I first began my job as a property manager about 9 years ago. I took a short break when we moved to TN, but as you know I am back in the business again. Often I will relate a story about a tenant or potential tenant that will have my friends and running buddies shaking their heads. One of them made the comment that I needed to write a book about the tenants of Chattanooga. So following the style of one of my blogger friends I will periodically present you with a story about a tenant. The names will be changed to protect the idiots, but the rest will be true.
Story 1
Late one night I received a call from a panicked tenant (who we will call tenant B). He had made a rather large deposit and his toilet was overflowing. He had plunged and flushed the toilet multiple times. Since the toilet wasn't emptying the flushing was causing the water to flow in, but not out. This individual did not know that there is a special knob at the base of the toilet that when turned off will stop the water from coming in. So he soon found himself with an overflowing mess in his bathroom. Much to his family's dismay, the water began pouring down the walls and through the fixture in the dining room downstairs. They were soon mopping the floors and walls below the bathroom. The light fixture in the dining room is a dome style. This dome quickly filled with water. So when tenant B discovered this he panicked. He removed the dome and the light bulbs and turned off all of the electricity to the house. Then he called me. The conversation went something like this -
Tenant B - Hello Ms. Tima I have an emergency! (spoken in a rather loud and panicky voice).
After explaining the situation -
Tenant B - What should I do?
Me - What do you mean?
Tenant B - It's supposed to get really cold tonight and we don't have heat.
Me - Uhm, why don't you have heat?
Tenant B - Because we'll get electrocuted if we turn the electric back on with that light bulb being wet.
Pause.
Me - Just turn the light switch off in the dining room and you'll be fine.
Tenant B - Are you sure? I'm really afraid I'll catch the house on fire and we'll burn the building down.
Me - No. You'll be fine. I promise.
Tenant B - Okay (this was said with great doubt and uncertainty). Can your husband come down and fix the toilet and light ASAP?
Jon went down to check the toilet. Long story short - dude just needs to make some courtesy flushes during deposits so he doesn't clog the toilet. Just saying.
No water damage was present since the tenant mopped everything up so quickly. Jon leaves and calls me on the way home to tell me about it.
Five minutes after I hung up with him I get a call from Tenant B.
Tenant B - Hello Ms. Tima. Is your husband home?
Tenant B knows we live almost 2 hours away.
Me - No. Can I help you with something.
Tenant B - I can't believe I forgot the most important thing. He needs to look at this light.
Me - What's wrong with it?
Tenant B - I'm afraid to put the light bulb back in just in case it's still wet.
Me - Tenant B, I'm not going to ask my husband to spend 4 more hours of driving to screw in a light bulb. You'll be fine. Turn off the light switch, screw the light bulb in and turn it on. You'll be fine.
Tenant B - Okay. Are you sure I won't electrocute myself?
Me - I'm totally sure. Nothing will happen.
Tenant B - Okay. I'll call you back if I have any problems.
I never received a call. So he's either dead from electrocution by light bulb or he's totally fine and doesn't need my help.
Sigh! How many tenants does it take to screw in a light bulb?
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