Fowl play – read this horror story and learn

In the spirit of Halloween, I have decided to share my haunting account of how one man and twenty-five chickens ruined my basement, my property value and my dreams of becoming a super-landlord. 

At the time that this story takes place, I was a 33 year old stay-at-home mother with a new family and a moderate financial situation.  With my husband working long hours, I felt that I needed to contribute financially in some way.   After pondering my options for months, I decided to invest in a rental property and try my hand as a landlord. After all, I had time, a flair for home renovations plus great organizational skills, and I considered myself an expert at dealing with people. 

It took me over a year to find a nice property and fix it up to ‘move-in ready’ condition.  Once this was done, I was proud to put my property up on the market and equally excited to receive inquiries.  The first few inquiries fell short of my expectations and I was beginning to become discouraged and worried about my investment – that’s when I met Damien Blair*.

I had initially had my heart set on my property becoming a home for a young family such as mine.  Damien was a bachelor who gave me a sob story about his farm being bought out by developers, rendering him homeless.  I bought into his story and –desperate as I was- I decided to make Damien my first tenant.

Merely six months after Damien moved in, he informed me that he had found alternate housing and was planning to move out.  I was surprised at his decision since I had been in contact with him through e-mail making sure everything was going well for him.  Without time to convince him otherwise, I was stuck.

Upon Damien’s swift departure, I visited my property for the first time in six months.  The first thing I noticed walking through the front door? The smell.  My house smelled like a mix of garbage and sewage, and with no obvious explanation I began to tour the house looking for answers.  Approaching the basement door, I knew I had found the source.

As it turns out, Damien had been housing chickens in the basement for the duration of the winter (the same basement that I had refinished less than a year before).  The floors and walls had been scratched and chipped away, and there was chicken poop piled like lava everywhere.  Remnants of the chicken feed and feathers were stuck to everything, which I later found out had attracted a family of rats (who added their own mess).  My floors were destroyed and more importantly, the odour had permeated the walls and ceilings.

I had not collected nearly enough rent money from Damien to pay for the damages, and after exhausting all of my financial resources in preparing the house, I was left with no other option but to attempt the cleanup myself. 

Chicken poop, aside from being smelly, is extremely unsanitary.  Before I could feel right about putting the house up for rent again, I needed to get the basement professionally cleaned, not to mention the floors and walls redone. 

I felt completely let down - this project, that was supposed to be a source of extra income, has turned out to be a complete nightmare.  My husband - initially excited about the prospect of property management – had lost faith and I had lost my motivation. 

Although this has been a hellish experience, there are a few lessons that I have learned and I would like to share them with you.  Here are a few things you can do to ensure the wellbeing of your property:

• Create an emergency fund: Set aside money that is dedicated to your property.  This way, if circumstances force you to pay for extra bills, damages, etc. to your property, you will be prepared and will avoid dipping into your personal savings.
• Screen your tenant properly: Always conduct credit and background checks to make an informed decision whether or not to rent to them.
• Insure yourself: It is always a good idea to purchase rental property insurance.  Be sure to look into additional coverage options which cover various damages to your property, such as water or oil damage coverage.  You also have the option of requiring tenants to purchase their own rental property insurance, which means you are even better protected.

Do you have a Tenant from Hell story that you’d like to share? Please send it to Canadian Apartment Magazine at cam@mediaedge.ca. We’ll be drawing for fabulous prizes down the road, and if your story is picked for publication on this blog, you’ll be entered in the draw. Good luck and send us those stories!

Welcome to the Tenant from Hell Blog!

This is designed as an outlet for property managers and landlords to share their ‘tenant from hell’ horror stories, photos and (in the future) videos. 

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