As I rest my weary body today in preparation for my Half Marathon on Sunday, I thought I would blog about something that I've been keeping my eye on the last several months - the rental of my old apartment.
I lived in my old apartment for about 7 yrs. It was a 3 bedroom basement which was perfectly fine for me and my children at the time I needed it. When I moved there I was kind of desperate to find something new because the place I had been renting in another part of town had been sold, so I had to move.
I had decided to move further north of the city because I didn't like the people my son was hanging around with. Problem was, they were kids that he grew up with that were just making choices I didn't agree with and didn't want them to drag my son along with them. I figured that I couldn't be successful just telling him that I wanted him to stop being friends with them. lol So, I made it more difficult by moving further away from them. He was pissed, as a teenager would be....but years later he completely understood the benefit. That happens when you grow up. lol
I went with my best friend at the time to look at the place and loved it because it was a good size and was in my budget. Downfall was, it was a basement apartment. The joys of a basement apartment I never really understood until I moved in to this one. I say this because I had lived in a basement apartment once before but the people above me were very quiet. I recognize that now. For Furman, it was a whole new experience. lol
My first basement apartment I also had to leave in a hurry which was kind of my own fault, because I had concerns about the Carbon Monoxide Detector that kept going off of which the landlord wasn't taking care of in a timely fashion. My worry resulted in calling the fire department to get some peace of mind that I wasn't going to die in my sleep or something. Turned out that while the place was ok for Carbon Monoxide, that the basement apartment wasn't legal and had violations that needed to be fixed for me to continue to live there. Go figure. The landlord supposedly decided he wasn't going to fix them so I had to leave. Ugh. Smh.
Living at this place for 7 yrs, I went through hell and back with several different tenants that rented the upstairs unit. A unit that was never offered to me when it became available by the way. Although I probably wouldn't have paid what he was asking for it, but I'm just saying! lol
New Neighbors, New Neighbors-Time To Leave are a few posts that I had written, but I had a whole lot of other interesting neighbour drama before I started blogging. Trust that one! Point is, that I was constant. Despite all the drama, I stayed while upstairs had a revolving door. And hey...don't you think for a second that I was the problem because I can assure you that I wasn't. lol He was probably charging wayyy too much for what he was offering. And, I say that because that has gotten him in his new predicament that has me writing today that Greed Doesn't Pay!
The neighbours that moved in after the last neighbours I wrote about were awesome. Two gentlemen that worked. So, like us, they were gone in the day and home at night. Kids weren't running around upstairs and I am confident that the cost of utilities (although included in rent) had to have dropped for sure since nobody was home all day using them up. Utilities became a sore spot for the landlord because until these guys moved in, everybody he had rented to had been home with children. Especially the last tenant who was running a Home Daycare!! I can imagine the utilities. Well, when they decided to move out for a bigger place since she was pregnant, the landlord must have had a bright idea that wasn't so bright after all.
This leads me to say that Greed Doesn't Pay!!
To recoup some of his losses when the lady with the Home Daycare moved out, the landlord decided to give ME notice to increase my rent another $30 a month. (He was following guidelines though) I mean, he didn't even wait to see how low his utilities would go now that he had new tenants that actually went to work all day. I was pissed! I called him and asked him "What the hell? Is there a number you are trying to get to?" lol He let me know that he had to make his money and give me 60 days notice. So, out of principle, I had enough. I was a long time good tenant. I had to let him know and give him notice - I'm Out!! And while I knew right away that we were leaving, I waited to give him exactly 60 days. I would have stayed there till we bought our first home but man oh man. Furman was frustrated having never lived in a basement apartment before and it was just the two of us in a three bedroom now anyways. I was just frustrated because I felt this man was being unreasonable and not appreciating a good faithful tenant. So I decided to find something more worth our money to hold us over. That, I sure did. Took me 48 hours! Now, we are happy!!
Now don't get me wrong, I am not taking joy in this man's pain. It's just a damn shame. I am sure his wife probably told him once again that he was an idiot...something he confessed to me that she has called him on previous occasion because of how he has dealt with his tenants. lol So, moral of the story in my opinion - GREED DOESN'T PAY. Sometimes you have to appreciate good tenants and that doesn't always mean raising rent because you are allowed to, especially when they don't bother you for anything and take care of your place. Be happy with what you have. Be reasonable. And, if months and months are passing and you are unable to rent at what you are asking, then maybe you should rethink that amount. haha So, out of curiosity, I will keep checking Kijiji just to see how long it takes, because I can.
