If you own a rental property in Edmonton but had a tenant trash it when they left you’ve likely thought to yourself, “I’m done with being a landlord! My recent tenant caused major damage in my Edmonton home!” So make sure you read this article because we’re addressing the all-too-common problem that landlords have in this scenario and we provide a quick and hassle-free solution to end your landlording headaches.
Do you own a rental property? Have you ever had a tenant leave it in less-than-perfect condition? Perhaps your Edmonton tenants left your property in terrible condition. Or maybe, they are even REFUSING TO LEAVE! It happens! In fact, it’s an experience that most every landlord has faced at least once. And if they haven’t yet, they had better brace for impact! It’s coming.
So if you are looking at your empty rental property and thinking, “Help! My tenant trashed my Edmonton house” then here are some useful solutions to help you move forward.
Is it worth going after the tenant?
For starters, it could be worse than simply surveying the damage your Edmonton tenant left. How you might ask? Well, what if your tenant is refusing to pay rent AND refusing to leave? At that point, you may need to enlist the aid of the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service or RTDRS. Briefly, the RTDRS,
offers landlords and tenants a method of resolving disputes under the jurisdiction of the Residential Tenancies Act and the Mobile Home Sites Tenancies Act without going to court.
Landlords and tenants can submit applications online using the RTDRS eFiling Service.
So despite how bad you think your situation may be with your Edmonton tenant…it could be worse! For starters, you will need to assess the damage and decide if it’s worth going after the tenant for damages. In speaking with many landlords, unfortunately, it often isn’t worth the hassle because it can be a time and money-consuming venture with little net benefit in the end. Because even if the judgment goes your way, collecting damages can be a real problem. However, if the damage is significant enough, you may still choose to do go down this path.
Is it worth repairing the damage?
From holes in the walls to cement poured down the sink to missing toilets – we’ve heard of just about everything you can imagine! Sometimes a bit of drywall and paint will fix the problem. Hopefully, it’s that simple. In that case, you will likely want to just fix it up quickly, rent it out again, and chalk up the inconvenience as a cost of doing business.
AND THEN, you will go and read an article like this about screening your Edmonton tenants more effectively and enlist the aid of companies like Naborly or SingleKey to help you. Right?
However, if the damage is extensive and it’s not feasible for you to repair it yourself, then you might be interested in a couple of other options:
Rent Your House to a Handyman
One little-known option that can be really helpful is to find a local Edmonton handyman who wants to rent a house. In exchange for a discount on rent (or even free rent) depending on the amount of damage, they can fix up your property and make it a great Edmonton rental property again. Just make sure you have a scope and sequence for the required repairs clearly outlined to avoid any confusion. The last thing you want is another tenant staying too long without a lot of work getting done!
Sell the House to Another Buyer
You could certainly try to sell the house on the open market, but you may have to fix it up first in order for an Edmonton agent to list it. Depending on your stress level and the availability of your time and energy, this may or may not be an option for you.
Another option is to move on from that frustrating rental property and sell your home to a local Edmonton home buyer like SUNRISE HOME BUYERS. We are direct cash house buyers in Edmonton and we buy houses in as-is condition. We try to make moving on from a negative landlord experience as simple and hassle-free as possible…and our CLIENT TESTIMONIALS suggest we are pretty good at it! YOU pick the date and together we’ll come to an agreement on a price. Then leave the cleaning up and cleaning out to us.