First Time Landlords

There have been so many firsts for The Carmichael Clan over the past 6 months.

First time we’ve taken the girls overseas. The first time the girls have seen Big Ben, Piccadilly Circus, and The Harry Potter Studios. And the first time we’ve both rented a house and became landlords; almost at the exact same moment.

It was actually easier to find a house in Hertford than it was to choose a tenant for our own Wildwood Park home. Maybe because there were only 13 houses available to rent in the entire Hertford town proper (and we viewed each one), or perhaps because we fell in love with the first Hertford home we saw. More likely it was because we were throwing caution to the wind and embracing that adventurous spirit that drove us to make such a big move to the U.K.

Our home in “The Park.”

What I am certain of, is renting our own home in Wildwood Park was extremely difficult. Partly because “The Park” is the most special place we have ever lived. Living here is not just about the house itself, but the community into which you become enveloped. The selection process for a tenant was made more difficult because we had four renters who each would have been a wonderful fit for us and the neighbourhood. This really surprised me.

Ultimately, we came down to being fair and chose the renter who had given us all the background information we requested quickest. Much like Michael Phelps and all his Olympic Golds, we held a timed race to see who the “winner” would be.

Now the hard part. Telling the other three families they will have to continue their search for their Winnipeg home. With one potential tenant in particular this will be extra hard to do, as we bonded through her delightful friends who viewed our house on her behalf and through email; she in Wales and me in Winnipeg – both of us with ties to Cardiff. It is a small world after all. I imagine it feels a bit like an editor must when sending out a rejection letter to a writer…not a great feeling.

Wish me luck as I break the news.