People Park In Man’s Yard Unaware Of Sight Unfolding Behind Them

Being A Landowner

Buying a property to rent out might come to mind if you have some extra cash to spend. It seems like an easy way to earn cash without taking up too much time.

Some factors may not be taken into consideration, as James discovered the hard way.

There Are Definitely Perks

However, your assumption would be correct, provided your property is rented out. You will earn a monthly income and your house will be maintained.

The only things to worry about are breakages and repairs. It seems simple enough, doesn’t it? However, there is more to it.

But What About The Downsides?

Having your house rented out does have its downsides. Making money isn’t as easy as it seems, and you might want to weigh the pros and cons before deciding.

Tenants know some of those downsides, and no homeowner is immune to the threats that come with having tenants.

Loud Tenants

Renters come in all shapes, sizes, and types. There are those who are perfect, meaning they pay on time and rarely complain.

Then you have the loud ones who bother everyone around them. They could constantly get into fights or yell at the top of their lungs every time the game is on. But one thing everyone agrees on is that it results in a lot of complaints.

Damage To Property

There are also tenants who don’t take any care of your property, leaving you with broken walls and doors when they leave.

It might not lead to complaints, but you might end up spending a small fortune on repairs when you are renting a furnished apartment.

Stolen Parking Spaces

In addition, there are those who don’t care about their neighbors. If you are in the rental business, you are familiar with complaints about parking spots being stolen.

You can only do so much about such a complaint, and as a result, one of the two residents will be upset, and you never know how they will react.

Unable Or Unwilling To Pay

Another problem homeowners face is that their tenants may not pay them for whatever reason.

You can’t know if it will be a one-time occurrence or if it will happen on a regular basis. And getting an eviction order is much more difficult than it seems.

Leaving Without Notice

However, what if you find out your tenant has moved out without letting you know? Or if they call you at the last minute to say they are leaving?

Even worse, if you’ve yet to receive your rent, and damage has already been done, who’s going to cover the costs?

Endless List

A homeowner considering the rental option will face a long list of challenges. Just when you think you have seen it all, something happens that leaves you speechless.

However, if you choose the right people, you will not run into these kinds of problems. That’s exactly what James did, and his plan was a success.

Do The Pros Outweigh The Cons?

Some cases, like James’, have more pros than cons, and he can benefit from that. But it’s not every day that things go wrong. You just need to be aware that things can go sour and that there are ways to handle them.

He took action after something happened at his property, even causing the police to stifle their laughter.

Owning Apartments In Chicago

James and his family owned two apartment buildings in Chicago. Each building had three apartments, two of which James and his family used. The other four were rented out. Seems like a perfect plan, right?

It might be when you take everything we said into account. And James was well aware of those facts, so he was prepared for everything except for the situation that presented itself.

Perfect Solution

For James, owning and renting the apartments was the perfect solution. While his family had homes of their own, they still managed to make a stable income from the rentals, and their tenants never gave them any issues.

It was every homeowner’s dream, and it seemed to be working out perfectly. But James never suspected that someone who wasn’t renting from them would cause such problems.

The Family Was Settled

The family was settled in their home and ways. They got along with every tenant they had and always made sure that everyone living on their properties had no issues with their homes.

For decades their plan had gone on without a hitch, and James was sure it would continue that way. He never expected things to go as far as they did.

No Incidents

Over the decades that James’ family had owned and rented the apartments, they never faced any problems. There were no instances of rent not being paid. No one snuck off in the middle of the night. And no one caused any damage.

Overall it seemed like everything was perfect. And it was. None of their tenants were ever a cause for concern. It was actually someone James had never met before.

Loyal Tenants

James’ tenants were good people who followed the process to the tee. They paid deposit and rent before moving in, and he did an inspection each time one of them moved out. But alarm bells started going off in James’ head when people started using his property as a parking lot. 

James had no problem with his tenants parking there as there was more than enough space for all of them. But these cars didn’t belong to his tenants.