I had decided to move further north of the city because I didn't like the people my son was hanging around with. Problem was, they were kids that he grew up with that were just making choices I didn't agree with and didn't want them to drag my son along with them. I figured that I couldn't be successful just telling him that I wanted him to stop being friends with them. lol So, I made it more difficult by moving further away from them. He was pissed, as a teenager would be....but years later he completely understood the benefit. That happens when you grow up. lol
I went with my best friend at the time to look at the place and loved it because it was a good size and was in my budget. Downfall was, it was a basement apartment. The joys of a basement apartment I never really understood until I moved in to this one. I say this because I had lived in a basement apartment once before but the people above me were very quiet. I recognize that now. For Furman, it was a whole new experience. lol
My first basement apartment I also had to leave in a hurry which was kind of my own fault, because I had concerns about the Carbon Monoxide Detector that kept going off of which the landlord wasn't taking care of in a timely fashion. My worry resulted in calling the fire department to get some peace of mind that I wasn't going to die in my sleep or something. Turned out that while the place was ok for Carbon Monoxide, that the basement apartment wasn't legal and had violations that needed to be fixed for me to continue to live there. Go figure. The landlord supposedly decided he wasn't going to fix them so I had to leave. Ugh. Smh.Living at this place for 7 yrs, I went through hell and back with several different tenants that rented the upstairs unit. A unit that was never offered to me when it became available by the way. Although I probably wouldn't have paid what he was asking for it, but I'm just saying! lol
New Neighbors, New Neighbors-Time To Leave are a few posts that I had written, but I had a whole lot of other interesting neighbour drama before I started blogging. Trust that one! Point is, that I was constant. Despite all the drama, I stayed while upstairs had a revolving door. And hey...don't you think for a second that I was the problem because I can assure you that I wasn't. lol He was probably charging wayyy too much for what he was offering. And, I say that because that has gotten him in his new predicament that has me writing today that Greed Doesn't Pay!
The neighbours that moved in after the last neighbours I wrote about were awesome. Two gentlemen that worked. So, like us, they were gone in the day and home at night. Kids weren't running around upstairs and I am confident that the cost of utilities (although included in rent) had to have dropped for sure since nobody was home all day using them up. Utilities became a sore spot for the landlord because until these guys moved in, everybody he had rented to had been home with children. Especially the last tenant who was running a Home Daycare!! I can imagine the utilities. Well, when they decided to move out for a bigger place since she was pregnant, the landlord must have had a bright idea that wasn't so bright after all.This leads me to say that Greed Doesn't Pay!!
To recoup some of his losses when the lady with the Home Daycare moved out, the landlord decided to give ME notice to increase my rent another $30 a month. (He was following guidelines though) I mean, he didn't even wait to see how low his utilities would go now that he had new tenants that actually went to work all day. I was pissed! I called him and asked him "What the hell? Is there a number you are trying to get to?" lol He let me know that he had to make his money and give me 60 days notice. So, out of principle, I had enough. I was a long time good tenant. I had to let him know and give him notice - I'm Out!! And while I knew right away that we were leaving, I waited to give him exactly 60 days. I would have stayed there till we bought our first home but man oh man. Furman was frustrated having never lived in a basement apartment before and it was just the two of us in a three bedroom now anyways. I was just frustrated because I felt this man was being unreasonable and not appreciating a good faithful tenant. So I decided to find something more worth our money to hold us over. That, I sure did. Took me 48 hours! Now, we are happy!!
Well....here is where Greed Doesn't Pay. Furman said that this man would have trouble renting the place out once we left. He sure called it. I think the landlord knew he messed up when he last spoke to Furman just prior to our moving out, saying that he wished we weren't leaving. lol Oh well. But, what did he do....he decided to be even more greedy and post his rental ad in Kijiji asking for $70 more than he was asking me to pay. Yup. He was jacking the rent up $100 more than I paid when I left. As a result, 8 months later my old basement apartment is STILL EMPTY. Shame. That's a lot of money out of his pocket I tell ya. It's been about 8 months empty now. But I know that the upstairs neighbours haven't made it easy for him to rent the place either. lol Whenever they have been home and people came to see the basement, they have made sure to indirectly introduce the people to what exactly they hear from down below. hahaha Giving them a listen. Crazy. Can't say I blame them though. lol
Now don't get me wrong, I am not taking joy in this man's pain. It's just a damn shame. I am sure his wife probably told him once again that he was an idiot...something he confessed to me that she has called him on previous occasion because of how he has dealt with his tenants. lol So, moral of the story in my opinion - GREED DOESN'T PAY. Sometimes you have to appreciate good tenants and that doesn't always mean raising rent because you are allowed to, especially when they don't bother you for anything and take care of your place. Be happy with what you have. Be reasonable. And, if months and months are passing and you are unable to rent at what you are asking, then maybe you should rethink that amount. haha So, out of curiosity, I will keep checking Kijiji just to see how long it takes, because I can.
If you are a landlord, appreciate your good tenants because when they are gone you never know what you just might get, if anything.
No comments:
Post a Comment