To me it sounds like high maintenance tenants (which you don't want). Generally, you get what you see unless you negotiate something else before signing the lease. Requesting new carpeting is obscene (unless this is a very high end rental).

I get high rents for a 2 family near BU. I cringe when I show the apartment but perspective college age tenants say it's nice and big. There are holes in the wall, bathrooms not cleaned in months, trash piling outside their kitchen...) The new tenants just expect a reasonably clean apartment. I will fix the holes and repaint the livingroom and hall (the next tenants say it's fine but it's horrible). I let the tenants paint their own rooms and supply paint and supplies. The floors are horrible so I don't worry about them. I have another house which is in very good condition. I paint it every 5 years or so and don't let tenants do it - they will ruin the beautiful hardwood floors, natural woodwork, etc.

I'm not sure what your rental price point is, but sometimes lower the rent you receive a bigger pool of perspective tenants.

The request for cleaning is definitely normal - including making sure the walls are clean and the carpets freshly steam-cleaned. Unless the paint job & carpets are in disrepair, the other requests are high maintenance. That's my opinion based on the fact that we've been renters of 4 houses over the last 4 years (we bought the 4th one last month - hurray!).

I would not expect the landlords to replace/remove the carpeting unless they were obviously worn, stained or just plain disgusting.

I'm not a fan of carpeting at all but I know walking into a rental that any landlord would have laughed & been "NEXT" if we'd demanded they change the flooring.

Sounds to me like they are trying to see how much they can get out of you and hoping for wood floors. Just my opinion, though.

As for painting, I'd only honor that if the room(s) in question actually need re-painting. I would definitely talk to your realtor to see what's up with this.

Good luck!

Uh, what your friend said. I would do what you are comfortable doing and leave it at that. There's plenty of other renters available. Or, you could agree to lower the rent slightly if they will do the painting and you don't replace the carpets but do have them cleaned. Something like that anyway. It's all negotiable.
Make sure you have pictures of everything to document the condition, get a full security deposit, and specify no pets.

We don't allow pets but a lot of people will secretly have indoor cats.

I forgot to mention that if they are placing "requests" to have the carpets replaced, then I think you might want to rethink them as tenants unless a lease has already been signed.

I agree with bostonpam - you get what you see unless you negotiate something before signing a lease. If you, as a renter, don't like carpet then go find a rental with tile or wood floors.

If they seem like they'll be good tenants then I would try and work with them. 3 girls who want to have a nice place are certainly better than 3 party girls who don't really care how clean it is or the condition of the floors. You can get a feel for what they are like and definitely get references.

I lived and went to school in Boston and I know my slumlords. The landlord would buy us the paint and we would paint. Even when we lived in the high rent district of San Diego, they painted the apartment and steamcleaned the carpet. Some people are watching too much HGTV. Canada has different standards and can negotiate. We owned a home on Cape Cod and some people demanded an overhead light be fixed (it never worked even after trying to fix.) You have to take charge and figure out what to do in your home.

I can see them wanting it cleaned but if they want it painted I'd say no unless they did it and I approved of the paint. As to the rug, yes a cleaning is enough. If they want a new one I would factor that in to the rent. They sound like three divas, are you sure you want them for tenants? If you have other interested people you may pass on these people by saying NO to all their requests.

I have rented most of my adult life until recently, and have lived in more rentals than I care to admit. Every place I have moved into was freshly painted by the landlord. It's something I would expect, not for a student rental, but for an "adult" rental. On the other hand, I would never have thought of asking the landlords to tear up the rugs unless they were in disgusting condition.

The only more major request I once made (and was granted) was that the landlord reglaze the tub. But in that case, the tub was so stained I wouldn't have bathed in it.

Here it is state law carpets must to steam cleaned between tenants. If they saw the work that was being done, perhaps they thought you were open to new carpet? I think they are going with "it can't hurt to ask". I would explain the age of the carpet to them and as a landlord you expect carpets to last this many years___ and tell them that is when they will be replaced. Keep it business.

My kids are renting an apartment at the Piazza in Northern Liberties and their landlord painted and replaced the carpets before they moved. When my parents rented a apartment in Moorestown the landlord also painted and put down new carpet.

The painting is standard - but I'm not sure about replacing carpets. But in both of my examples the apartments were part of a large complex. I could see where your house could be different since it's one unit and one landlord.

