Today we had an inspection at M’s house. We’ve been having trouble with these tenants for a while, with them not paying their rent, and M had sent them an eviction notice, giving them 7 days to pay what was owing. They paid, but recently stopped paying again, so M sent another notice. They had said before that they were planning on moving out in a few months, and M wanted to arrange an inspection. The agent that found the tenants for us called them but didn’t hear anything, and we got a call from her the other day, saying that she’d talked to the tenants who said that they’d moved out over a week ago. They figured they didn’t have to give any notice (which isn’t true, and was clearly written in their lease that they did), and since they weren’t living there any more, that they didn’t have to pay rent either.

They asked the agent when they were going to get their bond back, and when she said that they had to be up to date in their rent for that to happen, got really angry and said that they were going to talk to their lawyers. Whatever.

So an inspection was arranged for today. They didn’t turn up, so we started the inspection without them. While they didn’t exactly trash the place, it was left in a pretty poor state. The kitchen was disgustingly filthy, the main bedroom had goodness knows what all over the walls and there was furniture, rubbish and various damage. Needless to say, they won’t be seeing any of their bond. I took plenty of photos just in case they try to dispute it but I can’t imagine how they think they would have any chance if they did.

Tomorrow M and I are taking the day off to go there and clean it up, and get the locks changed. The agent said that there is someone who is interested in it for a 3-month lease while she’s waiting for settlement on a house she bought, so hopefully we’ll be able to clean it up enough that she’ll want to move in. It would be good to find someone so soon, and not lose too much rent.

On the way home we stopped off at the hardware store and bought what we needed to repair the damage they did as well as clean everything. Before these tenants moved in, I spent 4 hours cleaning the kitchen, and I have a feeling it will be a similar amount of time tomorrow. But we bought one of those cleaning glove things, so we’ll see if they actually work.

*****

On a yummy note, some of the best pancakes I’ve ever had was when we went to Galway last year, and M found this Irish recipe, and made some tonight. They were fantastic!

Pancake Recipe

Ingredients
125g / 4oz Odlums Cream Plain Flour
Pinch of Salt
1 Egg
300ml / 1/2 pint Milk
Oil for frying

Method
1. Sieve flour and salt into a bowl.
2. Make a well in the centre of the flour, break in the egg and add about a third of the milk. Beat well, gradually pouring in the rest of the milk and drawing in the flour to make a smooth batter.
3. Pour batter into a jug and allow to stand for about 30 minutes.
4. Brush a pancake pan or frying pan with oil. When the pan is hot, give the batter a stir before pouring a thin layer onto the pan.
5. Fry until golden brown. Turn and fry the other side until brown also.
6. Stack pancakes on a large plate, as they are cooked.