Renting

I am a landlord.  For everyone out there that ever considered renting, thought it would be a great way to make some extra cash, don't.  Just don't.  It is so odd and disappointing.  It's disappointing because you try hard.  If you've ever dealt with a landlord that was a bit of a jerk....this is why.

 Zac and I renovated Trailer #47 not even 3 years ago.  We re-carpeted, put wood flooring in the kitchen and entry way so the carpet inside the front door wouldn't get ruined.  We gutted the bathroom to the floor joists and started over, new wood floor, toilet, vanity, tub and surround.  We repainted the entire thing and I even hung curtains to make it nicer.
We lived in it, it was a nice home.  Really.  In return we have had multiple renters move in and destroy it.  The last two moved in and the carpet did have a stain in the living room, but all in all, I was able to undo most of the damage from the previous renters.

We had to evict these renters.  They lied more times than I can count about when they would pay us and why they couldn't pay us.  In the end, they just didn't even attempt to settle up.  We have had no payments since December.  They just left last Saturday.  I told them we would take them to court.  In fact, I told them I would be over 10 days after I served them their eviction notice to assess damages for the law suit.  When I went, this was the state of the home....AND THEY KNEW WE WERE COMING!

That's the light in the bedroom, hanging by wires.

That's a massive stack of clothes piled in front of the electric box....notice the empty hangers and otherwise empty closet. 

This is where the dog they weren't supposed to have, dug through the new carpet to the subfloor.

This is the the state of my less than 3 year old bathroom.  I especially appreciate the pure filth in the corners of the floor.

This is the tub they bathed their 3 little girls in.

This is the totally stained carpet and the dirt smeared walls.

This is just one of the broken floor vents.  They are metal.  How does this happen?!

The refrigerator.

And the kitchen floor

Just look at the filth, pure filth.  

How can this situation get worse you ask?  Well, let me tell ya.  I went over Saturday, the day after they said they'd be out, which was more than 3 and 1/2 months since they paid rent last.  Ample time.  I first thought I would look in the storage shed and make sure the AC unit I put there in the fall hadn't been moved with the rest of their stuff.
 It hadn't, but that wasn't the big shock.  The shocker was that these people left a bunch of stuff, and then threw bags of garbage on top of all of it.  It's been sitting, rotting in my shed, for weeks.  Animals have been in it, torn open the bags, and then drug it all over the shed.
I was already mad, then much, much more mad after opening those doors.  Into the trailer I went, only to find that they left nearly everything for me to take care of.  The bedroom set, clothes, boxes, a couch, random trash and a fridge full of all sorts of sticky red stuff in the bottom.  They broke the floor vents, the light covers, the front AC unit, the toilet and the kitchen sink.  

As I was photographing the damages for the judge I look out the window to see my renter, Chris, literally running away from the trailer.  I went from mad, to livid.  I walked outside and yelled at him to get back there.  He asked why.  Why?!  I yelled, "Because of this!  Do you see this!?  You threw your trash in my shed and let it rot! You haven't paid me in months, you destroyed the trailer, and now I'm expected to clean up your filth!?"  To which he told me, "I paid you. I don't owe you anything.  This trailer is a run down piece of shit."  That's right....he blamed me for he and his wife and friends trashing the home.  This is about the point in our conversation when I lost it.  For every excuse he had, I had a reply that actually made sense.  He told me he had strangers living with him because he had no choice...I told him that he needed to realize that at this point, all he had left was his choices. I told him that I have worked hard for everything that I have, including the "rundown POS trailer" that he didn't appreciate living in.  Then  I took the opportunity to tell him that I was "sick of dealing with people that know more about working the system than working a job."  Yep.

I tell ya, I am nice.  Up until the point where you screw me over, then personally offend me or a family member, then I am not.  In fact, then I am not nice in the least.  Then, I am downright rude and unapologetic about it.  I won't have a single problem looking you in the eye and telling you, in no uncertain terms, what a low-life you are.    

Now understand my disappointment.
I have to go through this whole process again.  And this type of person, the Chris and Kim's of the world, will never pay me what they owe me.  Will never pay for the damages they've done.  They will keep ruining the things other people have worked for.  They will keep doing things like trading their LINK card for beer and cigarettes (not made up....Kim told me they did...it was her explanation for why CEFS should know her...apparently she went there to get food from their pantry b/c of the lack of said LINK card).  And I will pick up their filth, scrub the baseboards, scour the sinks and tubs, re-caulk the bathtub, rewire lights, shampoo carpets, repaint and pray that I don't get burned again by another renter, or renters, who have so little respect for others, so little respect for themselves, that they are ok with being worthless people and bringing up children with that example.  I can only hope that extraordinary rage with which I yelled at my renters will snap them out of the Kool-smoke filled haze they live in.  For the sake of their 3 little girls, I hope so, but I doubt it.  And now my friends, I will climb off my soapbox.  In fact I will store my soapbox it in a dark alley and use it as a weapon the next time I run into my renters.  

P.S. God, please forgive me my trespasses....and I'll work on not feeling hand-shaking anger each time I think about this situation. Amen. 

