Yet another Apartment issue... at a time like this!

Why do things always come at the worst of times? That always seems to be the story with us anyway. We got a call yesterday (voicemail actually) from a tenant of ours in PG...yes, the same horrible location that we own that always seems to be causing us problems.... anyway, she told us that she was moving out and would be out by the end of the month. Does she realize that is only 4 days away? Does she realize she has a contract, legal contract, until Dec'08? Does she even care that I have a baby due any day? The answer to all of these questions is NO!! A BIG FAT NO!! Either that or she just does not care and I guess that could be the case too.

So, Neil and I jump on the computer and post the apartment for rent within minutes of hearing her message and then decide that it might be best to head over there and see for ourselves what is going on. Tenants have a tendency to lie. For all I knew, she had been out for weeks and I would not have known the difference. I am glad we ran up there. She was just leaving the apartment and had that "oh crap" look on her face!! It amazes me that someone thinks they can just up and leave, giving barely notice, not paying you a single dime for the rent you will be missing out on.

Well, for those who know me well, know that I do not take these things lying down. My mean side comes shining through without much effort!! I ran up there, told her she needed to pay me Aug rent and she was lucky I was not asking for the next four months up front. She said..." oh, I thought you could just use my security deposit for rent next month..." WRONG!!! That baby was lost the minute you started moving out!! I had to remind her of the legal rights I have against her and the contract she signed. Her apartment was loaded with JUNK still, it was in desperate need of a cleaning, and I think she was going to leave it that way!! SOME PEOPLE!! By the time we left, I was able to collect rent for August (in cash), she agreed to pay for a cleaning service to come in and clean her apartment tomorrow, and she will not get a dime of her deposit back!!

Oh, and we got a call from a nice couple within 15 minutes of posting the ad, they showed up at the apartment within the hour, and they signed anothers years lease and gave us a security deposit. Oh, and we were able to raise rent quite a bit from where the past tenants were paying. I truly feel blessed. Things really worked out with us coming out way ahead, from something that could have caused us ALOT of stress and problems. I think the Lord knew the timing was bad for me and I could not handle any apartment problems at the time.

The cleaning service is in tommorrow, carpets cleaned on Wed, and the new tenant is moving in on Thursday!! Thank goodness for these little miracles!!