Hello all. I appreciate all the good advice I’ve been reading here.
I have a fantastic tenant that I don’t want to lose in my condo rental. She’s got no kids, no pets, great credit, good income, takes good care of my unit, pays on time, never bothers me for anything etc… She’s been renting my unit for 2 years & her lease is about to expire end of April. She has an upstairs neighbor with a 7 year old kid that just moved in a few months ago. Kid runs around the condo creating noise for my tenant throughout the day. My tenant tried talking with her neighbor & they just don’t care. Tenant called cops, problem persists… I know I can talk to the HOA & owner, but I have a feeling that won’t do much & can probably just add fuel to the fire, considering a cop visit didn’t stop her from controlling her son’s noise. Should I offer the neighbor an incentive to control her kid running in the condo?
My tenant likes my unit very much as it was beautifully renovated (I originally wanted to sell it but couldn’t sell fast enough so it turned into a rental) Yesterday my tenant said she intended to stay in my condo for 4 years but she doesn’t know now. Her previous home she rented for 7 years. She’s a good long term renter. I planned on calling her next month to re-new her lease but this situation has me concerned about losing her.
I don’t know where you are, but if your tenant would consider moving to Dallas I’d love to rent to her…LOL,does the neighbor own the unit or is it a rental?
The neighbor is renting. Yeah, I know I’d regret not fighting to keep my tenant. She takes such good care of my condo. She puts rugs across my brand new carpet including over new tile in the kitchen. She’s been late on rent a few times & included the right amount of late fees without me chasing her on it.
have you tried talking to the owner of the unit,to tell them they have a tenant you are about to go to the HOA on, and that you’ve called the police on?
Good luck regulating another landlord’s tenants without breaking any laws. I would be surprised if there’s a lease out there that can legally regulate another tenant’s children. Children run around. That’s what’s reasonably expected of children. And the other landlord has bills to pay so he’ll just tell you where you can stick it than cooperate.
IMO you should get a current market evaluation on the property. If she moves out, I think it’s time to go back to your original plan and sell it and buy a rental property where you have better control over the type of tenants/neighbours you get in the building like a free standing triplex with only one-bedroom and bachelor apts., no two-bedrooms. Then you can talk about property standard by-laws to applicants that the apts are too small and say children need to live in at least 2 bedroom apts.
That’s what I was thinking. It’s not illegal for someone’s child to run around in a condo which they’re paying rent in. If I talk to the HOA, they contact the owner who may or may not talk to their tenant. But what can the owner do if the tenant won’t restrict their kid from running? I certainly doubt they will kick out a rent-paying tenant over an issue that doesn’t affect him.
My tenant just told me her neighbor has a car without a tag which I know is against HOA rules & local laws I believe. I could report it to the HOA but that may just add fuel to the fire. Not that I’m ruling it out, but I would rather play it smart.
If you want to keep that tenant, you can try offering a reduction in rent.
Maybe there is some way to add sound-proofing to the ceiling.
One of the reasons I don’t buy condos is that they are basically apartments where I would have no control over the other tenants.
Be sure to mention to your tenant that if she moves, there is no guarantee that she will get a quiet apartment. Even in a house, there is no guarantee that there won’t be loud neighbors. Noise is just a fact of life.
Sorry for the delay. I was out of town. I think I will go ahead & sell the condo. But I would prefer to sell it with with her in place, continuing to pay rent while it’s on the market.
Tater, I was also considering to offer a rent reduction. But then what if instead, I offer my tenant $ xxxx in cash (after closing) to stay until it sells?
She continues to pay rent, she is (hopefully) motivated to stay for the cash at the end, & put up with a loud neighbor, & deal with realtors with strangers coming in to look at the place. If I get her to stay in place, I avoid possible vacancy. AND… She is meticulously clean & has very nice furniture which is perfect for staging as opposed to showing an empty condo. I always knew one day she would leave & I planned to take pictures of her furniture for marketing purposes for the condo. With this cash prize motivation, I would presumably get her cooperation in continuing to keep the place clean, speak positively about the condo to any potential buyers.
I’m not seeing anything illegal here. Kids run around during the day. That is noise you have to expect and deal with in a condo, otherwise get a house far from any else. I would proceed with trying to get a new lease signed from your tenant. If she declines, ask what it will take for her to stay. Otherwise find a new tenant, if the unit is so nicely remodeled then you shouldn’t have a problem.
Don’t do the rent reduction as a new investor will want to know the full rent. Definitely offer her cash at closing to cooperate with showing and the horrible inconvenience. $500-or more depending on price of unit.