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A Personal Nightmare Averted Thanks to v-Flyer

Landlord beware. I used v-Flyer to post one of our investment properties for sale and/or lease and got a call from a woman who was relocating from another state. She was so personable and wanted to lease the home and purchase one down the road. They sent a nice letter with their security deposit, would be arriving in one week and would sign the lease then. PERFECT.

UNTIL I received a call this morning from their previous landlord. Apparently this couple destroyed their property: trash was thrown out windows into the yard, there was feces on the walls, urine soaked carpets, damage from their dogs, bounced checks. They took items belonging to the owner, etc. Over $12,000 in damages. This couple was suppose to meet with my husband this afternoon.

How did the previous landlord find me? Turns out, the tenant saw my v-Flyer listing online and printed the flyer out. Along with all the trash in the house, they left a copy of the flyer and the letter they sent to us with their security deposit. While the owner was cleaning the house out she found the listing and letter. She went online, found my listing, gave me a call and emailed me. She used the v-Flyer contact sheet and wrote an extensive summary of the damages and sent photo's.

Armed with this info, my husband met the new tenant at the house. Oh, she was so excited about the house couldn't wait to move in!! UNTIL my husband mentioned the call from their previous landlord. She was surprised to hear they called us, they hadn't left the number with them. My husband told her there must be a "mis-understanding", why don't you call your previous landlord right now so we can sort this out? Suddenly the house didn't look as good to her. She didn't think it would work..........and left.

We are grateful to the owner for taking the time to track us down. We feel very badly for them. They have a mess on their hands and will suffer financially. If it hadn't been for the v-Flyer they wouldn't have had any idea where this couple went. They wouldn't have been able to warn us. We've been in the rental property business a long time and you can still get caught if you let your guard down. I'll take a vacant house over a bad tenant. Checking references, personally checking on your property are two of the best things you can do to protect your investment. I wish I could give their next landlord a heads up.

Are you new to Forest VA, searching for a home for sale in Greater Lynchburg or at Smith Mountain Lake? Give me a call for information on local events, things to do or Lynchburg MLS real estate listings.

Debbie Malone, ABR, ASP, e-PRO
RE/MAX 1st Olympic Realtors
(434) 546-0369 C
(434) 832-0941 F
(434) 832-1100 O
debbiemalone@remax.net

Posted by Debbie Malone, Realtor Lynchburg, Smith Mountain Lake VA on 09/09/2008 07:39 PM

Comments (35)

lynchburg, tenant, rental, vflyer, credit check, remax, investment property, homes for sale

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35 Comments on A Personal Nightmare Averted Thanks to v-Flyer

SEP

2008

OH MY GOODNESS!!! Thank GOD that the previous landlord called you. Can you imagine turning a home over to people who would leave another person's home like that? Oh my! I have never seen anything quite so bad...but close. God was watching out for you, my friend!

GBU, Debbie!!

Elizabeth, we dodged a bullet in my opinion. I would have been sick if they moved in and THEN I received the call. Thanks for your support my friend!

SEP

2008

Holy cow Debbie what a major headache you just avoided. Funny sometimes how fate works! BTW - love the scary looking house:)

Debbie: WHEW!! That was close. Thank goodness their last landlord cared enough to call you! Pity the next one!

Bill, weren't we fortunate??? That house- I had fears our would have looked like it! Thanks for stopping by.

Kim, it's sad, the previous landlord is out a ton of money and the time to replace and repair. I wish there was some way to save the next person from these people.

Debbie, this makes Nightmare on Elm street look like a cake walk.

Debbie - I'd have had the old landlord file against them in Floirda for the $12,000 and FedEx (#11) the summons to me and when I met them in VA, I'd have had the FL paperwork ready to be served by a private process server - Play it FORWARD!!!

Landlords need to TAKE THESE PEOPLE TO COURT to get the judgement noted on their credit file...

Danny, my husband went to the property this morning to check on it and picked up half a bag of trash these people left while waiting to see the home. We are so thankful for that call!

Wallace, they're from TN, but you're exactly right. I've already told the previous landlord we'll pass on any info we find to them. People like this need to be held accountable.

