Tenant Story #4

About a month ago, I was taking a different route than normal near my rental properties and saw a for sale sign. It was the cutest house and I HAD to stop. I couldn't help myself and called the number on the sign. It was an estate sale that the children were trying to sell without a realtor. My dear husband relented and we signed papers on October 30. The house was actually a duplex. The owner had lived in half and rented the other half. But from the outside, it looks like a home. It was built in 1949 and has most of the original features. I fell in love. And thankfully was able to rent one side out immediately and the other side within a few weeks. When we purchased the home, most of the previous owner's contents were still in the home. So I had to have a couple of garage sales and put a ton of furniture online. Once the contents and carpet was all gone, I could begin painting and cleaning. 

During this time a gentleman (I'll call him Mr. K) came to look at the place. He liked it, despite the changes that still needed to be made. So he filled out an application and reached into his wallet to pay the application fee. But he was $20 short. No worries. He told me he was running to the atm and would be right back. But he never returned. The next day I tried to call him. I'd really liked him and hadn't ever had that situation happen before. But he never picked up his phone. I kept his application, but figured he'd had a change of heart. Two weeks later and I've rented the apartment. But now one of my other units is available. 

I get a call from Mr. K. Is the place still for rent. I explained that I had one open, but not the one he'd started to apply for. He came to the open place and took a tour. Then he told me a crazy story.

He'd left my place to run to the bank. But on the way his son called. His truck tire was flat. It was a Chevrolet 2500 and his jack wasn't large enough. Long story short - Mr. K was under the truck when the jack slipped and the truck fell on him. When I called him the next day he was in the hospital. Two weeks later he was still walking stiffly and acting in pain. He was unable to apply for the 2nd apartment because he'd had to spend all of his savings on the hospital bill. He's self-employed and didn't have insurance. So I'm keeping his application and will contact him when my next unit comes open. 

Not many people can use the excuse that they weren't able to make it because a truck fell on them.

Tenant Story #3

I received a phone call from one of my tenants today. After we discussed several things he told me he wanted to make me aware of a situation with his next door neighbor. This particular townhouse is set up like a duplex. He was referring to the tenant he shares a wall with. 

Tenant - "I thought you should know about something that happened to me yesterday so you could be aware of the situation."

Me - "Okay, what is going on?"

Tenant - "I went next door to collect my money (the tenants share lawn care costs) and a different person than Mr. * answered the door. (Pause) It was a heeshee."

Me - "Uhm?! What is a heeshee?"

Tenant - "Well, you know. One of those people that you can't tell if it's a he or a she."

I laughed. 

Me - "Okay, and why do I need to know about this?"

Tenant - "Well, I have kids and . . . you know."

Me - Uhm, no I don't know, Mr. *. As long as my tenants stay within the lease and pay me, I don't care who lives there. They can be/look however they like."

Tenant - "Oh, well then. Okay. I just thought you should know."

Tenant Story #2

Story #2

This story happened a while ago. And I've been trying to think of the best way to tell it. It's sad, not funny. But even the sad stories sometimes need to be told. Because while the funny stories make us laugh, the sad stories can help us learn.

We will call him Tenant D.

When Jon and I bought this particular property we inherited several tenants. Tenant D was what was called a long term tenant. He had been there for years, was now paying month-to-month and had made no mention of leaving any time soon. He was a rather private individual so about the only thing I knew about him was that he was single and a chain smoker.

I receive a letter from Tenant D informing me that this was his 30 day notice. He was moving. Jon and I had to go down to do some work on another apartment so we combined our exit inspection with that. When I talked to him, I found out he was dying. He didn't go into the specifics, but based on the empty medicine bottles I later found in his bathroom after he left, he had cancer along with a plethora of other things.

He had moved to Chattanooga so that he could help take care of his friend who had cancer. Just as his friend received the good news that he was in remission the friends wife found out she had cancer. So Tenant D stayed to help. Tenant D owned a ranch in the Midwest and upon receiving his own news decided to return. He implied that it was terminal. So he was going to fill his bucket list and then go home to die. He packed up his truck and trailer and left a few days later. His bucket list included fly fishing off the coast of NC, wrestling an alligator in Louisiana, and shooting a wild boar in Texas. Once he'd put his feet into the ocean in California he'd return to his ranch.

He was gracious enough to pay the whole month's rent and then to let us know that he was leaving early. We were grateful since we knew the clean up would be horrendous. He was the typical bachelor who wasn't exactly a clean freak. So the place was dirty. But it was the years of excessive cigarette smoke that about did us in. For weeks we used gloves as we bleached every surface in the entire townhouse. We bleached walls, ceilings, cabinets, and light fixtures. We ripped up carpet and painted EVERYTHING. We put in new appliances, new floors, and scrubbed bathrooms. 

As we scrubbed yellow and orange water left trails down the walls. Our clothes reeked and we would strip at the door, when we got home, and immediately put our clothes in the washer on extra sanitary. 

We weren't able to go to nice restaurants the entire time we were renovating because we knew we smelled horrific.

The kids gagged and talked about how nasty cigarette smoke was. They mentioned people we know who smoke and asked if they were going to die soon. My son googled smokers lungs and they gagged again.

Caitlin made the comment to me that she thought smokers were dumb people. When I asked her why she thought that, she said -

"Because everyone knows it kills people. And people who smoke stink really bad. So why do they smoke if they know it makes them gross and kills them? I don't like people to think I smell bad and I don't want to die. Yuck!"

The tenant implied that he only had months left, so he might already be gone. I wrote this story so that his life would have a purpose. So that someone else could benefit from his one bad decision so many years ago. Please don't start smoking! And if you do, please stop! There are so many free resources out there to help. I know it's difficult. I've watched family members go through it. But the results are worth it. We love you and want you around for a lot longer.

Tenant Stories #1

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?