Not fair

[debidoo]

I agree -  it isn't fair and I think people should put themselves in the shoes of others so to speak.  Alot of times pure luck or inheritance enabled people to have rentals so maybe they ought to have some compassion.

[JaniceSW]

I can see both sides of this issue.  At this time i own my home but looked into renting a nice little apartment in a nice complex.  Forget that!  Three times your income is the general requirement.  Once in a while around here they might ask for a little less. I will probably stay in my home for financial reasons but still have to put a fairly large amount to do some necessary renovations.  My only option is a mobile home.  I have looked at some nice ones.  However, get ready to pay about $30-35,000 for something decent. You will need to have a large chunk to put down on the home once you add in the park rent. The park rent can be all over the place and you really have to look for affordable but liveable options.  Some parks are dumps!

[sfreeman8]

When my husband's mother died, we decided to rent out the mobile home she lived in completely furnished for $200/month plus security. (back in the 80s). . It was a small one and only 2 small bedrooms so we advertised for 1-2 people only. We  got a phone call from a minister who had a family that just moved here from TN and couldn't afford to pay a lot in rent. He vouched for them and said the congregation would help pay the rent until the man got a job. Problem was, this couple had FIVE young children. We said no but he persisted so we decided to give them a chance. I also went to friends to get them started with food and cleaning supplies. and the congregation gave them a car!  I even took the mother to Welfare to apply for help with food and cash.

Well, after 2 months, no rent. Since it was getting into winter, we couldn't evict. We had to wait until spring.  So, 6 months later, we tried again. Courts were tied up with a lot of eviction notices and we were at the bottom of the list. They refused to move. Minister couldn't help.  Husband threatened to bring a back hoe to tip the trailer over. Although I was just as mad, I wouldn't let him do that. Still no response.  So, husband took a final notice down and hung it on the screen door with a butcher knife since he forgot tape/nails. They were gone within a day.

Imagine the mess we had to clean up. Dirty diapers, feces and urine ruined the hardwood floors.  Toilet stuffed full of diapers. and overflowed (they never called with any problems).  The well house (where the water pump and bucket a day was)was filled to the ceiling with moldy food, diapers, etc Two tri-axle dump trucks later, the place was empty of the trash but we could never rent it out again.  The minister got an earful from me.  Too bad I didn't force him to come and see what he vouched for, but I wasn't that nasty back then.

So there's my long, drawn out true story.  I still get mad when I think about that family and we never rented out the place again.  So I can imagine what today's landlords have to go through with renters. It used to be that you cleaned out your place when you were leaving. Scrubbed everything down, washed the windows, and shampooed the rugs. There's a probably a lot of people that don't do that anymore and leave it to the landlord. 

[bretay]

have owned my home for 40 plus years..dont think i coud handle the rental scene.too many deposits,down payments and all kinds of stuff..takes another job just to get started...

[Segun15]

These people that are renting properties thinking that thay are getting rich fast i just wish the state will get involved to stop these greedy property owners.

[UGetPaid]

I was about to respond to this thread, then saw sfreeman's post above which said some of the things I was going to bring up.  All this talk about "it's not fair" and "the landlord should consider the tenant's position" are all fine and good, but the reverse is ALSO true.


I've dealt with many landlords who have horror stories about deadbeat tenants who have zero respect for property and literally destroy units and then skip out on the rent, leaving the landlord in the hole for thousands of dollars.  Good luck on them ever recovering that!


Yes, there are extremes and there are slum lords out there, but there are exponentially more problem tenants who take extreme advantage of property owners.  You wouldn't allow a stranger to live in your house without taking some precautions. This is no different.


And if you take care of the property like it is your own and pay the rent on time, you have nothing to worry about in getting back your security deposit in full when you decide to move on.

[Cbsteffen]

It sounds as if those properties consist of greedy people. The only advice I can give is to talk to a mentor who knows enough about rent.