Info from the house

[stanthorpe]

Its... been recovered, albeit in a fairly poor state. They've smashed some windows, and done some random damage to the ceiling in the main room (as far as I can tell), but aside from those 2 items, the rest of the property is in a renovatable state, though the first thing it needs (aside from the window being repaired) is a damn good clean.

The kitchen appears to be in a fairly good condition, which is a huge relief: again, it needs someone to spend a day cleaning it up, but - crucially - it doesn't need stripping out and being redone. Also, the garden needs a major overhaul.

Anyway 'could be worse' is the conclusion that I reach. And they're now gone. Let the renovation commence.

S

Comments

[finnshadow.livejournal.com]

bad news about the windows, but as you say, could be worse. Pair of hands on offer for cleaning and garden.

[viscount-s.livejournal.com]

Since writing the initial post, I've contacted the letting agency and got some further information. The place is unbelievably filthy - so much so that its going to take a professional cleaner several days to get it up to a decent standard again. Also, there is (fortunately) only one window that is smashed - this is the inner pane in the bathroom, so the property is still secure.

As an interesting aside, the tenants apparently changed the locks on the front door, in an attempt to thwart the agents from regaining possession!

Fortunately, when the bailiffs came round, they had already scarpered, so my nightmare scenario of 'them being thrown onto the street, leaving my house full of their junk that I have to pay to get rid of' hasn't come about. If only they'd been so thoughtful when smoking in the house and trashing it & paying their rent, it wouldn't have come to this.

Lastly, I'm going to be chasing them up - they owe me close to 4 and a half thousand pounds (just shy of one and a half thousand in back rent and two and a half thousand in repairs) and I intend to get my money back.

S

[whollyrandom.livejournal.com]

Lawyer question: given that they've not paid rent, what makes you think that they have any resources which would make chasing them for their debts worthwhile? Are they both in work? Even if they are, if they can't pay the money outright - which they can't - then you're going to end up with some sort of ongoing payment arrangement, which they'll default on repeatedly, and enforcing debt collection is a cost in itself.

Just saying, you need to think carefully before going down this route.

[viscount-s.livejournal.com]

Yes, you're right.

On the other hand, I want my pound of flesh. I've put up with these people for almost 2 years now. They've made my life misery and my feelings at present are that I want to make their life difficult to account for the pain and sleepless nights that they've dropped on me, at a point in my life when I can least afford the emotional energy.

Of course, I concede the point that this is how I feel right now. I do not deny the possibility that I will listen to reason at some point and come to ignore the vast sum of money that I cannot obtain from them, but to give up without a fight is not the way forward. Even if I only make a nominal stance and force them to accept the point then this will go some distance to assuage the anger I feel.

I suspect that I will waste a relatively small amount in feeding the lawyers, and then will move on, after I've made the point. If only to protect any future landlord that they might try to ensnare.

S

[sendraks.livejournal.com]

Bastards! Good luck at hunting them down like the dogs they are!

[anged.livejournal.com]

Phew. At least they're gone.

[rosie-t-riveter.livejournal.com]

I'm glad they're gone, and that the house is relatively unscathed.

I do hope you do get at least some of your money back, but as whollyrandom indicates, it's not likely. (I nearly said "probably not likely" but thought that was a bit woolly, even for me!) If I was you, I would chase them as long as I had the funds/energy, but would expect to cut my losses before I got much out of them. Good luck.

[carolejo.livejournal.com]

Yeah, thats pretty much where we're coming from. Its not so much a question of the money as a question of the principle; giving up before we've even started is wrong.

[maviscruet.livejournal.com]

Bastards. Glad there gone

[doki-chan.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you'd have more luck hiring a couple of bruisers with baseball bats for £100 each to go thrash it out of them....

[cimeara.livejournal.com]

It's good to hear the house isn't in worse shape: they could have done incredibly worse damage. Not that it in any way excuses them, and I do hope you get some recompense, emotionally or fiscally.

[bitvacuous.livejournal.com]

Yay - the 2 pluses I can see to starting legal action against them
1 you get to feel you've got some retribution
2 they get will have a record that makes it unlikely that other landlords (other than a Local Authority) will get the same problem with them.
as others have said stop as soon as 1 is partially met and before your purse is further damaged. And you get SOOO many good person points for 2.