The Police Called About a Tenant
It was about 11:30 this morning when the police officer called me. I had already signed one new tenant into a shared accommodation and another out and was in the process of fixing two locks when the call from a “private number” appeared on my phone.
He informed me he was with the City Police and as soon as he announced this all sorts of problems flashed before me. With shared accommodations you never know what can happen, I’ve had SWAT shut down several blocks around my property due to a potential suicide, I’ve had tenants assault or threaten to assault tenants, basically a whole laundry list of problems over the years, but I wasn’t ready for this one.
Apparently one of my former tenants had passed away and I was one of the numbers in his cell phone, so the officer was just calling to find out how I knew Eddie. The story doesn’t end there though, you see I had just asked Eddie to leave a couple of days before because he couldn’t pay me. I know I cannot take responsibility for what happened to him, but it really sucks to kick someone out and find out he his dead less than 24 hours after you last saw him.
Eddie had a bit of a drinking problem and although this may have had something to do with his passing, it did appear to be natural causes and could have easily happened in my property. I had been trying to contact him for the last several days and couldn’t contact him on his cell, so I had left a message in his room on Wednesday and then when I still hadn’t heard from him Thursday I went to see if my note was gone and it was, so he had been by.
The room was a mess, clutter and junk all over the place and I was dreading a major cleanup issue and problem, then a couple hours later Eddie called and said he had been having phone problems. At that point I informed him I needed rent Saturday morning or he needed to pack and leave. He said he would be able to borrow some money, so I left it until Saturday.
During my Saturday morning collection the property Eddie was in was my last stop and I was expecting him to not be around and to be stuck with the mess. I knocked on his door and no answer, so I unlocked the door and was absolutely shocked!
The room was exactly how it was when he moved in, there might have been a couple minor spots on the carpet, but the bed was made, it looked like it had been wiped down and it was good to go. The only problem being, the keys were not there.
Never being sure of whether they wash the sheets or not, I pulled them off to take home anyway and headed out to my vehicle. I was going to make one last quick call when suddenly Eddie rolls up on his bike from the alley.
We have a quick chat and he apologizes for not having the money and explains he started moving stuff at 6:30 this morning from the room to a buddies place. He gave me the keys, we talked a bit about his alcohol problems (I often end up not just a landlord, but sometimes an amateur councilor at times it feels like), where he was going and what he was going to do with his life. He wasn’t a young guy, he had just turned 56 last month and he knew he had to turn things around.
After we talked he asked if I could buy him a burger or something as he didn’t have any money, but this is a rabbit hole I won’t go down anymore and simply said no sorry. So he thanked me for putting him up for the few weeks, apologized again and took off on his bike.
24 hours later he is now gone forever.
Landlord Perspective
Getting news like this is never pleasant, sure Eddie may not have been the perfect citizen and we all fall down at times, but he was a reasonably good guy when he was sober. It’s just very sad that I kick him out, essentially on the street, and he dies within a day. If he stayed, would he have lived, we will never know.
As a landlord it can be tough kicking someone out, but where do you draw the line. Given 
the same circumstance I would repeat exactly what I did. Ultimately I am responsible for my property and although I feel bad for Eddie, he may the choices that led down this path.
On the other hand, it really sucks being a landlord sometimes.
Bill, stop beating yourself up!
Eddie’s deck of cards were playing out well before you met him, and, although we will never know if staying or leaving at your place was a deal breaker for him, we do know that he made his own choices irrespective of the good intentions of others.
The way I see it, you are providing a service to people like Eddie who would otherwise be on the street. Some transition to a better place, some go back home, some back to the street. As the Innkeeper, dictating the outcome is not part of your job description.
You seem to be knee-deep in the people business, my friend, whereas collecting rent, changing locks and fixing fences seems like a secondary hobby for you. Stay the course, remain in service to others, and be kind to yourself.
Hey Harold,
Thanks for the positive motivation. I’m not really beating myself up, I just feel bad for the guy. I understand the cards were played out by someone other than me, but it really does get weary being exposed to many of the people I do. I’m not saying there aren’t many many great people we have had through, but seeing and hearing some of the stories of some of my tenants just wears me down. I am positive we have helped hundreds of people over the years move forward and transition, it’s always just sad to reflect on the one that got away!
Bill
Hey Bill. It’s not your fault really. I’d done the same things as you, if I were in your place. Did you think that if you charge a little bit more for the rent, you’ll be filtering away problematic people? It’s just and idea. Take care.
By the way, to avoid have those problems of people not paying, when they move in I charge in advance the actual month rent + last month rent + DD, if they can’t afford that, I’m not interested in renting to them, it saves me many problems. Greets, Daniel.
Hi Daniel,
I’m not accepting any fault for this, it’s just sad to see this happen. The shared accommodation properties are a truly unique environment that fills a need in our city. As I’ve mentioned before, we have provided a safe comfortable landing place for hundreds of newcomers to Calgary and even people between places.
We lowered rent a little over a year ago to attract more clients during the slower economy, but at this point we are very near the stage where we can start pushing them back up. With weekly rentals it does become easier to change prices as the market demands.
The model we run makes it tougher to try and get extra cash up front from the tenants as many of them struggle just getting the damage deposit and rent together the first week. It makes for more challenging landlord demands, but it also creates some pretty nice cash flow. If we keep a property full for a month we generate just over $3,400 gross income a month, compare that to a typical single family rental……
Bill
Thanks Bill, this was a great reminder that landlords & tenants are inextricable parts of the each others lives & that what affects one, affects the other. Eddie was not a triple “A” tenant but if he could have paid the rent, he deserved a place to live. Did he deserve a place to live even if he couldn’t pay the rent? No!! Real Estate Investors can be charitable but their businesses can’t be Charities. Whether the choices Eddie made that led him not to pay his rent contributed to his early demise, we’ll never know. However death levels the playing field & reminds us of our own mortality. A sense of sadness for the passing of another human being is normal. Thanks for telling us a bit about Eddie & reminding us of the essential contribution we as Real Estate Investors make to society.
Hi Theode,
Thanks for the comments, landlords and their tenants truly have a symbiotic relationship, hopefully for the better but often not.
Bill
I had to approve this comment just to see if anyone else understood it?
Bill
My heart goes out to you Bill.
I know you understand that you were not the cause of these unfortunate circumstances – you simply had more of a front row seat to the ultimate reality of human nature than most of us do.
While it uncomfortably reminds us of our own mortality, its a great reminder of the importance to rejoice and be thankful for the things (and the moments) that we do have and not distress about the things we do not have.
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