My son has friends who own a house in Fishtown and 2 apartments above a restaurant on South Street that they rent out. They also paint and put down new rugs - but maybe it's because they were so cheap that they needed to be replaced. I wonder if L&I has some regulation.

Does the Fire Department have to inspect to see if smoke detectors are there - they do that in Moorestown. And the owners pays the $50. for the certificate.

Pal, Paint and cleaning are normal expectations but if it was just painted, new paint again is not reasonable, carpets are only replaced when they are in poor condition. They can want what they want, but you're not expected to comply. Unless rental occupancies are slow in your area and the chances of finding someone else within your time frame are slim, you shouldn't.

I hope you don't mind this unsolicited advise however becoming a landlord for the first time can be an eye opening experience. If you haven't already, please be sure you have familiarized yourself about Landlord and Tenant rights as well as the laws pertaining to Fair Housing. Also, before the property is occupied, do a walk through and take date stamped video or photos of it's condition, then when the tenants give notice, do another walk through with your tenants and photo any damages then. Before & after photos I had on file once were key to winning a small claims case against a renter I once had.

In Ct where I live Broom swept and proper fire alarms are the only laws but most clean and redo paint if need be but I have rented places with carpet from the seventies even in the bath which I was alloud to replace with tile at my expense. In new york I believe fresh paint is part of the law. Every State has different renting rules. You should find out what yours are before moving forward. If replaced flooring is the norm in your area and price point they are not being high maintenance. if it is not the norm tell them no but give them the option to do it at their expense.
Good luck and maybe see about using a lawyer to help with your rights and lease terms?

Agree with others that cleaning is de rigeur, new paint is reasonable unless the place has already been painted recently. Replacing carpets is flat-out nuts, unless they are truly past it.

I don't know about PA but MA has oodles of rules for landlords, and failing to comply with them can make you very, very unhappy. For instance, you can only charge a certain amount of security deposit, and it must be escrowed in a special account with interest paid annually. If you rent out a place with code violations, the tenant is eligible to receive back three times the rent they paid. Etc. Look for local classes and guidebooks on becoming a landlord, stat.

My sister just changed apartments in Switzerland. Before moving in and then again when moving out, she went through the apt with the landlord and they both documented ANY dings, scratches, cracks, etc.

The outgoing inspection was, to me, unbelievably thorough - they opened windows to make sure the window sill was cleaned, the outside (workable) shutters were checked for dirt, she had to have the dw certified by a professional that it was in working order, etc. She spent 28 hours cleaning the apt for the inspection. The only flaw, which she will be billed to repair, was a door was scratched on moving out day.

Their method might be a bit extreme but it might be a good idea to have a documented walk-thru with the tenants. Then there is no question, when they leave, about the state of the unit.

I am working with a Realty company to act as rental agents for this property. I want to have a reasonable, if arm's length relationship with the tenants.

The Realty company has 3BR 2Ba rentals ranging from $9000 a month to $2400 a month and my listing is almost at the bottom of this list. I was more interested in getting it rented than getting an actual return on investment. I probably listed at about 10% under what I could've gotten.

I know it is standard here to have the apartment clean (more than broom clean), and repainting after a tenant is pretty standard too. I was surprised about the rugs.

The thing is, that I am positive no one has lived in the house since it was last painted and the two bedrooms and hallway were rerugged for resale. The top floor looks older but it's not dirty. I have helped a number of friends move over the years and the rugs were clean but not new.--but most apartments here are hardwood.

So I wondered if the tenants were asking for something based upon their typical experiences in the past, or on the basis of seeing the house while the new bathroom was being constructed.

This house has a 4 year old kitchen and a 4 year old bath that were essentially unused and a brand new bath. The house was owned by someone who stayed overnight less than once a month apparently. I think in general the tenants are getting a pretty good deal.

I think they are getting a great deal and also say no to replacing the rugs since they are in good condition. That makes no sense.

pal, what does the realty company suggest? For their commission, they should be doing more than just providing a credit report on prospective tenants. Ours provided fairly air-tight addendums to the city ordinance-specified rental agreement that spelled out many terms. Despite this, there was one tenant who flagrantly violated the terms, and as out-of-state landlords we had to retain counsel at the end of the lease to protect our interests.

