Mrs. Roebuck

There are some accidental business decisions that are based on sanity and stability and less on money. And for the record, Mr. Ex-Partner knew upfront about such decisions, was part of the decision-making process and never uttered an unkind word about any of them prior to July 1, 2016. One of these decisions will make little sense on the surface, but after doing this for more than a decade, I promise you, my conscience is clear.

Once upon a time, we bought a home--a home I really don't like and at the time was wary of. After escrow closed we found out a few things. 1) it was on a mildly busy street 2) it has one bathroom and 3) it is not in the kind of neighborhood we were led to believe it was in. A lot of our due diligence was based on the agent we hired who purposely misled us. She gave us information for us to review. However, that information was not only incorrect, it was downright dishonest. That agent has long since passed from real estate and is now ministering her loving care as a nurse somewhere. Bless her heart.

When we bought the house, the Birmingham rental market was fabulous. The price (at the time) was right. We were making a profit on this house. As soon the economy tanked, it was a different story and this home was hit the hardest. I spoke with LegalEagle at the time about the lack of misrepresentation we received. She felt we didn't stand a chance, given the market conditions at the time we purchased, the fact the home had been continually rented for years and up until then, we were making a profit. And to LegalEagle's credit she did do some research before she threw her answer at me.

When the tenant moved out in 2008, the home stayed vacant for too long. By the time we got a renter, we were mildly desperate. Mind you, in 2008 we had a 81 percent vacancy rate. So, the first folks to come along, we took. The story behind them would be legendary if I could speak freely about it. But when I finally kicked them out, they had decimated the house, committed numerous potential felonies in it and left behind a white powdery substance I had to testify about. The fact I was not given a choice about talking to a judge, had to fly to Birmingham and testify at all--and the judge cared more about the people in the home and less about the condition--should give you a grand idea of what I faced.

To put it mildly, those tenants trashed the home beyond all recognition. And given 2008 and 2009's banner years (which you can read about in the blog archives) I promise you we were out of money. Even Mr. Ex-Partner was flat.

So, along came Mrs. Roebuck. She offered to live there and fix up the home. She had a modest income and she had time. And somehow we were covering the mortgage without her payment. Additionally the LLC wasn't paying for the supplies, repairs and rehabilitation and we had a phenomenal tax break. The way we looked at it, and we were all on board, was we could put a Section 8 crack whore in there, a notorious gang member (which I think the tenants prior were) or keep it vacant. Without Mrs. Roebuck's charitable offering, the place would sit vacant and vulnerable otherwise. Essentially, Mrs. Roebuck was protecting our asset, which was better than making a profit.

The neighborhood in question, which was so-so back then, has taken a turn for the scary. There is a methadone clinic a few doors over. There is thug and gang activity. My HVAC unit was stolen, in broad daylight, twice. The second time with a locked cage wrapped around the unit. Lest you think I am exaggerating, Carolsue, who was working there last January witnessed an armed robbery right across the street.

I am going to fast forward here. Mrs. Roebuck moved out eventually. Other renters moved in and out. And most recently, the house sat vacant for almost 10 months. Additionally, against our wishes the folks at the property management company would just hand over the home's keys to "potential tenants" and tell them to go have a look (Ms. Amy lied about this, but it just so happens Carolsue was working there more than once when it happened). By the way, while Ms. Amy was just randomly handing out keys (and denying it), the home was robbed and vandalized. Again.

The property management company also assured me they would find a non-Section 8 tenant. But that wasn't going to happen either. Non-Section 8 tenants don't live in this neighborhood. So, a few months ago, long before the decision to disband, Mrs. Roebuck approached us about moving back in and paying a modest amount of rent. I ran this by everyone and it was agreed upon.

Last month when we were splitting things apart, Mr. Ex-Partner got this house. And all of the sudden the poor dear had a terrible case of selective memory. While he was looking over all of the numbers, he discovered Mrs. Roebuck was paying less-than-market rent. True. But Mrs. Roebuck was taking care of this house. She was even adding a wooden deck out back. And even better, she was not spreading a white powdery substance all over the place or potentially committing felonies. And to my knowledge, she does not belong to a gang.

But, Mr. Ex-Partner was undeterred. After all, according to Zillow (sigh) he could get more rent! And, if he talked to the property management companies they would concur, though they wouldn't mention who would be renting the place. And given two property management companies I have employed couldn't rent out the house the last four times it sat vacant (I found the renters prior to this vacancy as well) I doubt it will go well. But whatever, I have lived it, he hasn't.

Less than five days into managing this property solo Mr. Ex-Partner contacted Mrs. Roebuck and asked her for a higher rent amount. Marty Sunshine and I shook our heads. He is making a big mistake if he asks her to leave. As it turns out, Mrs. Roebuck is leaving. She has decided she doesn't want to deal with Mr. Ex-Partner and especially the shenanigans in this neighborhood anyway.