Adventures · Inspiration

If stained glass windows could talk

As landlords, we have seen it all, at least we think we’ve seen it all in our 17 years being landlords.  Ah, the stories we could tell.

We’ve seen a lot, but not everything.  We recently experienced the challenges of an eviction.  We won!  Yay us!

We cleaned the place (again) and now we’re in the protective mode as we wait patiently for a new renter.  “We’re not gonna let that happen again!”  So we’re being extra vigilant on our screening process, and we’ve got our fingers crossed the new renter will treat the place nicely.

While we think we’ve seen a lot, each time I (we) clean the place, I wonder if the stained glass windows could talk, what would they tell me about what they’ve seen?

They are original to the home, it was built during the late 1800’s as a single family home.  When my in-laws bought and restored the place, they remodeled it into three apartments.  The staircase is original and has seen lots of traffic, but remains sturdy and strong.  It adds a special charm that draws the eyes into the place.

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Along with the stairs, the windows are what give the place that extra dose of quaintness that I adore.  If they could talk, I can imagine the stories they could tell would be pretty damn interesting.

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What would they tell us?  Things like…

“It was quite the dinner party they had, you’re gonna need to replace the burners on the stove, they forgot to clean up afterward…quite a few times!!”

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“She loved her pets (cats and ferrets) who destroyed the place.  You’re in for a doozy of a cleanup session.  They peed everywhere…so get your heavy-duty stuff ready to clean the place.  It’s was so sad to watch her slowly give up, guess she loved her alcohol and her medicines more than her health, she died here all alone.”

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“That kid…man he was a busy little guy!  You better check under the stove, I saw him launch a sandwich and a pork bone, along with his toy under there.”

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“It was a hoot to watch this little one chase her hoomans up and down the stairs.”

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“It was beautiful how they all cuddled together and held hands as they sat and watched movies together.”

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“I wish you had witnessed their first Christmas tree move-in and out escapades, it was a joyous show.”

“That last guy, though…he was a sad guy, tipped the bottle often, lost his job, and was desperate, but he couldn’t recover so he let the place go.  Hope he finds the help he needs to turn his life around.  The bathroom and kitchen were the worst.  Way to persevere through the challenges he left behind.  You’ve made the bathroom sparkle again!”

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“It’s not easy to be a landlord, is it?  I see how hard you work to make the place neat and welcoming every change of renters.”

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“You’ve done an excellent job restoring it and making it ready for the new renter who, by the way, I can’t wait to meet!”

Post inspiration – #MyBlogMyWritingStyle 30-Day Blogging Challenge (see rules here) word prompt of the day – Remembering, and the question of the day – “Do you enjoy writing about the past and remembering something special?”  My answer, is, Hey, yes!

PS – Do you enjoy telling stories from the past?  Are you a landlord and have a good story to tell?  Share it in comments!     

 

22 thoughts on “If stained glass windows could talk

  1. I have been a landlord. We purchased a home 2 hrs away gor our sons as they headed off to college. The 4 br home would give them housing as well as allow us to rent the other 2 rooms. They only stayed that 1st year, one left for wind energy, the other left to another college, I’m stuck with a house!
    Renting it was easy, being in a college town, managing it was not! College age boys? Enough said concerning the state it was always left and kept. I intended to be a landlord but instead became den mother to ” Animal House”.
    They called me about personal problems, called to to drive 2 hrs to change a lightbulb once! Asked to cook or bake for them, called me with girl trouble, and always called me to extent rent due date. The only time they didn’t call was when they moved out without paying owed rent.

    1. Oh, my, that’s a great (realistic!!) landlord story! You’ve confirmed our long-standing reason for refusing to do student housing! Love how you called it Animal House. Hope you were able to recoup your funds as you exited the role of landlord. Thank you for sharing your story, I appreciate hearing we’re not alone in stories of the not-so-wonderful parts of being a landlord. 🙂

      1. Hahaha Indeed, DO NOT DO STUDENTS! I got a lot of stories out of it, a big headache and tons of work too. We had to repeatedly treat carpets to remove stains, patched a hundred holes knocked in walls, they’d kicked in the door and busted the jam, a miracle I ever got the stained tub back to clean. We ended up selling to another couple with a son going to College….wished them luck! Lol

        1. We definitely won’t do student housing! Yikes!! Nice that you were able to sell and move on from there! I’m sure that family is wondering what the heck they got themselves into! 😉

  2. I commend you for your courage. I have only been a landlord twice. Once I gave up and sold it due to the damage they did and currently we are in a rent to own situation. We will see if they actually finish the task or if I get to start over again. Good luck on finding good renters.

  3. Sad stories, funny stories, stop-and-make-you-think stores–I love telling stories from the past. And yes, I believe you could write a fascinating book about being a landlord!

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