Woman upgrades house for $12K and gets evicted by landlord
Woman upgrades house for $12K and gets evicted by landlord
Why the hell would you spend $12k to update a rental property that you don't own? This is more like /c/midllydumbass
I get it to some degree. It's hard renting for decades and not being able to improve where you live. If the person here thought they had a decent landlord and they'd still live there a decade from now, I think it can make sense.
The way to do it is to work in either a rent decrease for X months for the work and materials or lock in a low rent for X years based on the work being done.
Another alternative is to do the above and get the landlord to supply the materials.
I've done it in the past and it has worked out well though usually for minor things (like replacing generic doorknobs with nicer looking ones, replacing a toilet with a better flushing one, or installing a ceiling fan).
Adding insulation to the attic if it's missing in spots can also make sense to do if you're paying the utilities. Though again I would get the landlord to at a minimum to pay for materials or discount it from the rent.
If the upgrades are things that will help make the unit more marketable when you move out, then they'd be dumb to turn it down.
Turns out, she's "never there" so, I'm assuming it's a second home. Like she goes to the area frequently enough that she doesn't want to deal with hotels. Makes this even dumber
https://twitter.com/eade_bengard/status/1696982908022739091?s=20
Nah she dumb
My landlord served notice on me after 13 years, I'm moving home next month. He is a greedy little cunt, constantly tried to pressure me to refurbish his property for him despite me being the tenant. Last time I asked for a minor repair, he immediately notified the letting agent that he would be putting my rent up this coming October. Regardless, I agreed the new price, only to still be served notice on (I assume because he knows he can get a slightly higher rent by getting a brand new tenant in, rather than an increase).
Genuinely though I was tempted to do some redecorating. This is (for now) my home. It sucks living in a rundown home; the wallpaper / carpets in this house afaik are at least 25 years old. But when you get 'too demanding' then you suddenly find yourself out of a home.
One of my neighbors lived in a large 1 bedroom apartment. It was in the family since the 60s. It’s rent stabilized and in a popular area. A decade ago she was paying $850, market value at the time was $2k+. She renovated her kitchen when I lived there…. The downside was that her new upstairs neighbor was a musician and had a full sized piano that he’d practice on daily for hours at a time…
If you know you can't be evicted unless you stop paying rent and the rent is cheap enough, it's not a bad idea to renovate it a bit. I told my friend he should quietly renovate his rental apartment because he hated the kitchen and all the flooring. He was paying $2k under market price, had rent control, and because it's a corporate landlord, they can't evict him unless he misses rent a lot or harasses other tenants.
My friend opted to buy a condo instead, so while his mortgage is more than his rent was, at least he's earning equity and a rising housing market.
Not to this scale, but my partner's father has spent a fair bit of money doing upgrades and repairs that are technically for the landlord. However, I should note that the contract isn't registered, meaning the landlord cannot index the rent. This also makes it hard to hold the landlord responsible for doing any repairs. On the other hand, renter can't be held responsible for modifications either. So legally there is more freedom on either side. Thing is, the renter can always demand registration. But usually this means no renewal of the contract. It's very likely here the property would get sold and even if he brings up the money, it may be sold to someone else. So the short answer is really that people in poverty often don't know or don't dare to stand up for their rights and loopholes like this keep existing because you can get a cheaper rent on a building not up to standards.
What idiot pays for upgrades to a house they're just renting, Jesus wept.
Seriously. The most I'd EVER do is free basic repairs and that's only because my last landlord was my good friend, meaning I was getting a killer deal.
I did that when I had an awesome landlord. I just sent pics about what I was fixing and gave her a price. Then I got my rent reduced by that much.
But that was the only rental property she owned. It was extra money for her, not her primary income. And I paid several hundred less than anyone else in the area according to Zillow.
I did basic repairs at my old place. The rent was well below market and I'd rather do it than have to deal with the landlord's odd schedule.
She could have used that $12k as part of a down payment on her own place.. what on earth is she thinking.
Might've been financed on credit - but even still, it takes a lot more than $12k for a down payment.
Assuming the median price for a home is $500k, you'd need $100k for a traditional 20% down payment. Sure, $12k is 12% of the way there... but it's nowhere near what is needed for an actual down payment.
You also need 2-6% for closing costs. People always ignore that.....
Nah you can put lower you just need mortgage insurance so you’re paying a bit extra on mortgage due to not having to save up for 5 years to afford it (which would mean the price probably rising by enough in those 5 years that you’ll need to save up for another year and now you’re 6 years behind on a payment lol.) if you’re saving up while renting you’re probably paying close to mortgage for rent (or more if you’re in certain areas) plus putting more aside to save for that down payment so you should be able to afford the slightly higher mortgage until you get to that 20%.
Some people don't want to be tied down with a mortgage and find renting to be better. It's similar to leasing a car.
People are dumb.
Think about how stupid the average person is and realize half of them are stupider than that.
- George Carlin
Not everyone wants to own a home. Some people prefer renting.
verbal consent
That’s a big mistake. He got $12k for free and will find people who will pay a higher rent.
Right! That's a good chunk of a down payment on a house of their own!
