She was taller than I remembered. But when I exchanged greetings with her 3 years prior, she was at a distance.

As I unlocked the front door, “Uhm we mowed your yard and you never paid us,” her son said.

“Harrison!!!”, his mom shot back. “What did I tell you?!”

Her son sheepishly shrugged his shoulders, “Well….”

Not hiding my embarrassment, “Seriously? Oh my gosh, you were never paid?”  I asked. “Just as soon as I get home and get your Zelle info I PROMISE I will pay you!! I am so sorry!”

“Wow,” I thought to myself, “I’ve really impressed her, me being a broke slumlord and all. Gosh why didn’t anyone tell me?? I always leave my neighbors a card in case they need to reach me. All someone had to do was call and say, ‘hi we mowed your grass.”  

It wasn’t too much of me to ask. Now here I am trying to recover from a very embarrassing moment. 

To be sure, it’s safe to say I made sure to not ever come across as flirtatious with anyone. It’s not professional and it’s just not a good idea whatsoever. Especially in this case when she is at the property and in the company of her children. As much as I wanted to ask about a husband, it’s none of my business. I guess mentally I just acknowledge she is an attractive women and I’d leave it at that. Also, in my 10 to 11 years of being a landlord, it’s even a better idea not to become friends with a tenant. In fact, let’s just call it a bad idea. 

If there were ever a Real Estate or Landlord 101 class, the very first chapter should be a landlord’s responsibility to provide a service to a family. And to take that responsibility very seriously. A family is entrusting me to be able to always have a safe place for them to shelter in. And they will in turn pay a fair market price to occupy that house and treat it as their own, because it IS their house now. They have a document to prove it. 

After careful consideration, Emily and her family decided to occupy the property beginning in April 2021. In the weeks and months to come, everything I just wrote about regarding a landlord’s responsibilities would be tested. 

And as far as me wondering what her “situation” was, I found the answer while perusing her lease application. It was located right next to the hair color box. Marital status – in her pretty penmanship I read “widowed”.