Livin' in Landlord No Man's Land

Livin' in Landlord No Man's Land

Livin' in Landlord No Man's Land

I had a few showings today, one of which was at a property whose great screen patio is featured in the above photo.

Yes, this was a trip to what I've come to refer to as Landlord No Man's Land.

One won't find Landlord No Man's Land on a map, mind you- for as is the case with its antithesis, Utopia, Landlord No Man's Land is more of a mindset than a geographical location.

Our tenants give us 60 days' notice prior to vacating.  Some folks only 30 days- and that's just fine, too.  They undoubtedly experience Landlord No Man's Land as well- they simply only have to deal with it for half as long.

Once a tenant (or group of them) gives said notice, we place their property on the market in hopes of securing a new tenant very quickly.  In some cases, things are great- the current tenants are cooperative, they've always kept a place in great condition and they continue to do so.

In other cases, however, tenants have...let's just say "not been the best housekeepers"- and that doesn't change, either.  The end result in those cases?  Landlord No Man's Land.

Have these tenants lived like pigs?  Possibly.  Do they drink a lot of beer?  Absolutely.  And Lord only knows what all has gone into the bong they have there.  I could've taken a few more photos, too, but I wouldn't want anyone losing their appetite in viewing them.

The reason this is Landlord No Man's Land is simply this: there is nothing we can do to remedy this problem- and all of our showings will be as miserable as mine were today.  "I'll have to see it again after they're gone and you've had time to get the place ready" is a common refrain, and understandably so.

To be sure, we can govern how tenants live their daily lives no more easily than we as a country can legislate morality- and that's fine.  Problems/conditions discovered mid-tenancy can be remedied by serving a 7-day notice with opportunity to cure, etc.  Anything like that carries no weight at this point in the game, however- as it's neither practical nor cost-effective for an owner to consider any sort of eviction filing for a tenant that might very well be gone before a hearing could even be scheduled.

Things are still good here, I must say... these guys will be gone in a week or so , and we can work on getting it suitable for viewing by the masses clamoring to do so.

Yep, there are a lot of great attractions in our area- from everything that you could possibly imagine with mouse ears on it to Legoland and from the World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios to Shamu over at Seaworld.  Some are expensive, some are even more expensive- yet all of them beat a trip to Landlord No Man's Land.

Livin' in Landlord No Man's Land