I have an in-law that is thinking to move to our area here and I'm kind of.....mesmorized... Mostly EVERYONE around here is all about their fur-babies and their 4 legged kids/friends. I have some myself and could not imagine life without them.... They are my 4-legged loves!!! What is so mesmorizing to me is that any place you see available to rent around this area does not want to accept pets....????????? We are all about pets and taking care of them and loving them but yet someone who needs a place to live and has pets cannot find SOMEwhere here that is pet friendly????? Really??? I understand the concern in the area of destruction possibilities and all that.... But not EVERYBODY has destructive pets. And is that NOT what a pet deposit is for??????? Cannot there not be a "case by case" basis??? After all, we all know that some people's kids can be more destructive than a pet. But we don't see many "no kids" policies around... Yes, I know there is a big difference between animals and humans... But for some, as we all have read here too, their pets ARE their kids... That being said, there is NO reason, IMHO only, to be "over the top" with pets.... It's all just my humble opinion.........
Most corporate owned discourage pets. but most privately owned will work with you. I know of several home (including my in-laws house) that are rented that have pets. Yes a deposit was paid in most cases, and the animals are not destructive.
There are people with allergies who can have actionable cause if a landlord does not clean the property sufficiently well to prevent a prior pet from causing an allergic reaction. This is more of a problem with a corporate owner with "deep pockets" but can bite anyone who is a landlord or property manager .... pun intended.
There are plenty of places around that allow pets. Where are they looking exactly? A quick search shows up about a dozen apartment complexes that allow pets of some kind within the local area (~10 miles from Clayton). I will agree that a lot of them have breed restrictions (which is absurd), however most of that is due to their insurance policies, not the administration of the complex. http://ameliavillageapartments.com/apartments/pet-policy/
Not trying to be ugly, but you obviously don't have any rental houses. You would not believe the things people let their pets destroy. Damage can easily run into the thousands, especially if there are pest problems.
No....I don't have rental houses... I understand the damage part of it too. But if someone is in the rental property business, that's a risk they take. And again, that is what the pet deposit is for. If a landlord feels the need to do so, charge a higher pet deposit. There are always ways to work it to allow someone with pets to rent a property. Atleast give them the chance. Do reference checks, background checks, whatever. And yes, I know people can lie and have others to lie for them. But dang...if they go that far, then I'm sure they are lying about the rest of the info a landlord may need and you don't want them anyway, pets or not. If it gets to a point of stuff getting tore up, that's when the landlord can take action. And I am of the opinion that KIDS do more damage than pets alot of the time. I've seen it. I just feel, IMHO only, that it is not fair to make someone who has pets have to make a hard decision like that...ESPECIALLY when most lanlords have pets themselves and would not part with them. Maybe I look at this differently than everyone but I am sure I am not alone. Have a good day and stay warm!
I own a home that I rent out. I am not in the "rental business". Our tenant and their pet were screened before signing a lease. Their dog is about 10-12 years old and crate trained. They are not to bring any new animals into our house, esp puppies or cats. The pet deposit though, is a pittance compared to the amount of damage an animal can do. What if an animal destroyed the carpeting throughout a house? What if it chewed up moulding, cabinet corners, chewed/clawed a hole in the wall, etc? What about the yard and landscaping? How much pet deposit is reasonable for me to foresee the unforseeable? Then people would gripe about that. My property, my lease/rules.
I understand completely. But you said your tenant and pet were screened beforehand. So if you knew that it would be a destructive situation, then you would not have rented to them. Am I correct? As far as an amount goes, there is no way to tell what is reasonable. Hence, a suitable reason for the screening. Look, I understand all the aspects of this and the concerns. And I give all the kudos I can to landlords! But I have validity to my side as well. There are alot of good pet owners and pets that are AWESOME renters and pay on time and take care of things that are possibly being turned away without a chance. Leaving the landlord to possibly get in a renter from depths of Hades that is a deadbeat with rent or lets their kids tear the place up worse than a pack of wolves. I know SOMEbody sees where I'm coming from.
Please understand that I'm not saying I'm right and that everyone else's statements don't mean anything. They do. I just thought that I'd have someone else to say that they felt the same way. And I'm sure there are some but maybe not willing to say so. I guess I root for the underdog. Always have and I never get much support. I think I look at things in a way no one else can. I see a side no one else wants to see or is willing to see and agree that it is kind of unfair. ...eh...and it's ok. Ain't mad, upset or hurt or anything. I will still continue to see things as I do. And if I ever do become an owner of rental properties I can do it the way I would want to. Thanks all for listening!
As a pet owner and former renter there are two sides to every story. You have to be very careful who you rent from too. When we moved down here we rented for a couple years to be sure we were gonna stay and we had two dogs, one a complete outside dog and the other an adamantly trained dog, seriously she would have gone through a window rather than do her business inside. When we bought our home here before we moved out of the rental property we paid to have all carpets cleaned, had the inside painted and cleaned with no doubt we would get our deposit and pet deposit back. When after two months we didn't get it and no responses to my calls to the landlord i finally got an email saying they had to keep both deposits because they had to replace all the carpet due to pet urine odors!!! I called the company we hired to clean the carpets and they confirmed there were no pet stains, odors or anything when they cleaned. So obviously it goes both ways, renters beware of landlords that say pets are ok, they may have a underlying motive to use your money for much needed upgrades for the next tenant
Seems like the best bet for all involved - specially the pets (so they won't be "given away" due to moving) - is to look for purchasing a house instead of renting. After all, from what I hear about rentals .. it's just as cheap or cheaper to pay mortgage instead of rent. AND you get to keep your pets - who deserve forever homes once they have a family that brings them into their lives. (Not saying anyone is getting rid of pet in this instance - just throwing it out there in the mix since it happens a lot)
All I'm saying is that, just because people disagree with you doesn't mean they don't understand. It's all good. :cheers:
My sister rented out her house here in our area when she and her family lived in CA for a few years (hubby stationed @ Travis AFB). The family consisted of 2 adults and 3 children. No pets. They did tens of thousands of dollars of damage to that house! Their boys were more destructive than I have seen any animal be....wow! Just a flip side to some of the comments.
I agree with this as well, my parents rented out a house in the west years ago. Looks can be deceiving. Their teenage kids punched holes in the walls and the adults did not care for the inground pool, leaving debris to clog up the filters and burn up the pump. It's a risk, but with an ironclad lease agreement and stipulations/careful screening you might avoid this or at least be able to recoup your costs.