The house didn't sell, but I couldn't be bothered with all the open homes so I moved out soon after the sign went up. Finding a new place was never a problem.
We settled quickly in the new house, which was on the same street ensuring an easy move, and stayed there for five years. When we moved in, my youngest was only 3-years-old and I was really worried about staining the brand new carpet but the landlord told me not to worry about it.
The landlords were great although the house was one of those 1980s cheap builds so it had a few issues.
Late last year we moved again, by choice this time. Not only is this the best home I've been in so far, it's also guaranteed long-term which means we can call it our home for as long as we like.
I don't own the house, but that's okay with me. I'm happy to look after it and I don't have to worry about maintenance costs or interest and council rates going up. It suits me fine.
Again I have a fantastic landlord and with that, I feel lucky. But he is lucky too. I pay my rent every week, keep it tidy, and look after the place.
I don't own it but it's my home, you see.
We had a chat the other day and he told me some horror stories about experiences with some of his previous tenants the other day.
He said he is going to the Tenancy Tribunal again next week, this time to sort out the issues with a woman who he managed to get out of his other property in November.
She hadn't paid rent for 10 weeks, told all sorts of fibs about why that was, and then she disappeared. When they went over to clean things up for the next person to move in, they found a broken ranch slider, holes in the walls, ruined carpet and piles of rubbish that reached just about to the roof.
He showed me the photos and I've never seen anything like it. Dirty nappies, food scraps and dirty dishes, plus a massive pile of other junk.
Disgusting is a word that's just too nice for it.
If he is lucky, he will get some of the money back that it has cost him to get the place liveable again.
It will be drip-fed into his bank account at $10 a week, no doubt.
The man who moved in since the tenant from hell finally left is now also two weeks behind with his rent payments, has a big dog he never mentioned when viewing the house and signing the agreement, and hasn't mowed the lawns since early December either.
After seeing all this, I am really starting to understand the frustration of some Tauranga landlords. I find it hard to believe how careless some people are.
Dodgy tenants have been a hot topics with Bay of Plenty Times readers these past few weeks, and I actually couldn't help laughing when I read last Wednesday's story by Natalie Dixon which was headlined: "'Ferals' force rental properties off market."
This story, and the editorial that followed, got some great replies on the paper's website: bayofplentytimes.co.nz.
Most people who commented said that there are always two sides to a story, and of course that is true.
There are plenty of cold, damp and badly maintained houses on the rental property market at the moment that still fetch top dollar.
I just can't believe that people present themselves so badly and still expect to be trusted with another person's property.
Natalie's story quotes landlords who talk about their experiences with prospective tenants, and some of the things they said were just too crazy for words.
I've showed the article to my new landlord, just to let him know that he's not alone.
I mean, who in their right mind would urinate on the flower garden in front of the potential new landlady?
Isn't it completely mad to show up to view a house you'd like to rent in your pyjamas, with a big dog, or with a bunch of gang-patched mates? Apparently, things like that are not unusual in our town.
Then there was the sex worker who came to view a property and was worried about the lack of parking for her clients. At least she was honest about her intentions, and I think she would have probably paid her rent on time each week, too.
If so many people think it's okay to trash a house because it's not theirs anyway, or because they think that Work and Income will pay for it, then I'm really starting to wonder what is wrong with our society.
Martine Rolls is a Tauranga writer and digital strategist.
