Property Owners – Don’t Go Broke Over Bed Bugs
Don’t go broke over bed bugs. Every dollar you spend on bed bug treatments greatly affects your Return on Investment (ROI).
With severe exponential growth patterns and recurring eliminations; attempts at these rates, severely affect financials and may even bankrupt your property.
Bed bug legal decisions have gained tremendous attention with lawsuits claiming hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars in compensatory and punitive damages.
People pursuing these lawsuits are suing for negligence, recklessness, fraud, loss of consortium, intentional infliction of emotional distress, nuisance and are claiming that the bed bugs have caused lasting physical and emotional problems.
Bed bugs are great hitchhikers, and the problem begins with not being able to control who visits the property.
Landlords don’t have daily access to accommodations as do hotels.
You may not want to hear this, but landlords and property owners face specific legal obligations.
You must provide safe, habitable accommodations for tenants and that includes bed bugs.
Bed bug challenges include:
“Reacting” to complaints
Holding tenants financially responsible
Not inspecting and treating surrounding units
Repeat chemical attempts and build-up
Chemical resistance Issues
Chemicals don’t kill eggs
Lack of cooperation from tenant
Risk of lawsuits
Draining of ROI
Absence of documentation: Policies/procedures – Tenant education
No Post treatment follow-up
Getting Control Over Tenants Actions
Tenants are your first line of defense.
No one knows better what’s going on inside your units, than the person who lives there.
Bed bugs must be dealt with through a coordinated community effort, not just management.
You can’t expect your tenant to know anything about bed bugs, it’s your responsibility to educate them if you want to keep your property safe.
We take away the, “I told you so’s, I wasn’t aware of that or I did not know.”
Our bed bug education seminars and fact sheets are targeted specifically towards renters.
It fully explains their risks and responsibilities.
We educate you on all developmental stages, signs, where to look, and risks.
We further education by teaching tenants how to conform with your policies and procedures, noncompliance issues, and most importantly, what NOT TO DO!
If you shame your tenants, they hide the fact that they may have a problem and self-treat.
It is the number one reason bed bugs spread rapidly throughout buildings.
When this happens, you ultimately lose.
Bed Bug Lawsuits
Many times, landlords will attempt to hold tenants responsible for treatment cost.
In some cases, if a new tenant complains of bites, they are often forced to pay for treatment.
Many times, costing $500 to $2000 then, if they don’t pay – they’re faced with the threat of eviction.
This presents a big problem. Unless the property owner can prove they did their due diligence by providing a safe habitable dwelling prior to them moving in – a possible lawsuit may be in store.
Ignoring the problem will not make it go away.
The Importance of a Paper Trail
With persistent bed bug problems, property owners can and have been sued.
Regardless of whose fault, to defend yourself in a court of law, you have to prove that you’ve done everything possible to protect against and get rid of them.
Proof of this is nearly impossible unless, you have a proactive protocol and a paper trail.
We work with you to develop layers of protection to open a verifiable communication between you and your tenants.
This spells out both yours and their responsibilities.
We encourage property management to talk about bed bugs freely, openly and often with their tenants.
The sooner you start addressing bed bugs; the better off everyone will be to stop the spreading of bed bugs.
Have regular tenant meetings and talk about “early detection.”
Covering Out of Pocket Inspection & Treatment Expenses
Most important financial lessons come out of our toughest losses. A common theme is trying to succeed through trial and error without a sound strategy.
Many properties are already allocating funds beyond normal budgets with costs that are above what they want or have to pay.
They didn’t know they have a choice.
The IBBRA’s Layered Defense Strategy© provides a sound and affordable financial strategy having your inspection and treatment costs covered without reaching into your own pocket.
Are you ready to put repeat bed bug “issues” behind you?
Are you tired of writing big checks?
Do you want to replenish your ROI?
Are you ready to take back control?
Don’t Go Broke Over Bed Bugs
Tenant occupancy rates are important and bed bugs can show up through many ways.
NOTE: If a new tenant brings in bed bugs, according to Massachusetts’s Law MA 105 CMR 410.550, you are responsible unless it is a single-family dwelling.
We train each of your staff on how to identify bed bug signs before you’re surprised by a resident.
Allow us to show you what not to do and what to do.
Before you fall victim to accusations, let us help you design a proactive protocol that works for you and your tenants.
Before you allow a tenant to move in, make sure you inspect. We provide bed bug detection dogs for pre-renting inspections.
508-713-8267
We service the following areas:
Framingham,
Natick,
Weston,
Needham,
Waltham,
Lexington,
Newton,
Wellesley,
Dover,
Weston,
Wayland,
Hopkinton,
Holliston,
Sherborn,
Wayland,
Marlboro,
Belmont,
Arlington,
Acton,
Littleton,
Boxboro,
Stow,
Hudson,
Westwood,
Ashland,
#persistence #strategy #bedbugtreatments #proactive
