Thanks, it is good to hear other people's stories because I feel very much alone in this, although I am sad that they have the stories.
But as everyone tells me, it goes with the territory of renting houses.
I never would have purchased a house as a rental. The reason we had one of the two houses we rent is because we lived there for 17 years and bought another house, and we moved out just when the economy and housing prices tanked in May 2008, so we could not sell back then. So we thought it prudent to rent it -- oh what a nightmare it has been! We did have some good tenants but the bad outweighed the good and most of the problems we have had are those who did not pay the rent. Nobody has ever done any damage to the house.
One reason we rented to the sex offender is because I knew he had the money to pay the rent. He sure did pay the rent on time too but he used that as leverage to try to manipulate me. It is true that the house needed repairs when he moved in but he badgered me for two months to rent it anyway, knowing it needed repairs. i told him it might take some time to get those repairs done but all i got was silence. He wanted a Lease and I have ample proof of how much he badgered me for one, but in the Lease it says "accepts house in its present condition." But he did not accept it; after he got in all he did was complain about the repairs it needed, which was due to water damage sustained by a broken pipe. That affected the usability of about one third of the house but I could only move as fast as I could to get them done.
The second month I offered to let him out of his Lease and give him his deposits back but he would not leave.... He just kept threatening me with inspectors and attorneys but I did not know he would actually try to sue. He did not get the attorney to write the demand letters till he was ready to vacate on his own... The tenant was a contractor so all along he tried to make me hire him to do the work but he was going to charge three times the market rate and what my insurance company allowed for the damages. It was right after I hired a contractor for the work that I got the demand letter from his attorney claiming he was damaged by the mold that was there because of the water damage. Funny coincidence...
The guy is a con-man and a schemer but because I am the kind of person who feels responsible and blames myself for everything he took advantage of that.
However, I knew what he was up to shortly after he moved in because it was obvious. I still wonder if any of this could be my fault, from a legal standpoint. I never hired an attorney although I consulted with several Legal Shield attorneys and they did not seem to think he had any case... Then the last LS attorney told me to report it to my insurance company, which I did. Now they are dealing with it but I have heard nothing in over a month so I am really worried what might be going on.
To claim damages, he would have to prove his health was affected by the mold and even then I do not know if I am culpable because we have no laws in this state that state that there cannot be mold, only laws that state that we have to do any repairs that would cause mold, and I was trying to get those done, although it took a long time. He could have just moved out but being a sex offender it would be hard if even possible for him to get another rental.
At the end of the day I will never know what his motives were so there is no point speculating... I just want this resolved so I can move on. My contractor did all the repairs from water damage and some additional improvements, and there are still some minor repairs that have to be done before I can rent it, but I have a contractor I trust so I plan to hire him.
On top of all this, the tenants that lived there for five years before he moved in owe me $6750 in back rent. They promised to to pay the debt when they left and then they ignored my e-mails. I plan to go to small claims court unless they will agree to pay me on a payment plan... How much more can I take from these people? It's just wrong.
Anyway, sorry I derailed the thread. I guess I just needed to talk.