Phase Two - Crib @ Nyaniba

Can I safely call this phase two? Well I suppose so.With Ms Florence out of my picture, the main building has been rented out to a client and I am in the process of renovating the outhouse. I have been informed that work has already started on this that need doing but have not been given a time scale as to when completion is due. I have been approached by the tenant in the main building. He wants me to rent out the outhouse to him. I am very reluctant in doing this because of several reasons. 1. The plan is to resettle in Ghana and seth a business of some sort within the next three years - God willingly. The outhouse will act as my base station and storage for items that I plan of shipping back to Ghana. 2. My previous trips to Ghana has found me logging with friends and family. They have never complained and have always welcomed me with open arms whenever I have asked if I could stay with them. However now that I have somewhere I can stay when I am in Ghana, why give that place up for rent? yes, I know it will be money coming into the old bank account, but the other side of me is telling me that it is not all about money! I suppose I can rent the place out for about a year, and then work things out from then on; which means that during that period, if I need to make that trip to Ghana, then I will have to seek the hospitality of friends and family - again. Update: I called Akosua and she informed me that letting the outhouse to the main tenant is not a good idea as it appears they are not the sort of people who a "clean". This piece of news seems worrying. Anyway, I am going to call her next week to work out a plan where by she can announce herself into the building and perform an inspection. I quite remember seeing something to this nature in the tenancy agreement.

Update: Akosua has done a brilliant job of : 1. Cleaning up the filth and mess Ms Florence Massoud left behind 2. Renovating the Outhouse. I will post pictures which Akosua took of the filth that was left behind by Ma Florence Massoud.

Nightmare On Blogodo Road - 23/08/2011

Who said God doesn't answer prayers?

So since my last update, a few things have been happening here and there regarding the saga I have with Ms Florence Massoud. There have been a few more visits to the Rent Control Offices, and also the guy handling the case at the Rent Control Offfice has taken a trip to my property to have a look around. Why, only God knows, however my agent did inform me that Ms Florence was seeking repayment of money she has invested in the renovation of the main building, but I doubt that was his reason for taking the trip there - Lord help us.

And another development has arisen - a good and positive one I should say. , My current tenants have decided to vacate the main building. According to my tenant, he has been offered a contract in another part of Ghana, hence renting the property will no longer be required - fair enough. I do have my suspicions though and I am certain that Ms Florence Massoud has been pestering  them. Well they have gone now, which I personally think is a blessing in disguise because Ms Florence Massoud can now take her stuff out of the main building and I can replace them together with any other work that needs to be done.

So, why my first statement "Who said God doesn't answer prayers"; I got a text message from my agent 2 days ago informing that Ms Florence Massoud was packing her stuff from the out house she is currently occupying. You can imagine my joy sandwiched between the surprises . I seriously thought I would have to purposely go back to Ghana to personally throw this woman out of my house.

My agent says she will still have to make that final trip to the Rent Control Offices as requested by the Officer the for his verdict. One thing though, I am not lowering my guard regarding Ms Florence Massoud all because I do not trust her. People of her nature always seem to have something up their sleeves.

My lessons learnt so far? 
1. Get someone to make regular visits to your property on your behalf on a regular basis. Stick the money into a high earning account. At the end of the day, if you don't have to use the money, at least you can earn some interest out of it.
2. Demand a deposit from any potential tenant. The will used to offset any cost you the Landlord might incur if the tenant damages your property.
3.  Never lease your property out for more than two years in a row. For example, if you someone wants to lease your property for 6 years and you are comfortable with that, then just renew the lease every 2 years with the option to cancel the lease after a period of the agreed by both of you.
4. Do not lease to individuals, unless they are filthy rich. Lease out to companies and even then, they must be bloody rich. Do an intensive investigation on the company or person. All this is in aid of giving yourself some piece of mind.

Nightmare On Blogodo Road - 27/06/2011 Update

It has been several weeks since Ms Akosua was, yet again , at the Rent Control Office with Ms Florence Massoud. I am slowly beginning to think that all these trips to the Rent Control Office is becoming a waste of time. Here is why: for the past 2 - 3 visits, the feedback I have had from my representative has been to do with Ms Florence Massoud expressing her concerns about the her belongings in the main building, and other irrelevant issues. There has been no mention of why she has overstayed her welcome even though the contract her business partner signed clearly states that they had to vacate after ten years. I thought that the Rent Control Office was there to make sure that tenants or landlords didn't take undue advantage over each other. Do not get me wrong I have not lost faith, i just feel that time is being wasted. Maybe I could be wrong. I am yet to learn something new.

So, at the last visit, this is what went down.
1. Ms Florence Massoud wants to charge $40 USD per day for her furniture being used in the main building. This would cover a period from January 2011 up to when she retrieved her stuff from the main building. When my agent told me this, I nearly fainted. What a load of rubbish. I was certainly not happy with this. More worrying was that all these deliberations are  being held in the presence of a qualified lawyer for the Rent Control Office. Anyway, I received a call from Ms Akosua and she has consulted a lawyer regarding this.
2. When Ms Florence was asked when she can remove her stuff from the main building, her response was "I do not know". Can you imagine this? At this point the lawyer for the Rent Control Office stepped and she said that she had to do better than that. So she finally caved in and agreed to an immediate date.

Another meeting is scheduled for the  12th of next month. Hopefully this will be the final one. My advice to those of you who wish to rent out your properties; perform an exhaustive research on the person/people you wish to rent the property out to. Get a reference - this is certainly important. Make sure that the reference is from a respected person/organisation. Yes, a rent advance is the way forward. You MUST make sure that you get this paid to you. No one knows what is round the corner. if for any reason your tenants suddenly turn out to be from hell, then you will have something to fall onto asa way of compensation. Contracts - be very meticulous in the word and write up. Personally, I would go for renewable 6 month contracts.