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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLakeshore Advance, 2011-05-04, Page 4Wednesday, May 4, 2011 • Lakeshore Advance 3 Lessons learned by local landlord Lynda Nftknan-Rapley Lakeshore Advance Even with all the solutions the Residence Tenant Act offers- why is it that people are still having ;roblems with renters who don't pay? A Grand Bend landlord is learning the hard way. Everything she is doing now, the dollars it is costing her to do it- should have been done in the first place. She did not check references and listened to the sad story of the renter. Both mistakes. lennette Haines is hoping to help other landlords, although her contacts at the Landlord Tenant Board say it won't matter, this type of renter will always be around. Brochures that detail how a landlord can end a tenancy, if the tenant doesn't pay - it's all documented - but in real life it is difficult to get rid of the renter who will not pay. Haines has been renting her downtown cottage in the winter months for many years. Once sum- mer comes she rents by the week. No problems. Until she rented it last October to a another of two teens. Actually, two teens and a elementary school aged child that was never listed. "This tenant has been a nightmare from the beginning," say Haines adding," It is almost too late for her -but if she can help a landlord from renting to this woman - she will. 'Ihe Lakeshore Advance is not using the wom- an's name to protect the child, but Haines said that is unfortunate. "'The first thing I should have done was check to see if she stiffed others," she said of the renter who as of Monday owes $2,230 plus hydro costs, cable costs, Internet costs, water and sewer. In the seven months she was there she paid In full only once and that was 20 days late. She moved in on October 1, left last Sunday and has not paid anything since February l5th. She paid only $150.00 for hydro in that time period, nothing for sewer or water and bounced four cheques. This nightmare began last October when the woman showed up at the cottage when Haines was there with her family. The summer people had moved out by the first week of September and Haines ad went into the local papers. Haines told her there was no laundry facility and the woman said that was fine. She gave Haines a cheque and a cash deposit. Days later she asked that the cheque not be cashed as she was dealing with an ex-husband, And that was Just the beginning as this tenant began to use the landlord -tenant system to her advantage, renting a fine home and then defaulting on payments. That first payment took a month to pay and Haines says it has been a struggle ever since. She has listened to sad stories and excuses month after month. She made two trips to a Goderich bank (the woman's bank) to see if cheques could be cashed and insufficient funds was the answer both times, This past winter another cheque bounced and when confronted- the renter said she put a stop payment on the funds when it was not cashed on the first of v 1 the month. Included in the rent are cable and utilities. Ilaines was told you can't cut off amenities that were included when you rented. Internet was put in after the renter moved in and Haines had that cancelled some time ago. The phone now has a block so the renter can't make long distance calls. Almost too little too late -Haines went to the London courthouse where she paid $10 and was able to see past evictions from this woman and her then family of five. That, says this now -wiser land- lord, I should have done before I rented to her. Haines gave notice that she was coming in for a utilities inspection and once there the renter would not let her into one of the rooms This cottage is a summer rental. As of May 1 it goes back to weekly renting. To get this renter out, Haines has to fill out an A-1 that explains this is a vacation home. The cost for that is $45.00. Then she had to fill out a form called a L1 and that was filed. The cost $170.00. A court date was set - unfortu- nately after the May 1 rental period for Haines summer trade. Because this is a summer rental - if Haines wins in court she needs only to get the OPP to remove the renter and does not have to pay the $360 to bring in the sheriff. "Lesson teamed," says Ilaines. lithe next person who rents to this woman does his due diligence they will see the previous court case where the family rented and was evicted and will also see the court records from this Grand Bend cottage. She moved out under the cloak of darkness, leav- ing a few things to tnove. She came back on Sun- day to dean and retrieve some of her possessions. At 4 p.m. Sunday, just as it stated on the lease that this woman signed, Haines went to the cottage and the woman was cleaning. The Lakeshore Advance was was invited to go along just in case the renter wanted to talk. She said this was not a matter for the newspaper and declined. She said she did not understand why this was of any inter- est to the readers and it was explained to her this story may help another landlord when they decide to rent before doing their due diligence. (She later stated she did want to talk and wanted to explain how she has been harassed by the landlord.) On Sunday, the woman told Haines she would see her in court so they could come to some sort of an arrangement for payment. There was also the issue of the large piano that belonged to the woman and she said she would do her best to get It out of the small cottage. Haines informed her there were seasonal renters moving in and she wanted it gone but the woman could not commit to a time -line. At 4:30 the locksmith arrived to change the Locks . 1 certainly learned my lesson," said I laines, "We are a kind community. But this is a business. I hope people learn from my mistakes." One of the last things the woman told Haines was that she really did want to pay- but her main concern was to have a roof over her kids' heads. Need Mortgage Money? ReYdoott31 1 S, 2 Mortq,14,' S' 3 25 Inlet est or Less • No upfront tees • Personal Wens/mortgages • Coneoledete your debts • Problem mortgage specialist Hood OIAos Pti: 519-7444251 Uc 010163 ASTRAL FUNDING INC. If you quality, payments: Amt. Aoorox. Mo. Pa ' 5,000 ' 13.55 '10,000 ' 27.08 '50,000 '135.42 '100,000 '270.83 1-800-387-1932 "11 11h'!r.'of H .1����i� The cottage the renter called home for the past seven months