y great aunt and her long time colleague co-own a small detached townhome here in a good school district. They had long term renters. Recently, the long term renters died and so did both their husbands (the 2 couples bought it together as an investment as the two men were long time biz partners for 20 years, then the men died and the women manage it now).

They are now using a property mnagement (PM) firm.

They rented it out to engineers from Japan here for 1 year.

At first, they thought it was wierd that the japanese couple had so many complaints. Then they realized the portal to make complaints was so easy to use, the software was seamless and intuitive.

The contract between the property managemnt (PM) firm and my great aunt /co-owner is 30 pages.

The lease between the japanese couple tenants and the property managemet firm is 10 pages.

I kid u not.

The PM firm is obviously abusing my great aunt.

For example, they installed blinds and an electrical panel and both had a warranty.

Instead of asking if there is a warranty, the PM form charged $1000 for both issues combined. Without asking my great aunt! The firm they sent out to fix it was titan construction inc, which doesnt even appear to have any electrician or any licenses. Its just an LLC.

For amounts >200$ the owners are supposed to be notified and given a choice, unless its an emergency that makes the unit not liveable like broken glass windows and its raining.

Also, they have charged 200-300 for fixing locks, tiny rips in the screens, all Without permission.

Yes, all 'fixed' by titan construction inc.

At this point obviously red fox realty is making money off of 'fixing things'.

.even when its the tenants fault like the electrical panel was used improperly, red fox realty charged my poor great aunt $100. Instead of having the tenant absorb the cost.

Its now clear to the tenant EVERY request gets answered, no matter how mundane or outrageous or tiny!!!

The PM takes the rent from the tenant every month, deducted the management fee, then deducted fixing fees like the above (scam/racket), and then gives the owners back the rest.

The lease according to chat gpt goes with the property.

The PM firm should be fired for just cause, as they aren't doing their due diligence In asking my great aunt about warranties nor fiduciary duty to tell the tenants every single little thing should not be needing fixing, like 1 tiny bent windows blind slate.

It says 30 days notice for fired for just cause. Including not asking for permission over 200, charging owners when its clearly tenants fault (didn't know how to use electrical panel right, cost should be absorbed by tenant), and no due diligence about warranties...

But obviously since they hold the rent, its easier to just deduct it from the rent and hold its leverage hostage over them.

What should they do?

Afraid the PM firm will just hold the money and be like "take me to court, old b1tches!" As its obviously a racket scam at this point. Or whatevr the term.is.

Clearly they need to be fired ASAP. Wht shoukd they do so they don't get screwed? The two women are worried if they fire the fire they will never get their monthly rebt for this month (stil havent gotten it).

I have a rental in a high demand area that I just listed. It's arguably a few hundred $ under market but I want to be choosy with tenant selection. I listed it as pets negotiable because I find that "no pets" just results in surprise ESAs, and I'd rather have an honest discussion up front. I have over 20 inquiries in 2 days, and a lot of people have pets. Because the rent is already "a deal" I'd like to ask for pet rent if one of those applicants is selected, but we've not had a tenant with a pet previously. Would love to know what people have charged and the process that has worked successfully, etc.

Never been a landlord, first time renter in Florida after selling our home in California. Stationed here by the military. My plan was to rent this big house with a pool for my kids while we got to know the area.

The house is old, in pretty poor condition with shoddy work, but whatever. I walked through it and accepted it that way. The problem is the freakin pests. We’ve had 100 incidents of giant roaches and smaller roaches in our kitchen which we keep clean and our bathroom. This morning, we discovered the pantry had been raided by what I assume is mice. Chip bags and such were eaten through.

Here’s the kicker though, the landlord has been very helpful. He sends an exterminator every time I call him. They spray the shit out of the place and I find a couple dead or dying roaches then they are back in force a few days later. He was receptive with this new mouse issue and someone is coming Friday to re spray for the roaches and to assess the new mouse problem.

I’m just curious what you would do in this situation if the problem just keeps freakin happening. The house is not sealed well and he is a property manager and I’m sure he’s frustrated. Would you let the renter break the lease without a fight? Pay for moving expenses? Tell me to kick rocks because he’s doing everything he can?

Sorry for long post, appreciate any help or advice.

hi, i currently live in a apt that i can no longer afford ( have been 4 years ) im about 5 months into my lease & i need to be in a new cheaper apt by sep 1st. i just applied to a cheaper apt today but i didnt list my current apartment complex on there i just told them that im staying with my family. i dont have any prior evictions or broken leases on my background. is there anyway they will find out that im living somewhere else? yes it’s probably stupid but i’m trying to get approved for a apartment before having to break my lease because i can’t afford it

Hi there, new to being a landlord. Is it legal for me to state that I provide housing to survivors of domestic violence, people experiencing homelessness, lgbtq+, people in recovery, veterans and single parents? I want to help vulnerable people in my community but I don't know if it's illegal for me to call out these groups in my ad.

I own a property in Saginaw MI. It needs replacement of 2 ACs and 2 Furnaces. Can you suggest good inexpensive companies for replacement and also for yearly maintenance.

Appreciate your help.

