Since there is not a real estate section, i was listening to I Illegally on u tube today, and there have been cases, the latest in Washington, where a client stayed over at an air b and b, and started renting it out, as if it was his. Owner had to live in his vehicle. Has this been a problem with Air b and B and if so, what are the owners options?
I don’t think that’s quite accurate. The guy who owns the home had a renter in it that stopped paying rent and then the renter listed the basement on AirBnB and was collecting money from that. The owner is trying to get the renter evicted and Air BnB has removed the listing for the basement. In the meantime, the owner is apparently living in his car.
What it takes to evict a tenant depends on state and municipality. There have been a number of cases of squatters moving into an empty house, and the owner not being able to immediately have them removed.
The tenant listing the basement on air b&b is a unique twist.
Its why you want to be careful which states you own investment property in…and in some cases which counties within a state. For example…I would never own rental property in California.
It’s impossible to evict a squatter in Seattle. You have to sue them. That can take years.
Wow, not a place to live or even visit!
What was the state mentioned in Pacific Heights? CA? what town? All landlords have to watch that movie. Landlords do not have many rights in states like CA. Is there a list of states that have rules that favor the squatter?
I would think most blue states…
That has nothing to do with it. Most squatter laws were written decades or more ago. My grandfather lost a parcel (I don’t know how large) of land to squatters when I was a child. This was in south Texas. When my grandfather tried to have them evicted, they held off the sheriff with rifles/shotguns. It went back to court, and he lost land that had been in the family for over a hundred years. Their only claim was squatting.
New Yorker here, way upstate in the Adirondacks. Oh, could I tell you stories, but they’d be second hand. Here’s my own, and I was grateful to be out of the situation before it started. Pacific Heights was in San Francisco. Great movie, but gave me nightmares. If I’d seen it before, I wouldn’t have ever done it.
I was a single parent and couldn’t afford much, so I bought a duplex to live in and became a landlord to a sweet elderly couple who were so sad when I sold up. They were terrific tenants. I thought I was selling to a person who was going to live there , but she was actually into house-flipping and the house was purchased by a non-resident investor who raised the rent and lost the good tenants.
They were replaced by horrible renters. On one side the tenant set up a unofficial animal shelter in the basement which became … well, let’s just say sanitation wasn’t managed. On the other side of the duplex the tenants were rowdy and the neighbors had to call police in an otherwise very quiet picket fence sort of village. The tenants were also lazy about little things like letting the bathroom floor get sopping with each shower/bath to the point the old, lovely cast-iron tub crashed through the floor.
I don’t think the landlord/investor really suffered much because they didn’t care and everyone was evicted by the county because the house was condemned. Of course, I reckon they would have had good insurance, but who knows.
Back to the squatter issue… Here we have seen too many landlords driven to tears and bankruptcy because they rented to Mary, who let her friend Alice couch-surf. Mary moves out and tells Alice to make other plans. Alice then invites Ted to move in, and he brings a friend who needs a place to crash. Friend is a meth head, and soon the place is a known spot for parties, etc.
Meanwhile, the landlord is getting calls from neighbors and the city because of the piles of trash spilling across the front yard, bringing vermin and, Oh heck, it just goes on. Landlord begs for help from the authorities, but nope, not their issue, they just respond to complaints by saying clean it up or you’ll be fined. Rinse and repeat. This poor person is told to try eviction, but WHAT? No lease exists with Alice, Ted or any of the miscellaneous critters who pass through.
New York state is not the friend of the landlord at all. I guess it’s the pendulum swinging away from all the horrible slum-lord stuff that went on for so many years.
Sorry for the book, folks. I haven’t written in a long time and have lost the art of being concise and interesting.
My family member had similar experiences renting to people who first presented as holy rollers, and then became the devil loading up one rental with pit bulls that she kept indoors, and tore up all the walls and woodwork. Her state was much easier than NY or San Francisco to evict a renter, and when she gave notice, he was out in 7 days. Of course he was several months behind on the rent, and paid her less and less each month.
In one instance in Austin, a lawyer who had an allergic daughter wanted the desirable place in an upscale part of town, and his list of allergies included rugs, paint, household cleaners, fabric, etc, etc. I told her do not go there, as he will own your property!
In another instance, she allowed a couple to “camp out” on her property, while doing some painting for her. the woman tried to get her in a physical altercation, as in that state, you can move into the property if you can get the landlord into a legal battle, which would put the landlord in jail.
She was finally saved by an App on her phone, which for a fee, does an extensive background check, and after many years, she is finally in the black.
She even had one renter help fix the place up, while he was waiting for a house to be built.
Some people believe real estate is a better investment than the market, but the maintenance costs, and problems with rentals would level out any appreciation one has on the house, in my opinion. From 2011 to 2021, I made 16% average yearly on a stock mixture, and I did not have any hassle!