The tenant who left in a hurry in Miami

I'm in Miami, and I'll be honest: I put this off for far too long. As a property manager, I see a lot of messy vacates, but this one was memorable. The new tenants were due in four days.

Clothes, broken furniture, a couch on the patio, food in the fridge, rubbish bags in every room and a yard full of old toys.

Miami is a beachside suburb of older units, cafes and hillside homes, and getting things out isn't always simple. Stair access and shared driveways are common.

I sent a couple of photos and got a call back within the hour. They gave me a rough idea on the phone but said they'd confirm a fixed price when they saw it in person.

They parked so the back of the truck lined up with the side gate, put a drop sheet down at the door and asked me to show them anything that was staying.

There were a few things that might have been of value, like a laptop and some jewellery. They bagged them separately and handed them to me, so I could follow up properly.

By the time I'd made them a coffee, it was nearly finished. The price didn't change, and they even took a couple of extra bits I'd forgotten about without charging more.

I'd tried to do it myself twice before. Next time I'm just ringing straight away.