The COVID Thread (1 Viewer)

[sentient schmoo]

I have hope for a day I'll want to submerge myself higher than my knees!

I originally made this post because it was reminiscent of biblical plague but it's getting off topic now. But one final random share before I steer it back on topic - RiverKeeper's swim guide is super helpful. They test multiple times a week.

Also, I went to Target for first time since all of this, and there's a huge stash of cloth and disposable masks - for those that have not gotten any since Gov Cooper made them mandatory.

I keep thinking about all the businesses trying to reopen and how this could help them shift blame and avoid unnecessary discussions with patrons.

 

[sentient schmoo]

So now landlords are discriminating against applicants based on their line of work - not credit or income, due to COVID-19 related hardship... assumed hardship. I say assumed because majority of us all have a side gig, a hustle, a second and sometimes third job no matter what we do for work. As if renting in this town wasn't hard enough. The average cost of a rental around here is $1200 / mo. for less than 1,000 sq ft.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

That's ****ed. Prepay a whole year worth of rent?

 

[sentient schmoo]

That's f***ed. Prepay a whole year worth of rent?

There's no way this is legal.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

That's my first thought too. That seems like straight up discrimination to me, barring rent from a specific group of people with unreasonable requirements.

 

[jamesurq]

Employment type isn't a protected class. As a landlord you can't discriminate 'protected' classifications but you can absolutely say no to someone based on the type of job they hold. (For the record, it's crappy to do - not saying I'm in agreement with it just clarifying the legality)

And I wasn't sure if this belonged in the Covid, Bacon or Funny pic thread... But I figured it would lighten the mood a bit... I'd definitely wear these masks... but not for long...

 

[NCFJ]

That really sucks, discrimination based on occupation. I can understand the land lord's position but I do not agree with it. It's a risk you take as a land lord, the possibility of loss just like the possibility of profit.

I left the lower FL Keys in 05 because the cost of living had just gotten out of hand. I was renting an 1,800 sq ft house 2 bed 2 bath at the time for $1,400.00 a month and the rent was due to go up in two months. I was saving to buy a house and making really good money. The reality was that if I bought a house I was signing up for 20 years of working 50 hours a week to survive. I prefer to live over survival, so I chose to move.

I looked at Asheville, it was a lot like Key West. Way over priced and the town caters more to tourists than it does the folks that actually live there. I moved to Hendersonville, which is now slowly catching up with Asheville. Key West is now to the point where they are building what are essentially college type dorms with shared baths and showers etc for "the help" to live in. I'd be looking toward the future and getting the hell out of Asheville.

 

[sentient schmoo]

Are you in Hendo now? Didn't know you were nearby. Due to custody I won't be moving out of WNC for another 13 years or so, but probably won't leave anyway. If I'm moving anywhere it'll be Black Mtn, Leicester, etc - I do love it here. I'm lucky in the sense that I have an amazing landlord who is personal friend / second family. I pay less than the average - but do have about half the sq ft, ha. But it's enough for kid and I, and the land / property / location is worth it. Plus, I'll never find a landlord to accept the six pets we come with. They've told me they'll do anything to keep me as a tenant so I am not concerned about stability here. I am one of the very few, and very lucky renters in Asheville.

 

[afgman786]

So now landlords are discriminating against applicants based on their line of work - not credit or income, due to COVID-19 related hardship... assumed hardship. I say assumed because majority of us all have a side gig, a hustle, a second and sometimes third job no matter what we do for work. As if renting in this town wasn't hard enough. The average cost of a rental around here is $1200 / mo. for less than 1,000 sq ft. View attachment 2350859

The logic there makes ZERO sense. "We see you work in service industry that has been struggling for past 3 months. So go on and pay up for a full year since you haven't had regular/if any business for the last 90+ days."

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Employment type isn't a protected class. As a landlord you can't discriminate 'protected' classifications but you can absolutely say no to someone based on the type of job they hold. (For the record, it's crappy to do - not saying I'm in agreement with it just clarifying the legality)

that sounds right. Lovely country we live in.

 

[JToobe]

 

[SFROMAN]

I get what everybody is saying but you wouldn’t be saying anything if you had to pay taxes, repairs and in some cases mortgages and not be receiving rent from your tenants.
In the last 3 months I have had to do that out of my own pocket becasue people don’t pay their rent. You can say what you want but I am telling you if you think it’s ok for someone to live for free and I still have to pay the bank, the government and any repairs I will say you are out of your damn mind.
The way I see it is real simple. If you don’t like the terms of the lease. Good. Great. Find another place to live.
Do I think it is on the extreme side to require tenants to pay a year in advance. Hell yes!!
but more than likely they feel that they rather have an empty house than to have people living in it that are not going to pay rent anyway. it sure does save you money in the long run. Because if there is nobody living in the house then there is no need for maintenance costs. (Under NC law you cannot deny repairs to your property even if tenants are not paying their rent. So even though currently one of my tenants owes me over $6k in past due rent I still had to replace an ac unit she complained about and that she broke. And replacing it was not cheap.

so it’s great that people want to be compassionate about people that have lost their jobs due to COVID but at what point does that stop? And how is it that the compassion only goes to the person not able pay rent and not the landlord that is on the hook for all the bills to maintain, pay taxes, and in some cases pay the bank.

