Saturday, January 10, 2009

Wading Through Tenant Trash Is Tiring

Thank you to everyone who left comments yesterday. I would love to answer each one of them but I am sooo tired. I am going to be frantic all week about getting the house ready for new people. I was at the house at 7 am and my friend and the neighbor worked all day. The guy that I hired made 2 trips to the dump and cleaned up all the trash in the yard and pruned the trees. I still need someone to pick up all the dog doodoo. I almost have everything sorted. I found a tiny little scale and called the policeman who was out yesterday to see if he wanted it. He said there was some residue that he could test so he took it as evidence. I found a bunch of large red light bulbs. Does anyone know if they are used to grow plants? I am sure my tenants will not contact me to get their possessions back. If they do I will have the police waiting for them. I'm sure they would like to chat.

I also found a crack pipe in one of the bedrooms and lots and lots of checkbooks. I bet those belonged to the mysterious roommate who my tenants claimed stole their $3,000. They told me she was in to drugs and they don't associate with those kinds of people so they kicked her out. I guess the pot smokers don't consider pot a drug. They look down on the crack users. Everyone can look down on someone else for something. I remember when my tenants wanted to rent the place. They told me that they had been property managers and that they were Crime-Free Certified by the city. That means that they went to a class on drug and violence awareness and now they have the power to do a speedy eviction. Good for them. They also know how to hide their activities and work around the law.

Regarding the vehicle, since I have to keep it for 10 days after I notify them by mail, I can't leave it in my driveway because I need my driveway cleared in 7 days. If I keep it and apply for an abandoned title later on, I need to find someone with a trailer to haul it. The guy who took the stuff to the trash for me was going to pull the car behind his but the steering wheel is locked so he can't do that. We found lots of keys in the house but none went to the car. I can't donate it unless the charity is willing to tow it and then wait for the 10 days to go by. I'll call some charities on Monday and find out.

There is still so much to do. I have a carpet cleaner coming to give me an estimate on Monday IF they can salvage the carpet. I'm thinking about having someone install linoleum in the master bath and closet because there is a large stain that looks like blood and a black stain where they dumped their ashes. I hope I don't need new carpet for the whole house although it would make things smell a lot better.

The handyman is going to fill all of the nail holes and do touch-up painting for me, replace the bedroom door and the kitchen faucet and unclog two drains. Oh, and I just found a hole in the wall from the door knob in the master bedroom. I'll still need to hire some house cleaners because there is a lot more to do. And I need to buy new mini-blinds and curtains for every room and an entertainment center and...and...and... At least I can see progress. But right now I need a shower with lots of soap!

12 comments:

Unknown said...

Breathe deeeeeeeeppppllllyyy. You last paragraph has you hyperventilating. Wow, I am really sorry that you have to deal with this.

I just found out a friend of ours had just about the same happen to him, except the tenants ripped out the marble countertops & took it with them. But, they left their paraphenilia there... like the lamps, pipes, etc...

Yes, those lights your found are for growing pot. Don't be suprised if you find blue ones, too! Cuz the light effects how the plants grow.

I wish you all the strength to pull through this! I wish I was around to help you clean! Well wishes and to better tenants!

Lizzie @ her homeworld said...

I am really impressed with your strength of ou just wont be beaten. I wish I could help but I am also wishing for better tenants for you. Are you sticking with short term lets? Maybe some local big companies need short term lets for business people on shorter visits? IBM do that apparently, or they did when I worked there about a hundred years ago.
Good luck and kep smiling.
Lizzie

Over the Cubicle Wall said...

it sounds like you are doing an incredible job of dealing with everything. Maybe the police could impound the vehicle as evidence? Couldn't hurt to ask them.

Money Minder said...

You are strong. I would have buckled under the pressure of this.

At least they're gone and little by little you're getting your house back.

Maybe they will contact you and want their stuff back. Then the police can deal with them.

Anonymous said...

Oh man...I'm just catching up on your disaster. You seem to be taking it very well. I had to evict a tenant once and he left his car behind. I eventually gave it away. It felt good. Almost like retribution for the suffering he caused me. I hope everything picks up for you. I'm sure it will.

moocifer said...

What doesn't make sense to me (even for drug users) is what kind of disarray these people's lives are in that they would leave a vehicle and rooms full of furniture behind. All of which costs serious cash. Maybe they fell hard on drug addiction during the tenancy.

Doesn't it make you glad that you are healthy and normal and have the ability to live a decent life?

BTW, I am wondering, how much do you think this cleanup is going to cost you?

moocifer said...

It's not clear that the police will have anything much to do with them, absent of physical evidence. I don't think traces of drugs on a scale is adequate evidence to prosecute for drug dealing--although it might be a pointer to them.

These people are definitely small time, as a serious dealer would put effort into hiding his/her tracks. Probably they are just heavy users who are dealing a little on the side to help pay for their habit, rather than as a business per se.

moocifer said...

If they don't claim the car, what do you have to do to claim or sell it?

Selling it "for parts" might be able to recoup all of your costs for cleanup.

Anonymous said...

Wow!!! I read your other post yesterday but was way to tired to make a comment. Now all I can say is that you are a much better person than I am. I would be hunting them down to get their crap out of my house. I hope the new renters are much better.

PS - I rented one of our houses to a church friend that I had known for years. She NEVER once paid rent. Finally after 6 months I told her she had to move. She left after 8 months.

Anonymous said...

Wow, no wonder they didn't want you in. The crop wasn't ripe yet and they needed to harvest first. JEEZ!!!

I'm glad you had the cops document everything. Better that you are known as a responsible owner that reports this kind of thing.

But next time you need to get access to the house at least every other month, just to keep tabs on your property. Maybe for pest control or something? That can be done on a regular basis and is perfectly reasonable. If they refuse that...you can be instantly suspicious.

Anonymous said...

My, you have an interesting life!

Anonymous said...

OMGoodness, you are a trooper, it's nice to hear your updates as you go, you seem very calm and cool headed about it all - which is a very good thing! My heart goes out to you and I really wish I lived nearby as I would be over there in a flash to help you. Take care and I'm praying it all goes smoothly for you:) Courtney (Australia)