Gathering Nuts

I showed a rental home earlier this week to three Arizona State University football players. The house in question is in Tempe (out of Mrs. Worrier's budget and managed by my property management company, so no). It is 2,400 square feet and $2000 a month. It is in a pretty nice neighborhood actually.

It is funny, just by looking at a picture of the living room/dining area I could tell it was a Lennar, split bedroom plan. Not that anyone would know or care what that meant. Basically I could describe the inside without ever stepping foot on the property. I swear there are only about 7 floor plans, with lots of variations. So, if you have seen one, you have seen them all. But I digress...

Anyway, I took Buckaroo with me, as I don't show rentals to people I don't know. Two of the boys were very nice and respectful. The other was a bit squirrely and I can't tell what it is about him but he and I didn't hit it off. He had a strange nervous vibe and was putting me slightly on edge. The other two ran interference when they could between him and I, as if they were sensing he had to be handled.

The three asked me questions such as "who mows the lawn." (me: "which ever of you decides to mow it") and "is electricity included?" (only if you pay for it). "How do we get a washer and dryer?" (May I introduce you to a nifty little site called craigslist?). All of these questions told me these guys had never rented a house before. The two who didn't make me on edge, took the answers in stride, as if this was all a part of adulting and they appreciated the heads' up. The other one asked questions like, "what do you think a lawn mower costs?" and "what happens if we let the grass grow too long?" Truly, I am surprised the other two didn't stop him from asking these questions, because it was obvious to them I was paying close attention.

As a former landlord, I wouldn't rent to them. I don't like roommate situations. If one leaves, everything goes South. In the best case they get another roommate to split the rent and don't tell the owner. In the worst case, they all abandon the property. Given they don't seem to understand the concept of maintaining a home I am seeing a huge learning curve on some owner's asset.

I made it clear I don't handle the application process, nor do I handle the approval process. If they like the house and apply, I probably won't see them again even if they get the property. However, I will tell El Jefe my opinion of them. And right now my opinion is to wait a little bit longer and see who else applies. The squirrely one may be worth passing on.