Preparing for Chris' Exit

On Tuesday I dropped by Property 2 to pick up $700 of Chris’ payment plan. After handing me the check, he took a deep breath and said this:

“Ahkenaten, I’m gonna have to move.”

My longest tenancy at 6 years and 4 months will come to end on the last week of April. He’s still going to pay the remaining $1475 owed, but is going to live with his father until he gets back on his feet. After running his mouth and getting fired from his job, the bills have been killing him. He is now 3 months behind on his car payments, National Grid shut his power and heat off, and he’s maxed out his credit cards owing over $9000. He’s not getting the amount of hours he had hoped to get from the second job that started in March, and has no faith that he’d be able to pay me back while still paying all these people off. I’m sure there’s more to it that I don’t know (how is it that the people he lives with don’t help him out?), but I really don’t care. He’ll be leaving the place he’s lived in for 13 years to move on. And so will I.

Five minutes after our meeting, I texted my Nepalese tenants to find out if they wanted Chris’ apartment for Naresh’s brother, who is making his way from Nepal soon. Even though Naresh’s brother wanted a three bedroom (like the one in Property X), Naresh has another brother living in Smalltown who would be interested in that place for the same $625 that Chris currently pays. I’ll have to make the decision of whether to move either of them in or get the place rented out to outsiders for the fair market value of $700. Chris was a valuable tenant because he took care of the snow plowing and lawn mowing. I’m very unsure as to whether either of Naresh's brothers would be willing to do the same.

In a perfect world, my plan would be simple. I’d move Belle and Sebastian out of Property 1’s upstairs three-bedroom unit and into Chris’ apartment for $700 a month. Property 2 was the place they originally wanted before I told them about Property 1. Recently, Belle’s parked car got hit due to the winter and the narrow streets in Property 1. I think they would enjoy the chance to live in a better area, a downstairs apartment, and a place to park their vehicle off-street. Then, I would move Naresh’s brother in Nepal to the upstairs apartment at Property 1. That would balance out my profits by raising the rent of Chris’ old apartment from $625 to $700, and would offset the loss from charging $75 less for Property 1’s upstairs apartment. The best part is that I will no longer have to pay the National Grid bills at Property 1, which would save me a lot of money (especially in the winter).

Unfortunately there are just far too many variables to make that scenario work out. I have no idea if Belle and Sebastian even want to move. Naresh doesn’t know exactly when his brother in Nepal will be arriving. And Naresh’s other relative only wants a 2 bedroom, so I’m not sure he would want Property 1’s three bedroom apartment. So the most likely of scenarios would be that Naresh’s brother in Smalltown will get Chris’ apartment, while the brother in Nepal will have to find a place on his own when he arrives. But I’ll keep trying to make something happen, as it would be awesome if I can have all Nepalese tenants in Property 1.