The Area 20 Years Ago

This happened about twenty years ago, and everyone who knows Chicago knows that finding a parking spot can be terrible. And in the area where James had his buildings, it was just as bad.

For about a mile, there were apartment blocks just like his lining the road, and very few of them had parking spaces. So everyone was forced to park on the road, which meant that parking was not easy to come by.

Not Much Street Parking

There were simply too few street parkings for all the houses on that road. But James and his tenants never had a problem since they had a lot of extra space on their properties.

They could fit exactly 16 cars into the space they had, so no one ever had to worry about not finding a parking spot or someone else stealing their spot.

Private Property

It was clear that they would never have a parking spot problem. Or at least that’s what they thought. But one day, when James got home, there were unknown vehicles parked on his property.

He had no idea where they had come from or who had allowed them to park there, but he was planning on finding out.

They Came Out Of Nowhere

Unfortunately, none of his tenants knew who the cars belonged to either, which meant that James would have to do some more digging.

The days went by as James tried to figure out what his next move would be, and then he realized something. There was one car that kept coming back. He’d see it almost every day.

One Particular Car

One day James was fed up with the car that was parked on his property once again. He decided to find out who the owner was and blocked the car in.

But when he got out the next morning, the car was gone. The owner had driven over his shrubs in order to get out of the property. This infuriated James, and he took the next step.

Calling The Police

James called the local police department and told them what had happened. But unfortunately, there was nothing they could do to help him. That was when James decided that enough was enough. 

If law enforcement could do nothing, he’d take the matter into his own hands. James contacted the local tow company and asked what they could do to help.

Having Signs Installed

The tow company offered to have signs installed on James’ property. They were the usual tow zone and private property signs, but they would allow James to call the company any time a car that wasn’t meant to be there needed removal.

James was relieved and thought the signs would put an end to whatever it was that was going on. But he was wrong.

It Seemed To Work

For a little while, the signs seemed to be doing their job. No unauthorized cars had entered his property, and James was very happy with that.

But James’ joy was short-lived. What he saw when he came home one night not only proved that the signs were being ignored. It also showed that drastic action was needed to stop the trespassers.

New Year’s Eve

It was New Year’s Eve, and James was making his way home. He was completely unaware of what was happening until he pulled into his parking lot.

As he drove in, all James could see were cars. Every single lot he had was full, and that wasn’t even the worst part. Some of the cars were even blocking others in.

He Was Shocked

James was beyond angry at this point. He wanted all of the cars that did not belong to his tenants to be removed on the spot.

There was a reason why he had put up the signs. This was private property, and he didn’t want his family or tenants to be stuck without a parking spot. Yet that was exactly what was happening.

Calling The Tow Company

James immediately called the tow company, and even though they sympathized with him, they couldn’t do anything for the next few hours.

It was New Year’s Eve, and snow was pouring down. They were receiving one call after another and could spare the 16 trucks that were needed to clear out his lot. He would simply have to wait his turn.

An Action Plan

James understood where the company was coming from, but he was furious and wanted revenge. So he sat down and thought about what he could do to stop people from using his property as a parking space.

That was when he came up with an idea that not only had the police biting their lips to stop themselves from laughing but also got quite a few comments once posted online.

Getting To Work

James connected his hose to the hot water faucet and started spraying the cars with water. He focused on the windows and locks to ensure their owners would have problems getting in.

After that, he strategically positioned three sprinklers and turned them on. No damage would be done to the cars, but when he was done, they would be frozen solid.

A Peaceful Night

With a satisfied grin, James headed inside and watched his sprinklers doing their work. He left them on for five whole hours. But James wasn’t just going to sit around and watch the water freeze. 

He enjoyed New Year’s Eve with his family and headed to bed for a peaceful night’s sleep, not knowing his rest would soon be interrupted.

4 am

James was fast asleep when the banning and ringing started. A furious mob was ringing the bells on all of his apartments and knocking on every door.

But James was no fool. Instead of going out to confront them, he called the police and waited for them to arrive. He had no idea they would react the way they did.

In order to protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblances to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.