The kitchen now features a stove and refigerator, for your beer and hot dogs.
We’d had a couple of people interested in our Travis 2 house, but not as many as you’d think (probably because we price our rentals above market, so we can get tenants who will be more likely to take care of the properties). Mandi’s been screening them, showing the house, and handing out applications and such. She has discovered a sure-fire way to find prospective tenants: sit in front of the house.
Yesterday she had an appointment at 6, so she went and sat in front of the house in her van to wait on them (she’s a pro at sitting in front of the house, having lived there so long).
Prospect #1
A truck drove up, and out came four burly, muddy men. They did not resemble the husband and wife she’d been waiting on. But, she barged on up and started talking to them, anyway. They seemed impressed that they hadn’t scared her off. They wouldn’t come in to look at the place, because they were coming back from working at the pipleline construction (which is everywhere in Milam County at the moment). That is some black dirt they turn up; no wonder this is such good ranch and farmland.
Who will be sitting on this front porch next?
She let them know it’s just a two bedroom house (though one is huge), and they seemed thrilled. It turns out they are currently renting an RV with just one bed. Yes, this would be an improvement. Mandi told them the house isn’t furnished. They said as long as there is a refrigerator for their beer and a stove to cook their “weenies” on, they’d be fine. Since the pipeline work isn’t permanent, they asked if they could go month to month, and yep, they can, if they pay $50 more per month. Lee’s so smart.
So, off they went with their applications in hand, presumably to take a shower. And enjoy some hot dogs.
Prospect #2
As Mandi was talking to the Muddy Buddies, a small, red car kept passing by. Mandi assumed it was the other appointment. When they pulled up, two women came out. And, no, they weren’t the married male-female couple who she was expecting, either. They were also looking for a larger place to live than an RV, and wanted to have three dogs. Oh sure, pay our hefty pet deposit and you can have all the small dogs you want. Then they wanted to know if they could build a privacy fence. Um, why the heck not? That would be nice, as long as it just covers the lot the house is on.
We like free home improvements. They loved the house and its lack of carpeting, which pleased us a lot. So, these ladies eagerly took Mandi’s last rental applications, saying they are interested in a long-term rental. Ahh. We like those.
That’s OK, because the original folks didn’t show up. Mandi declared the evening a success, nonetheless. We sure appreciate that she’ll do these things at whatever hour a potential renter wants to do them!
Now we just cross our fingers that one of these potential renters signs on.