tenant problem

guest at July 9, 2008 6:06 PM: You just love to nitpick, don't you? You must be really fun to live with. Yes, I have a lawyer who was referred by a friend, but I'm open to other recommendations. Do you hire the first person you talk to?

guest at July 9, 2008 6:30 PM
"craziness of the unprofessional, cheapass, lazy, non-law-abiding landlords who don't get that being a landlord is a business"
Oh yes, and I'll bet you're a delight as a tenant too.You have no idea what you're talking about, you don't know me, you don't know my building.

Posted by: flora at July 9, 2008 8:00 PM in response to tenant problem

guest at July 9, 2008 3:13 PM: It is insulting, even if I was single, no one had any reason to think I was involved with the tenant. Except maybe a person who has a low opinion of women in general.
"If you would of originally wrote my boyfriend and I repainted the apt."
Is the problem here that you can't read? We didn't repaint the apartment, we repainted his bedroom and we have both worked as housepainters so I do not know what you're ranting about judges throwing gavels.
Current tenant and his ex were both on the lease, my mentioning her does not have any of the hidden meanings your vivid imagination is conjuring up, I do take typing shortcuts & yer jst actng lk a jrk.

guest at July 9, 2008 3:38 PM: Agreed, with or without a medical condition I wouldn't put up with anyone who acted this way. I have already sent him a notice that his rent is going up August 1st, he refused the certified letter. Today I went to the P.O to send a 30 day notice by certified mail and tenant was at the clerks window ranting about renting a P.O. box because his landlady reads his mail. I think he's bipolar or something, but I don't care, I just want him out. Anyone recommend a good L/T attorney?

Posted by: flora at July 9, 2008 4:54 PM in response to tenant problem

"Again I think mentioning "girlfriend" or "ex" several times is good reason to ask if there was an intimate relationship."

No, it isn't. Making weird and insulting accusations that have no basis in reality like the one above is just plain trollish. And sexist, regardless of your gender.

"The fact is the bad paint job happened under his tenancy. It doesn't really matter who painted. The lease holder is responsible."

True.

Posted by: flora at July 9, 2008 12:54 PM in response to tenant problem

Thought I'd check back and see how if anything interesting and useful came up and I see that did not happen.

bxgrl at July 9, 2008 8:24 AM: Thank you for standing up for me, but don't waste your energy on these trolls. People (using the term loosely) who post this kind of nastiness anonymously on the internet are losers who have no power in real life so they get their yayas out getting all aggro on the net.

guest at July 8, 2008 5:57 PM: An affair with my tenant? Sleeping with a tenant? EW! Sleeping with a guy half my age? Double EW! Sleeping with this very unattractive jerk? Beyond Ew-y!!!
Perhaps you yourself sleep around with tenants, but I am not that kind of person. And yes, it is sexist to assume that a woman's problems with another person are based in some kind of girly romantic mess. This is a business relationship that went bad, read a newspaper, it happens all the time.

guest at July 8, 2008 6:33 PM: You just are way off the mark, surmising. conjecturing, and wrong.

guest at July 8, 2008 11:42 PM: More really bad amateur psychoanalysis, do keep your day job. My boyfriend and I painted his bedroom because that is the room he wanted painted. And I've told him 3 times now I want him to move out. Yesterday I wrote up the 30 day notice and am going to the P.O. to send it by certified mail today.

guest at July 8, 2008 11:40 PM: I'm not totally sure what you're ranting about. I typed ex because it's quicker than "former girlfriend" and capping both was just a typo. I actually like his ex, just not her taste in paint colors or her painting skills. Mentioning her is completely relevant because she was the co-tenant on the original lease.

guest at July 9, 2008 1:13 AM: Are you really a landlord? God I hope not because you are insane! I'm not "hiding in my home from this man" and I'm not afraid of him, I just have come to dislike him intensely and avoid talking to him because he's a raging a-hole. The only reason I wrote to this forum is because didn't know whether or not it was legal for a tenant to deduct a purchase from his lease. Instead of an answer, I get all this loony conjecturing from trolls, sheesh.
Repeat, he doesn't scare me, it's just that I really really don't like him and will not put up with anyone yelling at me, ever. Yeah, I have a heart condition, he knows about it, so what? He doesn't give a crap and although I'd rather avoid the stress of an eviction, I'm ready to do it and called an L/T attorney this morning. Oh, and I didn't need to "dig up his lease", I do this thing called keeping organized files. So stop with all this conjecturing, you don't know what you're talking about.

