I Rue

When we moved out to LV, we were unable to sell our house back in Texas for what we needed to. It's small, kind of old and needed foundation work. Plus the move happened quickly and we didn't really have time to wait it out. We decided to rent it out for a year and see how things went.

In the beginning, it went really well. Our renters were great, and by great I mean paid the rent on time every time. That's almost all that matters when you are a landlord.

Unfortunately they moved out at the end of the lease and we had to get new renters. Up until a few months ago, these renters were okay. The rent was always a day or two (or three) late, but it was never enough to get worked up about.

I was leery in the beginning because they didn't have the entire security deposit when they moved in. The DH thought it was okay, and they seemed to work out alright.

Until...

Their check bounced a few months ago. Not wanting to assume the worst, we called them up. After some professed surprise on their part, they agreed to send out a money order via certified mail ASAP.

Come Monday, the mailman brings...another check. Call up the renters again. Ooops, we "forgot" you wanted a money order, they said. Ignore that check, they said, we've already sent out the money order.

Of course at this time, we were in the midst of moving (yeah, more on that later). In fact, we just happened to be at the old place (cleaning) when the mailman showed up with the replacement check.

Of course, the renters sent the new money order to the old address. Ooopsie! Gee, I can't imagine why it hasn't gotten there yet. Oh, I don't have the tracking number with me. I'll get it to you later.

To make a (very) long story short, they were lying to us almost from the get go. They didn't send out a new check until we finally got wise to the old check's-in-the-mail routine and threatened to hit them with late fees. This is something like two weeks after the first check bounce. The rent has been and continues to be late (we got December's rent on Dec. 30th, another check. They also sent out a check for January's rent and then asked us not to cash it). They owe us late fees out the wazoo.

I'm ready to kick them to the curb (still am, in fact). But eviction is costly and difficult to do from thousands of miles away. Plus, the house does need some work. It's hard to be sure how much since the renters only complain about stuff when we start asking for money. The foundation is a given, though, and most of the problems (cracks, drywall issues, door issues, etc.) stem from that.

We just got an estimate today of 10 grand to fix the foundation. Ten thousand dollars on top of the rent money that we aren't getting every month.

Sigh. I rue the day that we bought that house. I rue it! It's turned into a sink hole, sucking up all the money that we don't have.

Go West

Well, it's official (okay, it's *been* official for a few weeks now, but I figured this was a good opening line): I'm going to Vegas!

As in moving. As in selling the house, quitting my job, packing up the pets and bidding 'So long!' to the Lone Star state and not looking back.

Okay, maybe I'll look back once or twice. I'm decidedly ambivalent about the whole thing. I mean, I'm leaving what is arguably the coolest town in Texas for -- Las Vegas. Vegas can be called many things, but 'cool' isn't one of the first ones that come to mind...

Oddly enough, I'm worried that Vegas will be a bit too conservative. This place is pretty hippy-dippy; we have an acupuncture school, yoga studios on every corner and a birthing center staffed by midwives. If I want to find a Reiki practitioner or a pet therapist or a feng shui consultant or whatever, it wouldn't be that hard. Plus, as one half of an interracial couple, I've almost never been made to feel uncomfortable here.

Vegas seems wild in a 'what-happens-in-Vegas-stays-in-Vegas' kind of way, but I get the feeling it's what? conservative? traditional? provincial? at heart -- definitely *not* hippy-dippy, if you catch my drift. You know, gambling and prostitution? Okay! Acupuncture? What are you, some kind of weirdo? Like that.

So why the heck are we moving? Money! Why else? The DH got a good job out there that will probably allow me to be a stay-at-home-mom for the time being. Plus he'll be putting his hard-won degree to good use. As for my hard-won degree? Well, the less I say about that, the better.

So, long story short? It's Vegas, baby!