Thursday, January 8, 2009

The Latest Chapter In The Landlord Diaries

The first thing that I did today was look through craig's list to see if I could find alternate housing for my short term renters. I called the number and talked to a nice gentleman who had 2 houses available. They are both on the outside of town but not too far away. I told him my problems and he was very sympathetic and told me exactly how to do an eviction since he had done them before. I told him I would get back to him after I made my final decision. It was nice to know that I could offer something to my short term tenants if I had to break the bad news that the house wouldn't be ready.

Next I called my current tenants. They said they were on the way to pick up their UHaul truck. That sounded promising but it always sounds promising until something gets in the way. I told her the homeowner's association complained about the car with flat tires in the driveway and she promised it would be gone today.

Hours passed, I went to lunch. I came back from lunch and there was a message. My tenant said that UHaul wanted a $400 deposit for their truck, not $100 like she thought so they were going to borrow and pick-up truck and make many trips to move their stuff. I started to worry and contacted a moving company. For $300 I could have them moved out in 2 hours. $300 would be worth it to not have to drive downtown to file eviction papers. I hate driving downtown. I can never find a place to park.

I called her back and asked if she had secured a pick-up. She said that some friends were driving down to help them move. I offered the moving truck but she declined(this makes me more suspicious since they didn't want me to come in the house when their stuff was in there. What do they have in there???). She said that they would definitely be moved this evening. I said that I would be at the house at 7am tomorrow morning before work to change the keycode on the door locks so that the gas company could turn on the gas tomorrow. They need to get inside to make sure the house isn't filling with gas. She said ok. SHE SAID OK!!!!! I couldn't believe it! Just to make sure that I heard her correctly I said, do you want me to call you in the morning to make sure you are out? She said NO. She would call me tonight and if I wasn't home, she would leave a message.

You can bet I am NOT answering the phone if she calls. The last thing I heard her say is that I can have possession of my house in the morning. I'm sticking with that. I am so excited I am not going to be able to sleep tonight! I packed my truck with cleaning supplies, touch-up paint, my tool box and pruners for the over-grown yard. Oh, and my camera. Perhaps it won't look too bad. Perhaps I won't need all new furniture, paint, appliances and carpet. I'll only have a short time to see the house in the morning. Then I will have to make it through a whole long day of work while I am thinking about all of the things I will need to do to get the house ready. The suspense is killing me but I think I see a light at the end of the tunnel!

11 comments:

Money Minder said...

Here's hoping you get there in the morning and all their stuff is gone and the house is clean and tidy.

Try to get some sleep.

Over the Cubicle Wall said...

Sounds promising. Still have my fingers and toes crossed for you.

Anonymous said...

Maybe you should turn off your answering machine.

Anonymous said...

Good luck! Go in no matter what....

Daizy said...

Thanks Money Minder, I'm still hoping all their talk about cleaning and diligent shampooing of the carpets was more than just talk.

Over the Cubicle Wall, there's nothing like a little trouble to make me want to go back to my mundane life. Boring is good!

Anonymous, I only have a cell phone but it does have caller ID so I'll know it is her. If it is a good message then I will keep it as proof of permission. If it is bad, well...I'm not going to think about that.

Daizy said...

Thanks Chris L. I will go in!

Anonymous said...

Geesh! I have my fingers & toes crossed, too! I hope that all your appliances are still there and the house is in modest shape. Really holding my breath that morning time turns out good.

Maybe you should drive by tonight?
(holding breath)

Anonymous said...

Let's face it, there just being gone once and for all will be the true gift - anything else will be icing. I am so happy for you, I believe they will really be gone.

Lucy said...

I am SO ready for this to be over for you. I can't imagine how stressful it is. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

I think the difference with the response you got from her stemmed partly from the fact that, rather than asking *her* when she would be out, you stated when *you* were coming and (implied) the new new tenants would be coming over to move in to the house.

The psychological effect of knowing that two different parties are coming by and will be expecting the place to be ready to go is substantially higher than a simple question about "whether they are ready to move out" or "when they are going to move out" or "are you going to be out on time."

Daizy said...

Hi Money Funk, I did get someone to drive by last night. No activity and the old car was still there. I was worried.

Anonymous, so true, so true. I am happy even though they didn't leave much icing. At least they left.

Thanks Frugal Chick. I am so ready too. Now the real work begins and I am tired from all of the worrying!

Nice analysis Bugbear. But now I know the real reason is that they hadn't collected their drugs yet!