Posted by: flora at July 9, 2008 9:47 AM in response to tenant problem

guest at July 8, 2008 1:22 AM: The issues are far too complicated to explain here, and since you have some kind of problem with artists, you probably wouldn't listen anyway. Let's just say you don't get it and leave it at that.

guest at July 8, 2008 1:35 AM: I raised his rent AFTER the nasty phone calls, nasty emails, threats and harassment, not before. Perhaps you should get the facts before commenting

vanburenproud at July 8, 2008 8:04 AM: Thanks for your input, you do seem to know more about this landlording business than anyone else.
As far as my personality though, I have often been accused of being too direct and blunt, not ambiguous. It might seem that way on this blog though because this is a complicated situation and I don't have time to post all of the details.

bxgrl at July 8, 2008 9:39 AM: I raised his rent after the nasty phone calls, nasty emails, threats and harassment. His girlfriend moved out last fall, so I don't think that's the reason for his current rage, he may have gotten dumped again, but I don't really know.

guest at July 8, 2008 11:35 AM: I've been a landlord for 12 years and never had a situation like this so I have to say your judgmental and hostile post is also completely wrong, without bothering to address the rest of your insults, except to say I *totally* agree that you lack the needed skills to be a landlord.

guest at July 8, 2008 12:05 PM: I'm noticing that all the real jerks sign in as "guest".
I. I did paint before he moved in.
2.I do buy my own supplies.
3.Oh yes there can be "just one mouse",there was only one in 12 years, I caught it in a sticky trap and there has not been a single mouse in the building since then, over a year ago.
4. I didn't refuse to give him a lease, just didn't give him one, and he didn't ask for one. Thank god didn't, it would be much harder to get him out if he had a lease.
5. Normally I raise the rents $50 per year, except when need to make a market adjustment, or I want a tenant to move.
6. I never said they did.
7. You haven't seen the apartment, for the most part it looks fine and I am totally willing to repaint the areas that need it, but the tenant has to cooperate, which he does not.
8. You really do not know what you're talking about.
9. Ditto. I'm laughing out loud at this one, Just because I'm lucky enough to have work that I love doesn't mean I don't have to work for a living, I work very hard.

guest at July 8, 2008 12:14 PM: You've never had a landlord as good as me, ever.

guest at July 8, 2008 12:51 PM: You take things out of context and twist the truth.

guest at July 8, 2008 1:08 PM: agreed

bxgrl at July 8, 2008 1:31 PM: Good points.

guest at July 8, 2008 1:47 PM: Wrong again. I have tried to talk to the tenant, when I do, he yells. gets right in my face in a threatening way, insults me, makes b.s. accusations and threats. So I stopped. I have told him I'd be happy to talk to him if he can be reasonably calm and civil, but he can't.
And you're totally wrong about my source of income, the building is actually losing money because of major improvements I made. My art is my source of income.

bxgrl at July 8, 2008 1:53 PM: right again

guest at July 8, 2008 2:41 PM: So pathetic that when you disagree with someone and basically have nothing at all useful to say, you just resort to name calling.

Okay, kids, I'm done here. My original question, can the tenant deduct this money from his rent, was not answered here, but by the housing court.
And my second question, what would you landlords do if you had a nasty tenant who refused to pay rent, was never answered by anyone.
I realize that these forums are infested with flamers like the rest of the internet so I expected a lot of stupid, pointless insulting posts, and I was not disappointed.
But I also heard some thoughtful responses from people and I thank you all.

Posted by: flora at July 8, 2008 4:00 PM in response to tenant problem

Thanks bxgrl, mediation is a possibility. This tenant either has to straighten up or he's out, no question. I would offer mediation but I doubt if he'll go. And I seriously doubt if he'd file an hp for the same reason-he works 80 hours a week and wouldn't take the time. I already served him with a rental agreement rider notice that his rent is going up 350.00 August first, I returned the rent check he gave me today, refusing to accept it because the amount was incorrect. The reason I'm going to hire a management company is not that I'm afraid of my tenants, it's that I don't want to spend my time doing crap like this. My purpose in life is making art, not squabbling with aggro yuppies. And vanburenproud, I know what you mean, the man I bought this place from was going into foreclosure because he was just too nice. The tenants here were paying nothing, he tried to raise their rent $50 and they all screamed, so he backed down, and couldn't keep up his mortgage payments.When I bought this place, th first thing I did was get rid of those tenants, and I will do the same with this guy if he doesn't straighten out immediately. Like I said before, I'd rather not go through an eviction, but I'll do what I have to do.

