jeffcovey.net -- a tenacious tenant.

so.

where to begin the cautionary tale? a chronology may be best to get the scope:

february 2007: one of my tenants tells me he's leaving.
march 2007: he makes arrangements for a new home and says he will have everything out by the end of the month.
04/01/2007: i go to the house to move a new tenant in. to my surprise, the old tenant and much of his stuff is still there. he's still busy moving it, and has arranged with the new tenant to keep working and have it all out by the end of a week.
04/17/2007: old tenant reports he's successfully moved to florida. i wish him luck and ask for the remainder of his bills (he hasn't yet paid march's rent or his half of february and march's utility bills) less the security deposit.
04/21/2007-06/06/2007: i write once every week or two to express hope he's enjoying his new life in florida and offer a reminder about the rent still owed. there's no reply.
06/08/2007: one of the other tenants gets around to mentioning why i may not be hearing from him. it seems that he never left, that he's been living in my basement the whole time, and that he's slowly moved all of his stuff back into the house. i write and call old tenant regarding this news of great interest.
06/09/2007: i go to the house and find, as predicted, old tenant sitting on my futon. i remind him about leaving.
06/10/2007: i try to help him move, but he's not ready yet.
06/11/2007: back at the house, helping him with some heaving lifting in the backyard. i begin to have small suspicions regarding the magnitude of the infestation. he at least gets himself and his cats into a new home, and will be at the house just for moving from now on.
06/12/2007: i offer to get a group of friends together for a moving party, but he says he doesn't need it and will be out by the end of the week.
06/13/2007-06/17/2007: new tenants report old tenant making continuous progress.
06/18/2007: on the assumption (mistake!) the week is now ended and old tenant is finished his four-month outgoing odyssey, i call a locksmith to fix the broken back door lock and rekey the front door to match it.
06/19/2007: here we are...

so, i go to meet the locksmith today, and a nag at the back of my mind tells me to take the camera in case there's anything left.

click on any photo to see a larger version of it.
	well, looks like there's still some stuff out back. comments (0)
	er. still some stuff filling the yard. and the deck. and under the deck. comments (0)
	and something laying at the foot of the front steps. comments (0)
	and... whatever this is. comments (0)
	and... inside? well, there's no living in the living room, that's for sure. comments (0)
	tv and entertainment center still there. and the wall thing. comments (0)
	dining room? no dining tonight. comments (0)
	more of the dining room. at least the cat's not his. comments (0)
	another angle. comments (0)
	the view from the top of the basement stairs. this doesn't bode well. could there possibly be anything left down there? comments (0)
	woo-yeah! comments (0)
	and the other side of the basement, too! comments (0)
	this may be my favorite, six crates of 5-1/4" floppy disks. comments (0)
	the right side of the passageway. comments (0)
	left side. comments (0)
	all neatly labeled, just in the wrong person's house. comments (0)
	still more in the far corner. comments (0)
	and the wardrobe. comments (0)
	back in the bedroom. comments (0)
	and looking back toward the stairs. whee. so tired just from looking at it all. any moral to be drawn? neither a landlord nor a landlord be? don't rent to friends? i don't know, i probably haven't learned. anyone like to carry boxes? comments (4)