When I was living in my first apartment rental, I thought that being a landlord was the cushiest, most indulgent life you could have. Property rentals were a breeze. All you had to do was own a house or building, rent it out to some people, and watch the profits come in. My landlord was very lax about repairs, and I knew he had very little to do to get the property rental in shape between tenants. I knew that, as soon as I could find some properties for sale, I would be a landlord myself. Once I had property to rent, I could cut back on my working hours and spend my days indulging my hobbies. I couldn’t think of anything sweeter!

Unfortunately, I didn’t know the downside of property rentals. Just as there are bad landlords, there are bad tenants. Furthermore, there are bad places to be a landlord. I happened to suffer from both with my first property rental. You see, I was renting half of a duplex in Santa Cruz to a single guy fresh out of college. At first, he seemed like a fine, upstanding young man. I don’t know what happened to him – I suspect drugs. Whatever the reason, I began to get complaints from the neighbors and from other tenants. He was making noise at all times of night, strange people were coming and going from his house, and there was a terrible smell. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get in to inspect. Finally, he stopped paying rent, giving me grounds to legally evict him. What I found when I got in there shocked me.

I have heard of tenants trashing property rentals before, but I have never seen someone so callously disregard the place where he lives. It was a pit – it wasn’t fit for human habitation. It was so bad, in fact, that I knew that if an inspector came and checked it out, he would make me close down the whole property. I tried to sue him for damages, but the burden of proof is very high in that particular county. Basically, I could keep the security deposit and nothing more. The deposit, however, barely covered the back rent due from the property rental. After I was finished undoing the damage he did, I had made very little profit on that house. Next time, I will be more careful with my property rentals. I will not let just anyone live in one of my houses.

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