Posted by: flora at July 8, 2008 1:09 AM in response to tenant problem

"I had the same deal w the landlord"
Key word here is deal. I had no such deal with my tenant. Thanks to everyone for all your input, sincerely, it's interesting to hear the different takes on this. Just one last question
I do have a good lawyer, don't feel that it's quite come to that point yet, but if the tenant doesn't calm down and pay his rent, I'll let the lawyer handle it. I also think I'm going to hire a management company and not deal with the tenants at all going forward.
Just one last question to the fellow landlords here: if you had a tenant who threatened to withhold rent to force you to do work in his/her apartment that you actually are not required to do, or not able to do as soon as they are demanding, how would you respond to the threat to withhold rent?

Posted by: flora at July 7, 2008 6:32 PM in response to tenant problem

I agree that I am partly responsible for this situation, because I didn't keep the L/T relationship 100% business, I've been too friendly with the tenants and have learned my lesson.
But some incorrect assumptions are being made here. I did agree to let him paint because he assured me that he had painting experience, would let me approve the colors, and would do a good job. He also didn't like the color the EX painted and commented that the work was poorly done (it was). I painted his bedroom myself.
I see now that things should have been discussed more clearly, but his approach is not conducive to good communication. It doesn't always take two to tango, some people are perfectly capable of solo performances.
The tenant is hardly stressed for money, he makes a very good salary and is from money as well. That isn't what this is about, it's a power play. One cannot deal logically with a person who's being irrational.

Posted by: flora at July 7, 2008 4:06 PM in response to tenant problem

I painted his bedroom. His ex painted the ugly color in the *living room*. Maybe we need to learn better blog communication skills?
There has been some miscommunication here, but I don't think it was so much on my part as the tenants. Looking back, I suspect that by asking me what kind of paint he should buy before doing so, he really may have been hinting that he wanted me to paint his place. But he didn't say so and I'm not a mind reader.
There's a lot more to this than I previously posted, it's looooooong. First, right after he and the Ex moved in, I was fixing something in their kitchen and noticed how crappy the paint looked. I offered to repaint their kitchen, more than once, and they kept saying "No, we want to paint ourselves". So when he asked me about buying the paint, why would I assume anything but that he wanted to paint himself, as previously stated?

Posted by: flora at July 7, 2008 2:38 PM in response to tenant problem

Yes, vanburen, he is definitely having issues. His hostile emails to me are full of overblown statements like this:
"When we had a rodent infestation in the building you REFUSED to pay for an exterminator!"
We had a mouse. Once. One scrawny pathetic little mouse, which I caught in a sticky trap. My response to that accusation was calm and factual.
And Johnny, I have already mentioned this flexiblity to him in response to one of his bullying emails. When he sent me an email on June 24 and said if I didn't paint his entire apartment by July 1, he'd withhold rent, I calmly replied that if he didn't pay rent I would evict him. When I went up to measure his apartment, he got in my face and told me that he'd spoken to a lawyer and if I evicted him he'd fight.
So you see the situation I'm in.

Posted by: flora at July 7, 2008 2:22 PM in response to tenant problem

Thanks vanburenproud, I have already returned his rent check with a letter of explanation, in his mailbox. I'd rather not have a face to face with him at the moment, he's been an acceptable tenant for two years, but has been raging at me for the past few weeks, so I just need to keep a distance.
I have already told him I have painters coming to look at the job and give me an estimate.
I would prefer to evict him, but I have a heart condition, had a cardiac catheter procedure in May and have to have another one soon, I'd rather not take on the stress of an eviction battle at this time. But I will if I have to.

Posted by: flora at July 7, 2008 1:51 PM in response to tenant problem

Just want to let you all know that I got an answer from housing court. A tenant may not deduct anything from his rent, except by order of a housing court judge. I returned the tenants rent check, explained this to him and told him that I need to see the paint, and have an itemized receipt. I'm not totally sure that 220.00 is excessive, it's a 2 bedroom floor through, the real issue seems to lie elsewhere.
The apartment could use a paint job, but it's not peeling or unsanitary. Part of what makes it look bad is that the tenants former girlfriend painted two walls of the living room a hideous deep color, and the apartment is a mess, needs a good cleaning.

Posted by: flora at July 7, 2008 1:44 PM in response to tenant problem

He's been in the apartment two years, he had a lease the first year but when it expired, I decided to go month to month rather than give him another lease.

Posted by: flora at July 7, 2008 12:58 PM in response to tenant problem

agreed 12:52. But I'll play along.

The weird and insulting accusations are a figment of your imagination. Not one person insulted you here. A simple question was asked and you answered. Don't jump on the "sexist" bandwagon.

