I had a showing last night from someone relocating up from Texas. Both applicant and GF were previously owners so I thought these folks would be strong candidates......and they are

But, I don't think they will be a good fit with me. You see the BF complained that in the shed in the back yard that there were wall nut shells showing that squirrels go inside the shed. He wasn't amused when I said there were no extra fees for the wildlife in the back yard.

As for the GF, she didn't like the monthly rent set at $1,195. She was looking if I had anything for half of that. I let her know there has been $26,000 in upgrades to this place and I would let her know if I had any trailers available in the future. I take it I didn't make a lot of friends but they are looking for something at $600 around here, you are not getting that much.

The previous tenant had patched and painted the holes in the wall. I thought they did a decent job of it. The lady who came to see the place asked if I was going to repaint the walls. I said no. She said that for the rent $1385 and the security deposit she thought it should be repainted.

The landlord is in charge, the tenant is not.

I rented one of my nicer homes in a great school district so the renters didn't have to send their kids to private school, thus making the rent seem almost free. It was $2,500 per month, or $30,000 per year.

Private school cost between $10,000 to $15,000 per child per year. So their two kids would have cost them $25,000 for private school, like they paid in their old location -- a bad part of town with the worst schools with gangs.

These tenants said this was a temporary situation, they were going to buy a house soon. The wife's father is selling his home and then going to move in with them. In time they will find a good home nearby and start making offers.

So the father moved in and became a baby sitter when the kids walked home from school One child being 10 and the other child being 14.

Since the dad had netted over $350,000 from the sale of his home, those fund would account for a 60% down payment. With a working Husband and Wife and excellent income/credit -- they should be able to buy a home within a year or two.

The only problem is that the market keeps on going up each year. And today at prices close to $900,000, their mortgage and insurance would exceed $5,500 per month. It is cheaper to be a renter and pay $2,500 per month and bank the rest towards a home purchase.

I have only had one previous homeowner in 40+ years of being a landlady. He was also a previous landlord; oh lordy, I thought! He was separated and antiipated he'd only be there for 6 months. Six months today would be a no go for me, but this was early on in my career, a recently purchased rental for us and I needed a renter in there. My lease was strict enough, as I explained to my prospect, I only do annual leases, but that if I found someone to take his place when he decided to leave he would be let out of his lease.

Came time that he was ready to leave, and still had time on his lease. I was confident I could find a replacement. He was much older, and perhaps he wasn't as confident being I was somewhat in his eyes a "newer" landlady. So he would give me a generous incentive, ony if I was able to rerent his remaining months. I was able to rerent to the day. He moved out on a Sunday and the next person moved in the next day on a Monday. He left the place spotless and I didn't have to do a thing but take the extra money and run!

Not a horror story for me, but ...

I bought a 3/1 in a lower, middle class neighborhood for $10K and rented at $500 the next day. The house was his, but he really, really needed $10K. The renter was a guy who married a (brief) ex-girlfriend of mine. He was in debt due due to her.

Replaced the roof, but unfortunately the ceiling got wet and he had that cable ceiling heat. Replaced that with baseboards.

He complained about the electric bill, I said yes that is high, but your ex-house, as you know, is all electric. So, he moved out and it is now rented for $650.

He is now selling me a small, 3/1 house in the same type of neighborhood for $6K because his wife -- did I tell you it was a brief, a real brief, girlfriend -- has now got him into bankruptcy. This house is due to be rented for $650 next month.

I can understand to certain point that someone wants something for cheap....and if the highest mortgage payment you have made was on a sale of place that you bought 28 years earlier for $40,000 - yes todays rents are going to real expensive.

Had a young couple look at a SF ... they came with Mom (a home owner she would tell me). Well, Mom picked the place apart requesting all kinds of upgrades. So I stopped her in mid-sentence and asked if she would be living with the young couple ... "no". "Are you co-signing for your daughter" I asked...."no". "Please wait outside so I can show this couple the house."

Gee, the 2 different homeowners I rented to were Great!

One was a navy family with a rental in another state. Bought a house after retiring here.