Diary of a Triplex Part 2

It was in the middle of Covid, the biggest social experiment in a lifetime, when we bought the property. This made the first order of operations difficult and to add to the frustrations the first day of owning the building we already had a break-in of the upstairs apartment. Probably someone looking for stashed drugs. We shook off the initial damage and focused on forming a plan. We needed to end the month-to-month lease with the inherited tenants so that we could start renovations. However, we would need to wait till the Federally declared 'Eviction Moratorium' was over.

Because of the unprecedented situation we decided not to push the Tenants to collect rent but I did come up with a plan so that they wouldn't need to owe anything to us when the moratorium ended. I asked Sam the husband of the couple living in the first apartment if he would be interested in doing a couple projects on the house, two to three days work max, and rent would be considered paid for the month. Sam readily agreed and jumped at the opportunity.

Well, the tenant in the other apartment Keosha had been gone for weeks and Sam informed me that he kept hearing noises from Keosha's apartment. Sam decided to use a key that he was given by Keosha to enter the apartment and see what was going on. Keosha had left a young dog in the house alone with a giant bag of dog food laid out in the middle of the floor that had run out. There was dog shit everywhere and the poor dog was psychologically tortured from the isolation. Sam took the dog and delivered it to the shelter.

Several months had passed and Keosha had still not returned to the apartment, not paid any rent, and I couldn't get in touch with her. So I told Sam that I needed to investigate some legal things on my end and do my due diligence to exhaust every avenue to get a hold of Keosha but if I can prove that she had abandoned the apartment I would hire him to clear the apartment for me.

The next morning I went over to the property to work on the garage and I saw Sam moving all kinds of items out of Keosha's apartment and placing them on the curb where people were showing up and buying some of the items from Sam. I yelled at Sam and said "What are you doing!" Sam replied "I'm cleaning the apartment like you asked!" I repeated my original instructions to him and said that it was a proposed plan and that I had to connect with Keosha first. I told him to put all the stuff back in the apartment and to make a list of what he had sold. And I kid you not... just like from a movie or a sitcom Keosha pulls up in a red beater of an SUV after being gone for months.

"What are you doing with my shit!" she screamed.

Now, try to talk to someone calmly and explain how this has been an entire misunderstanding when all their personal items are being moved out of their apartment. With hot breathy insults being delivered inches from my face I stood and let her unload every angry feeling towards me. When she had run out of ammunition but just before she could reload, I made my attempt to explain exactly what was happening and how I was going to take steps to correct it. "It was a misunderstanding," I said "Sam jumped the gun and went into the apartment before I gave him the OK."

"SAM!" "SAM!" "GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!"

Sam came sheepishly walking over and I thought Keosha was going to lay hands on him but I think she was still too confused to commit violence against either one of us. Sam confirmed that he misunderstood but this didn't absolve me of her ire.

"This is Illegal!" she said. "You're going to have to pay for all this and I want my deposit or I'm going to call the cops."

At this point a young man with more Tats than clothes poked his head out the window of the SUV and yelled "What the fuck! Shut up bitch, we aren't calling any cops"

She turned around and yelled at her partner "You shut up, I'm taking care of this."

"Bitch, I said, we ain't calling any mother fucking cops" he retorted again.

At this point I put it all together. They had been on the run and avoiding the place because they probably had a warrant out for their arrest. That's why they had abandoned the dog and been missing for so many months. Usually, I try to work through the legal apparatus that burdens all our societies but are in place to make sure things are done in an orderly fashion. But sometimes you have to take your wins when and where you can get them.

"I agree that this is a messed up situation, how about we call the police and just have them document what happened and we will move from there." I said.

"I'll call them" Keosha said as she fumbled with her phone nervously.

"Bitch, don't make me get out this car" her partner said in a resolute voice.

You got to hand it to Keosha she could have had played her bluff if her partner didn't give away a tell. But now I was holding the better hand. I had them over a barrel. But, I strongly believe even if you are coming out on top of a deal you have to let the other party feel like they got something out of it because sometimes they may feel that they have unsettled business and that's a dangerous position to be in with someone like Keosha.

Now I didn't owe her any deposit. She couldn't produce any receipts that she had paid a deposit and I had never received any rent money from her. So out of principle I didn't want to pay, but out of practicality it was the better move.

"How much is your deposit?" I asked.

"Four hundred dollars." she answered.

Four hundred dollars? Maybe she wasn't as smart as I thought. She could of asked for several times that and I would have acknowledged her claim. I have to play this smoothly I thought to myself.

"That's a good amount. I'm not really prepared to pay that. Eric the previous landlord did not provide me any proof of that amount through a Lease and you don't have any receipts. Sheesh. I really feel bad for all that you have experienced tonight though. I tell you what. I think I can swing it if you can do something for me."

"What?" she said.

"Can you sign a document saying that you are abandoning the property and have no further monetary claims on me and that if you show up to the property in the future you are trespassing?" I said as politely as possible.

"And you'll give me the $400?" eager to make the transaction.

"That's the deal." I responded.

"Fine, I'll sign it."

I ran to the ATM to pull out the $400 dollars and then ran home to quick type a document that expressed the terms of the transaction. Gave it to her and had the deal wrapped up in 5 minutes.

Truthfully, I think I could of been shot that night. I can't quite describe the tensions of all the parties involved and I don't think the tear drop tattoo on Keosha's partner's face was mere posture. Sometimes, chaos will blow forth and you have to slow down your impulses and see the situation for what it is before you react. It's not easy, but I've noticed that when I don't overreact I can navigate the tempest and have a better chance at arriving at the solution. I also think I got really lucky.