It infuriated me beyond belief when tenants would say, "I don't have the rent," and then stay in my house. Or, they would be short every month, but when I came to Alabama, they would have furnishings or toys much newer and nicer than mine because furnishings and toys are more important than paying for a place to live. I consider the contract to rent a home to be binding. I do my part, and I expect the person signing to to theirs.
I have been known to call these folks deadbeats, losers or worse. Some of them still make my jaw clench when I think how they stayed in my home, letting me (at times) work two jobs just so we could pay the mortgage company and the lawyer to evict them.
We work for what we have and we expect those on the receiving end to act accordingly. Yes, we have had some nice vacations, but they were paid for with cash. Ahead of time. I bring this up, because one tenant who was squatting in my home actually suggested if my family hadn't gone to California one year, we could have afforded her not to pay the rent. So it was our fault.
The reason I bring this up is because we are doing the same with our mortgage companies. Essentially we have become the deadbeats or losers. I struggle with this daily.
Marty Sunshine suggested it isn't remotely the same. When our situation became the reality it is, we told the banks immediately. We offered them the homes upfront. But they didn't want them. I understand our reason for going this direction was strategic. But then, one could argue, our tenants' reasoning for staying in our homes long past when they should have left could also be deemed "strategic."
In return for us breaking our contracts with the banks, we will be sued. There will be a judgement against us. We are unable to get loans for just about anything for years (if we want loans). We can't get a new mortgage any time soon either. My credit score alone has dropped 73 points in the past eight weeks. Marty Sunshine (whose name and credit is tied with more of these delinquent loans than my name), doesn't want to know how far his score has plummeted. Eventually--when the dust settles--we will most likely file bankruptcy. All because of a situation we couldn't control. Or didn't control properly. You pick.
But I don't see how I can call the people who did this to me deadbeats without looking in the mirror and seeing the same.
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Some of the renters you've had who have skipped out owing money, did so because they had to. They lost their job or their car died and they could either fix it and keep their job or not fix it and lose their job but either scenario meant they weren't able to pay the rent. You get that. BUT, the majority of the skippers (in lieu of calling them deadbeats) simply got greedy. Moody man (I know you remember him) decided that he was allergic to keeping a job. The next one in that house decided she would rather spend her money on looking good to find a man and spent the rest of her money bailing her brother out of jail and bribing her daughter not to move out with a new vehicle. Many others decided that they would rather keep their AC down on 50 all summer long and pay the resulting sky high electric bills than pay their rent. How many times have you heard "I can't pay the rent this month because the utility bills were so high"?? It's really a different situation all together. You are in the situation you are in not because you and hubby decided to buy a new Mercedes and get plastic surgery with your money. You are in this situation because you ran into a string of tenants who (for whatever reason - legitimate or not) didn't pay their rent while a string of other houses needed expensive repairs. There are deadbeats in this world who honestly feel that they should be able to take their rent money and spend it on a cruise or a new big screen or a down payment on a new car. They exist. They are deadbeats. You are not.
Post a Comment