Unfortunately, in many locales tenants' rights trump landlords'. Professional cleaning and touch-up painting are reasonable requests. Replacing new carpet is not. As suggested, be sure to have everything spelled out and photographed.

We've found renting to be a mixed bag. One tenant was a Fortune 500 CEO and another horror story was an NBA player, both of whom had much, much more money than us. The CEO was unethical and stiffed us for the last two months rent thereby forcing us to use his security deposit to cover the loss. The ballplayer installed partial wall to wall carpeting over beautiful white oak flooring, removed very expensive wallpaper and had a huge dog despite the lease and condo association rules specifically prohibiting dogs. OTH, we've had other renters who have become friends and were delightful tenants.

Unless you've already signed, consider passing. Tenants who start off on the wrong foot usually are major PITAs. As far as ROI, we tried to consider the IRS consequences as well as our expenses.

Seems like everyone haggles for the best deal these days even renters. I think your first consideration should be your time frames and where the market currently is in your area. If it's a good market and vacancies are filling relatively quick, then I wouldn't negotiate with them because odds are in your favor that someone else will come along fairly quick and accept it as is. However, if the market is soft and vacancies are lingering for long periods of time, you may want to try to find a compromise like refuse the carpet and agree to the paint (or whatever is comfortable for you) just to fill it without having to drop your pricing. I would also turn to the Realty company for some advise.

I think we are going to reach a compromise.

Basically I don't think they like the color used in the house. Neither do I, much, but it was just painted.

The rugs are new. I will make sure they are clean.

I am letting them pick a paint color for each bedroom. They said they will provide the paint if the owner paints it. The paint color is subject to my approval.

I am okay with this. I have seen some really lousy paint jobs and would rather have control of how this is done myself. Particularly on the third floor there is a wood sheath and beam ceiling and I do not want paint or roller marks all over the edges of these.

It sounds like you are being more than fair. Let's hope with as picky as they are about the paint colors and so on they will be really responsible renters and take care of the place. Good luck, here's hoping it goes well for you!

As a long-time slumlord, I would clean the house and clean the carpets.

Repaint - no
new carpet - no, unless the existing is in bad shape/

>Basically I don't think they like the color used in the house. Neither do I, much, but it was just painted.

Well, but that's part of the deal with renting: you take what's there and lump it. If it has teal carpet, you knew that before you went in and you live with it, for instance.

But in my renting days I knew some landlords who had a clause that the tenant could repaint (at their expense) in another color as long as they painted back to the original before moving out.

I talked with my Realtor about all this yesterday. She said there is no right or wrong answer to this as it tends to be market driven.

If there are a lot of rental properties available, she has had to repaint and replace rugs for the tenant because they will find a landlord who will.

If the rental market is tight, she has told the client that the unit is "as is" and the next tenant on the list will rent it as is.

This property occupies a good niche, and there are other people who are interested in it. However, I want to get someone in there in September because then the market slumps for a few months.

Here is what we came up with:

Rugs stay. We confirmed that they are brand new.

The tenants can provide paint for their bedrooms and I will paint them. I do not want them painting it themselves because most people are not very good painters.

If the color was nicer, I probably would say no, but I find the color choice a bit odd, and it also does not look that great with the carpets. They interact with each other in a kind of unpleasant way.

Palimpset, what about just painting it all white or a light neutral? I just don't think you'll want to go through this again in 12 months or so if they move out and if they pick colours the next tenants don't like you'll be back to painting again.

I agree with other posters that asking for new carpet is going too far and if they don't like the flooring they should look elsewhere or buy their own house and do it on their own dime :)

I am hoping that in 12 months, I will be the one moving in :)

Also at that point it may be more reasonable to paint because its between tenants. This house was literally just painted.

Pal, My son (25) has a number of friends living downtown, and that's where he spends most of his weekends.
We can't find a place he can afford, they go too fast.

I have searched Society Hill to South Philly for him, and they go INSTANTLY.
There are SO many renters out there and not enough apartments.
He needs roommates and all his friends have places.
It's definitely a Pro-Landlord environment. You're in charge.

And even if it is 3 girls, I wouldn't replace 'decent' carpet. No way.

I assume you're actually signing with their parents since these potential tenants are not adults?

Sounds like they've been watching too much "For Rent" on HGTV, and that you've reached a good compromise. I've been mixing some interesting colors for a renter lately...let us know if yours have better taste!