Dealing with a landlord is just like dealing with HR at work - they aren't there for YOU. The tenant here wasn't stupid, just naive. Besides, from a liability standpoint, a tenant should NEVER do any property upgrades or repairs without some kind of written agreement (and hopefuly waiver of liability). If something goes wrong, guess who will be on the hook financially when it goes to court? Hint: The landlord turned plaintiff won't be it....
That's more facepalm, right?
Reminds me of this time in high school when we went bowling. Friend of mine spent $5 to shine the rented ball before he returned it.
Horrible. Now that the property is more valuable due to the upgrades the landlord knows they can charges a higher rent for it. The real mildly infuriating part is the fact that we as a society reward this behaviour. Sociopathic behaviour is actively encouraged under capitalism.
Not even close to a sane take. If you look at the text exchange is clear it was done without the owner knowing. As an owner the renter could have cut all sorts of corners... you'd have to tear it all up just to even make sure its water sealed properly just so that your house doesn't rot the through because some rando renter made choices about your property. If your going to drop 12k on a reno of a bathroom... drop it on a down payment instead.
12k is upgrades is both enough to potentially have the landlord owe additional taxes if they are assessed and not enough to be able to increase amenities enough to meaningfully raise rent.
The real issue here though is that you don't go altering someone's property without their consent. I don't know how that isn't the obvious answer here. The amount spent doesn't even really matter (although I'd argue more spent is even worse, considering it implies greater alterations without consent).
Landlords can be and very often are terrible. But on a base level if I own a piece of property for which I am ultimately responsible, I see no justification for being ok with someone else making thousands of dollars of changes to that property without getting my ok first. It seems incredibly basic that I as owner should have a say in it.
I find it mildly bewildering that someone would spend $12k updating a home they don't own.
For real. It is really crazy.
Everyone is so busy insulting the tenant doing the upgrades when it's the landlord who behaved badly. If all we do is collectively blame victims when they get taken advantage of, society will crumble. This woman wasn't stupid, she just didn't have her guard up in preparation for the massive asshole who had power over her. There's a difference.
When you are trusting, you're called stupid. When you trust no one, you're called unreasonably cynical. They're two sides of the same victim blaming coin. Start blaming the actual problem: predators.
Putting money into something you don’t own is stupid. Full stop.
Never put money into a rental.
Your advice isn't helpful for people who don't have the means to own their own home. Being trusting or naive isn't something that should be shamed. There's a way to educate people with kindness and compassion. People aren't born knowing how to best handle the legal end of a renovation. But go on and call her stupid some more, that'll help the onlookers. You and I and everyone in this comments section will be smart and secure with the claws we have dug into the insides of the pretty housing bubble. Perhaps if we bicker even more, the problem will disappear completely.
I hate landlords as much as the next guy, but this is the stupidest thing ever. Would you also pay to deck out a rental car? No, you wouldn't because you're not the biggest dumbass on the planet.
Like other commenters have stated, there are technically reasons why and how this could work, but a casual verbal agreement ain't it, chief. Don't reward massive dumbassery with pity.
Well no one is living in a rental car for years. I understand what you're saying but the comparison itself is pretty bad
A proper comparison here would be more like a leased vehicle than a rental car. It's not the "stupidest thing ever" for this tenant to believe she would be living there for 1 or more years and wouldn't suddenly be evicted. Your exaggeration only benefits predators, and your pity is hardly a reward to anyone.
I agree that the landlord is a shitstain, but that tenant is not the best at decision making either. I can understand spending a couple of hundreds if it makes your life better, but she basically handed over a 12k check to that landlord. I can't see any good reason to do this.
Renting isn't the greatest decision, either. You're throwing money at a landlord and gaining zero equity. People often do it because it's that or homelessness. These systems are in place to take advantage of people who aren't the best decision makers. Just because they can be taken advantage of... should they be? Or should we be better than this and revamp how we house people so that it isn't a massive scam with the opportunity for extra side scams like we see here?
If the landlord wasn't a massive dick, they both could have benefited from this situation. She'd have the renovated bathroom she wanted, and the landlord knew his property was being taken care of without even needing to lift a finger. Instead he got greedy, and rather than blame the greedy jerk people want to jump on the "stupid" victim. Except it's not her fault her landlord was a prick.
Dude just cross post the source link, don't link to another post. That fucks up users from other instances by pulling them into a web browser for another instance. Lemmy will provide cross post links to other threads.
As fucked as that is, what fucking eviction notice gives 3 days to vacate? That can't be legal, can it?
Edit: Looking closer, I see that this is in Texas. And evidently 3 days is all they have to give there. Insane.
https://guides.sll.texas.gov/landlord-tenant-law/eviction-process
This isn't an eviction notice. The landlord must give a written demand to vacate, and allow it to expire, before they are allowed to file an eviction lawsuit.
She's an idiot. I understand the outrage, but she's an idiot.
My parents made this mistake twice. They were unable to afford their own place and asked the landlord if they were interested in moving back in.
Both times the landlords said no, so my parents made small improvements to the places (replacing carpets, repainting, general upkeep/improvements), but never 12k worth.
Still, both times the landlords kicked us to the curb (so they could move back in) and we had to move. The 3rd time they were finally able to afford their own place.
Ducking dumbass
Landlords exploit property for profit. They hold all power over the tenant.
We need to create organizations in our communities to take power back into our hands.
Abolish private property!