The title of this entry seems to suggest that Slate thinks I should pity the owner. I'm assuming these letters are all from this Jodie Allen person? Note to self: never rent anything from Jodie Allen. Or to be safe, anyone whose surname is Allen.

Complaining about your tenants not watering your garden for you? Come on. Changing light bulbs and fixing your furniture that falls apart? That's the owner's responsibility, not the tenants. Speaking of responsibility, why on earth would this Allen character complain to the renters about taxes and roof re-shingling? She owns the property.

My favorite complaint was chiding renters for not minding the recycling rules posted at town hall. Seriously? When she rolls into a new town on vacation she goes to the town hall to familiarize herself with the local ordnances?

I'll concede that the burning lampshade and the blood on the curtains was not cool.

But the rest is just wear and tear that anybody renting a beach home should expect. If this Allen person thinks these perceived affronts are not worth the going rate for her house, take it off the market. I'm sure my response to her if I had received was of these sarcastic letters would have been quite direct.

Relax. The entry ten years old. But it does bring back memories of the late nineties and the sense of entitlement wealthy people (owners and renters) had back then during the stock market boom.

I think you have overlooked quite a bit from her letters, such as: The children taking apart the sink and filling it with q-tips, someone breaking the porch chair and then deciding to use it as firewood, rearranging the upstairs furniture, leaving overflowing trash outside, leaving windows open and letting rain damage the wood floors and rugs, leaving empty wine bottles throughout the house, and throwing away drawer handles because the screw came out.

While you may not think it important to do things such as this or little things such as water the plants and replace light bulbs, some of us do. I would never dream of renting someone's private property and then leaving it in a mess because I didn't own it. I would make every effort to leave it exactly as I found it. If that means I screw a handle back on a drawer, take out the trash, or replace a light bulb so be it.

To some people treating others and their property with respect is important. Maybe it's a generaltional issue, or dependent on where you are from.

You are right to avoid this woman because I fear you may be the sort of tenant she means.

I agree. What a passive-aggressive jackass, which she tries to cover up by writin in a grandmotherly "tut-tut" style. This is worth writing about on Slate? She's the kind of self-absorbed creep who doesn't have any gratitude that she's in a position to rent a beach-house for the summer. if you're renting a place with anything valuable in it, and it's not insured, you bought the ticket and now you're complaining when you take the ride. It's the tone that really gets to me here, though. I can't recall having ever read anything more smarmy--an "upper class" person condescending to instruct one from "the lower class." What an asshole!

And who told her that it's the renter's responsibility to care for the garden? HEY JODIE -- HIRE A GARDENER! DUMBASS! You've got the dough. If you don't, build it into the rent. And don't furnish your place with furniture whose knobs and such can't be replaced. That's just stupid. Also, hire a local to check on the place once a week! DUMBASS!

Thanks to Jodie Allen for sharing her cheery vomit with us, written apparently to relieve her own otherwise-unexpressed rage, and don't choke on your cash and property, unless you're going to do it somewhere where the rest of us can watch and enjoy it.

Sorry about the blunt speech, but she was so busy suppressing her anger and putting it through some kind of culture-elevation-processor, I thought some plain words were in order. Shame on Slate for publishing this shit.

Having been on both sides of this issue, I do agree that "normal" wear and tear is the responsibility of the Landlord. But, on the other hand, it is also the responsibility of the tenant to do whatever they can to do minimumize any damage (or potential damage). Replacing a screw on a drawer, watering a garden during a drought, purchasing proper size trash can liners are just a few of the things that the inconsiderant tenant could have done. Tenants should treat any rented property as if it were their own, and NOT have the mindset of "It's not mine....I don't care".

Sounds to me like this landlord got taken for a ride by a bunch of inconsiderate jackalls. The landlord's biggest mistake in this situation was not being more careful in choosing a tenant for her property.

I agree with the poster above, if it's not your house, don't damage it, keep it clean if only because you are staying there, unless you an absolute pig! If this landlord woman didn't like the way her summer tenants treated her property, why in the world would she take their money again for following summer?! Because she's a twit! I would have sent a more upfront letter when they sent the next years rent itemizing WHY I would not rent to them again.

Doesn't anybody recognize satire any more? This was all invented. None of it happened. Save your withering sarcasm for real people and events, if you would.

What makes people think that they should treat other people's stuff like crap no matter how much money they do or don't have? Obviously the P's seemed to have been devoid of basic manners, probably a result of being raised by heathens who had no manners either. It looks like the Ps' kids will also grow up the same way. Aahhh, philistines, please stay off Nantucket and the Vineyard, perhaps you'd be more comfortable at the Jersey shore?

I like how this is someone making the effort to write an angry, belittling condemnation of someone who wrote an angry, belittling condemnation of someone else.

That is, assuming it wasn't fiction to begin with.

I get the sense that this rental is not a simple hotel room. The cottage is either some kind of time share, or summer rental.

Hotel rooms are designed to take abuse of high volume frequently rough guest. But the expectations are quite different when you rent someone’s summer cottage. I don’t think asking guest to take a little responsibility to take care of the place is too much to ask?

Crash Magnet

I know little about either place but cast my vote for Block Island as host to the most rude and self-absorbed owners AND renters. Give me the Jersey shore anytime.

i completely agree with your take on this.

she is right to have a sense of entitlement for her property, SHE OWNS IT. if i ever were to rent a property i would treat it with utmost care if ONLY so i could come back the next year. i currently rent myself and my main priority on the property is keeping it in great condition, both for myself and out of respect for my landlord. if anything i seek to IMPROVE the property.

while having to do the gardening seems to be a bit much i would suspect that if she were that keen on her garden she would speak with the renters about taking care of it. if they agreed to water and take care of it and instead did nothing then i would be understandably upset. but then again, even with the best of intentions i seem to kill all plants i touch (ask my boyfriend who is having me take care of his bonsai plant...eep!) so maybe they tried and it was a bad year for the plants?

Apparently you've never been a landlord of any kind before... Although the author was venting frustration, it was still done in a tasteful and comical manner. I suggest you gain a little more knowledge and experience from BOTH sides of the situation before you start getting defensive for the "poor tenants". Maybe if you walked a mile in a landlord's shoes, you'd have a better understanding. Or maybe you're just a complete block head who lacks the capacity all together...?

As a resident of a small "quaint" community where the summer people seem to think the locals are always on the clock, as if the entire town were a cute sort of resort theme park, I can only say "I feel your pain". So many of the summer visitors we see appear to be suffering from dysfunctional entitlement syndrome -- as in, believing that everyone is there to serve their every need, no courtesy required and bad behavior is their birthright, what with all the money they can throw around. I've actually had one tell me that she can treat us however she likes because it is her money that allows us to live like we do. I invited her to see what her money purchased, welcoming her to view the tiny little two bedroom I rent for myself and my two teenage sons, both of whom work and take similar abuse from her tribe during the summer months. We smile, we nod and then we mock them mercilessly behind their backs. Call it childish, I call it cathartic. And whatever makes people think that wanton destruction is included in any experience is beyond me.