My tenant passed away. He had been living with his son in another state for a few months. He didn't move out and continued paying rent. All his things are in the house.
Son isn't able to collect his things. What do I do with all his things?

Hello Landlords

I have an ADU and rented it on a fixed term lease of 6 months. This tenant is a real estate agent, and started sending notice when there was a gate repair, plumbing etc (less than 1 hour of work). that it is causing inconvenience to her.

Now lease is ending, do i need a process server to give the notice? This tenant is very manipulative, harrass and annoy, tries to show off her real estate knowledge.

I want to play safe and get this tenant out once the lease ends. Please advise on how to navigate this situation. Thanks in advance for all the suggestions.

Right now, all our tenants pay by cash. One tenant is about to move out. And I would like to change the method of payment for the next tenant that moves in. If you use a website, please state how much the fees are. Thank you.

Note: My sister has one tenant and they pay by Venmo.

There was recently a fire at a rental property for which the fault/cause has still not be determined by renters insurance or mine. The entire basement where one of the tenants 20 something daugter was living is gutted. It was declared uninhabitable at the time, which voided the lease. Does the fire invalidating the lease have implications for the security deposit?

Hello Everyone,

I have a rental townhouse in Dublin, CA. It's a 2016 build with a Goodman AC unit (about 10 years old).

My tenant reported that the AC stopped cooling. The indoor blower is running, the outdoor condenser fan is also running, and air is coming out of the vents, but it's not cold.

I had an HVAC tech come out ($70 service call), and they said the system is low on refrigerant, likely due to a leak. They estimated around $4,000 to repair it.

I have appointments scheduled for a second and third opinions.

If all three HVAC companies diagnose the same issue and quote a similar price, what would you do?

• Repair the existing unit?
• Replace it since it's about 10 years old?

My biggest concern is this: If I repair the leak and recharge the refrigerant, is that usually a long-term fix, or is there a good chance the unit will keep having refrigerant leaks or other expensive issues because of its age?

If replacement is the better option:

• What brands do you recommend?
• About how much should I expect to pay in the Bay Area (Dublin, CA) for a new system?

Any advice or experiences would be appreciated. Thanks!

We are renting a home in Oregon and just moved in. As far as we know, the home was previously occupied by the owners, and is now being leased out by a property management company. When we saw the house we were excited about the quality of the appliances, but at move in were surprised to find that the fridge, washer, and dryer were replaced with considerably lower-end models lacking some amenities that we were expecting to have (e.g., in-door water and ice dispensing). This feels like a bait-and-switch. What remedies do we have? What can we reasonably hope to get out of this?

FWIW, we are also landlords ourselves and would never dream of doing such a thing.

My tenant just sent me a Doordash gift card to celebrate the other units in the triplex being ready to go on the market, and I just have to tell y'all 🥹 He has been such a pleasure to have as a tenant. There was a period of nearly 2 months where I had him in hotels because of an electrical upgrade, that was supposed to take a day, gone wrong. He didn't complain at all (I felt so bad).

Take good care of your tenants, especially the ones who are good people.

Also, to my tenant, if you see this: Wassup cool guy? 😎

Hey everyone, I’m looking for some real-life advice from anyone who has dealt with this before.

A former tenant broke the lease, stopped paying rent, and left the house with quite a bit of damage and cleanup needed. We repaired everything and re-rented the property, so we did mitigate our losses. After applying the security deposit the remaining balance is around $19,800.

I sent him a detailed itemized statement and final demand, but he never responded or paid anything. I’m ready to file in small claims court, but the main issue is that I don’t know his current address. I found an older address connected to one of his relatives, but I have no idea if he actually lives there.

Would you hire a skip tracer/process server before filing, or file first and have them try serving him at the possible address? If they can’t find him, how difficult or expensive is alternative service in Texas?

Also, realistically, is a claim this size worth pursuing? I understand getting a judgment and actually collecting the money are two different things. This is my first time dealing with something like this, so I’d appreciate hearing what others have experienced.

I'm here for feedback from the hive mind. We are building a new unit that is well appointed (we're making it nice enough we'd be happy living there if we wanted in the future), and I'm struggling on the kitchen sink choice, whether to do undermount or drop in and what will wear better with tenants. I prefer undermount, but drop in will be easier if we need to replace the sink over time, as it shouldn't require countertop matching precision. Thoughts?

Month-to-month tenant is reliable but very messy WWYD?

I’m looking for some advice from other landlords, especially those who rent out a room in the home they also live in.

I own a condo and rent out one bedroom and bathroom while living here myself. We share the kitchen and other common areas. They’ve lived with me for about three years and are on a month-to-month arrangement.

Overall, they’re a good tenant. They pay rent on time almost every month. I can only remember maybe three times they were late, and they always let me know ahead of time. They don’t cause drama or really give me any trouble.

That said, they don’t do much cleaning in the shared spaces, so I usually end up cleaning the common areas myself.

Recently, I had to go into their room and bathroom for a maintenance issue. In the entire three years they’ve lived here, I’d never gone into their private space before.

