The rental

Last night I drove to the old house. I was expecting to show the house to three different potential parties.  I figured with three showings I should be there. I had arranged everyone for one night as my tenant had to get the house clean for the showings.

The house looked fantastic. He had hired his old girlfriend to come in and clean. She was just leaving when I arrived. The yard had been weeded and the house looked wonderfully staged. I had no complaints other than my plants could have used a little more watering. My fruit trees in the back were full of luscious apples. I heard the friend leave and say she was coming back to pick some and make apple pie and fresh apple sauce. Made my mouth water. I really need to get my fruit trees in my new yard this winter.

An agent had called last week asking to show the house to a couple that she had not been able to find anything for on the MLS. That couple did a drive by over the weekend and the agent notified me belatedly that they hadn't gotten back to her, but I didn't receive the notice until I was already at the old house.


 Flag lots sometimes turn people off. It took some getting used to when we bought the house ourselves initially, but I found the extra privacy surprisingly comfortable. You could forget to close the garage door all night and no one would know.

The next expected visitor was a man who had found a foreclosure they liked but didn't necessarily want to wait five months. He wanted to see our house. He turned out to also be a no show.

The last visitors expected were a couple with small children. They came and looked for potentially renting the house. They had a three month old with them and Grandma. Grandpa was watching the other children at home. They were quiet. I think they had been hoping for more yard. They live on acreage now, but a house too small for all the children.

 I called afterward asking what their thoughts were, because with all the activity my tenant offered to renew his lease for another year. He wanted the same rate though and Tom wants to go up $50 a month. The family said they were going to pass. I e mailed later asking for feedback to find out what made them decline the opportunity. Haven't heard back yet.

Meanwhile Tom said there was no rush with renewing the tenant if he wouldn't go up $50 a month. I checked the competition and we are priced fairly. Only big house in this range. The other big houses are priced  a lot more.  Just have to find the right renter or buyer.I think that those potential buyers missed out by not coming inside.

 Who knows, perhaps next March my Tenant will agree to our rental price. Rents in general go up in the spring. My tenant asked that I wait until January for any more showings. He wants to get through the holidays without worrying about moving. That is fine with me.

Tom pointed out that the extra $50 would help cover the insurance on the house which we are not covering with the rent.  I will be cranky if we end up with an empty house for a month or two because it doesn't rent right away. Though I think our tenant is in no hurry to move. He is dreading moving as much as I am finding someone honest to replace him.

Looking back at 2006, there was nothing we could have rented at the time we moved that would have been suitable. People were selling homes. The market was frothy. Hind sight being twenty twenty, I wish we had offered to  rent that house from the previous owner, rather than buy it. We all knew the housing market was a bubble. But it would have been hard paying that kind of rent and not buy a house. Who pays over $2000 in rent and doesn't buy. People that expect ot move again shortly. We are just not renters.

 No use looking back. This is what it is. Tom still wants to walk away from the house. We could still do a short sale, but that would tie up our credit for years. Ask yourself how much is your good credit worth. We eventually want new cars. We will be paying cash for them. The house we live in needs some love, new siding on the south side and new windows.

 I like my perfect credit score. I am still being offered new credit cards in the mail that I rip up.

It was a relief to see the house in good condition. That in itself was worth the time. I like the tenant. We have not burned any bridges. March is six months away.