Landlord issues

The recent story of a two new owners of a Detroit foreclosure getting killed while trying to take control of their property is one of the worst horror stories I have heard about being a landlord. Here is the link to the story in the Detroit news click here. From what the story says the new owners that bought the foreclosure did follow the rules when they evicted the squatters. But the squatters moved back in. They should have relied on the police to do their job. Even with a gun the owners were killed. A real tragedy for people just trying to make a living and get ahead in the world. It was in a good section of Detroit too....Rosedale Park. But you never know how people and tenants will react. In today’s societies some people they are owed everything and refuse to follow the rules. It does not matter if you are a landlord in Dearborn or any city in Metro Detroit it is tough. You just do not buy the house and sit back and collect the rent.

One of my clients just had to evict one of her tenants out because they had not paid in two months. The tenant had moved in and then got 6 dogs. Needless to say the house in Hazel Park was a shabbles. The landlord had to get a dumpster, and re-paint the whole house. She lost a lot of money for a person that only paid for 8 months. The landlord did do their due diligence. Unfortunately the tenant lost their job and then stopped paying.

I have heard stories of tenants moving out and taking the stove and refrigerator even though they belonged to the landlord. They usually have no money so it is hard to ever collect after they move out. It is usually not worth the trouble.

The second worst story I ever heard of tenants destroying a place was this. A landlord had a rental right next to his house. He rented to a couple of guys. He was tough on them and did not like the loud parties. So they fueded alot. Well when the guys moved out the landlord had quiet a nasty surprise. The tenants had brought in old tires at night and filled the whole house up with tires. Then they urinated in them. So it became a nasty smelly mess. Tires are hard to get rid of and the landlord had hundreds of them.

So buying rental homes in Metro Detroit can be very rewarding or it can be frustrating. One of the best words of advice I learned from an Ann Arbor landlord was....”Treat it like a business. Your tenant is not your friend....If they do not pay they have to move out. It is a simple as that.” It was great advice and I think it has helped me.