Bit of a problem with my renter... a little help?

[jasoutside]

Re: Bit of a problem with my renter... a little help?

A verbal agreement will not work in your favor. Not in my State anyway. Hopefully the Judge won't make YOU move out.

Agreed.

First thing you absolutely must do is draw up a lease, very clear about all these things you just mentioned: pets, bills, shared space, rent, and so on. Raise the rent too. Sounds like that is your only form on income at this point, so, it has to be ball park average rent for your area just so you can continue to live.

Present that to her stating "I just think it's best for the both of us to have this agreement on paper".

If she's not interested, invite her to move on. And give her a timeline, 7 days, 14 days, 30 days, something fair and reasonable but not undefined and not "as soon as you can find another place."

 

[bigdirty]

Re: Bit of a problem with my renter... a little help?

Agreed.

First thing you absolutely must do is draw up a lease, very clear about all these things you just mentioned: pets, bills, shared space, rent, and so on. Raise the rent too. Sounds like that is your only form on income at this point, so, it has to be ball park average rent for your area just so you can continue to live.

Present that to her stating "I just think it's best for the both of us to have this agreement on paper".

If she's not interested, invite her to move on. And give her a timeline, 7 days, 14 days, 30 days, something fair and reasonable but not undefined and not "as soon as you can find another place."

Well, for starters, I'm getting some hours at work, and things should pick up soon.. Also, raising the rent is something I'd like to do, but I know it wont fly, she simply wont pay more. I had said in the beginning (when she moved here) I'd 'give her a year' anyway, and that didn't seam like it would be a problem at the time...but it also didn't include a dog, or skyrocketing hydro bills.. I can try the 'lets write up a lease agreement on paper now' but I know it will likely just worsen the situation/her attitude, at the moment anyway.

Another problem that is developing now is basic communication.. She is going to great lengths to avoid me, and any sort of conversation. Up till now she would generally come into my shop for a cigarette, tonight she was standing outside her entrance with a friend smoking.. I walked by (was out in the boat shed) and said 'hi', and 'oh, you're standing out here to smoke?' And I got a shrug 'heh..ya.. well.' :facepalm: ok, so any time a guy gets that kind of response from a woman, its quite clear "I'm angry and pissy with you right now/still"

So at this point i guess i'll 'call' it, and say any sort of 'friendship' we had is over, as far as I'm concerned anyway. If you cant be an adult and discuss issues/problems, and would rather avoid or ignore them for days on end, and be bitter and cranky towards me to boot, well I don't need 'friends' like that.. So it now becomes simply a 'renter/landlord' situation in my mind.

During the last conversation we actually had face to face she DID say she may have some $$ to help with the hydro bill this friday, depending on her paycheck. I suppose I can give it 2 more days, and see what happens. If she says no money, that will be my cue to shut down the hot tub and take the risk of freeze up/ damage, and contact my lawyer monday morning to 'get my ducks in a row' and figure out what I can/can not do in my situation.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Bit of a problem with my renter... a little help?

Call your lawyer tomorrow. Why wait until Monday? You need to get the ball rolling immediately.

 

[coolbri70]

Re: Bit of a problem with my renter... a little help?

+1 for lawyering up. I don't know the laws where you are, a lawyer will. lack of a lease/ paperwork, may not be in your favor. I did the same thing, with someone I was trying to help. when I told her she had to go, she phoned the police and told them I hit her. I was lucky there where witnesses whose stories matched mine, or the officer told me I would have went to jail and she would have continued to stay in the home on my dime. I then checked on eviction and that was near impossible and a rather lengthy process. I got her to leave by moving in with a friend and having the utilities turned off, once there was no power, water, cable, heat or phone, she left.

 

[Silly Seville]

Re: Bit of a problem with my renter... a little help?

You already have your answer...quit screwing around and retain counsel immediately. (tomorrow) She is NOT going to suddenly become a good tenant this Friday by simply offering to help with one bill . She is using you and you know it. Stop giving her any more rope to hang you with!

 

[64osby]

Re: Bit of a problem with my renter... a little help?

You may or may not need legal assistance.

If you were in Michigan you would have a verbal 30 day lease. Check your local laws, Uniform commercial code and tenant landlord laws.

I had this arrangement at one point in a commercial building. When things turned south I provided the tenant with a 30 day notice to vacate. He ended up taking me to court and lost on all counts of his claim.

You could also provide 30 day notice of a new lease with more favorable terms if you were so inclined.

Make sure you included all the fine print. That's why you pay lawyers, but it can be done on your own.

Next tenant put it all in writing.

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Bit of a problem with my renter... a little help?

. My name alone is on the house, all the bills, and i have a separate entrance to my apt, which has a full washroom and kitchen so 'common law' will hopefully not be another issue she could try to hit me with.. And even if she tried that scam, it hasn't been a full 6 months she has lived here yet, so i should be good.. although it's close, so I need to get things worked out in the next few weeks.. I'm getting some hours at work, and unemployment has kicked in so i can survive financially, even without her rent.. and it would be a lot less stress to deal with too..

