A recent experience has taught me a valuable lesson about
how far from the vision of our Founding Fathers this country has faded. They fought for and established a republic
based on a moral code, personal liberty, and individual responsibility. The federal government’s role in the lives
of Americans was to be extremely limited, the State having a bit more
influence, while local government had the most influence and effect. As I see it, we currently live in an
upside-down world where slothfulness and lack of personal responsibility are
rewarded by ever increasing laws and regulations imposed by a top-heavy
governmental system.
I inherited some property, which I am trying to sell. In the meantime, I rent it out. I can’t afford to just hold onto it and
maintain it until it sells, and due to financial circumstances I also have to
use some of the rent money to help pay the mortgage on the house that I live
in. For the most part, I’ve been pretty
fortunate as far as renters go—until now.
These people moved in a year ago (their one-year lease
agreement ended August 15), and a couple months later, the rent started being
consistently late. At the beginning of
this summer, I became aware that the grass was not being cut and there appeared
to be some damage to the two storm doors (not to mention considerable debris in
the yard). I communicated with the
people both verbally and in writing that they needed to correct those issues. Then, I became aware that local law
enforcement had made numerous (yes, numerous) visits to the property. I was receiving calls of concern from
neighbors who are also family friends of long-standing. I decided that I would not renew the lease
agreement and informed them of my decision verbally. This was followed up with a formal letter of eviction, giving
them the appropriate amount of notice as set forth in the Code of Virginia for
non-payment of rent. The letter also
mentioned not maintaining the property and the numerous visits by law
enforcement as my reasons for not renewing the lease.
To make a much longer story shorter: since that letter was sent, I have
discovered considerable interior damage to the house and had to call Animal
Control to deal with pets that were not being fed, watered, etc. In the meantime, the people will NOT leave,
and the longer they stay there the more damage is done to my property. I have been informed by the local Sheriff’s
Office that there is nothing I can do other than follow the next step in the
eviction process, which is to take them to court via a Summons for Unlawful
Detainer. If I am lucky, the judge will
rule in my favor and give the Sheriff’s Office the authority to make the people
leave.
In telling a friend about this, she said that her brother
had gone through a similar situation, and it had taken six months to evict
someone from his property. Until she
said that, it had never once crossed my mind that something like that could
happen. After all, it is MY property,
right? The joke is on me, because the
renter has more rights than I do, even if they don’t pay, the lease is up, and
they are destroying the place. Once
they are in there, there is very little I can do. I am at the mercy of the court.
If this situation continues much longer, my home ownership will be in
jeopardy. If I default on my mortgage,
that will further burden the banking system, and my family and I could become
burdens on society as well.
So, these laws that protect people like my renters really
help no one in the long run. The main
offender in the situation is not compelled to seek help for his issues by
letting him get away with “squatting” on my property. It only prolongs his situation and the suffering of his family
and pets and sends me to the poor house.
It shouldn’t be like this.
I and other property owners should have more control over our property. This is why Socialism does not work—it only
spreads misery.
Tricia Miles
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