Staying Green

I had been meaning to call Mrs. Green. It had been on my to-do list for about a week. Actually, since Sept. 16., if the truth be told.

But, I hadn't gotten around to it. I was busy being abused once again by frustrated real estate clients who seem to think I purposely tell the banks not to get back to us with answers to their short sale offers. Because I enjoy being repeatedly yelled at by casual acquaintances. But, I digress...

Anyway, I didn't have to call Mrs. Green. She e-mailed me. The first thing she said in her e-mail was she didn't want to call because it was early and didn't want to wake me. Mrs. Green has now made the preferred tenant list.

Mrs. Green's issue was the air conditioning wasn't working right, and could I please send someone out to look at it. And, if it was all the same with me, could it not be the yahoos I sent out last time.

I did a cursory look through my files. I don't recall sending anyone out last time. But in the event I did, it was probably Clay's company. I hear Clay doesn't work there any more and I don't have a way to contact him. So, bye-bye Clay.

As I didn't have an AC Guy off-hand to call, I called Carolsue in a panic. I also e-mailed Kirby, Jack and Legal Eagle. Carolsue was the first to get back to me with the name of a super fantastic company.

This super fantastic company took care of the AC immediately. It was done before 2 p.m., and they charged me a boatload less than I expected. A collective sigh or relief was heard on this side of the Mississippi, as the house is 30 years old and I was expecting the worst to go along with the already awful day I was having.

However, that didn't really resolve the reason I needed to talk to Mrs. Green in the first place. I still had the touchy situation about her lease. You see, it is up next month. When I got around to mentioning this to her, I pointed out the lease stipulates she is to give a 30 day notice if she is planning to move.

As I said this, I could hear Mrs. Green freeze in terror. "I hadn't started looking." she muttered.

No! I exclaimed. I wanted her to stay. In fact, I was so happy with Mr. and Mrs. Green, I wasn't planning on raising the rent--if that was ok with them.

After a audible sigh, it turns out it was very ok with Mrs. Green. She doesn't feel like moving either.

However, I am not going to have her sign another lease unless she asks. I would rather she went month-to-month right now.

You see, her lease is up in October. October is the third-worst month to find a tenant. So, I would rather not legally bind her into staying until next October if there is a problem. Instead, I would rather just keep things rolling on an as-is basis. And, if she sees fit to move (which I doubt she will), hopefully it will be in the late spring or summer.