Any "common law" status with which I am familiar requires sharing more than.... just a roof.
It is none of our business, but if you have been sharing more than ....ummmmm....just the roof, that is not in any of your posts; that would shift the scales a lot.

 

[coolbri70]

Re: Bit of a problem with my renter... a little help?

Any "common law" status with which I am familiar requires sharing more than.... just a roof.
It is none of our business, but if you have been sharing more than ....ummmmm....just the roof, that is not in any of your posts; that would shift the scales a lot.

he said "I've known this girl for years, we actually dated a few times over the years" :facepalm:and don't think that she wont lie if scorned, or to survive. yep, they tell lies, better believe it:drum:

 

[tazrig]

Re: Bit of a problem with my renter... a little help?

Call your lawyer tomorrow. Why wait until Monday? You need to get the ball rolling immediately.

+1^^^ You forgot one of the golden rules in life... No good deed goes unpunished

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Bit of a problem with my renter... a little help?

I tend to disagree with some of the fellas here. Getting a lawyer at this point will obviously be expensive and you haven't yet worked through your own due diligence. If you told her you'd "give a year" at the agreed rent, you need to follow through with that. And really, she isn't breaking any lease agreement with the dog/kids/bills/smoking/whatever as you never had a lease agreement spelling that stuff out.

So, what you really need to do is put it in writing. Draw up a lease, clearly stating your expectations, sticking with your original agreement rent and term. Present it to her like....

"Hey, I really think we ought to have our rental agreement on paper. It protects both you and me in this relationship."

If she goes for it (and why wouldn't she, you are just putting in writing what you have already agreed to) cool, no lawyer needed, tenant and landlord both know what to expect from here on. After that year is up, change the terms/rent to suit you.

If she doesn't go for it, (which is a giant red flag that she is really bad news) then find a lawyer and attempt the eviction process. I suspect you'll be headed into a troublesome and expensive venture, but, that's about all ya got.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Bit of a problem with my renter... a little help?

Getting a lawyer is only to determine what rights he has. He needs to do this now. The lawyer will advise him on what he should do next. Right now the OP has no knowledge on what to do next as he doesn't know what the law says.

Doing nothing at this point will be way more expensive in the long run. Way more than an hour of lawyer time.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: Bit of a problem with my renter... a little help?

Getting a lawyer is only to determine what rights he has.

Yah, true. My guess is that a lawyer will say, "Draw up a lease." and charge him for saying those words.

Now, I'm not a lawyer, but I shave and dress up like one, usually on Monday's. Friday's are always casual though.:thumb:

 

[Bigprairie1]

Re: Bit of a problem with my renter... a little help?

Whatever you do....take someone with you when you are presenting the next step to her. Make sure this 3rd person remains silent and calm and you should make sure you keep the tone very low key, positive and be quick about it, don't linger and visit.....1-2 minutes present, then leave.
Hopefully you haven't been pushing the boundaries of the tenant vs. relationship bit.....you didn't state that here yet but as several of the guys have inferred....turn that off and get to the real business.
My two bits.

BP

 

[jimbo_jwc]

Re: Bit of a problem with my renter... a little help?

My guess is helping friend helping himself living in basement or Garage Man cave collecting money not declaring income from rental .
You should consider yourself lucky as if you had married you would still be living in basement or rental and have to buy your stuff back plus buying half of your properties and business's back . Undocumented Rental agreements seldom work . We see family members doing this all over helping out that usually turns things sour for everybody around .

 

[bigdirty]

Re: Bit of a problem with my renter... a little help?

To set the record (here) straight, no there have been NO lines crossed as far as 'friends with benefits' or any such, and it was and has been always on my mind to go to great lengths if need be to KEEP it that way, I know how that would complicate things, and especialy NOW I am thankful I have stuck to my guns. That said, yes, she 'could' simply lie, and I'd be just a s screwed.. but ANYway, she must have put on her grown up pants last nite, as she knocked on my shop door, and asked if we could talk. I laid out my position/issues and insisted on keeping renter/landlord issues SEPARATE from 'friends' issues. For the most part, it seams to have smoothed over; She has assured me she will give me $X on friday to help with the hydro, and in the end asked if I wanted her out... so in the interest of keeping the drama to a minimum, and not making things potentially worse again, I told her that I will honor the 'one year' i originally gave her, if she needs it, but I think she should start looking for another place in the near future, as 'this' is simply not working, for either of us, and she agreed. BUT; She has paid this months rent on time, and it is not likely she will find another place in less than 30 days anyway so I'm pretty sure Id be making an expensive and foolish move to try and boot her out asap, in the middle of winter, with 2 kids. A lawyer/judge would have a field day with me in court.. and in reality I think my lawyer is just going to say what a lot of you guys have said already;

1 write up an agreement on paper
2 don't rent to friends

And yes, it was intended to help a friend (as I said, her previous landlords lost the house, she had little to no warning of the need to move/find a new place.) and a bit of help for myself, in the form of some extra cash every month. Any other renter, I would be charging 'full price' for this area, (and probly with a cap on utility costs, they pay overages, no pets, etc,etc) and I would be claiming the income. I do spend most of my time out in my shop/garage, so this setup has worked fairly well, up until it started to falter, starting with the dog, and ending where it is now.. I'm going to have a talk with her in the next few days however, and suggest we write up an agreement, at least for the remaining time she will be here, like has been said 'to protect both of our interests' and see what happens from there...

