One Woman's Trash is Another Man's Garbage

If you have been following this blog for many years then you may remember that I tried to sell my original Dayton home in September 2008 when the mortgage crisis struck. I rented it for several years to a friend of ours who bought her own place in 2014. The neighbor saw how attentive I was to fixing problems and wanted to move in since their lease was up. Unfortunately the husband died in June 2015 leaving a widow with three children. I gave money to their funeral fund, put a new roof on the house when the widow expressed an interest in a lease purchase and was very tolerant of sporadic and late rent payments. Things seemed fine until February of this year when payments were infrequent and consistently late. I don't think she was a bad person or vindictive. I do think she got some priorities mixed up. I finally had to evict her. I should have done it sooner. Tenants have more rights than property owners in Ohio. Once the court sides with the landlord, it still takes up to ten days to get possession of your property. This tenant left but she still had possessions in the house which I can not remove until she turns over the keys and grants that right or her time granted by the court expires. She promised me that she would remove all her items. Just like she promised to cut the grass, pay her rent on time and dispose of some trash she had placed in the garage. Well, I have possession now ...... Put on your Dr. Seuss hat and let's investigate my house.




A little bit of trash, alright?

Whoa! Then this.  Outta sight!

Didn't pay electric bill. Left all your food. What a thrill!

This floor was once very fair

 Now it's ruined, needs some care.

 Who wouldn't want a couch like this?

 Or this one too? It will be missed

Dog and cat feces, but that isn't all.

Here is some more, in the hall.

In one bedroom on the floor

 Look around, you'll see some more.

 Would you like poop where you sleep?

Is there more in here? I'll have to sweep.

 Let's go up the stairs to see ....

There is more up here. God blessed me.

 

Go to the basement, take a tour

Where on Earth's the basement floor?

 Let's go out the back to see

What this tenant has left for me.

If trash is treasure like they say

I hit the jackpot here today!

Isn't it nice that I can still smile and be humorous when people treat me in the most appalling ways?
I should first add that she lived in this filth with three children for several months and she left two kittens in the house with no food or water and they were very difficult to catch and release with all the trash and furniture in every room. There is also an infestation of fleas and evidence that bed bugs were also present in the house at one time. I found a dead one on my shirt today when I started to bag all the trash.
Today was the first day that I could legally enter the place and begin disposal of her property. So what was on the door to greet me?

You gotta love Dayton City Government again. Back to the same lame bully tactics that made me run for mayor in 2009. Funny how I have no idea what the violation is and that this appears the moment I have possession of my house again. The damage done is going to cost several thousand dollars but this time around I have way more knowledge, experience and the proper tools to make it right again.