SEP

2008

Debbie, what a cool story that is. As a landlord, I am always appreciative of referrals.....good or bad. ;-)

SEP

2008

We're constantly talking about how the rental industry needs to have something in addition to credit checks- ie what type of resident they were. It's a good thing you found this out beforehand.

Teri- I still can't believe we averted a disaster with this couple. So glad the previous landlord took the time to find us. Thanks for stopping by.

Kate, you've been helping us to be more aware of problems in the rental industry and what we can do to minimize our risks. Now, lay off the coffee.

Sorry! Our servers are so slow here because of the Engineering Expo going on. It kept timing out so I didn't think my comment went through. :)

LOL, I figured something like that was going on with AR down earlier. Go back to your hot beverages.

SEP

2008

That's a great story and I'm glad things turned out OK for you. That could have been a disaster. I was going to do a post on something like this about landlords not being able to put anything on the tenants credit report as late pays, damages, etc. I have been calling around trying to find out how to do it for just this reason and the credit bureaus will not allow it to be done by a private landlord. I can't imagine it, but I've verified it with a few people (credit bureaus too) now. That's how people like this get away with it!

Wow! You certainly averted a disaster there Debbie...

SEP

2008

Lyn, I wish we had some type of screening system in place, it certainly would help in situations like these. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

Hi Bubba, you are not kidding. when the neighbor is picking up trash left by these folks, and they were only there a 1/2 hour, I know we were very fortunate.

SEP

2008

Debbie! What a terrific story.... a TYPICAL one! This post is being featured! Good strategy by you and your husband. We have to avert many like this don't we?

Hi Diane, Thank you! Yes, we have to be very careful and my husband was brilliant as usual. With Kate input on managing the properties, we are on the right track. Good to hear from you and thanks for commenting.

SEP

2008

I received a couple of heads up recently. Both have been via email and I'm careful not to respond because I think it may be a part of a scam of some sort. What has this world come to??

Josette, I don't know what's going on but we and several investors have been having a tough time of it with our rentals. We have to be aware of the scams for sure.

OCT

2008

Debbie, I really appreciate your post here, even though I'm a bit late getting to it. It's a really compelling warning to all of us doing property management.

Also, I wonder if you'd mind taking having a look at a post I did this morning asking questions as a newbie in property management, about how best to market for management clients? This is the link.

Thanks much and best wishes to you for success in the business!

Hi Dave, thanks for stopping by. Now that my daughter is in the property management program at VT, we are much more aware of potential problems and look to her for advice. I'll stop by your blog next. Thanks!

OCT

2008

Debbie - Congrats to your daughter for getting into the Property Mangement Program at Tech! I'm so glad that former owner found you and was forthcoming with information. Acts that you mentioned should be able to be prosecuted as criminal acts!

Tina in Virginia

OCT

2008

Hi Tina, Kat is soooo happy with the RPM program. She really likes her professors and she's learning so much. She's going to tutor some of the students too, she eats this up! Thanks for commenting.

NOV

2008

Anytime you can avert a personal nightmare, it is a GOOD day. What a fortuitous turn of events for you! A good lesson for ALWAYS doing a background check....

NOV

2008

wow, Debbie. that was a close call, huh? Glad the other Landlord was proactive for your sake!

DEC

2008

Geez that is horrible! How do people live like that! Your so very forunate that you got a call from the previous landlord. What are the chances of them finding that flyer!? Im very happy that, that deal didnt fall through for your sake's! Have a great day and thank you for sharing that with all of us!

JAN

I am so glad you got to avoid such stinkers, your guardian angel must have been looking out for you that day. The prior landlord deserves a medal, they really went above and beyond by calling you. I guess they were kind of motivated at the time! Here is hoping that your 2009 brings only good tenants. Have a Great New Year and thanks for sharing! I guess you really have to hagve a phone conversation with the prior & current landlord, and give them a chance to be candid.

JAN

True enough! I received a few tips anonymously but could never figure out how the person found us to warn me. I'm just grateful.

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