I have a friend who learned a great lesson on how to catch her kids in the act when they were doing things they shouldn't be doing (about 7-8 years ago, this was): leave disposable cameras all around the house. It was inevitable that, at the height of stupid, punishable behavior, some highly amused, short-sighted rocket scientist would snap a picture. Mom would collect the cameras and have the film developed only to have photographic evidence.
A fool with a tool is still a fool. Frankly, people like the landlord should be grateful that people can be such idiots about what they publish on places like Facebook. We talk about the value of transparency, but people don't stop to think about what that really means. How many parents only got on Facebook at first to monitor their kids? And how many times do you think it takes for something to come back to haunt them before they start getting smarter about how to use the tools?
People will eventually learn. In the meantime, though, it certainly is amusing to see people being dumb and then getting caught in the act on something entirely preventable.
TJ Kelly
· 7 months ago
"...the incident might provoke landlords to start searching for party pictures on social networks - you never know when your thrashed apartment might show up."
And as well they should. If we make the information public, why shouldn't we pay consequences for it? Schools and police departments are doing it, and I support them 100%.
There needs to be a line between public and private. If something is private (or incriminating), maybe you shouldn't post it!
MLDina
· 7 months ago
It looks like the tenants left before she had a chance to evict them. You have to be careful what you post on social networks, you never know who is watching. Oh, and cleaning up your rental is always a good idea, too.
Harshad
· 7 months ago
Haha really funny story. I have never seen such example in my life. However, this is not just for facebook, other social networking sites and photo sharing sites will also give the same results. ;)
Erin
· 7 months ago
Wow...crazy!
Betti Anderliter
· 7 months ago
Actually, I wish we had social networking sites as a resource while I was an apartment manager in previous years. It could have saved me some grief that I had suffered due to the unknowing unruly tenants that I had.
Josh
· 7 months ago
I don't get this story...who cares if they posted pictures or not...if renters trash a house they trash it and unless it's repaired before the landlord sees then there will be consequences. Social networking simply make it known sooner than otherwise.
christiananderson
· 7 months ago
Given the house party pix the house-trashers posted, my guess is they'll have trouble renting again as more and more landlords for their Facebook due diligence.
I'm waiting for the story of the kid that gets turned down for an apartment because of Facebook pictures and the parents sue for invasion of privacy. You know its coming.
It's unfortuantely too true that public, and not so visible but researchable by experts, information, can and will be used against a person. Sorry for the Miranda rights tone of this post but it's important for people to realize the full implications of what opening up their private lives can lead to.
Resa
· 7 months ago
Haha, I remember things like this happening in high school, except it was a guy getting kicked out of campus leadership for posting pictures of himself drinking at a party on myspace.
Σχολή Χορού
· 7 months ago
Thats why i am not using my real name in facebook. lol.
Ross
· 7 months ago
So, they "fled" or got evicted. Sounds like they bolted before they got evicted, like you said. Confused?
Molly Hughes
· 7 months ago
As I work for The Cleaner Image apartment and office cleaning service this doesn't surprise me. What too many don't seem to understand is that a rental isn't your own home where if you trash the place you're the only one responsible for the damage. When I go clean a vacant apartment, it's the complex who pays my company. Sometimes the former renters will get charged a fee to partially cover my services if they made no attempt to clean up behind themselves. The same goes for repainting, replacing fixtures, etc... Too many times the charges incurred by repairing damages resulting from a bad tenant aren't recoverable to the complex and those who are responsible tenants have to absorb the cost of doing business with people who haven't accepted the responsibility of adulthood. While you're renting you should expect some level of privacy, of course. However, if the landlord/complex manager has reasonable expectations that you're not respecting the rental agreement they have the right to inspect the dwelling personally (or by Googling your name if you post your misdeeds on a social network). Public is public, whether it's the local laundry bulletin board or a public profile on a social network. Molly
Karyn Romeis
· 7 months ago
Facebook didn't get them evicted. They behaved like eejits. If they hadn't posted the pictures on FB, the lady would still have discovered the damage at some point, and they would still have been held accountable. What got them evicted was their lack of respect for property, for their neighbours, for the landlady, for one another and even (it's gotta be said) for themselves.
Michael Bennett Cohn
· 7 months ago
I had to leave the room I was renting because of a tweet. Story here.
Although, as in the Facebook story above, the social media platform is only acting as a catalyst for an issue that was already present.
Atheistno1
· 7 months ago
Irresponsibility had everything to do with their actions & the final outcome.
Steve Amiaga
· 7 months ago
Even better reason to not have a job, and be your own boss! First off, you can't be fired, and second, a benefit of this choice is you get to eat what you kill. The problem is you have to kill to eat at all! The only way to succeed in business is with a proven system and to associate with people who are where you want to be.
DM
· 7 months ago
Seems like employers include social network content in their background checks on prospective employees. Why shouldn't the day come when landlords do the same for prospective renters? If their personal page is filled with photos of wild parties, particularly if it's clear that they hosted said parties, why would a landlord want to rent to them?
All Comments
A fool with a tool is still a fool. Frankly, people like the landlord should be grateful that people can be such idiots about what they publish on places like Facebook. We talk about the value of transparency, but people don't stop to think about what that really means. How many parents only got on Facebook at first to monitor their kids? And how many times do you think it takes for something to come back to haunt them before they start getting smarter about how to use the tools?
People will eventually learn. In the meantime, though, it certainly is amusing to see people being dumb and then getting caught in the act on something entirely preventable.
And as well they should. If we make the information public, why shouldn't we pay consequences for it? Schools and police departments are doing it, and I support them 100%.
There needs to be a line between public and private. If something is private (or incriminating), maybe you shouldn't post it!
I'm waiting for the story of the kid that gets turned down for an apartment because of Facebook pictures and the parents sue for invasion of privacy. You know its coming.
It's unfortuantely too true that public, and not so visible but researchable by experts, information, can and will be used against a person. Sorry for the Miranda rights tone of this post but it's important for people to realize the full implications of what opening up their private lives can lead to.
While you're renting you should expect some level of privacy, of course. However, if the landlord/complex manager has reasonable expectations that you're not respecting the rental agreement they have the right to inspect the dwelling personally (or by Googling your name if you post your misdeeds on a social network). Public is public, whether it's the local laundry bulletin board or a public profile on a social network.
Molly
Although, as in the Facebook story above, the social media platform is only acting as a catalyst for an issue that was already present.