Is My Tenant A Hoarder?

Have you ever wondered if one of your tenants was a hoarder? If so what can you do about it?

WHAT IS HOARDING?
Here is how The American Psychiatric Association defines hoarding:

People with hoarding disorder have persistent difficulty getting rid of or parting with possessions due to a perceived need to save the items. Attempts to part with possessions create considerable distress and lead to decisions to save them. The resulting clutter disrupts the ability to use living spaces.

IT IS A RECOGNIZED DISEASE
Under the Fair Housing Act, hoarding is a disability. This being the case, when you come across a tenant who appears to be a hoarder, you should reach out to help with the situation and control it in the future.

I once had a tenant who was quiet, paid on time, and seemed quite personable. He rented a small studio apartment in Long Beach from me for several years. Then we had a situation where we had to enter his unit, only to find trash, newspapers, and enough clutter for an apartment 3 to 4 times the size of his. He was very cooperative and cleaned it up, but when we came in again, a couple of months later, the clutter had returned. What we did was schedule regular interior inspections where we would ask him to remove debris. He was always cooperative and after less than a year of inspections, he moved.

LEASE AGREEMENT
It is a good idea to include a cleanliness clause in your STANDARD LEASE AGREEMENT. This will give you a defense in case the tenant is not cooperative. As a more serious move, you can call in the city or county to assess any code violations caused by the hoarder. You may also need to involve the HEALTH DEPARTMENT. You should make sure code violations are also mentioned in your LEASE AGREEMENT or in an addendum.

If you have such a case at your property, it is always important to document everything with pictures and notes, in case you need to go to court to evict the tenant.

PROFESSIONAL ADVICE
If it looks as if the situation will not be resolved, you need to contact your attorney to begin eviction proceedings. Even with the moratorium in some cities, you may be able to move forward because of the potential danger to other tenants and to your property. Your Apartment Association can furnish you with the appropriate lease forms for future tenants as well.

What we at PRS PROPERTIES CAN DO. We can discuss with you the current rents in your area and supply you with comparable rental prices for similar properties. Before you hire a manager, make sure the compensation is fair to you! We can also look at your building for changes that might allow you to get a higher value in order to create value without huge expenses for your building. We can help you to get the maximum value for your property, should you decide to sell, or the maximum return if you are planning to keep your building.

We always have many investors who are looking for “as-is” properties and are willing to purchase with low rents, a moratorium, or even with a problem tenant in place. We have put together numerous transactions over the years which involve properties that are not listed for sale. Many investors are in 1031 exchanges and need to identify a replacement property before their 45-day identification period runs out.

Should you decide to put your property on the market, we will put together an aggressive, targeted, and professional campaign to get your property sold fast. We have been doing this for over 40 years, and we will use all the tools available to bring you the most dollars at closing. If you are thinking of selling or are just curious about the value of your property, don’t hesitate to give us a call.

Remember – KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!