I need a bit of consolation.

[DNS]

I'm still sick and tired of this biz at the moment.

Hi Annabel,

Welcome to landlording! I have been in the landlording business for about 20 years. There are good times and bad times, but the bad moments are the ones we tend to remember the most. There is the potential to make some good money in this business if you can expand and the work-load can actually decrease somewhat as you "work your way out of work" by hiring managers, maintenance men, etc.

One thing that I have found that works most of the time is to not sweat the small stuff. For example, try to charge a little more in rent, if you can and then when there are some minor damages or cleaning, just forget about it and part on good terms with each tenant without a fight. It looks like you did leave on good terms with the tenants, so I am speaking more in general, for future reference. Of course there are still some nightmare tenants, such as those who don't pay and wait for the courts and sheriff to evict them or those who leave with some appliances and furniture on their way out. But most of the problems and issues are small and minor and if we don't sweat about them too much, we can tolerate this business better.

Glad to hear you had a good time with your brother and family.

[Annapurna]

Btw, they moved out Sunday....

the place was littered with trash, they never cleaned up, didn't do dishes, and made a huge stain of green wax on the carpet.

2 specialists told me there is not a chance to remove it.

I couldn't press them for more than 40 Euros as a safety, which will NOT cover the damage.

What now?

They're based in Morocco.

We do have a rental contract which say the guest has to pay for all damage.

But do you know if I can sue them when they are in Morocco, or if I should just better invest that money into a new carpet to cover the stained carpet?

I was shocked how the left the apartments.

It took me 3 days to make them decent again, of constant cleaning...had to clean kitchen inside out, inside of cupboards, drawers, just everything. Even the brandnew couch had stains.

They didn't separate the trash, even though it was explained to them....

In the future, I will request security deposits. But the damage they caused is actually about 700 Euros...

And my gain was less than that, if I subtract heating costs, warm water and electricity.

So I had noise and anger for nothing, for permanent damage.... isn't that depressing....

[Cittasanto]

sound better if you cut your losses, probably more if you chase it, live and learn, security deposit of half to a full months rent is normal hear!

[DNS]

Hi Annabel,

Sorry to hear of the extra work and damages placed on you. Unfortunately, that happens. Yes, it is best to get a security deposit whenever possible. Sometimes the deposit does not even cover the damages and un-paid rents, especially in a bad economy, like the one we are in.

If they are in Morocco, you can sue for the damages, but the law suit would be in Germany since the business and damages took place in Germany. Which means that there is virtually no chance of collecting the funds. Plus, you would lose whatever legal costs you might have.

Even when the plaintiff and defendants are in the same country, it is very difficult to collect, even after winning a suit in court! A judge will give judgment and order the former tenants to pay, but collecting it is another matter completely.

Your best chance for collecting any funds from them might be from writing a long letter to them, explaining all the hardship you had in cleaning the unit and repairing it and hoping for the best from any goodwill they might have. Itemize out each cost you had, including your own time. You can itemize a standard hourly fee for any work you did.

[Annapurna]

Thank you, David. I would have never thought anything like this is possible...

So do you suggest safety deposits from all people from another land than my own?

Is it always so hard to collect money from another land? How about Austria or Netherlands, my neighboring countries?

Manapa, you they are holidays apartments...right?

[Cittasanto]

Hi
Its any flat to my knowledge! some have up front payment on the holiday side

Thank you, David. I would have never thought anything like this is possible...

So do you suggest safety deposits from all people from another land than my own?

Is it always so hard to collect money from another land? How about Austria or Netherlands, my neighboring countries?

Manapa, you they are holidays apartments...right?

[Annapurna]

I only work with complete prepayment, but not with deposits anymore, nobody else does here...

but it is necessary now, imo....

[DNS]

So do you suggest safety deposits from all people from another land than my own?

both from your land and not.

Is it always so hard to collect money from another land? How about Austria or Netherlands, my neighboring countries?

Yes, because there is no "jurisdiction" to enforce any court judgment in another country. Austria and Netherlands might be a little easier, since I assume they are part of the EU ?

[Annapurna]

Yes, EU.

Ok, and thank you for the good advice.

You see, I had reduced all my security burdens for the guests, because of the economical crisis... and I had the best year ever....but ...