Opinions owners/renters ?

[brockash]

I just wanted to see what others opinions are to our situation. My dh is in the military and we're currently renting a house. We've been renting it for a little over a year. Our contract was up in June, and we received a letter stating that the owner of the home is requesting the rent to increase $25. Today I got a call stating that the owner has requested the property manager to do a "walk through" of the house. It's not a huge deal, as I think we're good renters (we've only called to have 1 thing repaired in the entire year we've lived here) and we keep everything looking good ect., but it is a pita to have to take time out of my day to have her come do this "walk-through." Is it just me, or does it kinda sound like the owner would rather us not rent the house?

I guess I'm mainly confused, because we also own a house in a different state that we also rent out. We've been doing this for a little over 6 years, and had about 4 different renters. We've never requested our property manager to do a "walk-through," and I'd never dream of requesting a rent increase when we have renters living in the home (just for the simple fear of them moving out of the house because of the rent increase, and then the possibility of the house not being rented out for a period of time.) We've raised the rent in between renters, but never while we had renters living there. Our renters (each time) have also requested much more "repair" work, then we have, so I just don't get it
Anyone else rent out a property ever requested a "walk-through?" Is it just something you always do, or was there a reason? What about raising the rent when you have renters?

ETA: When we first signed the contract to rent the house, the house had been sitting empty for over 6 months, so it's not like this area is some kind of jackpot for the owners ect.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I have to say that is a first for me to hear of that but I never rented a house, only apts.

As far as raising rent, very common to have rent raised.

 

[simba20]

I lived in a small complex of about 8 condos, we rented for 2 years, and then upon year 3 and renewal of the lease, the owners wanted to do a walk-through -- to which they were also raising the rent.

Then about halfway through year 3, we realized that we needed to get out to save money so we contacted the owners and told them our situation. They told us they would try to find renters for us, and also did a walk-through at that time, however we were there another few months until renters were found.

I could go on about those condos. They were nice, brand new,a nd at the time time could sell for around $100,000. However, the owners (a husband and wife) did not know anythign about apartment management. We needed several things to be fixed, and their standard reply was "Well, you could go to Lowe's and buy......" and that's how we, as renters, ended up with a Lowe's credit card living in BRAND NEW construction.

 

[Luvchefmic]

I had been a renter most of my life so the raising the rent at the end of the contract/lease is something that has happened sometimes .in your case .esp. $25.00..I don't think its too bad.

About the walk-thru though, I would call them back & ask "Why?" because that's usually done when moving out to get security back......they do know you're staying ..right?

 

[brockash]

I had been a renter most of my life so the raising the rent at the end of the contract/lease is something that has happened sometimes .in your case .esp. $25.00..I don't think its too bad.

About the walk-thru though, I would call them back & ask "Why?" because that's usually done when moving out to get security back......they do know you're staying ..right?

The property manager just said the owner had "requested" it. I assume they know we're staying for the time being. I'd have to give a 30 day written notice if we're moving out (which we haven't,) however we're also not going to sign a new lease. The lease will just renew each month (I actually called just to make sure it worked the same with them as it does with the house the we rent out.) I don't know it just seems odd to me. I know $25 isn't a huge deal, and it's definitely not worth the hassle of moving, but that plus the requested walk-through thing, just almost seems like they'd rather us not be here

 

[Luvchefmic]

Oh I wouldn't try to guess at why anyone wants something or is thinking something..you may be way off track...I would just call & ask, it may have nothing to do with you at all... who knows

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

We are also a military family in the same situation - we own a home in MD that we are renting out and we are renting a home in GA where we are moving this summer.

As landlords we hired a property management company to handle our home in MD since we will be almost a thousand miles away. It states in our contract with our property manager that he will physically do a walk thru of the area before renewal of the tenants lease. It is nothing personal against the renters but just a CYA for all of us. The property manager will just be looking for any major damage or neglect before renewing the lease. Just because you haven't made any requests for service or had any complaints doesn't mean that you are a tenant that we would want to renew. For all we know you could have a meth lab, be a candidate for the next episode of hoarders or be harboring animals that are forbidden in the lease (just using extreme examples - I know you wouldn't do that!).

