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Stories Of A Landlord in Fresno CA.
Part I –  Part II  Story 1  –  Part II  Story  2 & 3

Here’s another story where the gal I rented to suddenly has a significant other move in with her and her 2 kids.  Before long and they are fighting like cats and dogs and the rent is not getting paid.  After not getting the rent I went down to check on the place and could tell that no one was living there. I heard that she and her boyfriend had a fight.  He kicked in the back door and the place was a mess.  All of the furniture was gone except the furniture which wasn’t worth keeping and their were mounds of trash throughout the house. 

Well, I’m looking around at the damage and the police pull up to the curb, get out and come up to the door and ask me what I’m doing.  Suddenly the tenant appears out of nowhere yelling “officers, officers, that man is trespassing; I rent that house and I haven’t vacated tenancy“. So, I’ll tell you right now, if you’re going to be a landlord you better learn what your tenants rights are, because chances are THEY KNOW THEM; so should you.The officers turn to me and ask me if this is true (that she has not vacated tenancy) and I say, “yes” so they tell me I have to leave and must deal with the situation in the proper legal manner.  This was a huge frustration because I didn’t know where this gal was staying and I was trying to avoid attorney costs.  My advice if you find yourself in a similar situation, at this point you need to have the advice of good eviction attorney.  Oh - must mention - while the police are talking to me the tenant disappears!

I waited several days hoping that she might call me but that never happened.  So, once again I went down to check things out but this time I took my camcorder with me.   I went into the house (nothing had changed) and video taped the mess and mounds of trash and just about the time I’m done - who shows up - THE POLICE AGAIN.  (The irony here is that I’ve had much more urgent matters requiring officer assistance and I can never get them to come that quickly.)  And once again the tenant appears out of nowhere yelling - you guessed - “officers, officers, that man is trespassing on my property.  I rent that house and haven’t vacated tenancy“.

After speaking with the officers I lock the door and the tenant is outside the gate so I approach her with the papers and she takes off running and I’m so desperate that I chase after her pleading with her to stop to no avail.Finally I yell out “You win ———, I give up, that’s your place.  You’ve told the police twice your still living there so I’m going down to Child Protective Services with this video and I am going to show them how you live with your two children and the police will be my witnesses that you’re still living there.“I kid you not, that gal stopped dead in her tracks, turned around, and came to me crying buckets of tears, pleading with me not to go to CDS.  She gave me the keys and signed papers on the spot in exchange for my promise not to do as I threatened.

What a relief!Are you sure you want to be a landlord? 

If you have property in the Fresno area that you need to sell or rent call me.  I can help.
 © Randy “Lazarus” McAtee
    Owner/Broker Lazarus Realty
    559-301-1647
    email me

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Part I

Part II

BEWARE WATER DAMAGE:

Story 2

I had the house rented to a tenant that for all intents and purposes was a good tenant: rent paid on time; trouble free tenancy.

When the tenant moved out I noticed a small leak in the bathroom at the shutoff valve under the stool.  The tenants never bothered to inform about this problem and the water was soaking in where the floor meets the wall.  The caulking around the tub was also faulty and this water, and water that escaped the tub when they bathed the kids, had soaked through under the tub.  The end result was serious water damage.

I had to remove the toilet and tub/shower, tear out the floor, replace all the damaged sub-floor structure and then replace tub, toilet, and install new linoleum.

Story 3

House was rented to good tenants who took care of the home and paid the rent on time.  Whenever there was a problem they would call me and explain the problem and usually they would take care of it themselves and deduct it from the rent. 

One day I drove by the house to check on things and noticed the hose bib on the front porch was shooting out tiny but constant stream of water.  I spoke with the tenant about it and he said he would pick up a hose bib at the hardware store and take care of it.  So what’s a hose bib cost?  Less than $5.00.  Anyway, I never gave it a second thought.  My bad!

About 6 months later when the tenants moved out I went down to check on things and found that he never did put in a new hose bib.  The wood skirting on the entire left front of the porch was rotted as a result.  Not a big deal really.  But when I tore it off I found out that the beam under it that supported the entire front of the house was also rotted.  I had to go to a specialty lumber store to get a beam sized to match the old house.  Then I had to go rent house jacks to jack the house up.  Then I had to get a crew of helpers together to jack up the house and replace the beam.  I would dread to think what a contractor would have charged me to do the above.  All because of hose bib that could have been replace for next to nothing!

________________________

If you’re stuck with a home that you have to sell or rent call me – I can help.

© Randy “Lazarus” McAtee
    Owner/Broker Lazarus Realty

    559-301-1647
    email me

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Well, maybe you don’t want to be, but you’re in the position that I mentioned in Part 1 of this Series.

Before you take the plunge, allow me to share a few stories with you: nothing fabricated; all TRUE.  How do I know? They are mine, and mine alone to tell J

Story #1

I get a call from  Susie (not her real name) enquiring about my house for rent .  I must emit  “soft touch” radar, because the next thing I know Susie is appealing to my Christian charity and asking me to save her and her child from homelessness.  I should have ended it right there.  I knew from what she told me that she couldn’t qualify under any traditional guidelines.  It wasnt long before I took pity on poor Susie and told her I would rent to her if her parents would be willing to meet with me and co-sign a contract.

Her parents, who obviously didn’t want Susie living with them, agreed to co-sign for her rent payments.  Whew!  Ok, so I figure if I rent to her I shouldn’t have any problems, at least collecting the rent.  Partially right, here’s what happened.

Susie paid her rent on time and took good care of the property until…. UNTIL her boyfriend was released from prison.  #1 I had no knowledge of the boyfriend. #2 the boyfriend was not on the Rental Agreement. But I can guarantee you  boyfriend was sharing the house with Susie, who was now not paying rent.  I don’t think Susie’s parents approved of boyfriend because I stopped getting the rent.  

When I went to collect I was greeted by a shirtless, tattooed, guy who obviously had nothing better to do in prison than work out.  If I were to guess where the rent money was –  I would say in his veins. He didn’t look happy; didn’t act happy.  Just asking him for the rent money made my butt pucker.

After they moved out I had to patch a hole in the living room ceiling made by ballistics (translation: it looked like he blew a hole in the ceiling with a shotgun).  I was also told later that while they were living there, a mutual friend who didn’t like how  boyfriend was treating girlfriend, during an argument, shot boyfriend in the leg on the porch.  I had good reason to be uncomfortable when collecting (or trying to collect) the rent.

___________

Check back soon! 
I have plenty more stories to tell.  And if you need help selling or managing your Fresno California property don’t hesitate to call me.  My stories might sound negative but I am POSITVE I can help you. 

© Randy “Lazarus” McAtee

   Owner/Broker Lazarus Realty

   559.301.1647

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HELP! – I CANT SELL MY HOUSE – I NEED TO RENT – NOW WHAT???

Is this your situation? 

• You have your  property listed but no offers

• You cant lower price further without losing money (i.e. I would have to come up with cash to close)

• The mortgage payments are eating you alive.

The first thing you need to is call me educate yourself with the laws regarding Landlords/Tenants. 

You can get plenty of information off the Internet.  This California Courts Self-Help website is good for starters.

WARNING #1:  Having been a landlord I can tell you many tenants KNOW their legal rights; you need to know what your legal responsibilities are.

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