The tenancy with Kylie Ray was awful and ended in disaster. The only good thing that came from it was that Kylie Ray would definitely be gone. It seems, however, that I may have just moved the male version of Kylie Ray into property Beta.
Danny the Kid, the new tenant of property Beta, hasn’t paid November’s rent yet. I went over to his house Monay and his roommate was there. He said he hadn’t seen Danny but will let him know I stopped by. I told him that if they don’t have the rent by Thursday, I’m filing for eviction. Imagine that. They still have stuff in boxes to be moved in, and they’re already about to be evicted! Ugh. Yesterday, I get a call from Danny. He said that someone broke into the apartment while he went to the store. He said he left the door unlocked, and the convenient thieves took his phone, driver’s license, and the rent check given to him by his former landlord that he was gonna give me. Convenient. I learned my lesson from Kylie Ray, and told him that he has to pay the rent before Thursday is done or I will file an eviction. I’m no longer gonna get sucked into the world of tenant lies and excuses. But, just for the hell of it…
Brooklyn Mike was listening in on the call. When Danny got off the phone, he said that Danny had to be lying. If his apartment got broken into on Sunday, why would he wait until Tuesday to tell me about it? Where's the police report? Also, I remember all the doors being unlocked when I went there on Monday. If you just got robbed the day before because you didn’t lock the door, wouldn’t you lock the damned thing? Idiot. I knew something was off about him from the very beginning, but I didn't think it was something that would turn into this. This whole situation, however, is my fault. No matter how stupid Danny is, it all comes back to me. I should have never moved him in with only the security deposit. I would always get the security deposit and the first month’s rent. That’s the basics of Remedial Landlording 101. I also didn’t get the recent paystub from Danny, which was another bonehead move (I got one from his roommate while I was there Monday).
"My father just died" means "I don't have the money"
"The apartment was broken into" means "I don't have the money"
"I just got into a car accident" means "I don't have the money"
"My wife is about to have a baby" means "I don't have the rent money"
"I sent the rent. I don't know what happened" means "I don't have the money"
"But what about the repairs we need done?" means "I don't have the money"
"I'm bleeding to death!" means "I don't have the money"
Anything besides "here's the money" means the tenant doesn't have it, and I must be able to understand and simplify what a tenant is really saying to me. I was rusty and made rookie mistakes, and now I have to pay for it. For the next 6 months I’ll have to put up with the antics of Danny and his roommate Scott. I actually like Scott. He’s in his forties and has a stable job, but there’s something off about their relationship. For example, even though Scott is older and seems more stable, he pays Danny $300 a month to pay the rent. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Ugh, I dunno. All I know is that I have to live with my mistakes and, if he doesn’t come up with the rent by tomorrow, Danny will break my record for the fastest legal move in/move out in my history. I really wish I was as alert during the rental process as I am now. I made so many errors and forgot so many basic things. At least I know the rental process for Kylie Ray’s apartment should go much better.
P.S.: One thing I can take away from this is that I’m sharp enough not to fall for stories now. If the rent is due and it hasn’t been paid, no excuses matter. No amount of fathers dying, Bill Pay promises, or thieves stealing rent from unlocked apartments can explain why a person doesn’t pay to have a roof over his/her head. I didn’t get sucked in and I kept focus on what mattered. I’ll get there. It’ll take a while, but I’ll get there.
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