This article is transcribed from Episode 19 of The Accidental Landlord. Listen to the full episode here.
WELCOME, LAUREN! LET'S START WITH HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN RENTING.
I've been renting for about seven years now. I've rented in college towns, bigger cities, through property management companies, and self-managing landlords, so I think I have a wide perspective on renting a property now.
LAUREN WORKS REMOTELY FOR RINCON. SHE IS A LITTLE BIT OF A NOMAD. IS THAT INTENTIONAL?
I would say intentional but also unplanned. I like to go where life takes me. Right now, I'm going to be in Minnesota for the summer, and I will keep you posted after that.
HAVE YOU HAD ANY NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES AS A TENANT? MAYBE MAINTENANCE ISSUES?
One of the experiences that stood out to me while I've been renting was that I rented from a smaller landlord while I was in college and had roommates. I understand how sometimes college students are a challenge for landlords. However, he wanted to check on the property constantly. In Minnesota, we were allowed to have pets in the house, but we decided not to. Still, he would come up and check if there were any animal footprints in the snow to see if we had an undocumented pet. So, I think just the level of him checking up on us was a different level of introduction on renting for me.
HOW OFTEN WOULD HE DO THAT?
I would say every week, at least during the winter. During the Summer, everything would be fine if people were picking up after their pets. Unfortunately, there were no tracks easy to see.
I WOULD SAY THAT ONCE A WEEK IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD RECOMMEND TO OUR LANDLORDS. HOW LONG DID YOU STAY ON THAT PROPERTY?
I decided to leave after that, because of the surprise visits. That also happened with maintenance. We would have surprise visits from them to check up on things, even though we didn't report anything. I think it was just a communication problem, there wasn't a big problem going on, but still, it was uncomfortable. After that, I started looking for something else with less supervision.
you PROBABLY FELT LIKE AN INVASION OF PRIVACY WAS THAT A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR TO YOUR MOVING OUT?
It was clear that he just cared a lot about his property. But, I would say it was the main contributing factor.
If you want to learn more about some mistakes, the landlords make with their tenants, listen to the full episode here.
