House 3: Update

I got a message from Joe, the person who assigned me his contract on this house, that the seller was unable to move out by yesterday. Apparently, there was a mix up with U-Haul and they did not have a truck for her. They said they would have one Tuesday and therefore, she could be out by Wednesday. There was also a chance one would become available later today and she could be out by tomorrow, Tuesday.

Not good. I told Joe I would have to start charging her rent of $50 a day, payable weekly if she was not out by 5 PM Tuesday. This property has officially been mine since Friday and the utilities have been put into my name effective that date. I gave her until Sunday and she still needs more time. Joe said he understood my position and today I faxed over a rental agreement for the seller to sign.

I had planned on going over there tomorrow to change the locks and make an inventory of what needed repairs. I won't be able to do that now. My handyman was busy this week and he won't be able to come out until next Monday to go over the list, so at least I don't have to reschedule him.

I can sympathize with this woman because U-Haul has done the same thing to me. However, this is strictly a business deal for me and I can't lose money or take more risks than I have to. I felt I was being fair by giving her the weekend free of charge, but I can't let three more days go by without some compensation for use of the property and utilities.

This also illustrates that the role of birddog (which Joe basically was) doesn't always end when escrow closes. He is still functioning as the liaison between myself and the seller.