A Disappointing End

I feel I should issue some warning before publishing this... but I don't know what that warning should be. I just need to say this "out loud" so it's no longer in my head. It's never good letting stuff stay up there too long! :-)

Some years ago we bought a small flat for 2 reasons:

(a) As an investment so that when My Man  retires we would have a little something by way of rent to help us out, and

(b) As part of an inheritance for Our Girl

We painted it, ripped up the carpets and sanded floors, retiled and knocked down walls - it is a cool little place! The first few years of it being rented went well, but eventually that tenant moved out and we needed new ones.

The agent found them but they couldn't pay the rental we wanted so we dropped it to something they felt that they could manage.  The first while everything went well, but then, on occasion they couldn't pay the rent and we allowed them to pay what they could to give them time to recover. When it came to rental renewal time and the yearly increase, they couldn't afford it, so we agreed that we would keep their rent the same.

Soon, they just stopped paying. The agent couldn't get hold of them on the phone and would leave messages. No one would answer the door when visited and this went on for ages.  Eventually the agent recommended that we get lawyers involved. We felt sick to our stomachs but realised we had no alternatives having tried everything ourselves via the agents to find our what was going on.

The upshot is that it went to court who ruled in our favour and they had to be out within 5 days.  Today I heard that they didn't leave, and now the Sheriff has to go along with a locksmith and physically evict them. You would think we would feel better. We don't. We wish it had never had to come to this.  Why!? Why didn't they just talk to us!!??

I also feel terrible about them having to leave, because I don't know if they have anywhere else to go. I am sure that they are really nice people and I don't want to see them in trouble!  But we couldn't afford to just leave it since to date we have lost tens of thousands in rental which we had to cover, and we've had to pay thousands to a lawyer - this is money we have to find...not money we have.

Sadly, we are so scarred by this experience, that we are going to sell the flat which means that Our Girl loses out on part of her inheritance and we miss out having that extra investment for ourselves when My Man retires. A disappointing end to a venture that should have been so different.

I. just. feel. sick.

PS: Please don't comment about them in any derogatary way as I am sure that if they could have paid they would have, and I wish that they had just said they needed time, or a reduction or something, because we could have come to some understanding, instead of just avoiding us and all contact.