Exit Tony and Ashlin

Well, that was quick. After moving into Property X in November after Mallory left, Tony and Ashlin are no longer my tenants.

Things started to take a turn for the worst in January when Tony texted me that he moved out. He said that Ashlin was irresponsible and having too many unsavory people over and partying too late into the night. I could have ended both of their leases right then (DEFINITELY should have), but decided to keep it with Ashlin as the sole tenant. My plan was to give her a 30-day notice in February AFTER she paid February’s rent. By the 14^th, I still hadn’t received the rent and she claimed was sent on the 4^th. Here is a funny exchange that most landlords have come across at some point:

Me (3:27pm): Hi Ashlin… as of today, our courier (<that’s actually me) hasn’t received rent from you. We usually only wait until the 10^th before we file eviction papers, but the management company is giving until the 17^th. I think you said you sent it on the 4^th, so I would suggest talking to the post office or something. All envelopes get post dated, so we’ll be able to see when it was sent. Hopefully we will get it before the 17^th.

Ashlin (3:28pm) That is really weird I’m going to have to call the post office and I also sent the $35 too on that day.

Me (3:32pm) Okay, keep us posted.

The next day…

Ashlin (12:31) : Omg my envelope fell behind the mailbox bc I had it up top that’s why you haven’t gotten it yet do you wanna stop and get it so it’s not anymore late?

Me (1:35pm): Hmm… It would still be considered late only because we haven’t received it and the owner charges us a late fee as well. But I can pick it up tomorrow afternoon at 2:45pm.

Ashlin(1:35pm): Yeah I know that’s fine. I’m gonna send out marchs rent this week.

Me (1:50pm): Okay… see you tomorrow.

The lie she gave was so funny and implausible that I had to laugh at it. She didn’t have much choice, as I purposely brought up the “post dated” fact to make sure she can’t send the rent that day and say it took a long time to get to me. Looking back, I now realize that I should have just filed the eviction on the 10th, as she had done nothing to deserve an extension. That would have given me the apartment back before the end of February, and an outside chance of getting it rented out before February's end. The next day (16^th) she wasn't there, and I was pissed at myself. If I didn’t have to be at that stupid shipping depot job, I could have picked it up right when she had it. This is no different than the Kylie Ray situation last year at Property 3. I accepted the fact that I will never get the money owed, but I still had a chance to kick her out before the month was over. So the following day I sent her a couple of texts giving her options. They were to either leave by the end of the week or face eviction. My logic was that, if she left by the 20^th, it would give me a small chance to get it rented out before the end of the month and not lose out on a month’s rent, while using her security deposit to cover February. She didn’t respond until the 20^th, after I had already filed the eviction.

Ashlin (11:45am): I already sent in the rent for this month but I’m gonna be moving out by next week.

At the trial, the judge refused to hear my case because I’m not the owner of Property X and didn’t have a lawyer with me. This was especially embarrassing because my lawyer Marvin Wassle was there for another case. While I knew the rule for evictions in properties I don’t own, the judges usually don’t have an issue with it and try the case anyway. But, since Ashlin never showed up, I had an idea. What if I act as if I’d won? I sent a text to Ashlin on Friday after 4:00pm, when the courts were closed:

Me (4:23pm): Hi Ashlin… after yesterday’s court date, they’re giving you the weekend to get everything out of the apartment. On Monday at 9am, the apartment will be in our possession legally, so our guys will be there to clear everything out. If you need help getting stuff out this weekend let me know and I can have the handymen help out.

Ashlin (4:24pm): Okay thank you

Whew! I cannot begin to list the ways this illegal act could have blown up in my face. I mean, seriously. I could have been sued up the ass for evicting a tenant under false pretenses, as well as a list of other charges. But I gambled on a hunch that she didn’t give a shit and, when I arrived on Monday to check out the apartment, I was right:

Pathetic, but mostly garbage

5 years ago, I would have seen this as a great opportunity for a free mattress.

Seriously?

That stuff on the mirror is actually wax. I don't think I want to know how that got there.

Something was scraped alongside the wall to cut that deep into the sheetrock

Definitely "I don't give a shit" attitude from those pictures. Not to mention that the lock was busted on the front door, so it was wide open for anyone from the neighborhood to go in there and destroy the place further. Pelcom Nick called this “trashed”, but I was smiling. To me this was a simple cleaning job, as I've had several evictions where the tenant destroyed tons of things that actually needed to be replaced. Anyway, Pelcom Nick made quick work of it:

A scraper along with some cleaning products got this stuff out quickly

Much better

Without the trash, the rooms actually look very nice.

All in all, I paid $250 for labor and $75 for the dump runs. They also installed a brand new door and painted the bedroom and hallway. Material costs came out to around $260, with $180 for the new door.

After 6 hours, the place was rental ready and I’ll start the rent out process on Thursday. As for my thoughts on Tony and Ashlin… they were simply too young to have a place of their own. Ashlin is only 20 and already has two kids from two different dudes. Tony was decent enough, but those guys are just young and dumb, as the order of protection Ashlin has against Tony (a letter I found during the clean up) proves. While renting out the downstairs of Property X, I would hear Ashlin yell and scream on the phone to whomever, and it really got on my nerves when prospective tenants were there. Ugh! 

But there’s one thing I liked about them. They got rid of my former tenant Tisha, and I’ll always be grateful for that. If it wasn’t for them, I would have moved in a better tenant and Tisha would have scared them off. I'd be stuck with that roach loving autistic mongrel and her son right now if it wasn't for Tony and Ashlin annoying the hell out of her enough to leave. So now, with the Van Sickle family moved in downstairs, I have another chance at creating peace in the hell that is Property X. Peace. Yeah. Right.