Interesting Story

[NWFLGUY]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Florida

My wife and I recently bought our first piece of rental property with plans to purchase several more over the next few years to help in funding our retirement. We are in a college town and bought a duplex within walking distance to one of our three colleges. It was a nice duplex, recently renovated with new tile floors throughout and fresh paint. We only got to see the side which was not occupied but the listing indicated both were identical. The listing also indicated that the rent was 600 per side.

After the purchase, we discovered that the previous tenant had moved out and the old owner had rented that same side, three days before closing. for only 550 per month and had waived the first months rent. This side also had not been renovated as the side we had viewed had been. The management company we had hired notified us about two weeks after closing that they had received a list of repairs from the new tenant which included new carpet throughout (the previous tenant apparently had a dog with bladder control problems), new paint throughout, a non-functioning washing machine and numerous smaller problems. All in all, we ended up spending over a $1000 handling these problems for the new tenant.

It just seems to me that the previous owner had to have kept the security deposit of the last tenant and should not have been able to rent at lower terms than advertised, waived the first months rent and should have made these repairs with the previous tenants security deposit. We have learned a lot of lessons in our first purchase, but wanted to see if any of you had thoughts...Thanks

 

[longneck]

first, if there was a security deposit, it should have been transfered to you. did the previous owner give that to you?

re: the lower rent, you real estate agent should advise you. in the two deals i've been party t0o, the contract had a condition listing the current tenants and rental terms and a stipulation that the seller can not change those terms or agree to changes that become effective after the sale.

finally, if you can definitely attribute the damages to the previous tenant and you have documentation to that effect, go after the previous tenant for the damages just like you would a tenant who did not put down a security deposit or a large enough security deposit to cover the damages.

 

[longneck]

and does your new tenant have a written lease, or are they month-to-month? if they are month-to-month, give them a notice that you are raising your rent. consult your state's landlord/tenant laws for the notice requirements.

 

[NWFLGUY]

The previous owner did transfer the new tenants security deposit to us. The new tenant has a year lease. I am going to look at the contract for purchase again and see if there were any stipulations concerning re-leasing the property while we were waiting to close. Would the fact (I suspect, don't know for sure) that the previous owner kept the tenant who moved out security deposit have any relevance. Really just curious, the whole matter has ticked me off, but as I said, I have learned some valuable lessons. Thanks for your advice.

 

[Gadfly]

In your lessons learned I hope you learned to inspect EVERYTHING you purchase!

Do you have a copy of the lease and does it say anthing about what happens when the property changes hands? Did the LEASE (if there is one) state anything about repairs you were to make?

 

[NWFLGUY]

Yes, definately one of the lessons we learned is to inspect everything. I am going to look at the lease in the morning and see what the provisions say. I understand it is a pretty standard lease, but I leave that to the management company. I did check them out thoroughly and am very comfortable with them. They, like me, are stuck between a rock and a hard place. The irony is, we intend to keep nice properties, in good repair, and hopefully rent to nice tenants. There are too many slum lords around here all ready taking advantage of the college kids just as there are bad college kids taking advantage of the Land Lords. Thanks!!!!!

 

[FarmerJ]

Now since you inherited this tenant you should go give notice that you need to document the work you did and take a regular camera with you and take tons of pics that the film processor can date for you and then save those so you have a record of change that occurs while current tenant lives there. So that when the time comes for them to move you can take pics again and assess what ever damages accordingly. Pics that are dated can help you prove damage claims in court especially when a tenant claims its old damage.

 

[longneck]

Would the fact (I suspect, don't know for sure) that the previous owner kept the tenant who moved out security deposit have any relevance.

it depends. if they kept it because of the damages, then that deposit should be yours because you're the one who fixed the damages.

but if they kept is because the previous tenant just didn't know any better, that will put you in a difficult position when you try to bill the previous tenant for the damage. although you do have the argument that since they moved out before you purchased the property, the returning of the security deposit in a timely manner and you billing for damages which the previous LL failed to collect for are two seperate matters.