Sneak Peak

As you all know, I've been working like crazy to get this trailer done.  Most days I get home at 5:30 or 6:30, change, head to the trailer then work til 9:30 or 10:30. Zac and I took Monday off two weeks ago to work a full day and since then, we haven't missed a day.  We are tired, but, on the up and up, we are making progress, lots of progress.  We are texturizing the walls in the master and bathroom tonight, painting tomorrow, laying floors this weekend, then it's little stuff from there.  We should be moving in next weekend!  Without futher ado...your sneak peak.

This is the office when I started

Notice the holes in the wall, the blue carpet, and the little strips that hide where one piece of drywall meets the other.

Unlike almost every other room, this one had a door that wasn't broken. (I had to throw out the closet door)

We ripped out the bad drywall, pulled down all the strips, removed the bad carpet

Then we replaced all the outlets, the light fixtures, the drywall and repaired the floor vents.  We texturized the walls, painted, put in new carpet and pad and then did base boards.  Here is the finished room...well, part of it.  This 

The house is coming along.  This is the transformation of just one room.  We have redone EVERY room.  I will post more after we finish it up and, of course, after we have moved in and decorated.

PS  If any of you would like to spend your Easter moving us, just let me know :)

The slums of Shelbyville

As I have mentioned before, my parents own a trailer park.  I am excited for it to be ours one day....which is crazy.  But property is always a good investment (unless it turns into some kind of giant sink hole) and this is a large lot within city limits.  There are lots of home in the park and three are mine.  I don't have any pictures of the second renovation, but I will write about my first two conquests later.  For now...it's all about #36.

I got a call from dad the last Thursday in January.  He said a guy he knew who was a "good shit" had a trailer for sale and it was a good deal.  Now being a good shit is exactly what I wanted to hear.  This means you are honest and you've dealt with my dad before and he was happy with the outcome.  I hope to only deal with "good shits" in my life.  

I called the guy up, he had a 16x80 trailer for sale for $8000, that included the move.  It needed "a couple sheets of drywall, the carpets shampooed and a couple pieces of trim for the countertops and it'll be good to go."  I told him if it was what he said it was, (and dad assured me it would be because of the aforementioned good shitness of the guy) he had himself a deal.  He had me drive a town over to look at pictures of the joint.  I agreed, it was a deal.  I called my banker, got the loan all set up, signed the paperwork on Friday and went Saturday to see it in person, cashiers check in hand.  

Now I knew the trailer had no appliances, I prepped for that by taking and extra $500 dollars on the loan.  What I didn't expect was the everything else I was gonna have to fix.  As it turns out, there were reasons the guy didn't have pictures of any of the bedrooms.  Now...this post is gonna be a little long, pictures are coming.....

This is the trailer itself, pretty sweet blue faux wood gain huh. 

When you walk in, you are in the living room, its a beauty, prep yourself.

We are lucky to have mirrors already in place, so we can check out all angles, all the time.

This is straight in front of you, notice the outlet dangling out of the wall. Safe.

Now if you turn right, you are in the hallway, where someone did this to the wall (this is where the couple sheets of drywall was supposed to go)

Just to your left is the green bedroom.  It's lacking a little, well, wall, both under the window

and where there are gaping holes in the wall

If that green carpet makes you nauseous, you can always stop at the bathroom at the end of the hall.  

While you're there, feel free to find the shower head for me, or the knob that turns the water on and off. 

Just to the left of the bathroom is the blue bedroom, complete with holes at the bottom of the wall. 

From here I'd like you to journey back through the living room to the kitchen.

LOVE the curtains? Me too.

Check out how well the cabinets were taken care of, the faux wood is peeling off and the shelves are rotting out. Oddly, the sink and faucet are really nice (or will be, after they are cleaned).

Oh, the guy I bought it off of forgot to mention that there were two drawers missing. You can see their empty spaces behind the furnace cover.

But, I'm afraid the couple pieces of countertop trim I'm supposed to pick up may not hid this.

There is a little hallway from kitchen to the bath, to your right is the laundry room, which isn't in too bad of shape, but the wall across from it is.

I suppose the door to the laundry room will have to be replaced, concidering it's missing the strip that holds the two sides together (that wall is part of the master bedroom, it's a little dinked up)

Now, the beautiful master bedroom, with a view into the master bath.  And yes, the side of the tub is carpeted.  One word, Luxury!

Now I started to get a little annoyed withe the guy because I had specifically asked him if there was any water damage and he told me "no, not a spot." what then, I ask, is this

or this

I'm lucky though, I can go back into my huge bathroom and take a nice relaxing shower

Ewww right!

Or, hang out with the dead flies

(notice, there is not a bit of countertop trim anywhere)

Or better yet, take a nice long soak in the garden tub.  

I was shocked to find though, upon my return to the trailer yesterday, that since Zac and I moved the trailer in a few days ago, someone or something has taken the liberty to come into what will be our abode and has pooped in our tub.

I'm pissed....and disgusted.

Now, as shocking as it is that someone(thing) has shat in my tub, what's worse is that I'm gonna have to clean it up.  I'm gonna have to scrape and peel and prime and repaint away someone's filth.  Plus, I already know that I'm gonna live here next.  When I get it done, you will see the after pictures and you will be shocked.  It will be liveable, even nice.  Until then, keep me in your prayers.  Apparently someone has a vendetta and they are repaying me one turd at a time.