Please don't evict me!!!

So, the tenants in house #3 get the letter from the attorney indicating their 6 lease violations and how to remedy them or else get evicted. Ms. Tenant calls the attorney crying and pleading for more time. Hmmmm....let's see. She's already 20 days past due on the deposit, owes a returned check fee, and owes additional monies. She has until the end of the month to pay up, which I think is pretty damn generous. This is all really irritating. You see, Mr. Landlord and I provide really nice places to live, AND we ensure that any and all repairs are completed by the best workman we have. This not only protects the tenant, but it protects our investment. And this is key...it is an investment for us. Not a half-way house, not a stop-and-squat house, not a onceIgetinIllneverhavetopayanotherdime house. We hold up our end of the lease and we expect our tenants to do the same. Not my problem that you can't manage your life well enough to ensure you and your family have a roof over your head. You should have never signed the lease if you couldn't afford it!

House #1 is up for lease. This is absolutely our nicest house. In fact, we lived there before we moved into our current house. It is in a really nice neighborhood, has all new flooring throughout, new appliances, a washer and dryer, access to the community pool/tennis courts/playground, and new paint on the exterior and interior. The previous tenants did a fantastic job of keeping up the house. So much so, they received their ENTIRE deposit back. Mr. Landlord showed the house this past weekend to a family who seemed very interested. They took the application and said they would fax it in today. Well, I received a voice mail from the husband saying he and his wife had a few questions, and could we please email them. He also said that his wife wanted to know if we were going to repaint the inside of the house, and that if we didn't use email (hello? this statement baffles me....) that he would call back and we could "have a good conversation about the house." Oh fuck me...kiss my ass. The interior has paint that is 10 months old and looks, literally, brand new. It is in very nice, warm colors and we spent a few thousand for the paint job. Fuck off, asshole...it's a rent house...if your wife can't live with the paint then she probably can't live there period...You will likely piss me off some time during your lease and then I'll be the relentless landlord who becomes your biggest, most painful hemorrhoid.

What? You can't pay your rent????

Well, the tenants in house #3 wrote a hot check for their third deposit payment. Because coming up with the first month's rent and a deposit at the same time can be a bit daunting, Mr. Landlord and I let folks pay out their deposit. When I phoned the tenants to say their check bounced, they let me know the fridge was out and that their two twenty-something daughters had moved into the house to "stay for just a few months because their landlord sold the house they were living in right from under them without telling them...they have no where to go, so we said they could stay here until they get back on their feet." Hmmmm.....page 7, section F, subsection 2...no visitors longer than 7 days without written permission from the landlord.
AND, they could not cover their hot check until the 22nd of the month. Hmmmm....page 2, section A....nonpayment can result in eviction.

So, this house is about 1500 sq. ft. and now has four adults and one 6-year-old boy living in it. Let me start by saying that it is illegal where we live to sell a house without giving the current tenants at least 30 days notice, so they are...what is it called???? Ummm....hmmmm....LYING??? Goodness gracious folks...come up with something more original than that. Essentially, these girls were given proper notice by their landlord that the house was up for sale. I am sure the landlord showed the house to potential buyers. So, Mr. Landlord and I are being asked to accomodate someone's ineptness at taking care of their own business and themselves. Folks, had I wanted to be accomodating to these issues, I would have entered a contractual agreement to be someone's PARENT not their landlord. However, given that I did not give birth to these girls, I don't feel a need to accomodate their stupidity.

Now the issue of the money...or lack thereof. Ms. Tenant pleaded and begged to be allowed to stay in the house, saying if we could just give them one more month to get their lives straight, we would not be sorry. As Sue Do says, Holy Crap-dee-doodle. Ms. Tenant also said that she made one of the girls get rid of her precious dog, because Ms. Tenant respected me as the owner and the contracted lease we all signed. Yep...that's right...went over to the house and knocked on the door. Oh my goodness, what on earth did I hear when I knocked on the door??? Yip, yip, yap, yap....what? Could that be the bark of a dog??? So, now we are on violation three of the lease contract.

You guessed it...emailed Mr. Attorney who agreed to send Mr. and Ms. Tenant a letter advising them to get the girls out, pay their debts, get rid of the dog, or risk eviction. Mr. Landlord does not agree with this approach and says to evict them. However, given there is a 6-year-old boy involved, I am willing to stick out for another 30 days...knowing full well that we will be evicting them in September.

Can someone please tell me why people get themselves in such a state of affairs? I mean really...I told Mr. Landlord two weeks ago that these folks could not afford to live in the house and sure enough...they can't. Why oh why do people think they can just pull money out of their asses to pay their bills? Why do they underestimate the legality of the lease contract that they signed??? Please inform me and educate me...