I decided to let out my grandmothers old flat, and the tenants turned out to be truly decent people.
I inherited a small flat from my grandmother. Since I already had my own place, I got in touch with an estate agent to rent it out. The flat was outdated and I didnt have the funds needed to do it up properly. Honestly, I doubted anyone would be interested. However, the agent assured me that if we set a fair price, someone would take it. Sure enough, thats what happened. We settled on a reasonable rent and, the next day, the agent brought round a family. It was a husband, wife and their five-year-old daughter. They were calm, polite and seemed rather bright.
I liked them immediately and we signed the contract on the spot. Theyve been living there now for six years. Ive been more than happy with them never once have the neighbours complained. I even arranged a temporary residency for them. Its not easy to find tenants as respectful and well-mannered as this. I only visited the flat on rare occasions. The family always paid the rent on time and would ring me once a month. I never really knew how they were living, until I popped by to see them one day. For some reason, Id assumed theyd made the place their own after six years.
But to my surprise, nothing at all had changed in the flat in all that time.
There wasnt a single new thing in the place. They were still using my grandmothers old crockery, the same faded curtains hung in the windows, and there were no new towels to be found. I do understand that its not ideal to invest money in a property that isnt your own. Nevertheless, theyd called it home for years. When I gently brought it up with the wife, she told me they simply couldnt afford it. Her husband was the only one working, while she spent her days looking after their child, getting her to school and various clubs, and cooking. Their daughter is now eleven. When I asked her why she didnt try to earn some money herself, she insisted thats a husbands job that a married woman shouldnt have to work.
