Landlord texting me after 11pm at night

[Anonymous]

I put my phone in silent mode at night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would ignore her. About the dog I would respond, "Nope, I don't know anything about it." Don't let her stress you out.

OP here: Well I already replied to her telling her how it was my boyfriends dog but that she was 1) not tied up outside/at all and 2) certainly wasn't barking all day outside. She left it with telling me that she was going to contact the homeowners association on Monday and would be in touch. I really hope she doesn't think I am going to pay a "fine" for something that just isn't true at all. I've lived here for 3 years now and she's such a pain to deal with so I'm sure it's going to turn into a huge issue but I'm hoping not.

What the hell? This is why i always deny and play dumb unless the person has pictures/evidence.

This lady sounds crazy.

OP Here: Clearly someone lied because his dog has literally NEVER been tied up outside, ever. Also, the second she barks, he goes outside to make her stop and she has never barked for more then 1-2 minutes tops. I'm extremely pissed about this issue too as she mentioned getting a "fine" and I'm assuming she's going to expect me to pay for it. Wouldn't there have been some sort of a warning, etc. if this really was the case and there was a "barking issue"? I wasn't aware that they can just "fine" you for something without warning you, etc. Either way, what they are claiming isn't true at all so I'll definitely be fighting that.

I mean, I worked for a law firm as a paralegal for a while. I'm no legal expert but I wouldn't be paying that. First of all, there would need to be some kind of previous statute against tying up dogs? Which seems extremely unlikely that that would be passable, since dogs pretty much need to be on leashes in public.

I would probably say something like, "I'm not prepared to pay any kind of a fine but if you would like I could forward you the information of the dog owner. Perhaps the homeowner's association can bring the fine to him."

Chances are she's bluffing you, and once you move the focus to someone else outside her purview, she will lose the tiny amount of power she's trying to grasp at.

[Anonymous]

HOA wouldn't fine someone that quickly and with no proof. There would be a meeting etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you're getting way too worked up. I would kill to have a landlord who texted at 11pm, as opposed to knocking on my door at 9am (which is my current landlord's specialty). It's all about perspective, right?

There's no rule saying that you need to reply that night. Just ignore. You can't really tell another adult when or when not to contact you via text, unless it's harassment.

OP here: I just find it unprofessional as a landlord to be constantly texting me and my roommate after 11pm at night with petty issues. I've had two landlords before her and they always emailed me or called me with any questions or concerns. My dad owns a couple of rental properties and he's said that he's never sent a text to a tenant regarding an issue and that he thinks I should request that going forward, she address all concerns via email or phone call.

I don't see how this is unprofessional? It's no different then sending an email and there's no requirement that you respond right away.

[Anonymous]

Why don't you send her a polite text back asking her to use email (which you check daily) unless it's an emergency.
I never texted my tenants at night but responded to their texts whenever they were sent (occasionally late at night). And I only used texts for issues that needed to be resolved quickly.

[Anonymous]

I think it's the fact that it's a professional, contractual relationship. I agree that she should not be texting you at all. Have you told her you prefer texts? Do you even check email? Some 20-somethings don't. I would block them all and tell her you don't get texting on those numbers and to please email.

And yes, there would certainly be a warning first, it that's even a legit violation.

She should really get a property management company to handle everything because she is too prone to boundary issues, based on what you have written here.

[Anonymous]

I have lived in several different apartments and never once received a text. Everything was done over email and sent during business hours.

I think it's weird and very unprofessional. I would be quite taken aback if I got a late night text from my landlord...

[Anonymous]

I don't think it's beneficial to block texts - what if there is a true emergency.
I would set an expectation, by not responding, until the next morning - as has been said, some people see texting as similar to voicemail to be responded at when available, while others think it requires a faster more timely response.

I'm a landlord and I can't speak to her crazy, but I deal with a nutso HOA and this kind of crap does happen often in my community as well (fines without warnings, lies being told on certain homeowners, retaliation. I was HOA president before I moved away, and the people are the board now are malicious, incompetent, nasty dolts, but no one else wants to do it and it's a small community so the pot to draw from is tiny - and I warned my tenant about it before they moved in, I'd sell the property if it still wasn't upside down).
And, if I got a letter indicating that a fine was being levied, I would absolutely expect my tenants to pay the fine they incurred.
That said, I would help my tenants in any way possible to counter their allegations, if they believed this to be issued falsely.

Please consider approaching her as working together instead of it being a series of problems you must contend with, especially if you enjoy living there.

FWIW - my first set of tenants were former co-workers, and she used to text me at 3am over BS I couldn't do a thing about (a fire alarm going off in another building). I set a DND on my phone and told her if it was a true emergency, I needed a call after 10pm - and bc of the DND maybe two or three in a row to trigger the DND to allow the call through. That way I wasn't bothered by her stupid texts, but she knew how to get ahold of me in a true emergency.

[Anonymous]

why do you care if she texts, emails or phones? you are getting worked up over the mode of communication and I really don't see how that matters at all. if you don't like texts, just respond to her by email the next morning instead of by text.

[Anonymous]

Just move.

[Anonymous]

Wow, you sound extremely entitled and clueless and young. You live in her house; she has the right to monitor what is going on and relay information to you. I fail to see what you are so worked up about with respect to texting at 11. It seems like what you are really mad about is the thing with the dog, but keep in mind that it is the HOA that is mistaken, not you. Sometimes in life conflicts and misunderstandings arise, and have to be sorted out. You sound real dumb and frankly spoiled about all of this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would ignore her. About the dog I would respond, "Nope, I don't know anything about it." Don't let her stress you out.

OP here: Well I already replied to her telling her how it was my boyfriends dog but that she was 1) not tied up outside/at all and 2) certainly wasn't barking all day outside. She left it with telling me that she was going to contact the homeowners association on Monday and would be in touch. I really hope she doesn't think I am going to pay a "fine" for something that just isn't true at all. I've lived here for 3 years now and she's such a pain to deal with so I'm sure it's going to turn into a huge issue but I'm hoping not.

When you replied, did you reply in text or email? Always reply in email. Never reply to her text, and never after normal business hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:why do you care if she texts, emails or phones? you are getting worked up over the mode of communication and I really don't see how that matters at all. if you don't like texts, just respond to her by email the next morning instead of by text.

+1 Just ignore the text. In the morning follow up by email. "I received the text you sent at 11pm last night about xyz issue, please provide more details about this issue." I would probably get familiar with your lease so that you can cite it when she is in violation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:why do you care if she texts, emails or phones? you are getting worked up over the mode of communication and I really don't see how that matters at all. if you don't like texts, just respond to her by email the next morning instead of by text.

+1 Just ignore the text. In the morning follow up by email. "I received the text you sent at 11pm last night about xyz issue, please provide more details about this issue." I would probably get familiar with your lease so that you can cite it when she is in violation.

What they said.

[Anonymous]

You're making an issue out of a non issue.

Texting- don't respond until the am, or email her asking her to email with any issues instead of texting.

Dog- "wasnt us. Don't know anything about this."

The end.