 

[sentient schmoo]

Oh don't get it confused; I thought of your situation immediately and agree with you - that isn't fair and there needs to be deferment for tenant and landlord alike IF that is a legitimate situation. But this place is getting torn to bits publicly now for, as you put it so perfectly, this very extreme expectation.

At what point can you begin eviction process? Six grand is really excessive and you also mentioned how terrible her communication is, as in, she has none.

 

[afgman786]

I get what everybody is saying but you wouldn’t be saying anything if you had to pay taxes, repairs and in some cases mortgages and not be receiving rent from your tenants.
In the last 3 months I have had to do that out of my own pocket becasue people don’t pay their rent. You can say what you want but I am telling you if you think it’s ok for someone to live for free and I still have to pay the bank, the government and any repairs I will say you are out of your damn mind.
The way I see it is real simple. If you don’t like the terms of the lease. Good. Great. Find another place to live.
Do I think it is on the extreme side to require tenants to pay a year in advance. Hell yes!!
but more than likely they feel that they rather have an empty house than to have people living in it that are not going to pay rent anyway. it sure does save you money in the long run. Because if there is nobody living in the house then there is no need for maintenance costs. (Under NC law you cannot deny repairs to your property even if tenants are not paying their rent. So even though currently one of my tenants owes me over $6k in past due rent I still had to replace an ac unit she complained about and that she broke. And replacing it was not cheap.

so it’s great that people want to be compassionate about people that have lost their jobs due to COVID but at what point does that stop? And how is it that the compassion only goes to the person not able pay rent and not the landlord that is on the hook for all the bills to maintain, pay taxes, and in some cases pay the bank.

I've seen your post about your situation which blows! Does NC have an order in place because of COVID that does not let you evict tenants out for not paying or anything along those lines? Don't want to get too personal about it if there is personal story that goes along with this. Just from a far, and not being someone that rents property out or a renter I don't know what the rules/contracts are that go along with it. I see it as you've got months overdue you should be gone..?
My thing was the 1yr seems ridiculous. I get the land owner needing to cover their own butt, would think 3-6months would be something acceptable that gives the owner some piece of mind along with a chance for a renter to come up with that kind of money.

 

[SFROMAN]

It’s not complicated at all and NC EVICTION LAWS are pretty simple and straightforward. ( unlike in Texas where I have most of my properties and there they favor the tenant)You could do a quick google and find them I’m sure.
I am not an asshele and if I can then I am willing to work with my tenants which is why this particular one owes me that much.
But it’s one thing for me to choose to be lenient on late payment and one thing for people to expect me to pay so the tenant doesn’t have to for what ever reason.

 

[sentient schmoo]

You're one of the most lenient and understanding landlords I've met, that is for certain.

 

[SFROMAN]

Updates for Tenants During the Coronavirus – North Carolina Justice Center

Many laws are temporarily changing due to the coronavirus crisis. This fact sheet is accurate as of May 31, 2020. It is very …

www.ncjustice.org

See. This is when seemingly smart people start getting stupid.Nowhere in there does it say what the landlord is supposed to do to cover the expenses to the bank.
My tenant hasn’t even lost her job. She has a good paying job. She just sucks with money. But now it’s my fault and I have to swallow the cost.
Sounds about right. Let me get FOOCKED for working my ass off and sacrifice and make sound financial decisions so my kids can have a better life.

so now I will have to take off from work to go to the court house to clear this s*** up. Oh and by the way. Tenants get free legal advise from the county but by NC law they cannot help me through the eviction process or give me legal advice. In other words I’m on my own to figure out this whole COVID exception bull****.
or pay out of pocket to get a lawyer. Awesome!!

 

[Comet]

Del, this sucks for you. Based on your information you have a dead beat tenant. She needs to be someone else’s problem. It sounds like she will always be a problem to someone.

 

[mtweller]

Updates for Tenants During the Coronavirus – North Carolina Justice Center

Many laws are temporarily changing due to the coronavirus crisis. This fact sheet is accurate as of May 31, 2020. It is very …

www.ncjustice.org

See. This is when seemingly smart people start getting stupid.Nowhere in there does it say what the landlord is supposed to do to cover the expenses to the bank.
My tenant hasn’t even lost her job. She has a good paying job. She just sucks with money. But now it’s my fault and I have to swallow the cost.
Sounds about right. Let me get FOOCKED for working my ass off and sacrifice and make sound financial decisions so my kids can have a better life.

so now I will have to take off from work to go to the court house to clear this s*** up. Oh and by the way. Tenants get free legal advise from the county but by NC law they cannot help me through the eviction process or give me legal advice. In other words I’m on my own to figure out this whole COVID exception bulls***.
or pay out of pocket to get a lawyer. Awesome!!

These are the types of things that kept us from keeping our old house to renting it out when we moved in '15. Could have been lucrative given the location and what we paid for the house in 2003. But I simply didn't want to deal with the BS and potentially blow through profits / equity in legal fees and time away from work. Not to mention legitimate upkeep and maintenance.

Tough situation for some renters and landlords right now it seems! Good luck to you both.

 

[SFROMAN]

I’m good. I don’t let dumb s*** like this bother me.
If I let every dumb lazy person bother me I would already be dead of a heart attack.

I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing and it will work itself out.
it always does. One way or another.