution can be reached.
FYI - If you can pull rental comps and substantiate it, you can negotiate rent increases directly with the caseworker (or their supervisor) as well.