Seattle Homeowner Forced To Live In Van As His Tenant Refuses To Pay Rent, Turned House Into AirBnB

Seattle Homeowner Is Forced To Live In Van As His Deadbeat Tenant Refuses To Pay Rent Even After Turning The House Into An AirBnB: Investing in real estate often seems straightforward: Purchase a house, lease it and receive monthly rent from the tenant. But reality doesn't always follow the script, as Jason Roth of Seattle can attest. Roth rented out his home in Rainier Valley but the tenant stopped paying rent. Roth is now owed $29,000 in unpaid rent plus utilities. Roth is living in a van with his dog Wally, KIRO 7 News reported.

"It's frustrating, extremely frustrating. It's something I can't fully wrap my head around," Roth told the station. The delinquent tenant also has listed the downstairs unit for $434 per night on the short-term rental platform Airbnb. "At the very least he's generating $2,000 a month, and it's more than likely that he's generating close to $3,000, possibly even $4,000, depending on the month," Roth said. "So, not only is he not paying me, but he's generating an income through the basement Airbnb unit, and meanwhile, I'm having to pay the utilities for that unit."