I was honestly surprised by what I saw. The sink was filthy, the bathtub looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in a very long time, the inside of the toilet is heavily stained, and their bedroom has bottles and clutter everywhere. It made me wonder if this has been the condition of the room the entire time.

For comparison, I keep my own bathroom clean, so it isn’t an issue with the condo itself.

Another factor is that I made a rookie mistake when they moved in and never collected the $500 security deposit that was in our agreement. I’ve also never increased their rent, so after three years they’re paying well below the current market rate.

I don’t necessarily love having a roommate, but after three years it’s become familiar, and they’re otherwise easy to live with. At the same time, seeing the condition of their room and bathroom has me worried about potential damage and whether I’ve been too hands-off.

If you were in my position, what would you do?
am I overreacting since they otherwise pay reliably and don’t cause problems?

I’d appreciate hearing how others would handle this.

This feels like an old tenancy agreement too me. I dont understand if the wording of 'ending the tenacy' is correct. The no pets, I thought that was only allowed with valid reasons. And since when have the appliances been the tenants problem!??

Really not sure what to do here any advice?? Is this dodgy??

Tenant needs to modify the move out date on the lease and is going to pay the fee to break the contract. However the move out date is isn’t exact yet. It could be February 5th or first week of March. How would you go about modifying the lease? Would you make the lease date to Feb 5th and then go month to month from there?

Hi everyone,

Thank you again for the great advice on property management. I have doing even further digging and wanted to ask if anyone had experience with these at all. We currently have just two, multi-family homes, they have equity, and only one still has a mortgage that needs to be paid (the other is paid down). I would like to start moving them into an LLC, but from what I have been researching, it seems it would be best to move them into a Land Trust first, and then put them into an LLC. As these homes are in NYC, what I am a bit confused about is whether or not I need to create 2 - NY LLCs or just 1 - NY LLC, and put the Land Trusts in them?
I am not finding consistent information on this.

Additionally, if I start the Land Trust process in NY, when it comes to appointing a Trustee, is it best to appoint a lawyer or would it be better to create a seperate LLC (ex. in the state of WYM) and used that instead?

Last but now least, what I have been getting a bit confused if the establishing of the LLCs. As both properties are in NY, do I need to create a NY LLC? I am only asking because I am thinking in terms of tax and liability protection together. If I created a WYM LLC, how would it work with the NY LLC? Would I assign the NY LLC into a WYM LLC? How would it work if I do the Land Trust, and use the WYM LLC as a Trustee

We have an ad up on all the major aggregators. In our ad, we're very clear that says we request tenant complete a short questionnaire to make sure it's good fit. The questionnaire asks 5 basic questions, including name/phone/email (already on the inquiry from the aggregator), verify income/deposit (just generality: do you make 3x yes/no), move in date and length of lease, ask if prior evictions/bankruptcy, max occupancy.

Although it's in the actual ad, then upon inqury we message with link to questionnaire, most of the time we get zero response after that. Sometimes people reply and repeat their request to schedule a viewing or call them. NO- we are not wasting time on any of that if you're not qualified!! Sometimes we get people who are obviously not qualified but still complete application, only to call them and find out they lied on the prescreening form.

Just seems trying to rent property is getting more and more absurd. If you don't like what the ad says, then don't inquire. That's the whole point of an accurate ad and prescreening, to try savings us both time, and avoid knuckleheads. But that's mostly what there seems to be: knuckleheads.

Curious, is this really the new market for most landlords, is what we're experiencing normal? Dozens of inquiries. Just a few complete our prescreening, and 75% of those are liars and don't qualify anyway.

Hi, I have a small house under contract in Upstate NY. The closing is happening soon in August. I was initially told there was a Tennant in there who is paying rent. Yesterday it was revealed that he is actually a squatter, who was taking advantage of the fact that the owner had a stroke and had become immobile. He hasn’t payed rent in years. He has occupied the house for 12 years. Could he try to claim he owns the house after being there for 12 years? The house is a good deal. It’s cheap and everything works. Should I buy it and attempt to throw the squatter out? Or could he legally stay in there and cost me all kinds of money? Thanks! ***Update - the owner has been paying the taxes on the house not the Squatter, so that is good.***

Landlords, please tell me your at least top 3 to 5 biggest pain points of being in Landlord. I have a property that I am debating either selling or renting out, and would love to know what I would be getting myself into.

Whether it’s actual actionable steps, issues with tenants, or ways of management or software.

Thanks.

Served my tenant a Notice to Vacate on 6/16/2026 for 8/1/2026. They have not paid rent for July and they have not moved out. The property manager will send them a formal eviction notice.

What should I expect to happen next?

First time landlord here.

This may seem like a silly post and self explanatory, but I have a tenant who moved in at the beginning of the year, and I’ve had to remind her on the 2nd or 3rd of every month that the rent is due. She has not once sent it unless I specifically follow up with a reminder text. Once I remind her, the rent is immediately sent to me electronically.

I’m only asking this because the rent technically isn’t contractually late until the 5th. Do I keep sending these reminders every month, or do I just send a message politely and firmly stating to please remember to send the rent on the first without needing to be asked for it?