Years ago, when my wife & I, then fledgling public sector attorneys, purchased a newer, more upscale abode in which to raise our family, we decided to put off selling my much older rowhouse, acquired when I was single. Since then we've had a succession of tenants, only one of whom faithfully paid the rent on time every month. At one point I put the house on the market for a time, but after six months passed and I hadn't found a buyer, I re-rented the place.
My current tenant of three years has now fallen about three months behind.
I obtained a court judgment in December and was about ready to proceed with an eviction, but called the court and halted the proceedings at the last minute upon the arrival of a money order that seemed to promise an intention to begin catching up on the money owed me. And for any of you who are tenants, let's be frank: if your landlord is like me, he or she needs your money. I am still sending a mortgage check to the bank every month, and the rent doesn't really even cover my total expenses of ownership.
My tenant ("X") no longer has a working phone with which to contact him. Last fall I learned that, without asking me (of course), he allowed his mom to move in. She seems to be a nice lady, and it was she, in fact, who had spotted me three years ago clearing out the junk left behind by the previous tenants and inquired whether I might be interested in renting to her son. This afternoon I put my autistic son into his car seat and made the 80-minute journey across state lines to my rental property with the intention of confronting my tenant. When I arrived, his mom answered the door and invited us in. Advising me that her son wasn't there, I awkwardly relayed to her the current status of the rent and explained that I feel I am being forced to proceed legally. I even made an offer: move out, and X can keep half his security deposit. She obviously felt embarrassed, of course, and repeated her earlier offer to pay the whole debt herself when she receives an anticipated litigation settlement. She also allowed and ecouraged my very nervous son to pet her cute little cat. She offered to start paying me something weekly as she recently returned to her old job, and promised to let X know that he needs to start paying me.
I have nothing whatever against X's mom, who seems to have fallen on hard times and probably wishes that X were more responsible. I hate being the mean guy, but I'm no Daddy Warbucks, and at this point I'd really rather put the house back up for sale -- even in this crappy market.