The Before:

To say I was a little bitter about not getting rent since May, to say that I was upset that renters treated our house so badly when we had been so forgiving about rent being late a lot of the time, to say I wanted justice...would be a MAJOR understatement.
Thankfully I am married to Adam Milton...a man who brings me back to reality whenever I freak out.  I am a firm believer that you need both types of people in a marriage. 
I was going to wait and post before and after pictures together but I have been trying to describe what needs to be done and I can't.
Ready???
Worst thing first...the carpet

In the living room...there were even stains under the obvious place they put an area rug...by the way the lightest color was how we left it.

Hall to the garage and laundry room...funny thing is one of their requirements before moving in was to get the living room carpet professionally cleaned because there was a small stain.  We rented a rug doctor and the stain came out and they were satisfied.

close up of the grease stains by the garage door...plus the nast on the walls and baseboards.

upstairs hallway...both Adam and I used the phrase "not that bad" after being downstairs.

the bonus room...take note of the wood nailed into the wall and floor for a makeshift handrail...they aren't even sanded!  Handrail is coming down.  Plus you can't see in this photo but there are two big holes in the wall by the window.

The Sunroom:

I'll be honest I have lived places for several years without dusting the fan.  Basically if you dust and vacuum regularly and use the fan every once and a while I don't think it's necessary.  This is build up from 3 years.

There was a like new Berber carpet...but the dog (that wasn't supposed to be inside) tore it up so our tenants "laid tile" for us,

A Few Other Issues

The Kitchen Floor...this stain came out no problem...what you can't wipe a spill?

There were several blinds like this...the ones on the windows are brown

The stains on the walls and the torn up baseboards

and oh yeah...The Trash

Our Week At The House

Zack and I spent several days at our Raleigh home getting it ready to sell.  Our tenants didn't take very good care of it (to say the least) which makes me really sad.  I tend to think people are good and will do for others and for the most part I am right.  These people really disapointed me (I'll post pictures when we finish of the before and after).  We had to get the carpets profesionaly cleaned and deodorized, we had to have a cleaning person come clean (because honestly I thought the job was beyond my skill level and being pregnant I didn't want to use the chemical cleaners that were probibally necessary.
Tuesday: Zack and I got to the house at 10 to meet the carpet cleaners who were going to be there between 10-12.  I soon got a call saying they would be closer to 12 so we made a trip to Lowes to price light fixtures and pick out paint colors.  1:30 the electric company shows up to put on the electricitricity (finally some AC) 1:45 comes around and the cleaners finally arrive.  2:10 they discover that the water was turned off.  My fault.  I signed up for the electricity to be turned back on but because the water was on I figured I would squeeze a few more dimes from the tenants (they hadn't paid rent since May).  Well the water was switched off that morning.  Needless to say the clarpet cleaners need water and couldn't work.  I scheduled the water for the next day and the cleaners to come back on Thursday.
Thursday: The carpet cleaners were scheduled to come between 2 and 4.  I get a call in the morning that they would most likely be late and would I mind having a different cleaner come...well the guy that came before offered to do the deep cleaning at no extra charge...so I didn't want to switch.  I planned on taking Zack to the mall and letting him run around util they called that they were close.  at 1:15 someone called and said the guys would be there in 30 min if I didn't mind them coming early.  MIND...NO WAY!  I grabbed Zack from his crib and picked up a couple snacks, a juice cup and a bottle of water.  When we got to the house the cleaners had just arrived, I opened the door fo them to get started.  Meanwhile the AC wasn't working.  I called a repair man who would be there between 3-6.  YUCK!  I didn't bring dinner foods for Zack and now we were both covered in sweat and smelled like wet dog and carpet chemicals from just being in that house.  After the cleaners left (around 2:45...that's how bad the carpet was) we ran to Target to pick up some clothes (so that we were decent enough for Steak and Shake) and snacks...in case.  The AC repair man got to the house around 4.  He fixed the AC and left around 5:45!  5:45?!?  I loaded Zack (who had reached the I'm tired and or hungry...I don't know which but something's gotta give...phase) in the car and ran to Steak and Shake.  A grilled cheese and coke never tasted so good.  We were both dehydrated and needed to eat something.  We got home I gave Zack a quick bath and gave him some milk proped him in front of Sesame Street (I am not ashamed) and took a shower myself. 
Saturday: I had to go back up to the house so I could change the air filters...the AC guy said I couldn't leave them in that condition for over a day.  Mom came up to hang out with us so she joined us.  We were going to let Zack run through the house while we measured for all new blinds (I told you these people were nasty) and took the faceplates off the switches to be cleaned and to prep for painting.  We walked in the door and I knew it...the AC was broken again!!!!  I called the company and went all Lindsay on the poor lady who answered the phone.  I even played the pregnant with a todler and husband is away on business card.  She bumped the other two customers waiting on AC service to put me on the top of the list...sorry...but not really.  It was too hot to stay there so we went to the mall to let Z run and to keep cool.  The guy came and fixed it again (I hope for good).

Our amazing realtor will let the cleaning person in on Tuesday and hopefully they will have AC while they work.

The carpets aren't in great shape.  On Thursday as they were being cleaned I thought they were wonderful...I couldn't believe it (and based on what they were it was a big improvement).  Going back on Saturday I wasn't all that excited about them...