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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Time wasting tenants

48 replies

Lifecanonlygetbetter · 02/02/2020 01:34

With an unexpected legacy, and using all our savings, we were able to buy a flat as a second property. We rent it out, the income supports our children at college /uni and will help them get on property ladder. We are good landlords, and when our tenant of 3 years moved to her own place, we refurbished, redecorated, put down new carpets etc. So we are being quite choosy about potential tenants, use a screening checklist, then call to arrange viewing. I spoke to a woman yesterday, she has an 11 year old, currently lives 5 minutes away and wants to keep child in same school. She seemed really nice and very keen. Arranged viewing today at 3pm fitting around her son’s activities, agreed that if there were any problems we would call each other. 2 hours before viewing something came up, I left her a voicemail offering to put back until 4pm or my husband could do the viewing at 3pm. I asked her to call me if she still wanted 3pm. No call so I drove for 45 mins to flat, arrived 3.50 and waited. She didn’t arrive, at 4.20pm I texted her to say that I hoped that she had heard my message, I was at the flat if she was still interested. No response, I didn’t get home until after 5.30 so I wasted 2.5 hours and 2 gallons of petrol. I’m really annoyed, it would have taken her 10 seconds to text me to cancel. I really want to message her and say what I think of her rude and inconsiderate behaviour. AIBU?

OP posts:
andweallsingalong · 02/02/2020 02:53

Yabvu you agreed 3pm, your husband could make 3pm no need for all the phone call drama you should have just stuck to the original plan. I doubt she would have cared who showed her around so long as one of you was there. In her shoes I'd have written you off as flaky and too high maintenance and moved on to the next property.

melj1213 · 02/02/2020 02:54

YABU

Surely it is common sense to assume that, unless the other party actively acknowledges your attempt to change the plan, they will be honouring the original commitment? If I don't get a reply to change plans with someone then I proceed on the assumption that they will be there at the pre arranged time as they either haven't received the message or are not in a position to read/respond as either way they are unaware of the change of plan due to no fault of their own.

In this scenario you put the onus of responsibility on the potential tenant by cancelling with short notice and asking her to contact you to confirm rearrangement when you knew she would potentially not be able to use her phone.

Why, when you heard nothing from her, would you not send your husband to the property at the pre arranged time? The only person wasting people's time is you.

SnoozyLou · 02/02/2020 03:09

And when a tenant has just moved out after living in a property for 3 years, of course you should redecorate! That should be a given! That isn't you doing the new tenant a favour. That's you making it marketable so someone actually wants to live there.

cochineal7 · 02/02/2020 07:09

Is this a reverse?

Mummyoflittledragon · 02/02/2020 07:40

Yabvu. You sent a text at 1. She’d already have left the place 60 miles away. Why didn’t you call her at 1 fgs. And if you heard nothing the assumption would be for your dh to get there at 3.

LadyLovelyLockz · 02/02/2020 07:44

No, this is on you. You should have honoured 3pm as you didn't hear back from her about the 4pm. I hope you get in touch to apologise for wasting her time.

lovelove9 · 02/02/2020 07:45

In my experience only 50% of ppl who make appointments actually show up. Maybe even less. So annoying!

Clymene · 02/02/2020 07:48

So this has got nothing to do with tenants or what a great landlord you are. The only relevant bit is that you rearranged a meeting at short notice and the other person didn't appear to get the message.

YABU

brendansbuddy · 02/02/2020 07:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TurquoiseDress · 02/02/2020 07:56

I think YABU

You changed the original meeting at short notice and didn't receive any acknowledgement of the new time but went ahead for that anyway.

I don't think a snippy text about her behaviour is really in order, more I think you need to look at your own.

Ohtherewearethen · 02/02/2020 07:58

It's very telling that you immediately jump to her being a time waster and being annoyed with her. You don't seem to have thought for s second that this is all your fault. You changed the plan at shirt notice and failed to communicate effectively with her. You could have sent your husband but didn't want to because you believe your and his time us more important than hers. When she wasn't there at 4 you could have tried to get hold of her, apologising for the poor communication and explaining the mix up, even potentially rearranging for another day if she was still interested but no, instead you complain that she's the one who is out of order! Learn some manners, OP.

Bringonspring · 02/02/2020 08:00

I would be worried about renting from you. Fixing items etc. It may seem an unfair conclusion but it is all the individual has to go on. You clearly think you have the power to change etc

iWantToBreakBrie · 02/02/2020 08:00

2 hours notice for a 60 mile trip would not have been enough time for me and would have left me feeling you were not a landlord I wanted to sign with, tbh.

I too would have probably written it off and looked for somewhere else to rent.

BrightYellowDaffodil · 02/02/2020 08:00

You changed the appointment time to suit yourself and didn’t wait for her agreement before cancelling the original appointment.

If I was a potential tenant I’d probably have walked away at this point because this would give me a pretty good indicator that you’re one of those landlords, the sort who always describe themselves as a “good landlord” but are more focused on their rights than their responsibilities.

viques · 02/02/2020 08:07

I understand if something came up and you weren't able to make the appointment. That is life. BUT you say your husband was available, so he should have honoured the appointment so no need to change any timings.

All you needed to do was to warn her that your husband would be doing the showing , not you.

brendansbuddy · 02/02/2020 08:14

I'm not the only person finding it hard to sympathize with your rather privileged and entitled position OP. Sounds like the prospective tenant was arranging her day around her difficult logistics, and you wanted to change it because of your holiday. If you didn't get a response/confirmation, you should have turned up on time, particularly as you are the business-owner and the duty to be professional sits with you.

Pipandmum · 02/02/2020 08:17

Ask any estate agent how many times propective tenants/buyers don't turn up for appointments and it's probably a pretty high percentage.

CSIblonde · 02/02/2020 08:23

You messed her around. If I'd heard nothing back, I wouldn't then drive over, that's mad. She probably, as a single woman, didn't want to view alone, with a strange man & couldn't do 4pm, so felt peeved & didn't reply.

forrandomposts · 02/02/2020 08:41

I don't think you time wasted at all - posts on here are mad.

You both agreed to call if something came up, so you were fine to push back
You kindly offered her two options in case she didn't want to be alone with a strange man
You asked her to confirm and she didn't
And you still went over there and she hasn't even had the decency to contact you

YANBU OP!

AJPTaylor · 02/02/2020 08:45

I think that if this is the biggest issue you havr faced on being a landlord, you are a very lucky person.

realitycheckinaisle1 · 02/02/2020 10:29

This has to be a reverse or you are deluded. Ybvu

She didn't confirm at all that she wanted the 4pm apt. You just assumed she could make the time change. You inconvenienced her. Your husband should have a gone at 3pm and be done with it.

Ferrochrome · 02/02/2020 15:56

You are the problem OP. Your husband should have been there for 3pm if you couldn't. I would have been busy and just ploughing through my day and made it to your viewing at 2:45pm then checked my phone. If you did that I would have gone home and probably not answered your text either because I'd have been justifiably annoyed

Popc0rn · 02/02/2020 16:06

*time wasting landlords

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