While cleaning up after the tenant what I evicted after less than a week, guess who came prancing in? It was the ex-tenant nice-looking-lady who now was man-hating again. She was in the process already of getting a divorce from her new husband. And she wanted to lease my house again!

        I immediately raised the rent $500 a month and told her I thought the house was already spoken for. Never heard from her again! Next tenants were a couple with two kids and no pets. They had been there only a few months when she got down on her knees and pleaded with me to let them have a dog. Of course being the kind gentle-hearted person that I am I said, "OK, but if dog damages anything you will have to pay for it." What I didn't know is that kids painting on walls with crayons could do a lot more damage than dogs!

        Well, next thing I knew they had a huge Doberman Pincher. The Doberman turned out to be real gentle so I guess they got a misfit. These tenants turned out to be real nice (I thought), paid their rent, which was about half of what I should have been charging, on time. Even brought rent money over to me so I didn't have to collect past-due rent anymore.

        One summer about three years later when the temperature here was about 110 degrees, the man called me and said, "This AC is not working…we are burning up." Turns out they had NEVER changed the filter and the pore old AC had just given up the ghost. Another $800 down the drain! Then about a year later something went haywire with drains in the master bath, flooded underneath the house, and floors in several rooms started buckling. Another $6000 down the drain!! (no pun intended)

        After 6 years because of my half-price rent they had saved enough money to buy their own house and away they went. I am plum tired of even thinking about what needed to be done to make the house rentable again, but it cost me over $7000!

        Also found a tire out in the back yard and went out there to get shed of it. When I tried to pick it up the damn thing wouldn't move. It was filled with cement! Found out they had done that to make a base or something for some kind of game called tetherball (I think). Next door neighbor came over and both of us tried to move the damn tire and it wouldn't move! He finally got an electric saw and started cutting the tire and then we started hitting it with a sledge hammer. Cement chips flying all over the place! Ruined his saw and I bought him a new one! Another $50 down the drain. But we got shed of the damn tire.

        I decided to double the rent and lo and behold! Had that sucker leased before I could even finish getting it ready. A young couple who were about to get married moved in and everything looked real rosy.

        The new guy was an ex-Navy Seal, but unfortunately was in the reserves. This was a short time after 9/11 and sure enough he was called to active duty within 6 months and away THEY went. Now I was living in a big ole house with too much room and upkeep and I got me a brilliant idea. I put big ole house up for sale and moved into my rent house!

        Me, Jake and Rosie now live in the rent house and we don't have to pay no rent! And we lived happily for ever after! (So Far).