# Tenents...Rantabout



## cmzaha (Jul 2, 2017)

I really dislike what tenants an do to a house. Along with taking care of the parents I now have to get my rental house back to rentable shape. The friggin tenents painted 16 feet of tiled counters that go a lot up the wall.  :headbanging: When they moved in it was new tile. Today I spent r hrs peeling paint off the tile. Tomorrow I will use paint remover. Would love to strangle them. But  the plus side I had them for 16 yrs. Tomorrow hubby gets to replace broken Windows and place is filthy. The wife is a head nurse and teaches. You would think she would be clean.


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## lenarenee (Jul 2, 2017)

Aren't they supposed to return the house in the condition/color/etc that is was initially rented?  Can you charge them for fixing it?

....and....they painted tile...???:headbanging:


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## Cindy2428 (Jul 2, 2017)

So sorry you have to add a big headache like this to an already complicated life. Cyberspace hug your way...


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## cmzaha (Jul 2, 2017)

lenarenee said:


> Aren't they supposed to return the house in the condition/color/etc that is was initially rented?  Can you charge them for fixing it?
> 
> ....and....they painted tile...???:headbanging:


No you cannot charge for fixing it, only keep the security deposit. After 16 yrs you cannot expect it to be like it was, but paint the tile...drives me nuts


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## earlene (Jul 2, 2017)

I never understood the painting of tile trend.  When I lived in California, I had a friend who painted the tile on her kitchen counters.  A few months later, the paint was peeling and so unsightly.  I'm sure the clean up is horrendous.  Who ever came up with such a crazy idea?

Anyway, I am so sorry you are going through this on top of everything else.  I had tenants who were a nightmare in my Condo for awhile and it was so much work getting the place livable again when they finally vacated. It made me heartsick to see what they had done to the home where I had lived and loved for so many years.

Oh, yeah, and the deposit doesn't always cover the costs.  To get the additional expense for repairs from the tenants in California, at least, is very hard.  It would require taking them to court and winning.  The tenant laws are very protective of tenants, and rightly so, but still, it makes it very difficult for the landlord to find reasonable recourse when the tenants trash the property.


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## jewels621 (Jul 2, 2017)

My heart aches for you.....something positive will come out of this somehow. Remember to take time for yourself during these trials.


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## babysoapmaker (Jul 3, 2017)

Where I live, there is a certain amount of "wear and tear" that is expected to happen to a rental property over time (and landlords are not supposed to withhold from the deposit for this, only for damage above and beyond). But painted tiles and broken windows are just.  I thought you weren't allowed to paint any part of a rental without getting permission first, just like doing renos etc. As for the windows, how long were they living in a house with broken windows and being OK with that?


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## BrewerGeorge (Jul 3, 2017)

Vibes


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## cmzaha (Jul 4, 2017)

babysoapmaker said:


> Where I live, there is a certain amount of "wear and tear" that is expected to happen to a rental property over time (and landlords are not supposed to withhold from the deposit for this, only for damage above and beyond). But painted tiles and broken windows are just.  I thought you weren't allowed to paint any part of a rental without getting permission first, just like doing renos etc. As for the windows, how long were they living in a house with broken windows and being OK with that?


 Not missing Windows just cracked. Lol, my house that mymom. Calls my tree house has missing glass panels from the lourve Windows. Gets chilly in the winter. :think: My painted tile is what irks me. I grew up with rentals since my parents had several apartment buildings and I thought I had seen everything that can happen. But never painted tile


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## cmzaha (Jul 18, 2017)

earlene said:


> I never understood the painting of tile trend.  When I lived in California, I had a friend who painted the tile on her kitchen counters.  A few months later, the paint was peeling and so unsightly.  I'm sure the clean up is horrendous.  Who ever came up with such a crazy idea?
> 
> Oh, yeah, and the deposit doesn't always cover the costs.  To get the additional expense for repairs from the tenants in California, at least, is very hard.  It would require taking them to court and winning.  The tenant laws are very protective of tenants, and rightly so, but still, it makes it very difficult for the landlord to find reasonable recourse when the tenants trash the property.


You are very correct Earline, the laws protect the tenant not the landlord. She did not even ask for her deposit back, but back 16yrs ago it was a measly $700. 

Wear and tear is considered, but painted tile does not come under the heading and pea soaked hardwood floors either. We are still trying to get out the odor before we re-floor the house. Hubby and I have been working 13 hrs a day since my original posting. We have been painting for 1.5 weeks and thinking we are to old for this... It is not a large house but it has a gazillion cabinets, what it loses in square footage it gains in storage. I am talking floor to ceiling cabinets with 25 cabinet doors alone to paint and clean. Oh yes, did I mention the roach dropping in the kitchen drawers that I have to deal with before I get the exterminator out to treat for fleas and roaches, and she is a high up RN at St. Judes. In my 13 years of living in the house, I did not fight roaches. Unbelievable. THIS is NOT normal wear and tear  :headbanging:

By the way the heading was supposed to say Rant not Rantabout. Not sure how my tablet came up with rantabout


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## Millie (Jul 18, 2017)

cmzaha said:


> By the way the heading was supposed to say Rant not Rantabout. Not sure how my tablet came up with rantabout


I like it, gotta start using it. "She's gone off on a rantabout, bless her heart."