As renters YES it is a PITA to have someone come thru and inspect but I am sure if you read your lease it is in there somewhere in the fine print. This doesn't mean you have to scrub the house down and make it "show ready" but just let the property manager in to inspect for anything that is amiss since he is just doing his job. The owners of the house are paying the property manager to look after their property and he is just doing what they have asked him to do and what he is contractually obligated to do.

Again, don't take it personally. It doesn't reflect on you as a tenant at all.

 

[Luvchefmic]

makes perfect sense re-walk thrus & I forgot to say it before but now I have 2 of you to say it to...Thank you for your families service (and yes the whole family serves ) to our country.

 

[barkley]

We are also a military family in the same situation - we own a home in MD that we are renting out and we are renting a home in GA where we are moving this summer.

As landlords we hired a property management company to handle our home in MD since we will be almost a thousand miles away. It states in our contract with our property manager that he will physically do a walk thru of the area before renewal of the tenants lease. It is nothing personal against the renters but just a CYA for all of us. The property manager will just be looking for any major damage or neglect before renewing the lease. Just because you haven't made any requests for service or had any complaints doesn't mean that you are a tenant that we would want to renew. For all we know you could have a meth lab, be a candidate for the next episode of hoarders or be harboring animals that are forbidden in the lease (just using extreme examples - I know you wouldn't do that!).

As renters YES it is a PITA to have someone come thru and inspect but I am sure if you read your lease it is in there somewhere in the fine print. This doesn't mean you have to scrub the house down and make it "show ready" but just let the property manager in to inspect for anything that is amiss since he is just doing his job. The owners of the house are paying the property manager to look after their property and he is just doing what they have asked him to do and what he is contractually obligated to do.

Again, don't take it personally. It doesn't reflect on you as a tenant at all.

exactly.

i have a friend whose property managment company is on the hook now for tens of thousands of $$$$. the company was contractualy obligated to do a physical walk through every 6 months. come to find out they did'nt. it was found out when the police busted the house and found dozens of grow lights hanging from the now ruined ceilings, buckled hard wood floors from the drip irrigation system the tenants had installed to water their crops, and a myriad of other damages.

property managment's excuse for not doing it? "they seemed like great tenants, always paid their rent ahead of time, never called in for any repairs"


btw-on the rent increase. some landlords are strictly covering their mortgages and the cost of the property managment company. i know my homeowner's insurance along with my property taxes increased allot more than $25 over the past year.

when i rented i would have been thrilled with only a $25 increase-in the state we lived in it was capped at 10% of the current rent upon each renewed lease-and it was the rare landlord that did'nt increase it to exactly that.

 

[kidshop]

We are military and own a rental house. I probably would not raise the rent on current tenants. Our last tenants were there 4 years with no increase, but I really think $25 is minimal. We use a lawn service and that easily went up $25 in that time!

We manage ourselves, but for the one year we lived away from the house we had a management company. They were required to do the walk through at the renewal. How else do they know what condition the house is in? I've since read that you should request a walk through every 6 months to keep an eye on things. This would probably vary according to your neighborhood and rent level.

We are close by and my IL's live across the street from the rental (!) so we are around. I wasn't in the house much the past 4 years, but at least once a year....yes, absolutely! A house in a very big investment and I want to keep and eye on it. Paying on time is not the only requirement of a renter. What if they have 5 dogs in there and punched holes in all the walls? I don't know, so I want to see it occasionally. It is not personal, and I am not nit picky. We are looking for glaring problems/issues with our house.

Btw our lease states that we can come by anytime for any reason with notice.

 

[Art 1]

If I owned a house for rent I would want to do a walk thru each month or so.

 

[trip]

If you are changing from a year long lease to a month to month - that could be the reason for the increase. Short term leases usually cost more than long term ones.

