My house wasn't too messy, just kids clothes all over the floor in their rooms so I told her all I had time for was to throw them in the closet and shut the door. I vacuumed and washed the floors so it was nice and clean. The appraiser mentioned to her how clean the house was which was nice, and may help down the road.

My landlady was a friend at one time but as Chatty so eloquently put it, she doesn't have both oars in the water.

She does not work and is a spendaholic. She spends to fill a void. I have been backing off from her for a while now, as I've noticed some concerning changes in her behaviour.

When I first moved in, against my better judgment the house was a disaster from the former tenants partying. I spent weeks cleaning and am concerned that when I move out she will accused me of wrecking it. It was the tenants from before I moved in that damaged all of the appliances etc. I have a list of damages and sent it to her by email when I moved in. It is a nice house other than that, and fairly new.

It was actually her husband’s house before she met him. He built it and paid it off and left it to his only daughter before he met my landlady. I just recently found out from her that she sued the daughter to get the house in her name and that started my backing off as I find this horrible. She wanted a bigger house so used the equity in the house I rent to buy a huge house. I actually don’t see her socially at all now and just see her to pay the rent. Her husband is 16 years older than her (in his 70’s) and not well. They have only been married for about 6 years and got married within a month of knowing each other. From the moment she moved in they have not shared a bedroom. Kind of weird and I guess she is a gold digger as far as I can tell. Now his daughter will get nothing.

I’m actually horrified by her behavior as she has spent vast amounts of money living on his pension taking all kinds of chances and owes over a million dollars buying property she can't afford and maxing out credit cards. Her husband told me once that she will go bankrupt one of these days but the gov’t can’t take his pension and he will just go into an old folks home and let her deal with the mess. She can’t get his pension if he dies because they married after he was 61.

As for me, I’ve been looking for a house but the rent would be $1700 to $2000, which she keeps reminding me about. I told her when I moved in that I could only afford $1200 so she said ok but put the rent up last year and I’m sure will do it again this year so I guess I better start looking in the spring. For the money the house I’m in now is a great value. I wouldn’t get a similar house elsewhere. I’m hoping the rates will drop so I can buy something next year. When I first moved here 18 years ago it was cheap, now things have gone crazy and a shack costs over $400,000.
Kate