Rent House Update (Again!)

Bill mowed the lawn at the rent house on Friday. It was so overgrown that it took him over 2 hours, when it should have taken him less than one.

We went back over there bright & early Sunday (yesterday) and got a whole lot of things done. Among other things, we pulled the carpet & pad that was in the master bedroom. And realized that a) the tenant's dog was probably not kept in the kennel when they were gone, b) said dog has probably never been housetrained and c) they didn't clean up after him! The carpet & pad were cut up to smaller pieces, then put in the trash. Then we immediately ran for the soap and water to scrub our hands, which is when I discovered that we hadn't brought any soap with us. Hot water! Today when I went over there, I realized that there is still a strong odor in the master bedroom. The floor is concrete and is looks like it's been sealed, but after Bill looked at it and sniffed around he's decided that the dog wasn't content to just squat - it lifted it's leg and the smell may be in the wall. The wall is paneling and not run of the mill that can be replaced, so we're not sure what we're going to do at this point. I'm going to scrub the walls down tomorrow and we'll see.

I also discovered Thursday that the oven was not cleaned. I went over there on my lunch hour today and sprayed cleaner inside the oven so it would have time to sit, then I went back over after work and wiped it all down. And remembered how much I hate to clean the oven! But it looks much better now. I lifted the top of the stove, it was pretty bad as well but it's now clean. I brought home the metal things that the pots rest on, on top of the stove - I can't remember the name of the things! They went through my dishwasher last night and I brought home the broiler pan and oven racks, which are too big for the dishwasher and will get a serious scrubbing.

Someone we know has given us carpet that was put in his new house in error - it wasn't what they ordered, but the company didn't want it back so they've had it in their garage for a while. I'll pick it up on Wednesday. It is good quality carpet. We'll still need to get the pad, but that's not going to be difficult.

The tenant will still be charged, since the carpet we took out was brand new when they moved in. So they will be paying for it. And for the pad as well. And for the (then brand new) wooden toilet seat that is ruined by mold. And the damage to the outside support pole on the back porch. Also on the advice of our leasing agent, we charge them for things like cleaning the oven since that was something they should have done but didn't - although I would not charge them if it hadn't been so filthy! There are a few other things, but they are small issues.

But even though that sounds like a lot, it really is not as bad as we've had to deal with in the past. The carpet is the biggest expense, the other stuff is relatively minor. But if we are unable to sell it and do have to rent it out again, I'm strongly leaning towards a No Pets policy.

I'm going back tomorrow after work and see about washing the bedroom walls, and I'm going to get a start on pulling the grass that grows up in between the paver stones the back patio is made of. They were a constant issue when we lived there and I've gotten it down to an art because I've had to do it so often. Bill has a few projects that he is working on, things that aren't necessarily damage but that need to be dealt with so we can put the house on the market. Our tenantive plan is to meet with the realtor next week, probably Wednesday, and get the process started.

So keep your fingers crossed for a quick sell and a good one!