Well, I'm letting out a deep sigh of relief on this one. I rented to people who trashed my rental house, broke things I couldn't figure how they could even break, and these people paid rent. For example how does one snap off 3/4 of a back splash from a bathroom sink vanity that's one molded piece, all I could think was a hammer was used. Holes in walls and doors, broken locks, most of the fridge insides broken, broken light fixtures, all of the carpets ruined, washer and dryer destroyed, windows broken, etc., it goes on.
Before I saw the damage I knew they were very destructive and had huge fights as the neighbors reported to me they were worried about the loud donnybrook like fights between them with the male seeming like the aggressor and between the male and their "guests" heard from afar, and the way too frequent 5 minute visitors the neighbors figured out knew meant drug dealing. At the time I was living a couple of hours away. When the neighbors got together and called me about all of it I told them ~ any sign of trouble over there do not hesitate to call the police and told them I was going to make a call myself to let the police know I wanted them out and would do whatever I could to get them out. The police offered no help but told me they would "keep an eye on the place", so I was concerned my house may end up being seized as a drug house. The police in my area are not known for having common sense....
Lucky for me I had her mother's phone number, as a reference, from when the couple applied for the rental. I called her mother, who was not happy to hear from me and tried to put me off telling me the house was not up to her standards, actually had the gall to tell me the house was "filthy" when her daughter moved in. That was shocking for me to hear because I was the one who cleaned and cared for the house back then and knew there was no way the house could not have been cleaner so I returned her mother's bs with the neighbors concerns about the fights and drug dealing and let her know I had put the police on notice for all of it and I was going to move to evict. The young couple ended up moving shortly after a month from then before I was able to even try to move forward with eviction. I knew something was wrong there with the moms crazy comments to me but also knew the mother must have warned them to gtfo or they were going under. I didn't have experience with being a mom and didn't understand what enabling looked like but knew the mother was grasping at straws as an excuse for their behavior with her nutty "filthy" comment about the house. I sure hope that young couple or at least that young woman has grown up to take responsibility for herself, if only for her mother's sake. I was so happy to get them out of the house I didn't sue for the damages, guess the mom was stung for that in the past considering her reaction to my telling her about my plans and why to move for eviction. In the end I knew it was fruitless to go after them for the damages and was just happy to get them out without having my house seized and confiscated as a drug house.
In your case it's surprising they didn't trash the house, and really I am not thinking they were at all concerned about a civil suit down the road. I think you really dodged a bullet no matter how bad this was. It just goes to show how some people strive for somewhat of a normal life but still find a way to take advantage of lonely, needy people.
I'm so glad I sold that house I was saving to give to my son. The proceeds will be better spent to help him financially with a special needs trust managed by someone with his interests in mind.
