Tales from a Disheveled Landlord

Have you ever seen the movie, "The Money Pit?"  Its this hilarious 80s film about a young couple that buy their dream house only to discover it is hopelessly dilapidated.  Our house puts theirs to shame, and adding to the incredible misfortune is the fact that we have been renting it out for over two years now.

As everyone is well aware, the housing market has plummeted beyond belief, starting just two weeks after we put our house on the market in order to move closer to jobs we no longer have.  We had the bright idea to just rent it out until it sold, expecting that we were mere months away from this feat.

Now, a couple of years later, we have gone through two sets of tenants and are now on to our third.  It is hard to determine which was the worst tenant experience yet, but at this point we have to find a way to find the humor.  The first set were drug addicts and skipped out mid lease, the second cost us thousands of dollars in damage, and I have had the extreme, er, pleasure, of meeting the third this week.

Have you ever thought to yourself, "Wow, these people seem so hip and fashionable; I hope we could be friends so maybe some of their coolness might rub off on me?"  Come on, I know you have even if your don't want to admit it.  For you, it may be an actor, a musician, or even a new co worker or neighbor.  Well, for me, it was these tenants.  For starters, they work at two of my favorite venues in Austin.  They are in a band that actually tours, and they have the look that just screams, "Yeah, we are hot. So what?"

We all know looks can be deceiving, but it is always such a pleasant surprise when we are reminded of it, right?    My first blip of concern should have occurred when I noticed how many emails and questions were leading up to the signing of the lease.  Or maybe when I learned that they had been by almost every day in the week leading up to the start of their least and were concerned that the house did not look ready enough for them. In their defense, it was not.  Their lease did not begin until the 15th.  No, I did not really start to get nervous until they accidentally cursed out my Realtor on her answering machine thinking they were talking to someone else.

They have been in the house for 24 hours at this point, and I have already received three repair requests, along with a notice that a more detailed request will be coming soon.  This is going to be a long 12 months...

So, if you are thinking of getting in the real estate business on whim or out of convenience, I hope my tale has opened your eyes.  Just one more opportunity for adventure for my daughter and I to grow together in the next few weeks as I await my husband's return.  We have already made three trips out there, and our tenants have had the pleasure of getting to know my extremely active 3 year-old while she runs and screams through the house.  Did I mention that 15 minutes after they moved in she christened their toilet with her own present which she neglected to flush?