The "Professional Tenant" from Hell: BEWARE ALL LANDLORDS!

At least the owner was paid, a previous tenant vacated the premise and still owes me $ 805...even after a forward to the councilman nothing came out of it...decided it was a bad debt..i look at it as a learning curve to my mistakes!

 

Wow... this is just truly remarkable and not in a good way. If there is any silver lining in this its that this is clearly of reflective what is a pathological and mercifully rare behavior. I feel truly sorry for anyone who has ever rented to this man, but I'll sleep just fine at night reassuring myself that tenants like this are few and far between.

Related News Footage (The video isn't great quality, but being able to hear from the victims in court was very interesting and moving): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH4E7wJoK3g

 

This why credit checks, background checks, and references are such a wonderful tool. I wonder how many landlords did any of the three before renting to him. Then make sure he has to pay weekly, that way you don't have to wait months to show delinquency. All you have to wait is a month and a half to show delinquency. When you notice damage immediately file for damages with the police. Then sue, pro se against the tenant. Be just as aggressive as they are.

 

I'm sure there's a network of landlords somewhere online that keeps track of people like this. If there isn't, there should be.

This is why I'm a big fan of large contracts that cover the usual legalities and those that are more unseen.

 

It's scary finding the right person to live in your home. They can look professional, but that's it -- look! You never know what people's intentions are until time goes by and they show their true colors.

 

That Newton is a scumbag and though he's got away with paying no rent for a long time, karma will get him eventually. I've heard of such tenants who not only refuse to pay rent but also claim they need time to find a new home. Costly for the landlord yes but at least in less than 6 months they [those tenants] won't be around. But bastards like this Newton who refuse to leave and expect to be compensated at the end of it . . . one day he's going to piss off someone who may do something . . . violent.

 

Yes, sadly this is far from a surprise, it is a tactic I have seen happen more then once from people that just know the system. We had a woman in the Condo's that didn't pay the fees and it went into foreclosure, so what she did was do a quit claim and pass it on to another family member while she dropped out of sight. The process starts all over and takes years, right at the end of the foreclosure they pay cash at the last minute and start the process again. In the end it is the other homeowners that pay a fortune.

I think the most abused portion of any agreement is the quiet enjoyment clause. You would be shocked at what people expect that to mean. I had an owner call the police because he said that his downstairs neighbors wash machine was disturbing him. This was at 3 in the afternoon. What a clown. The next step is to blame the association because they did nothing about it. Even though it is him harassing the neighbor.

 

This is why I like to rent to people on government assistance. In my country, it is paid directly to the landlord so there's no danger of not getting your rent money. I'm more inclined to rent to single mothers as they tend to keep the houses in good clean condition. I'm not so keen on students or young males though - I've always found them to leave the properties in a terrible state. I realise that I am generalising here.

 

Background check is very important, but at the same time how can we access that information? It's not always simple to get that info, so nothing like renting to someone we know when possible.