How Not to Try to Rent a Home

It can be frustrating when you are looking for that perfect place to move to, but each spot you see is just wrong. Fortunately, when you do find the perfect place, all that is left is paperwork and a money transaction. Unless the place is owned by a disabled, elderly man that has no one to help him and goes by the name of Mr. Brown.

When I called the number at the bottom of the rental ad, I had only one thing on my mind and that was becoming the new occupant of this ideal home. So I put on my most polite and cheerful voice and called. At first, the man asked legitimate questions about my income and references, my family and the length of our marriage.

Then, he remarked about how a family had been there just before I called and how he might choose to rent to them. As he told me, the family had told him about how their place had become flooded and that was why they were looking for another place. I went on to tell him how I was wanting to move into a better school district because my kid's current school was a drug and violence zone. I stated that my kids didn't deserve to live this way, and that after all, the kids are our future.

The man seemed to think on this and agree, then he drew out the big guns. He said, "You know, they offered to help me with things around the house, seeing as how I have nobody to help me." What kind of things I wondered. I figured I could check his mail or help him with grocery shopping- as long as I would get to rent his property. He said, "Just some little stuff around here and there."

After a few minutes, I got off the phone and told my husband about the rental details. That we would pay x amount in rent and deposit, and also be responsible for mowing and landscaping his yard, taking out his trash, cleaning his gutters, a little house-keeping and light maintenance work.

Needless to say, my husband said he didn't want the place that badly, and I didn't either after I thought long and hard about it. I had let my goal of renting the perfect place supercede common sense. After all, I just bartered my family and their time to an unscrupulous landlord.