Pros and Cons of Laurie

I've decided to do my pros and cons on this blog so that I can review them, as well as my decision, later.

Right now are the cons. Laurie is a typical scumbag tenant with 7 kids. She has SSI which primarily pays for her rent and is therefore not in control of whether I get the money on time. She forgets or lies, either way it ends up the same: misinformation. Also, I know I can win this case. Despite her "situation", I know I can win this case. I want to try this case as proof that my MPS system (at least this part of it) works. Hell, I'm watching Boston Legal right now! She most likely called code enforcement on me, which is an absolute no-no in this business. And, if I didn't go forward with this case, she may get a feel of confidence that she can get what she wants if she "gets mean" whenever she wants. Once I win the case, I can throw her out and get new tenants in before the summer comes and the bar across the street gets rowdy.

Now for the pros. Laurie is a tenant that fits with Property Chi's neighborhood. She has enough money right now to catch up on rent, as well as getting things straight with SSI over minor code violations. Her boyfriend also works, which lessens their dependency on paying the rent solely with SSI. She and her boyfriend have helped with fixing things around the house. Should I have her sign another 3 month lease, maybe even 6 months, I can make sure she knows that we don't want to deal with her SSI issues and that she is responsible for rent. The bar across the street is going to get rowdy very soon and Laurie doesn't seem to care. She, like the upstairs tenant, loves the apartment and therefore ignores the problems in the neighborhood. The cost of taking her to court, including paying for the lawyer (which I'll probably have to do), and fixing all the new problems while making the renovations needed to attract a better type of tenant would be far greater than if I simply let her stay and fix the minor issues that the code people "found". Plus, there's no guarantee that the new "better" tenants would want to stay in the "same" neighborhood.

This is guaranteed money vs. not guaranteed money. This is the known vs. the unknown. I know Laurie. She's a scumbag but not much different than the tenant upstairs. She reminds me of my upstairs tenant in Property Beta. His name is Stan and he's annoying. He complains, he always has a tone and he thinks his shit don't stink. But he pays his rent on time and, as much as I don't like him, it really doesn't matter. Stan taught me the lesson that it doesn't matter whether you like the tenant or not. What's important is three things: 1) A tenant pays rent in a reasonable time; 2) A tenant doesn't cost more than they pay as far as repairs go; and 3) A tenant comes to the landlord with any issues concerning rent or repairs, and gives them sufficient time to fix the problems WITHOUT going to code enforcement. I consider Stan much more difficult than Laurie, so I know I can deal with her. The question now is: Should I?

I've been writing this for about 3 hours as I ponder the pros and cons. When I look it over again and again, I find less and less reason for her to leave and more reason for her to stay and work on my problem with her, for at least another 3 months. If I can get the documentation that shows how much SSI will pay along with her boyfriend's paystub then this may work. If I can show her and make her understand that I will not tolerate code enforcement being called again, and make it known that she is responsible for paying the rent on time without us having to call her, then this may work. So, based on everything that is written here, I would want her to stay-- so long as I can get documentation and assurances from her and the boyfriend. But that's my decision for tonight. Let's see if this sticks after a night's sleep. I still have more time to make up my mind after all.