Around mid-morning we received a call from our Realtors office. They received insider information from the gas company that our renters (who we're trying to evict) are having their heat shut off today.
After a little investigating we also found out that said renters are also shutting off their electricity.
The good news is that they are voluntarily having these things disconnected. Which means that they're likely on their way out the door.
As those of you in Iowa are aware of there's a nasty Alberta Clipper moving in and the weathermen are saying that we can expect 12 inches of snow tonight. Most people do not voluntarily have their heat and electric turned off in the midst of a blizzard so we made the assumption that they're moving out today.
This leaves us in a bit of a quandary. We have not been notified from our renters that they're moving out. And from what the Sheriff's Office has told us is that they tried serving the eviction notice to the tenants 4 times before successfully serving it to them on the 5th try.
We were also afraid that these tenants would shut off the heat in an attempt to have the pipes burst before we took possession of the house. Yet, if they shut the heat off and we transfer it back into our names will we end up footing the bill for the heat as well as the unpaid rent???
This defines quandary.
Hotsauce immediately starts pouring over code sections of Iowa law to see what our options are... Turns out our options are:
1. We get screwed
2. We get screwed
3. We get angry, lash out, yell, scream, holler, throw things, curse the law that protects criminals and not law abiding citizens, write a letter to our Senators and then we get screwed.
4. We pray, trust God, and rejoice in the day that the Lord has made.
Or something a little more like us...
5. Get angry, yell at lawmakers who can't hear us ... and then remember to pray and trust God.
I know. We stink at the whole pray first option. Maybe someday we will figure it out.
Maybe we should pray that we remember to pray first, but of course we'd forget to pray to pray first!
Bean and I prayed together that what Satan means for evil that God would use for good. That He would take care of the pipes and the overdue rent and our bad attitudes. And then I gave my girls a short lecture on how they need to pay their bills when they're adults.
A few hours after praying Hotsauce received a phone call. I knew immediately from his body language that this woman (ironically named Joy, though she has brought us none) on the other line was our tenant. It took her about 3 sentences to get Hotsauce worked up... though by the grace of God, he found it in himself to be kind.
Sidebar: I really admire that man.
By the end of the call she told him that they would be out tomorrow, the house would be clean, they would leave a forwarding address and drop a check off with the amount owed by the end of this week.
Glory to God in the highest.
By the way, we went ahead and transferred the heat and electricity into our names. God is faithful and will continue to see us through this!
Please pray that things go accordingly and that we would be able to get the realtor in soon and get this house sold. We could use a little less drama around here.
After a little investigating we also found out that said renters are also shutting off their electricity.
The good news is that they are voluntarily having these things disconnected. Which means that they're likely on their way out the door.
As those of you in Iowa are aware of there's a nasty Alberta Clipper moving in and the weathermen are saying that we can expect 12 inches of snow tonight. Most people do not voluntarily have their heat and electric turned off in the midst of a blizzard so we made the assumption that they're moving out today.
This leaves us in a bit of a quandary. We have not been notified from our renters that they're moving out. And from what the Sheriff's Office has told us is that they tried serving the eviction notice to the tenants 4 times before successfully serving it to them on the 5th try.
We were also afraid that these tenants would shut off the heat in an attempt to have the pipes burst before we took possession of the house. Yet, if they shut the heat off and we transfer it back into our names will we end up footing the bill for the heat as well as the unpaid rent???
This defines quandary.
Hotsauce immediately starts pouring over code sections of Iowa law to see what our options are... Turns out our options are:
1. We get screwed
2. We get screwed
3. We get angry, lash out, yell, scream, holler, throw things, curse the law that protects criminals and not law abiding citizens, write a letter to our Senators and then we get screwed.
4. We pray, trust God, and rejoice in the day that the Lord has made.
Or something a little more like us...
5. Get angry, yell at lawmakers who can't hear us ... and then remember to pray and trust God.
I know. We stink at the whole pray first option. Maybe someday we will figure it out.
Maybe we should pray that we remember to pray first, but of course we'd forget to pray to pray first!
Bean and I prayed together that what Satan means for evil that God would use for good. That He would take care of the pipes and the overdue rent and our bad attitudes. And then I gave my girls a short lecture on how they need to pay their bills when they're adults.
A few hours after praying Hotsauce received a phone call. I knew immediately from his body language that this woman (ironically named Joy, though she has brought us none) on the other line was our tenant. It took her about 3 sentences to get Hotsauce worked up... though by the grace of God, he found it in himself to be kind.
Sidebar: I really admire that man.
By the end of the call she told him that they would be out tomorrow, the house would be clean, they would leave a forwarding address and drop a check off with the amount owed by the end of this week.
Glory to God in the highest.
By the way, we went ahead and transferred the heat and electricity into our names. God is faithful and will continue to see us through this!Please pray that things go accordingly and that we would be able to get the realtor in soon and get this house sold. We could use a little less drama around here.
God is awesome :) Great news!
ReplyDeleteI have to head out and no time to respond to this. Please hunt me down and remind me to talk to you about some things from a water utility standpoint.
ReplyDeleteSo where's the update?
ReplyDelete