I was listening to talk radio while driving two days ago. An attorney was a guest who "represents both landlords and tenants" He was most certainly landlord leaning. A couple of calls that got to me: A man calls stating they lease a house and had come home to find the back door open and then later noticed pry marks around the lock. The door has no deadbolt. The stupid host stated "so what's your question" I got his question right away. California law requires all outside doors to have deadbolt locks and the caller asked if this was enough to break the lease as his wife was frightened. The "expert" basically stated he wasn't sure and never addressed the deadbolt issue or told the caller what he could do if the landlord didn't install a deadbolt. Another call. A man called stating he was calling on behalf of his complex. The complex had been sold and they were all given 60 day notices to vacate. The new owner wanted to upgrade the units and I'm sure re-rent at a higher price. The "expert" inquired about the area, stated there was no rent control and there was nothing they could do. Then he said this and I wanted to scream: "look at it from the landlords point. Any tenant can move with a 30 day notice and leave the landlord without a renter" WHAT THE.................!!!!!!! This complex was located in Alameda part of the San Francisco Bay Area with one of the highest rentals in the country if not the world. Any landlord would have an apartment rented before it was even vacated. No empathy for those poor people who I'm sure will struggle to find a place to live. Before someone replies, I get that there are horrible tenants who can thrash a rental. I don't know if insurance would cover these issues, but in the end, I'm sorry I think the owner comes out ahead. My rant is over.
Was it possible to call into the talk show... did anyone call and give the correct answers to the questions?
I was driving and I only have a antique flip phone for emergencies. No one followed up. These calls move pretty fast and the host of this show, who I don't like anyway, didn't offer any rebuttal. This landlord leaning attorney was getting the last word on everything and you could tell he really didn't care about the tenants so his claim he represents both sides is bull.
The radio station had clearly got the cheapest attorney they could find...he clearly didn't know enough about the subject..and or he may also be a landlord himself hence the proclivity towards Owners and landlords...
@Kitty Carmel " ........My rant is over." But it was a good one. And appreciated, as I have in the past been both a renter and landlord. Frank
Yes I too have rented in the distant past.... but for the last 20 years we have been landlords.. and we look after our tenants very well..and we never get any problems thank God..
What I've learned about renting an apartment or house: First, and foremost, that many renters don't want to hear...........renter's don't own where they live. Key words are "DON'T OWN" (buying). Another key thing for renting is........always ask complex manager, before doing something to the inside or outside of the apartment. Same goes for renting a house. Ask the owner first. My wife didn't like how dull the color of the Master Bedroom bathroom was. It really didn't look like it was painted after the last tenants moved out. Anyway, we asked the complex manager about repainting it. After telling her that we'd buy the gallon of paint, she was fine with us repainting it. Now, the thing to notice is.......we asked the manager BEFORE we went ahead and painted it and we paid for the gallon of paint. Absolutely no problems. Obviously, in order to hang pictures, nails have to be put into walls. Part of our Leasing Agreement is that any nail holes will be covered before vacating the apartment. We have already bought Hole Filler. Our water heater is new, as is our outside A//C unit, as is two large window blinds and our wall thermostat. There have been a few other things that our manager has been very cooperative with us about. But, then again, we've been living here since January 2009.