The House Hustle

Stacey was initially extremely helpful, cooperative and easy to get a hold of, until she moved in, then it was impossible to reach her. Why would you dodge your landlord if they just wanted to help you? All we wanted to do was give her mother heat, why not answer our calls and emails? We decided the most economical and timely way to get heat in the house was to install baseboard heaters. The fall weather was starting to get quite brisk so we needed access immediately. As a last resort and to be respectful of our tenant we sent the property manager to the house to post notice to gain access. This is was the response I received;

                  Hi Alex,

I heard from Century 21 about the electrical work that they want done.  My mother is all moved in and is not comfortable with strangers coming in and disturbing her and her stuff. She has lots of art that is precious to her up and is not ok with strangers handling it. We would like you could either do the work if you get new tenants, or another solution is, we have a close family friend that can do the work that is needed. You can look them up, it is Darcy electrical they are ticketed and have a good reputation. We will come and move Mom’s stuff on the day that is needed.  She is also fine to use the fireplace and the oil heaters she purchased.

This morning Century 21 came to the house with out consent. My mom was not well enough to have visitors at that time. I would like it if we could communicate directly with you so this doesn’t happen again. 

Our family really likes the house and the neighbourhood and are wondering if you are interested in selling it?

K I think I covered everything I was supposed to. Talk to you soon 

Thank you 

Well that’s not weird at all, is it!

There is so much to process in this email. Your mother is there now, she has very expensive items in the house, she is worried about them being damaged? Also, you don’t want heat for the winter? You would like us to wait for the next set of tenants to put heat in? So, I guess you aren’t stay very long in the house? Oh, and the fireplace, you are comfortable using it; an item that was not to be used as per the singed tenancy agreement based on the fact that is was not certified and insured. What’s slightly more worrisome is that their close family friends business does not even exist, no website, no address and no yelp review. Everyone has a yelp review, everyone! Who did she plan on contracting the electrical work too? Then, after sending what is possibly the shadiest email ever she asks flat out if she can buy the house!

When it rains it pours, right? No. When it rains, it torrential down pours! Just three days before Stacey was to move her mother Laura into our home we get a concerning call from our carpet cleaner. Apparently our homes electricity had been cut off. To be honest, that screw up was completely on me, I thought I had switched the power over into our name and I hadn’t. After a quick call to Hydro we were back in business, or were we? The homes oil furnace could be described as being ancient; at about 75 years old it finally cocked it. We purchased $1000.00 worth of fuel in an attempt to jumpstart the furnace and when that didn’t work we tried to fix the circuit board. Unfortunately for us, Stacey was eager to move in immediately. With so many issues so early in the renting process we thought it best to retain our real-estate agent to manage the property for us; what did we know anyway? Clearly we had no idea how much work renting a property could be and needed professional help. It was also starting to seem like Laura was not going to be the only resident at the home, but that her daughter Stacey and her two children were likely moving in with her. My husband and I didn’t really mind if Laura’s family moved in with her, rent is rent and the amount wouldn’t have changed regardless of the number of residents. Fortunately for us, it was a warm fall so we weren’t worried about them freezing in the house just yet, but we were concerned about getting them heat ASAP. Once Stacey and her mother were settled in the house we began contacting her about gaining access to get heat sorted and that is when things started to get weird.

We purchased our dream house at the end of September 2017. We knew that in order to keep that house we needed to get a tenant in ASAP. After discussing whether we would manage the property out of province or hire a property management company we decided to manage it ourselves, I mean really, how hard could it be? All we needed to do was stick a fabulous tenant in there and watch the rent roll in. Due to the distance between the house, and us, we thought it would be wise to hire a real estate agent to place the tenant and then we would take over managing. The company we chose is amazing, very attentive; great references and they were able to get an ad up on real estate websites, rental sites and craigslist within just a couple days. After two weeks on the rental market we had a solid lead on a tenant, lets call her Laura, a lovely elderly woman that was hoping for her own space closer to her children and grandchildren. Laura, what a dream tenant she could be, a single, elderly woman that just wants to have her own space closer to her family when she comes to visit. We signed the lease with Laura for one year, her daughter Stacey helped her move into the property and get her belongings set up. The house, although in need of a little work, has amazing bones and so much charm it could melt your heart. The house has been loved since it was built with the timber logged from the lot it stands on. The heating, electrical and water all work well, so what could go wrong? EVERYTHING let me tell you, everything could go wrong!