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## SgtSluggo (Jul 18, 2017)

Keeping renters for 16 years in a house is actually pretty good.  Would have been a lot worse probably had you had to change tenants every couple of years.  I don't understand the renters attitude though.  We rented for a little bit and did even hang pictures with anything but command strips.   I suggest either requiring a bug/exterminator contract or including one in the price of rent.  That is what several people I know do and they say it prevents a lot of headaches.  

I kind of like Rantabout. Seems like a rant that isn't going to go on forever.


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## cmzaha (Jul 18, 2017)

^^^ They will have to pay for it them self if they want to keep a contract going, since we already lowered the rent. We will have the exterminator out and see what they say. I have cleaned and worked on rentals since I was little when my mom had several apartments. Yes 16 yrs is a long time, but they could have control the buggies themselves once we get them under control. This was my first house that I have owned since 1972 and never had bug problems.


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## earlene (Jul 18, 2017)

The only way I was able to get the cat-urine odor out of my hardwood floors way back when, was to have them sanded.  I hired someone to sand them and it only took a few hours for the one room.  Then I refinished the floor and sealed it.  No more odor.  I don't know what the cost would be now, as this was in the 1970's when I hired someone (in California) and it wasn't bad back then.  But that's about 45 years ago, so I'm sure the cost would be a lot more now.

But I have also done the same work myself on my own with no help (not for urine smell this time though) and I have to say, if I ever need it done again, I will not do it myself.  It is very hard work.  It took me several weeks to sand and refinish only one floor which was in an even smaller room than the one I had done in my first house in California.  It looks beautiful, but the work is just too hard these days for an old lady like me!


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## cmzaha (Jul 18, 2017)

We redid out hardwood floors when we purhase the home we are in now. We rented the big wander and I remember it was tricky to use, but my hubby did a beautiful job. They have lasted since 1985.


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## BattleGnome (Jul 19, 2017)

earlene said:


> The only way I was able to get the cat-urine odor out of my hardwood floors way back when, was to have them sanded.



Cat urine is no match for hydrogen peroxide, supposedly it kills the enzymes that make it stick. I know it's too late for your floors but the $.88 bottle has saved me many blankets


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## cmzaha (Jul 20, 2017)

BattleGnome said:


> Cat urine is no match for hydrogen peroxide, supposedly it kills the enzymes that make it stick. I know it's too late for your floors but the $.88 bottle has saved me many blankets


Thankyou for the suggestion. It may at least help get the odor out so going to try some. How long do you leave the peroxide on before washing it off? 

I also forgot to mention the roach infestation & flea which is going to cost at least $500 to get under control. Not sure how people live under such conditions, I never had a roach problem when I lived in the house. The women could have let me know and we would have had pest control out. She was filthy dirty.


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## toxikon (Jul 20, 2017)

There's also a great enzyme cleaner you can buy called "Nature's Miracle" - it gets rid of the scent really well.


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## cmzaha (Jul 20, 2017)

toxikon said:


> There's also a great enzyme cleaner you can buy called "Nature's Miracle" - it gets rid of the scent really well.


Tried it and it did not work. Years ago Nature's Miracle was a different formula and it did work well. A few years ago I was able to find the original but not lately. Thankyou for the reminder. I know one is still labeled as the original but I am not so sure.


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## toxikon (Jul 20, 2017)

cmzaha said:


> Tried it and it did not work. Years ago Nature's Miracle was a different formula and it did work well. A few years ago I was able to find the original but not lately. Thankyou for the reminder. I know one is still labeled as the original but I am not so sure.



That's unfortunate! I haven't used it since about 5 years ago when my dog was a pup. Too bad they changed the formula.


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## BattleGnome (Jul 20, 2017)

cmzaha said:


> Thankyou for the suggestion. It may at least help get the odor out so going to try some. How long do you leave the peroxide on before washing it off?



I wait till it stops foaming. If it's around a litter box I usually give it a second wash for the just in case. Clothing gets soaked overnight in enough liquid to cover it (usually 1:1 with water). 

I "adapted" it from the attached recipe. Mostly I was just too lazy to mix it all up and needed a quick solution.


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## earlene (Jul 20, 2017)

OMG, an RN!  I am so ashamed/appalled!  Well, I hope she doesn't give you as a reference when looking for a new rental anytime soon.


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