landlords: read this article

[ladykemma2]

my goodness, this article left me speechless.

Reader Story: The Other Side of Bankruptcy

[sunshine]

Only too true. . . been there, done that - with variations of course.

[porembam]

Thanks for sharing

[mek42]

Wow. <speechless pause>

Back when I did my bankruptcy many years ago it never occurred to me to even think about screwing with my landlord like this.

The author of the article might be able to land the perpetrators in prison if she really wanted to for fraud, especially mail fraud, if the perpetrators filed any documents related to the spurious bankruptcy by mail. Not sure if I'd be able to separate vengeance from civic concern in this situation though.

I think this article is or everyone here, not just landlords. Thanks for posting the link!

[Greebo]

A good cautionary tale and why I tell people NOT to stumble into being a landlord.

[Incognito]

A very good article, and I really enjoyed all the comments below the article from people representing both sides of the picture.

I've rented for 30 years in government subsidized-housing in Canada, and in my budget the rent-money has always been #1 priority. Then too, I fix up the place often at my own cost, and I've improved the unit and grounds during my tenancy at every place I've lived in.
I've earned my living by teaching hundreds of music students in my rented units through the years. And I have been re-housed several times into larger or smaller units (due to unit-size regulations) while raising my children.

My problem is getting the landlord to do repairs which should be done, and nowadays there's so much BS with the higher-ups, they can stall repairs indefinitely. I see many tenant-neighbours come and go; some are excellent, decent and honest; some are immature, messy and troublesome. I have no sympathy for the con-artist tenants; if they're smart enough to fool everybody and take advantage of the system, they're smart enough to earn an honest living.

I just have one question about the article: how much rent was the landlord charging per month? I find it hard to understand why they couldn't find reputable tenants, but then again, with so many problems with the economy and personal debt, maybe people have become more dishonest and cagey. It's too bad.

[frugalfranny]

Very interesting read..........thanks for posting it.

Parts of it sounded like been there, done that to me too!! I, too, have gotten much smarter and more hard nosed as time has passed and I ran into the AH of the world!

This line raised my eyebrows and gave me 'pause'.......but whatever!

My husband chose one with a lot of units that we saw at court every time we were there.

[Greebo]

My problem is getting the landlord to do repairs which should be done, and nowadays there's so much BS with the higher-ups, they can stall repairs indefinitely.

Go to rent court. Ask to have the rent put in escrow until the repairs are done. That is, around here, the LEGAL method of withholding rent if repairs aren't done.

[annymoll]

Bankruptcy screws alot of people. The first thing we always hear is to quit paying the medical bills.As if we had no bills to pay.I want so much to say ," No, don't pay the rent".And I would say that...... as long as it's not my rentals. We have rentals as well, but leased with first and last months, plus security deposit up front.No holding over . Helps a little. It's always something and problems are endless.Such is life.

[pinetree]

Just got out of one of those...with variations,, cost a fortune to fix and going to take along time to get caught up from it.

[Incognito]

Thanks Greebo, but that's treading dangerous ground here. Every year, when I sign my lease, I tremble because the squeaky wheel doesn't always get the grease, sometimes it gets thrown out.
Besides, I have no access to transportation to said recourses.
My options are the Ambudsman and Public Health Authorities, and even in those cases there is travel and time required to deal with it, and I'm just not a well person now.

The last time I had to get major repairs done, I was lucky enough to be teaching the daughter of the Public Health Co-ordinator, so I called her to get involved and she sent out the health inspector. My unit maintenance supervisor was late in coming to the appointment (as usual), so the health inspector arrived half an hour early at my unit. So, I had plenty of time to show him the many years of annual unit inspections papers I had on file (with all of the repairs needed); as well as the building's major repairs issues--the main one being the leaky bathroom fittings upstairs discharging water into the kitchen ceiling below. When the maintenance supervisor finally appeared, he BS'ed and denied the entire list of repairs I wanted done. Finally, the health inspector reached up to the kitchen ceiling and poked it with his finger. A large sodden part of the bulging, wet, kitchen ceiling broke away and fell down onto the maintenance supervisor's head and the kitchen floor. He didn't even blink. That should have proved the point, but their position is immovable, so even then there was no acknowledgement.

The health inspector made a long list of repairs that needed to be done on his report, but because it's government-housing, the government has its own regulatory protection in place. Eventually, some of the repairs got done, but the big problem was a leaking roof. A few years later when the bathroom fan died, they sent an electrician to replace it. When he installed the new fan, he saw daylight where the fan exhaust chute went through the roof. I got him to go up on the roof and caulk it around the vent. And that's the way it goes around here. And dealing with their BS bugs me as much as dealing with the maintenance issues, because I can't stand liars.

Go to rent court. Ask to have the rent put in escrow until the repairs are done. That is, around here, the LEGAL method of withholding rent if repairs aren't done.