Hatchet job

He did this to his own door

With a hatchett

Another Chance?

They were sleeping in their truck..a grandma and her baby granddaughter. He was living in their truck with his toddler granddaughter. The mothers were both in jail.
They had a decent income with monthly government checks. No one would rent to them. Do I take that chance?

Well, I did.

That was three months ago. I have yet to receive any money of theirs. The first month because of the address change, the check for the kids from the government was rerouted. So, they went and got partial help from the county. She begged me to let them stay. Next month the checks would be there and they would get caught up. She assured me.
Than comes September. Oh yes, the money orders are in the mail, rent plus some. Two days go by, nothing comes. Unbelievably the truck gets stolen and the money orders were still in the truck. Grandma never mailed them. Grandma didn't even fill them out. Like cash sitting there for the taking. (Looking back, I bet grandma kept the money orders and spent all of it)
But hey, trust us. Next month will be different. PlEASE
It is now next month. I personally stopped to pick up their rent this time. Grandpa looked at me with a big smile. I gotcha. You will be happy tomorrow when the mail comes. I said, "are you sure? Were they filled out this time? Were they actually dropped in a mail box?"
Oh yeah
Yesterday Grandma wanted to talk to me. Oh, I knew just what was coming. She pulled the money out of the account but instead of getting money orders for the rent, she spent it all. Every penny in a days time.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was so upset. A grown woman with two babies to take care of and spends all of their money on....what?

The begging continued. She is getting counseling. She wanted me to be in charge of her bank cards. She wants me to come on the first each month, take her to the bank so she can withdraw the money and hand it directly over to me
Seriously, how do people get to this point?
I can not believe I am giving them another chance

???????

Someone sends me a text

i will hav my rent next fri when i get paid. last check was small cuz of the weather
sayitslowsexxi-

to which I respond
Who is 'sayitslowsexxi'?

oh sorry i'm using a freinds phon this is #5
-sayitslowsexxi

to which I respond
#5 where?

in ur buildin
-sayitslowsexxi

to which I respond
Which building?

(Now I kid you not, this is exactly what was said)

the one i live in
-sayitslowsexxi

??????????????????????

(did I mention I hate texting?)

Winter

Winter is here. Not the most inviting time for a landlord. Shoveling snow, salting steps, paying heating bills and putting up with complaints of tenants being too cold -and a tenant in same building complaining it is too hot- are all hazards of the cold months.
I like the winter. I will have to admit as I get older my body feels the cold much more. And it has been EXTREMELY cold the last month. But I like to shovel. I like the exercise. If I dress with enough layers and not too many that I can't lift my arms, even walking is pleasant.

There are other things that I do besides dealing with tenants and cleaning apts and collecting rent and going to court and paying bills and doing bookwork and answering phones and showing apts and shoveling and mowing and cooking and dealing with my household and kids....yes, in the winter I can not garden but I still have my photography

With winter I am more aware of color because there is very little. Unlike fall. So it is about texture and how the cold changes the surroundings. One day everything looks gray and brown and beige with gorgeous subtle mutes. Than another day the sky is clear and such a brilliant blue and it reflects on the snow making the masses of white flakes look blue themselves.

Most of my tenants think I'm nuts just for walking outside every morning. They have no idea of what they are missing. Here is a short photo video I put together to show just how beautiful Winter can be. A relaxing break from the rentals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKesp-12Wj8

Rental Income 101

Today I had another teaching lesson with a tenant. This gal has been renting from me five years or more. She has three young girls. Over the years I have had to explain to her a utility bill and how to read it, how to clean (seriously), how to recycle and save on the garbage bill and even some parenting advice.
Today she learned about MY paycheck.

She is behind a month on her rent. She used to be on Sect 8, her one daughter is on disability and so is she. Once she got married and her husband finally secured a full time job, they lost their food stamps and Sect 8. She was complaining about all the taxes that gets taken out of her husband's paycheck.
I mentioned my taxes were due. That led to the conversation of exactly how much of her rent I actually get to keep.

First there is the house payment to the bank.
Than money for property taxes (she did not know that some of that money goes towards our schools)
Third on the list is insurance.
What shocked her was that I had to pay income taxes on her rent. She had no idea that taxes paid for disability, food stamps, section 8...
You bet I pay.... Federal State and Social Security.

"You have to pay taxes?"

I said I sure do. And when it is all said and done, I have very little left at the end of the month from your rent.

"So you work for free?"
uh huh...you got it now.

Than a furnace or hot water heater or stove or refrigerator needs repair or replacement. Or the flooring is in bad condition and we replace and than the tenant tears it the second week after it's installed (which she did) All that has to be paid for somehow. So, I told her that should explain our frustrations and irritations when we see her damage the storm windows and throw away the parts instead of getting them fixed, or pounding large nails in the walls to hang posters,....etc, etc etc.

She just had no idea. Next time she complains about how little her husband's check after all the deductions, she can think about the paycheck I get to keep very little of.

What I'm sayin is.........

Conversation went like this.
Me-"I have been calling you and leaving you messages"
"I cant take calls during work"
"I asked you to call me back"
'But I been at work"
" Funny, I just called you from the car before coming up here"
"I told ya I wouldn't have any money till the 14th"
"Okkk, it's the 22nd"
"Yeah but I ain't been working"
"Let me get this straight, so, you don't answer the phone cause you're at work, you can't call me back because?..... AND you cant pay your March rent cause you aren't working.
Him-"yeah, that's what I said"

I don't know, is it me? or am I missing something

How do I look? I got a brand spanking new computer. Yup. My other one was over ten years old running with XP windows. Now I really professional. I have a huge all in one monitor and Windows 8. Gonna take me a while to learn how to navigate around. But I'm lovin it.