We have a suite in our house we rent out. I'm not sure why we always end up with crazy ass tenants. It's a bachelor suite and the rent is cheaper so it seems to attract people who don't want to pay much. Believe it or not, Tom almost showed it to a home-less woman recently!
My first tenants were a married couple (newly weds). I felt good because we had mutual friends. It was a disaster. After moving in, he negotiated cheaper rent AFTER signing the lease. At one point he told me that he has the right do whatever the heck he wanted to my suite (like build an ugly fence etc etc). He would blast obnoxious rock n' roll music, so loud my house would shake, as he detailed his jacked up truck in the driveway. In the end, I wouldn't let them get the giant dog the wanted so they moved out. He stole my garbage can (another story, another time), and they left cat poop in the suite (no, they didn't clean). Thank you tenant #1.
I was turned off of being a landlord and stopped renting it out for 1 year.
I got brave again and lucked out with a really great girl! She was barely home and when she was home, we never heard her. She ended up buying a condo and moved on.
Next a married couple. Aside from them moving in during the middle of the night and making me think I had just made a big mistake! They ended up being great except for when she crashed her jeep into my house causing $2000 worth of repairs...otherwise great people! They got pregnant, bought a house and moved on!
SCARA....I mean Tara was next. She was a little crazy especially when she would spaz out for no reason! It was terrifying! She stayed a while so we just walked on egg shells around her, but she was the cleanest and she was quiet. Looking back she is in the top 3 for sure!

And then there was Kevin...the 40 year old single dad. He tricked me into feeling sorry for him because his wife left him and he wanted to be close to his kids. I was a sucker FYI. Kevin was the best...actually the worst. A week after he moved in, his grown adult nephew and his friend came to visit. They stayed a few days and while Kevin was working they just sat around the house. In the dead of summer, they'd toss their cigarette butts in the driest past of my yard. Shortly after his guests left, Kevin tried sneaking a kitten in. I asked him, "Kevin...did you sneak a cat in without asking?" He ignored my text all day. I finally went and knocked on his door that evening. He answered the door pretending to be on his phone (worst fake ever) and holding the cat in his arms made up a big lie about how it wasn't his cat. I get it...he wanted to impress his daughters, but I told him to get rid of it or pay me a pet deposit. He felt bad about lying and later sent me a LONG text with the truth. I felt like I was dealing with a 5 year old! And then his house guests returned. I saw them carrying Rubbermaid's of stuff into the house late one night and I told Tom that these guys were moving in! Tom thought I was crazy...but I was right. Kevin also had his mom staying here along with his twin daughters. GUYS! This is a bachelor suite and there were 6 people sleeping down there! Kevin lied again when we asked him if there were 6 people living in the tiny bachelor suite...which was followed by a truth text. We figured when they opened the front door it was like a clown car down there as everyone falls out! The only good thing...they were very quiet! We suggested they find a larger place so they did. A couple months later, Kevin was feeling guilty and knocked on our door late one night to confess he had broke our shower and never told us.
Dano the Mano was next (I swear he gave himself that nickname). Red flag #1: He told me he wasn't a morning person! (I warned him that Tom wakes up at 5 a.m. every morning). Within 15 hours of him moving in, he gave his notice. He said we are way too loud in the morning. I warned him! Dano emailed at 7:30 a.m. , "TOO LOUD, TOO EARLY!!!" Best line, "The noise level of simply living at that hour of the day, when all the rest of the world is silent is going to be too much for me..." Tom was able to calm him down and he stayed for a couple months. The good thing about Dano, he was a neat freak. We hope Dano found a cabin in the woods to live in so he can get a good nights sleep.

Then there was Cody...the young early 20's guy who just needed a place while he took his mechanics course. He didn't have a car and we live WAY up a giant hill that he biked up and down daily in the winter. He only came with a couple bags so we lent him an air mattress, a bed sheet, a chair. I drove him to the bus stop one time and we even gave the kid free beer left over from a party. We're cool right? Well darling Cody brought home a random girl...I know, I know...he's young, but I did tell him the walls are THIN and we had a child upstairs. Needless to say we heard things we never wanted to hear! Cody received angry texts from me telling him to tell his lady friend to keep it down! Cody came to my front door the next day, said sorry and thankfully gave his notice! I told him to keep the bed sheets... For the rest of his stay, we kept an industrial fan blasting outside of Nolan's bedroom just in case!

The french couple...(eww). I was stoked when I met them! They seemed cool and I was thinking..sweetums, a potential friendship! It was a sunday night and they were getting their party on. I was in and out of sleep all night hearing them fight. Lots of yelling (all in french), doors slamming, I heard the girl scream a couple times...I almost called the cops, but wasn't sure if I was dreaming part of it. Tom's alarm goes off at 5 a.m. and to keep it PG...they were 'making up' after fighting all night long! They were LOUD. But the real kicker was the spanking! Yes...SPANKING (I'm still scarred)! The guy was kind of scary to me and I didn't think I could even look them in the eye, so I let Tom deal with him. We ran the industrial fan again for Nolan until they moved out 2 days later. Only 7 days of renting our suite and they managed to leave us with nightmares and a smashed bathroom door. THEY WERE THE WORST!
Next Susan...the mid-50's professional woman. How could this be bad? She's a mom! She will be clean and considerate. For the most part she was. At the end of her tenancy she asked for a discount on rent since she was going to be away for most of the month. We agreed because we are are nice like that! The next month she gave her notice (for work reasons)...well played Susan! She didn't clean anything so we told her we'd keep part of the deposit to cover cleaning costs. She said we were petty and that she "had contacted the 'good folks at the BC Tenancy Agreement Act about us as this is what she was afraid of". Tom called her bluff and told her to give 'the good folks' his phone number and email and tell them they can call him anytime! Isn't he the best? Turns out, she never did contact them.
We've learned that people are kind of crazy and to expect the unexpected. It they say they are a very clean person, they usually aren't. One fine day, we won't ever be landlords again and won't have to run the industrial fans anymore!
