Renting: Advice/Tips

[Lux Devil 67]

how dare you question the Grammar Nazi!

1
: liable to be brought to account : answerable <citizens amenable to the law>
2
a : capable of submission (as to judgment or test) : suited <the data is amenable to analysis> b : readily brought to yield, submit, or cooperate <a government not amenable to change> c : willing 1 <was amenable to spending more time at home>
— ame·na·bil·i·ty noun
— ame·na·bly adverb
See amenable defined for English-language learners »
See amenable defined for kids »
Examples of AMENABLE

<whatever you decide to do, I'm amenable—just let me know>
<our normally balky cat becomes the most amenable of creatures when confronted with the strange environment of the veterinary clinic>
Mr. Bush is in a position to make his party more amenable to minorities and especially blacks. He should seize the moment. —Jason L. Riley, Wall Street Journal, 16 Jan. 2003
[+]more

Origin of AMENABLE
Anglo-French, from amener to bring, compel, from a- (from Latin ad-) + mener to lead, from Late Latin minare to drive, from Latin minari to threaten — more at mount
First Known Use: 1596

ok, ok, i spelled "be" instead of "he"!!!

[Lux Devil 67]

you better think about pets as well.

[ViktimViktor]

you better think about pets as well.

Almost always more trouble than they're worth to an owner... I am by no means anti-pet but pets damage property. That's the simple truth. More dirt, more wear, more likelyhood of bodily fluid related accidents, etc. When's the last time a human sharpened their claws on the stair carpet or chewed on a door jamb because they wanted at whatever was on the opposite side of said door?

Every place I've rented in Seattle (um...seven places now?) has considered very basic yard upkeep (mowing, light weeding, leave raking) to be the tenant's responsibility. This may be something that varies market to market, of course.

[Chou_Yun_Matt]

Already decided. NO PETS! Maybe caged pets would be OK, except fish, the thought of a huge aquarium breaking makes me cringe.

[Lux Devil 67]

my friend was renting his third floor to a family with a big aquarium. guess what happened?

[GerryAtrix]

Matt, many years ago I rented my mobile home to my brother-in-laws girl friend at the time, who had 3 little girls because I couldn't sell it for what I owed. She did not work, was on welfare and related assistance so i set rent at basically what I owed and no damage deposit.

To make a long story short, in 6 months the damage left in their wake was considerable: broken moldings and doors, color crayon scrawls on bedroom walls, boil over crust burned onto the stove permanently staining it, carpet stains of unknown type, washing machine flooded the floor and weakened it (particle board floor with no drain of course being typical of early 80s trailer construction) and much more; cost me well over $1000 dollars to repair, hours of cleaning and I still sold the trailer at a loss....

My advice is to spend a day taking clear photographs of the condition of everything prior to rental: carpet, walls, appliances, yard, exterior of house, etc. Have good solid language in the rental agreement about damage responsibility, pets, etc.

Unfortunately, renters usually have no "pride of ownership" in your proterty and could care less about damage, will actively hide it and deny responsibility even if family is involved, much less strangers.....

[Sven XC [sherpa]]

Renting is tough, and I'm sure we can all continue to pile on the horror stories for Matt, but I think it's important to note that for every horrible renter out there there's probably 20 great renters that are non-issues during their tenure, but you just never hear about them because there's nothing to tell! All it takes is that one D-Bag to cause nothing but headaches, but I would say the odds are in your favour to get a good person who isn't going to go animal house on the place!

[Lux Devil 67]

i've had several relatives and friends who've rented out. the bad stories are more numerous than the good ones.

[Sven XC [sherpa]]

i've had several relatives and friends who've rented out. the bad stories are more numerous than the good ones.

You really just confirmed what I've said, you never hear about the good ones because they don't make for good stories!

It's the old adage "You don't tell one friend when you have good service, but you tell 10 friends when you have bad service."

[Lux Devil 67]

actually, i guess i meant that i KNOW they had more bad tenants than good ones. i know about their tenenats because i would usually help clean and paint or they would just mention their current tenants. yes, there WERE good ones, but the bad ones outnumber them. like gerry said, i think not having "pride of ownership" is a big factor.