I thought renting my basement to someone I knew would be easy, but it turned into chaos. A year ago, I bought my late grandma’s house, which included a finished basement apartment. When my best friend’s brother, Tyler, needed a place to stay, I offered it to him for $650 with utilities included—a steal for our city. At first, everything was fine, but things went downhill fast.

One night, Tyler stormed upstairs, furious after realizing I owned the house. He accused me of “profiting off him” and felt betrayed, even though his lease clearly listed me as the landlord. Despite paying well below market rent, he began avoiding me and stomping around the house. When I inspected the basement, I found it trashed and half-packed. I left him a note about cleaning it up, which only made him angrier.

Tyler eventually declared he was moving out, demanding extra time and refusing to pay rent. The situation escalated into shouting matches and slammed doors. I called my friend Jake for support, feeling unsafe in my own home. Tyler even told people I had “scammed” him, threatening to expose me online.

Finally, Tyler appeared one evening with his belongings and his dying plant. He left bitterly, claiming “karma” would catch up to me. As the door shut behind him, I realized the only scam was me offering him such a generous deal. For the first time in weeks, the house was quiet again.