Random Bama--The Absentee Edition

The e-mail's subject line said, "potential tenant, no section 8". In the event Opal, Kirby's assistant, was afraid I wasn't going to respond to her e-mail, she shouldn't have worried. Telling me she had a potential tenant for Ms. Kathy's former home was something I couldn't ignore.

The tenant in question has now moved into the home and has already whined about minor maintenance issues that need to be addressed--like all of the stuff Ms. Kathy left in the shed. I was temped to tell Kirby to toss it over the fence, where she is currently living, but opted to remain silent and let him figure it out.

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Speaking of Section 8, my first foray into a Section 8 tenant is coming to an end. My tenant had two pit bulls living at my home and several months ago I asked her to remove the dogs. Pit bulls and home owner's insurance don't go hand in hand.

The tenant gave two month's notice and will be leaving at the end of December. Kirby asked if I wanted to do anything to entice her to stay. "Not sure I can offer much." I replied. I wasn't about to reduce the rent and she couldn't have the dogs.

So... starting January 1, I will have another vacant home. I am not sure I will accept another Section 8 tenant. I have some thoughts about this, but it will have to wait for another blog.

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You might remember Mr. Wonderful? I owe you a blog about him too. He is truly a wonderful tenant. However, he is buying a home. Because he is so darn wonderful, he is honoring his lease until it expires or until I find another tenant.

This house is easy to rent, so I am not too worried. Just sort of annoyed I have to turn it over again. In addition to that, Ms. Shirley--the tenant who lived in this house before Mr. Wonderful--painted sample colors on just about every wall in the home. It still hasn't been painted. Mr. Wonderful just didn't care. But it strikes me as something a future tenant will probably care about.

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My tenant in Fultondale came through. They paid, but not without a bit of cardiac arrest from me. Fortunately, the note I sent Kirby that Friday said "please don't make me go into the weekend without an update on this situation. It just won't be fair to my family," was received by an update on Friday afternoon and another one Saturday morning--letting me know they did indeed pay. They also renewed their lease.