Murder: From A Landlord's Perspective
Gertrude Carter was eating lunch with her husband when she heard the news.
“One of my tenants called, panicked,” she says recalling that day. “She said she heard a confrontation coming from Fred’s apartment and she thought he might be dead.” Carter and her husband left immediately and drove down the street to the apartment complex to find police taping up the scene. It was there that their fears were confirmed. One of their tenants had been murdered.
While death is devastating and confusing for all involved, it can particularly complicated for landlords. Like so many others, Carter and her husband had never anticipated that this would happen, and they didn’t realize how involved – and costly- the process would be.
“Because of the nature of the situation, we had to call in HAZMAT clean-up,” explained Carter. “They had to rip up some of the floor boards, which will have to be repaired. We also have to replace some appliances that were ruined from blood spatter or police fingerprint testing.” Fortunately the HAZMAT team is covered by insurance. The Carters are still unsure about how much of the repairs will be covered.
Additional costs include Fred’s deposit, which the Carters chose to return to his family, as well as the cost of having a vacant apartment.
“We were already not profiting as much as we wanted on that apartment, so a vacancy will hurt. And we’re concerned tenants won’t want to rent the apartment once they know what happened there.”
When asked what advice she would give to other landlords in this situation, Carter suggests that you begin clean-up as soon as you possibly can and that you double-check with the insurance company regarding what is covered. “Our agent told us that the HAZMAT team wouldn’t be covered. That would have been very costly. Luckily, one of the surveyors told us to check that again while she was giving us an estimate.”
She also said to make sure the air conditioning is on in cases that involve a lot of blood. “Fortunately the air was on in our apartment, but that was one of the first questions the surveyor asked us,” she said. “The heat can attract maggots and other creatures to the apartment. That could cause more damage and be uncomfortable for other tenants.”
Of course, the most tragic aspect of this murder is the loss of a loyal tenant.
“Fred had a green thumb and he used to plant flowers around the complex. We’ll definitely miss that,” Carter remembered. “He also used to open his place up to homeless people and serve them dinner. The week before he died he said he was never going to leave this place. He said, ‘I’m going to stay here until the day I die,’ " she repeated, her voice cracking. “I guess he did.”
“One of my tenants called, panicked,” she says recalling that day. “She said she heard a confrontation coming from Fred’s apartment and she thought he might be dead.” Carter and her husband left immediately and drove down the street to the apartment complex to find police taping up the scene. It was there that their fears were confirmed. One of their tenants had been murdered.
While death is devastating and confusing for all involved, it can particularly complicated for landlords. Like so many others, Carter and her husband had never anticipated that this would happen, and they didn’t realize how involved – and costly- the process would be.
“Because of the nature of the situation, we had to call in HAZMAT clean-up,” explained Carter. “They had to rip up some of the floor boards, which will have to be repaired. We also have to replace some appliances that were ruined from blood spatter or police fingerprint testing.” Fortunately the HAZMAT team is covered by insurance. The Carters are still unsure about how much of the repairs will be covered.
Additional costs include Fred’s deposit, which the Carters chose to return to his family, as well as the cost of having a vacant apartment.
“We were already not profiting as much as we wanted on that apartment, so a vacancy will hurt. And we’re concerned tenants won’t want to rent the apartment once they know what happened there.”
When asked what advice she would give to other landlords in this situation, Carter suggests that you begin clean-up as soon as you possibly can and that you double-check with the insurance company regarding what is covered. “Our agent told us that the HAZMAT team wouldn’t be covered. That would have been very costly. Luckily, one of the surveyors told us to check that again while she was giving us an estimate.”
She also said to make sure the air conditioning is on in cases that involve a lot of blood. “Fortunately the air was on in our apartment, but that was one of the first questions the surveyor asked us,” she said. “The heat can attract maggots and other creatures to the apartment. That could cause more damage and be uncomfortable for other tenants.”
Of course, the most tragic aspect of this murder is the loss of a loyal tenant.
“Fred had a green thumb and he used to plant flowers around the complex. We’ll definitely miss that,” Carter remembered. “He also used to open his place up to homeless people and serve them dinner. The week before he died he said he was never going to leave this place. He said, ‘I’m going to stay here until the day I die,’ " she repeated, her voice cracking. “I guess he did.”
