Active duty just PCS'd out of Florida. I'm a first time landlord, using a property management company to handle everything since I'm no longer in FL. I was informed they found me a tennant, and I was excited! But after reviewing some of the documents and transaction history, the application fees & deposits were split equally amongst 4 people even though it's only a 3 bedroom house. A little odd, but who knows. A quick Google search of their names revealed the following:
Person 1- arrested in 2017 for larceny and forgery. Taken to court in 2018 for eviction at a local apartment complex.
Person 2- arrested both in 2017 & 2018 for possession, smuggling drugs, racketeering.
Persons 3&4- an older couple
I suspect that 3&4 are maybe a parent or relative and put their names on the application to help the other two get approved… BUT is there any way I can object? I'm sure there are discrimination laws in place, but two felons? The property was only listed for about 10 days and that's whose application they accepted? I'm very upset about this and nervous since this is my first time doing this. Can anybody provide me some guidance on anything that I can do? Should I reach out to the management company? I know I shouldn't have searched their names, but I'm concerned this is going to turn out to be one of those landlord nightmares we all hear about so often.
EDIT: The property was only been listed for 10 days… these people weren't accepted due to desperation. I could've waited a while longer for the "right" ones.
Property Mgmt Company gave me bad tennants.. need advice
byu/PalmTreePapi1 inMilitaryFinance
Posted by PalmTreePapi1
3 Comments
Property managers are lighting money on fire. They pray on people being afraid of doing like 8 hours of work a year on the rare occasion they need to call a plumber or electrician or something.
Screening tenants is like the most critical rule of landlording. My jacks or better to open is renting to people with a 700+ credit score, at least a year worth of job history, and no criminal record. Zillow does this for you for a $50 fee whereas PMs want a whole month’s rent for tenant placement.
You should have made this clear in the agreement you signed with the PM.
If your tenants already signed the lease and the property manager accepted on your behalf, there’s nothing you can do except hope that they don’t trash the place.
My friend hired a property manager to find and vet tenants. The house sat empty for months so, under pressure to find a renter, the property manager likely took a tenant with a drug conviction. Neighbors complained to my friend that the tenants must be renovating the house since they were dragging out counters, cabinets, and wall sections. Friend demanded a no notice inspection, but the property manager called first. When the manager arrived, the tenants were gone, but there was an enormous marijuana grow operation in the basement and second floor of the house. Tenant was eventually found and jailed. Insurance said property manager was at fault for failing to conduct background checks. Years of court costs while my friend sued the property manager who likely knew the tenant was a felon, but ignored it because the crime involved (a lot of) weed. In the meantime, friend had to renovate his house just to sell it.
Gotta ask yourself: if it was profitable on average to own the rental house, why wouldn’t the property management company own it themselves?