If you would of originally wrote my boyfriend and I repainted the apt.. no one would of asked if you had an affair with the tenant. Blame yourself for the confusion because you did in fact mention this guy's "EX" 3 times for reasons still unknown to me. And at the end they were both on the lease and you used the same "typing fast" excuse that Bx conjured up.
Whatever.

Do you think if your boyfriend did a lousy paint job and this crazy tenant was standing in front of a judge he would say "her boyfriend painted the apt"?? Hell no.
He would say the landlord painted it with a straight face!
The judge would ask you to confirm ,and you would say" my boyfriend painted it" he would probably throw the gavel at you. and tenate would take his sweet time to leave without giving you a dime.

I didn't mean to offend any women on this thread I have little girl myself. I would probably lose it if a tenant yelled at her. I might just grab the guy by the neck a force fed him paint soup.

Posted by: guest at July 9, 2008 3:13 PM in response to tenant problem

Flora,

Your tenant is an asshole. Do you really need to deal with this crap given your medical condition? Get your lawyer to inform this f*cktard that the rent is going up 500 bucks a month as of 8/1 and that he can either pay or get out. If you have to, evict him. Just get this idiot out of your house asap.

Posted by: guest at July 9, 2008 3:38 PM in response to tenant problem

guest at July 9, 2008 3:13 PM: It is insulting, even if I was single, no one had any reason to think I was involved with the tenant. Except maybe a person who has a low opinion of women in general.
"If you would of originally wrote my boyfriend and I repainted the apt."
Is the problem here that you can't read? We didn't repaint the apartment, we repainted his bedroom and we have both worked as housepainters so I do not know what you're ranting about judges throwing gavels.
Current tenant and his ex were both on the lease, my mentioning her does not have any of the hidden meanings your vivid imagination is conjuring up, I do take typing shortcuts & yer jst actng lk a jrk.

guest at July 9, 2008 3:38 PM: Agreed, with or without a medical condition I wouldn't put up with anyone who acted this way. I have already sent him a notice that his rent is going up August 1st, he refused the certified letter. Today I went to the P.O to send a 30 day notice by certified mail and tenant was at the clerks window ranting about renting a P.O. box because his landlady reads his mail. I think he's bipolar or something, but I don't care, I just want him out. Anyone recommend a good L/T attorney?

Posted by: flora at July 9, 2008 4:54 PM in response to tenant problem

"Is the problem here that you can't read?"

Oh now your being petty, like it really matters if I wrote apartment instead of bedroom.

I need to learn to read?
Did you already forget that you told us:

"I do have a good lawyer, don't feel that it's quite come to that point yet, but if the tenant doesn't calm down and pay his rent, I'll let the lawyer handle it."

Hello that "point" is here Right now. Stop playing victim on Brownstoner and handle your business.

If this posts is real, That dude will be there for free until November.

Posted by: guest at July 9, 2008 6:06 PM in response to tenant problem

Another example of why it is best, when possible, to not live as a tenant in an owner occupied (or absentee owner)brownstone. While I like the charm of the buildings, as I get older I have less and less patience for the craziness of the unprofessional, cheapass, lazy, non-law-abiding landlords who don't get that being a landlord is a business, and that the relationship is governed by contract (the lease) and the law.

I'm glad to be past that, and, I hope, never again....

Posted by: guest at July 9, 2008 6:30 PM in response to tenant problem

guest at July 9, 2008 6:06 PM: You just love to nitpick, don't you? You must be really fun to live with. Yes, I have a lawyer who was referred by a friend, but I'm open to other recommendations. Do you hire the first person you talk to?

guest at July 9, 2008 6:30 PM
"craziness of the unprofessional, cheapass, lazy, non-law-abiding landlords who don't get that being a landlord is a business"
Oh yes, and I'll bet you're a delight as a tenant too.You have no idea what you're talking about, you don't know me, you don't know my building.

Posted by: flora at July 9, 2008 8:00 PM in response to tenant problem

Nitpick? HA!! Stop sniffing paint lady. You've lost it.

Posted by: guest at July 9, 2008 8:33 PM in response to tenant problem

"Today I went to the P.O to send a 30 day notice by certified mail and tenant was at the clerks window ranting about renting a P.O. box because his landlady reads his mail."

Jeez Flora... Get him out ASAP. He's sounding more and more like a nutjob in the making.

Posted by: guest at July 9, 2008 8:57 PM in response to tenant problem

Which tree did you shake to get this peach?

Posted by: Ysabelle at July 9, 2008 9:45 PM in response to tenant problem

Which tree did you shake to get this peach?

Posted by: Ysabelle at July 9, 2008 9:45 PM in response to tenant problem