One of those great tenant stories!

[James DeRoest]

Instead of a question, i'll tell a tale from one of our tenants. Feel free for your own stories.

We knew a couple about 3 years ago, going through a hard time, and they needed a property. We knew they weren't going to be great on rent, but we had a house that borders a bad area. What we really wanted was some tenants to stop the house being killed.

After a year of 2/3rds of rent, but the house was kept immaculate, they got on Section 8. A very deserving case. The house sailed through the inspection but with 1 fault! Even the inspector was upset that he found 1 thing wrong as he wanted it to pass first time.

So all in all, a story that was going well....until.

I get a phone call about 18 months ago, apparently the neighbor (white) has started putting up racial slurs on the fence line (my tenants are black). A black glove with a middle finger showing and a nailed up note with the tenants name underneath, KKK Neighborhood Watch notices, couple of n****r messages, and the oldy but goldy, a noose in the front yard.

Our tenant calls the cops, and absolutely nothing happens apart from the neighbor being told that if he fires his gun outside again he'll be arrested.

Over the next few months this continues. Even the psychological warfare of Taylor Swift being played loudly at 2am. 

Everytime the cops came out, they couldn't or wouldn't do anything.

We took some legal advice and told the tenant to start a dairy. We even bought a small compact camera with a zoom to take pictures for them. Build evidence. There is a totality of evidence in a diary.

Occasionally, cops were called, still nothing happened.

We spoke to a local judge and she told us "it's freedom of speech, and the cops have better things to do". Seriously, "the cops have better things to do".

So all in all, we were kinda at a loss of what to do, and now they are on Section 8, they aren't behind on rent, we get paid, life is great. Apart from that damn neighbor. Told the tenant flat "we lose you, I'm finding a Section 8 tenant, single mom, 5 kids, and i'm vetting for someone with a taste for General Levy and big into Jungle. I will buy each of the children a drum kit when they move in". 

This rumbled on for another few months until the tenant got some advice from a friend. You want cops to take you seriously, you need a Sergeant. You get a Sergeant to attend by saying "if you don't come, something bad is about to go down". These (in our area) are trigger words. So one day, he called 911 and said "if you don't come, something bad is about to go down".

And a Sergeant was despatched.

The Sergeant, bless his soul, took one look at the property, took photos with his phone, asked for access to the property which was declined by the neighbor, posted a Deputy on the gate, and went and got a search order. He returned 90 minutes later.

The neighbor was arrested for Stalking with credible Threat.

30 days in jail, some huge restraining orders for my tenant, and several years of probation for the neighbor.

But here's where it gets interesting (a few months later) and what I found out today.

We have been told by the neighbors friend that not only is the racist SOB dying, but a little about the case.

He had decided from the start to plead not guilty after he was arrested. And 30 days later he finally got legal advice which went along the lines of "plead guilty immediately, as the prosecutor may up this to a hate crime, which is 55 years!".

He filed the guilty plea that day.

But what an interesting end! To be threatened with 55 years!

Have a nice day y'all.