Apartment Bed Bug Nightmare

Bed bugs are expensive and stressful

Let me explain…

I was under contract for my 20 unit apartment complex. As I always preach and teach my students, you want to inspect ALL UNITS - Yes, all 20 units- so there are minimal surprises when taking over an apartment complex. It costs $2,000 to inspect all 20 units ($100/unit).

During inspection, they check for pests and it passed. No signs of pest infestations - no termites, no roaches, no bedbugs. I was relieved because I hate bugs. The inspector did mention one unit had lots of “stuff” and “junk” in the unit, but I didn’t think too much of it since it passed inspection.

Around May 2022, I closed on the 20 unit and my new property managers notified all tenants - new ownership, new property management, and contact information for any issues.

After 1 week, 1 unit reported having issues of small bites around their hands and legs. I didn’t think much of it. It’s summer time, maybe it’s mosquitoes. Then another unit started complaining about bites then another unit. Eventually I had 7 units out of the 15 complain of bites. At this point, I said “oh shit.”

I contacted 3 pest control companies for quotes ( you always want at least 3 quotes). I asked my property manager for referrals. First quote was $12,000 to fumigate all 20 units - OUCH! Second quote was $10,000 and third quote was $9,000. Wait a second…each unit rents for $500/month x 20 units = $10,000/month assuming fully occupied. I just lost 1 month worth of rent to kill some bugs? I bought the property right (about $50,000 under market value) so it’s not terrible.

Only 7 units were infested, why fumigate all 20?

What I learned from pest control is if you fumigate 1 unit, the bed bugs will go to the next unit so unfortunately you have to fumigate all units. I thought the pest control guy was trying to gouge me, but all 3 said the same thing.

Now all 15 tenants were notified about fumigation. Prepping for fumigation is a lot of work for the tenants. They must empty all cabinets and cupboards. Empty the closet. Remove all open food. Place everything in the middle of the room away from the walls and cover it with plastic. This needs to be done so the bed bugs have no where else to run and hide.

Since there was so much prep work for the tenants, a lot of the tenants just left and moved out. I mean all of their stuff had to be removed anyways. About 7 of my tenants left during this process which was ok with me since I was going to renovate the units anyways.

What’s even worse with bed bugs is, retreatment is very common. We had 1 tenant who didn’t comply with the request and had all their stuff in there, making the fumigation not as effective. The pest control gives you a 90 day guarantee. If there are any signs of bed bugs, that unit will be fumigated again.

What caused the bed bug outbreak?

Remember that 1 tenant that had a bunch of “junk” and “stuff” in his unit during inspection. The same tenant that didn’t comply with fumigation. Well turns out he was letting homeless woman stay over in exchange for “services” if you get my drift. The constant flow of homeless into and out of the unit combined with all his junk was the source of the bed bug outbreak.

My property management issued a 15 day eviction notice (I know super friendly landlord laws). Tenant left and we fumigated his room and it stopped the bed bug outbreak.

Ask yourself: Are you willing to deal with bed bugs for financial freedom?

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