The Renters From Yuma

I know you three have read versions of this in my archives, but apparently everyone didn't get the memo of how to be a good tenant. After a lovely talk with Tonya yesterday (of Mitch and Tonya, the wonderful landlords and even more awesome friends, whom have made this blog a time or two), I was blessed with this particular blog fodder.

Mitch and Tonya have the Renters from Yuma. Yes, Yuma. It is South of here and often has the hottest temperatures in the US, when Death Valley, CA and Gila Bend, AZ want a reprieve from this particular title. Their tenants are a retired couple who apparently think Mitch and Tonya are offering concierge service. The home in question is a townhome, with a two car garage and unassigned community parking spots on the street.

And may I remind you, in the Phoenix metro area, rental homes are in such hot demand that even if you have 700+ credit, a job making $100k+, a squeaky clean background and own a lawn mower, you aren't necessarily going to get the rental home you put an application in on. Why? Because there are five applicants with the above credentials all competing for the same home.

But Pam and Mike don't seem to appreciate the fact they have a place to live. For example, they have a slight annoyance that is out of their landlord's scope of influence. Normally, sane people would just solve this issue themselves or learn to live with something that truly isn't any of their business.

In the case of Pam and Mike, there is a car parked in front of their home in the community parking area. It isn't doing anything. Nobody knows if it is abandoned (even Pam and Mike). But it bothers Pam because she has to--and I am not making this up--"look at it." It bothers her so much that she told her cousin (who is the one who referred Pam to me) and asked me to do something about it. I relayed, "Call the City and report it if it is a big deal." But nobody listened to me.

What did Pam do? She whined to Tonya. The car was parked in a legal parking space. Though it doesn't appear to be abandoned, it has been parked there more or less for weeks. Nobody knows if it is someone who works nights, and sleeps days who may come and go when Pam isn't paying attention. Nobody knows if there is a dead body in the car. It is just a car in a legal spot--just like lots of other cars parked in legal spots throughout that particular community that aren't in Pam's line of sight.

Apparently Pam wants Mitch and Tonya to wave their magic landlord wand and make it disappear. Mitch did contact the homeowner's association and mention it. What did he get for his efforts? Another bitchy note from Pam, stating the car is still there.

Additionally, Pam and Mike don't seem to understand renting isn't permanent. It is for right now, not forever. Mitch and Tonya have a really nice rental home. They have taken care of it. Between tenants they have replaced all sorts of things, like the pottys. They have repainted. They have even--and this blows me away--epoxied the garage floor. After the tenants moved in, Mitch and Tonya even bought a new dryer for these two.

When Mitch and Tonya went to visit recently (mind you, they live out of state), Mike and Pam drug Mitch and Tonya through the house pointing out all of the issues with the home. It needed touch up paint (it didn't when they moved in). The (brand new) pottys are "garbage" and need to be replaced. The new dryer makes it hard to close the laundry room door and by the way, the washer is "old."

And oh yes! The room Mike and Pam WANT to sleep in is "too hot." By the way, this is not the master bedroom. Just a random bedroom in the home that happens to be west-facing and upstairs. The master bedroom is downstairs and not too hot. And just so we are clear, Pam and Mike knew exactly where the master bedroom was and which bedrooms faced the west prior to them moving in. But as far as these tenants are concerned Mitch and Tonya need to adjust the position of the sun for the sole purpose of their tenant's comfort.

If Pam and Mike are unhappy, they have another nine months on their lease. Perhaps they can either 1) break the lease and find another place they will like even less three months into their next lease or 2) buy a home where they have nobody to whine to but themselves. If they decide to break their lease, there isn't a landlord alive who will rent to them in this market. Landlords don't have to rent to tenants who have already stuck it to another owner. There are enough applicants out there who do honor them wanting homes. And, if they decide to buy, good luck to the real estate agent who wants to deal with them. I suspect they will also be the Buyers from Yuma.