Welcome to Chez Cliff!

During those absolutely beautiful rain showers last month, my house sprung a leak.  Water fell.  The problem was fixed quickly enough.  But not without some collateral damage.

As a result of the leak, the tenant fell.  She told me she was fine and no more mention of it was made.

With her last rent check, she included a letter.  She detailed how she had seen a doctor five times.  For those doctor visits, I could reimburse her for the medical bills or she could deduct it from her rent.

I was not happy to say the least.  Getting treatment for a medical condition is one thing.  Where this falls apart is (1) she failed to tell me she needed medical treatment (2) she decided which doctor to see and how many times to see them (3) stuck me with the medical bill.  Trying to offer some small measure of consolation, she assured me the doctors rates were reasonable.

Doctor:  What seems to be the problem?
Tenant:  Yes I slipped and fell and now I hurt.  Can you treat me?  Oh and my landlord will be paying all the medical expenses.
Doctor:  Your landlord is paying?  In that case, I’ll deduct 50% from my normal rates.

Yeah.   Right.

If responsibility for this accident rested on my shoulders, I would be the first one to belly up to the bar and pay.  But I certainly didn’t punch a hole in my own roof.  Within two hours of getting the phone call, plastic covered

The neighborhood cat poops on the front porch.  The tenant comes out one morning, slips and falls.  Now I’m stuck paying the medical bills because I didn’t provide a non-slip, anti-poop porch?

My real estate agent said,  “That’s why we have insurance.  Give them a call.”

My insurance agent said, “That’s why you have insurance.  We’ll investigate the matter and handle it accordingly.  You have nothing to worry about.”

Much better.