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Bit of a problem with my renter... a little help?

I would write up a month to month rental agreement that specifies the rent, when it is late, how many people are allowed to live in the house, what animals are allowed...

I would also spell out how the utilities are paid for.

I have a rental house and a guest house that are on 1 meter. Since there are 2 people in the main house and 1 in the guest, I have an ongoing spread sheet that lists all utility charges. The people in the main house are charged for 2/3 of the utilities and the guest house is 1/3. It is a major pain to do and I actually just charge the person in the guest house a fixed amount every month that is close to the 1/3.

You need to specify in the rental agreement if you plan on doing it this way.

 

[bigdirty]

Re: Bit of a problem with my renter... a little help?

I would write up a month to month rental agreement that specifies the rent, when it is late, how many people are allowed to live in the house, what animals are allowed...

Well some of that WAS discussed from the get go, as her last place she had her sister, and sisters friend in the basement, her brother (the idiot dog owner) and the dog, off and on, and her mother/stepfather all living in the house. I was quite clear that this (my place) was being rented to HER and her two kids ONLY, overnight guests are fine, but no family/friends taking up residence on a couch or anything. If she met and became 'serious with a guy', there would be a reworking of the deal and higher rent if he moved in here with her. Now, she has and continues to abide by those rules, with the exception of the dog.. and it was a 'grey area' that I hadn't considered, as she knew quite well i didn't get along with her brother, so i didn't think it would ever be an issue i'd have to deal with.. That being said, I obviously can't trust her too far, as she 'bent' the rules a bit, and now the dog is here. Rent has always been paid on time though, so I can't say much there...

NEXT.. :faint2:

She knocked on my shop door a few hours ago when she got home, very upset and in tears, asked me to look at her car.. every light is on on the dash, its not running properly, headlights/signals not working. She has a new job interview tomorrow, 40 min drive away. I check the battery, 6 volts.. yup, alternator is fried, and the battery is pretty much shot too (big bulge on one side) so I think I'll leave things alone for tonight, no sense in making anything worse. (and thats not so much for her sake, but my own as well.. ) Anyway, I'm not gona say it to her, but I did in fact 'tell her so' several weeks ago, after she needed a boost one cold morning... your battery is not looking good, and reading weak voltage... needs replacing... soon.. I'm not surprised tho, its just how some people are I guess.. :facepalm:

 

[Bigprairie1]

Re: Bit of a problem with my renter... a little help?

....be careful, it sounds like you are definitely on the verge of being played for one thing...and then another.
You are not responsible for her, her kids, her job (....or not) or her life....set some boundaries and standards that relate to you....not her.
The more she 'self-determines'...the happier she will ultimately be...and she isn't going to get there if you are filling in gaps for her at your own expense and compromise.
My two bits.
BP

 

[PS94]

Re: Bit of a problem with my renter... a little help?

If her brother is 'out west' (I assume you mean in Alberta) He should send some $$ home to cover the cost of the dog murdering your home, unless he's spending it all on lifted diesel trucks, white Oakleys and narcotics...:/
Good thing you're not smashing pissers with this gal..sounds like a bit of whack job...

and for home repossession, it's a long, drawn out process..taking months the last one I saw go down...the tenant was allowed to stay, and pay the rent to the bank, as the bank wouldn't have to incur the costs of keeping the gas/lights on for months in the cold alberta winter....

 

[bigdirty]

Re: Bit of a problem with my renter... a little help?

....be careful, it sounds like you are definitely on the verge of being played for one thing...and then another.
You are not responsible for her, her kids, her job (....or not) or her life....set some boundaries and standards that relate to you....not her.....

Yup, I totally agree, and I am going to have to be careful how this gets handled.. Over the years i have done a lot of work on peoples cars, little cash jobs here and there, I actually have a snowmobile in my shop currently for a top end rebuild... and its always been a reasonable cash rate per hour i charge, usually half a shop/garage rate. The problem with HER is this; I can easily repair the car, and normally for any one else i'd just say sure, give me x$ and i'll do it, but with the situation as it is, i may end up doing it for next to nothing. As opposed to REFUSING to do it unless I get paid, and causing her to become .. well, likely quite upset. She WILL blame me, at least in part, for any issues that arise from her not having wheels (IE; miss job interview, pick up kids, whatever) and may turn around and refuse to give me any $ for the hydro bill... so unfortunately, with the current 'state' of things it may be in my best interest to just take this 'hit' for the (my) greater good.. to keep the peace for now until she goes away, which at worst, will be August/september, but sooner would be awesome..:facepalm: