Trailblazer
Veteran Member
I was reticent to post this but I am in a situation and I need some suggestions and/or moral support. I do not have time to explain all the details right now, but I have constant problems with one of my rental houses and I always seem to find tenants who are problematic for various reasons. My present problem is with a tenant who wanted to move in before the rental agreement started to do some work on the house. It did not really need anything; it was just cosmetics, painting and putting sealer on the aggregate stone floors.
We agreed to the date she would start paying rent was April 15 but apparently she thinks I told her she would not have to pay any rent in April. Nothing was ever put in writing and she has not paid me anything yet. A long while back, I asked for a security deposit but she would not give me one. I should have insisted but I didn’t so now she is trying to negotiate on the security deposit as well as April rent, saying the work she did should be exchanged for rent and the security deposit. But I never agreed to that. Doing the work was her idea and I agreed to pay for certain things she needed which I plan to reimburse her for. I also agreed to pay the handyman for some minor repairs.
I have two long e-mails I am about to send her setting the limits and telling her what I expect her to pay. I am going to tell her that if she does not like my expectations she should leave now and not sign a rental agreement. I am afraid what she will say. She puts on a “nice act” but she is very bossy and manipulative and I just cannot deal with this kind of personality.
I have been through this before with tenants and I have an MA in Counseling Psychology so I am not stupid. Does she really think she can bully me like this? It is my house, not hers. Tenants often mistake how I cut them slack for weakness so they think they can walk all over me, but I will not allow it again.
Why am I afraid of her? I think it is probably because I had an older sister who bullied me and I was afraid of her. At least I understand some of the dynamics but it does not take the fear away. But what can she do to me? She has been in the house since March 23 and she has not paid me one red cent. No normal landlord would put up with this. I don’t know why I allowed it. I just let people walk all over me and then I am sorry later.
Now, I have been told by the attorneys if I want to get rid of her I have to have her sign a rental agreement and then evict her. I cannot get her to leave any other way unless she leaves voluntarily. Since she has not paid me anything, technically she is a squatter, but the law says I would have to go to court and get an expulsion and that would take longer and cost more than an eviction so they do not recommend it.
This rental house has been my worst nightmare and it has practically taken over my life. I have another rental house and the tenant has been in there over six years and he is not a problem at all. He never complains even though there are things that need to be repaired there, but he is behind on his rent so I am not obligated by law to do repairs, and they are not serious issues. He got way behind on his rent but he got most of it paid up. He is very respectful and he never tried to manipulate me. He is constantly thanking me for allowing the rent to go unpaid until he has the money, and I have also paid his water bill a couple of times so he owes me for that. But I think he will pay as soon as he gets the money because he is honest. A little over a year ago, he owed me $11,000 but he paid $10,000 of that but then he got a little behind again. He could have just walked out owing the money and I could not have ever gotten it because he has no regular job, he has his own business, and he has no assets. But he stayed and paid. It is sad that we live in a society where there aren’t many people like him that can be trusted.
We agreed to the date she would start paying rent was April 15 but apparently she thinks I told her she would not have to pay any rent in April. Nothing was ever put in writing and she has not paid me anything yet. A long while back, I asked for a security deposit but she would not give me one. I should have insisted but I didn’t so now she is trying to negotiate on the security deposit as well as April rent, saying the work she did should be exchanged for rent and the security deposit. But I never agreed to that. Doing the work was her idea and I agreed to pay for certain things she needed which I plan to reimburse her for. I also agreed to pay the handyman for some minor repairs.
I have two long e-mails I am about to send her setting the limits and telling her what I expect her to pay. I am going to tell her that if she does not like my expectations she should leave now and not sign a rental agreement. I am afraid what she will say. She puts on a “nice act” but she is very bossy and manipulative and I just cannot deal with this kind of personality.
I have been through this before with tenants and I have an MA in Counseling Psychology so I am not stupid. Does she really think she can bully me like this? It is my house, not hers. Tenants often mistake how I cut them slack for weakness so they think they can walk all over me, but I will not allow it again.
Why am I afraid of her? I think it is probably because I had an older sister who bullied me and I was afraid of her. At least I understand some of the dynamics but it does not take the fear away. But what can she do to me? She has been in the house since March 23 and she has not paid me one red cent. No normal landlord would put up with this. I don’t know why I allowed it. I just let people walk all over me and then I am sorry later.
Now, I have been told by the attorneys if I want to get rid of her I have to have her sign a rental agreement and then evict her. I cannot get her to leave any other way unless she leaves voluntarily. Since she has not paid me anything, technically she is a squatter, but the law says I would have to go to court and get an expulsion and that would take longer and cost more than an eviction so they do not recommend it.
This rental house has been my worst nightmare and it has practically taken over my life. I have another rental house and the tenant has been in there over six years and he is not a problem at all. He never complains even though there are things that need to be repaired there, but he is behind on his rent so I am not obligated by law to do repairs, and they are not serious issues. He got way behind on his rent but he got most of it paid up. He is very respectful and he never tried to manipulate me. He is constantly thanking me for allowing the rent to go unpaid until he has the money, and I have also paid his water bill a couple of times so he owes me for that. But I think he will pay as soon as he gets the money because he is honest. A little over a year ago, he owed me $11,000 but he paid $10,000 of that but then he got a little behind again. He could have just walked out owing the money and I could not have ever gotten it because he has no regular job, he has his own business, and he has no assets. But he stayed and paid. It is sad that we live in a society where there aren’t many people like him that can be trusted.