 

[merryweather20]

We are military and own a rental house. I probably would not raise the rent on current tenants. Our last tenants were there 4 years with no increase, but I really think $25 is minimal. We use a lawn service and that easily went up $25 in that time!

We manage ourselves, but for the one year we lived away from the house we had a management company. They were required to do the walk through at the renewal. How else do they know what condition the house is in? I've since read that you should request a walk through every 6 months to keep an eye on things. This would probably vary according to your neighborhood and rent level.

We are close by and my IL's live across the street from the rental (!) so we are around. I wasn't in the house much the past 4 years, but at least once a year....yes, absolutely! A house in a very big investment and I want to keep and eye on it. Paying on time is not the only requirement of a renter. What if they have 5 dogs in there and punched holes in all the walls? I don't know, so I want to see it occasionally. It is not personal, and I am not nit picky. We are looking for glaring problems/issues with our house.

Btw our lease states that we can come by anytime for any reason with notice.

It may say that in your lease, but legally in Florida you still must give at least 12 hours notice.

 

[akcire]

We are landlords, in our tenants leases it give us the right to do a walk thru every 6 months. It is very infrequent that we exercise the option. I did do it one time, when I did not have a maintenance request from a tenant for over 18 months--turned out my tenant started dating a carpenter, anything that broke he just fixed. Since the guy did such good work (as in better than me), I told him anything that breaks to just let me know the repair costs, and I would gladly cover materials. He did quite a few nice upgrades to that apartment.

My guess is your landlord is new or stupid. It is not worth $300 a year to raise your rent. If the house is vacant for a week, he will lose more money than that--heck advertising may cost that amount. I would probably send a note back to the property managers, that they are welcome to do the walk-thru and give them a couple of times it is convenient for you, however I would tell them the rental increase has you considering looking for a new place. See if you can scare them into keeping your rent the same, but if not, like you said it's not worth moving for $300.

 

[tonilea]

The walk through may not have anything to do with you at all. They could have had a bad experience in the past. Or even a recent problem with another rent home (or heard something) and thought "We should do that more often!" Probably has nothing to do with you.

 

[rparmfamily]

I'm a landlord (similiar situation...we are military and we live in HI and our home is in FL.) I think a $25 a month isn't bad, I wouldn't do it on good tenents and I absolutely think the walk-thru is normal and in fact, vital to the landlord/owner.

Yeah, my last tenent had a "small dog under 25 lbs" on the lease...they had 3 huge pit bulls who destroyed my carpet, fencing, yard, and doors/baseboards. FUN.

 

[golfgal]

We own rental property and we do "walk throughs". Usually we are doing things like replacing smoke detector batteries or fixing something but we are also checking the place out to make sure things are in order. As far as raising rent, that is pretty standard and $25 isn't a big deal. If you are good renters and keep the place up it isn't a big deal.

 

[brockash]

Thanks for everyone's replies. The property manager is coming this morning. Like I said it's not really a big deal (just more of a pain to have to schedule a time to be here,) but I guess I just found it very odd, as we've never requested a walk-through in the 6+ years we've been renting out the home we own. From pp's though, it does make sense to do them...I never really thought of ppl. having meth labs ect., so I think we should consider having our property manager start doing a walk-through every once in a while at our home as well. Thanks!

 

[disneychrista]

Every place I have rented had a maintenance walk through once a year. They aren't spying on you, they are just making sure everything is in working order. It is cheaper to fix a small problem then to wait for it to be a big problem.

And of course rent was raised annually.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Thanks for everyone's replies. The property manager is coming this morning. Like I said it's not really a big deal (just more of a pain to have to schedule a time to be here,) but I guess I just found it very odd, as we've never requested a walk-through in the 6+ years we've been renting out the home we own. From pp's though, it does make sense to do them...I never really thought of ppl. having meth labs ect., so I think we should consider having our property manager start doing a walk-through every once in a while at our home as well. Thanks!

It's a good idea just to protect your investment.

OT question for all of you other military owners out there - how did you market your home for rent? Are there other resources out there for advertising your property other than AHRN and Craigslist that got results?