A Michigan Airbnb host was sent an outrageous demand after one of their properties was savagely trashed by a renter, leaving behind thousands of dollars in damages.
Property manager Vince Villegas, 41, was enraged after unruly renters destroyed the one-bedroom Saugatuck rental home, leaving nearly $3,000 in damages, before sending the owner a hefty $1,000 bill for their ‘re-decorating’ services.
The destructive renters took their own creative liberties inside the 700 square-foot home, smearing red paint on the walls, light switches and bathroom mirrors in what appeared ritualistic behavior.
Also part of their ‘re-decorating’ scheme, several carpets were found rolled up inside, a newly painted bathroom cabinet was scratched, a rock was strangely left inside the shower and another odd, sticky substance was found brushed on a bedroom door.
If that wasn’t enough, outside, furniture was found tossed onto the property’s snow-covered front lawn and many other pieces of furniture were curiously moved into the home’s garage.
It wasn’t until Villegas arrived at the rental property he manages for a friend, at around 10 am on the slotted checkout date, that he became aware of the extensive damages to the home.
‘We saw all the furniture outside… vases, cups of water, a dog bed at the door, you name it. It was absolutely insane,’ he told the New York Post.
Taking in the strange situation, Villegas quickly phoned local police to help remove the disturbed renter from the premises, yet he was no where to be found.
A Michigan Airbnb host was sent an outrageous demand after one of their properties was savagely trashed by a renter, leaving behind thousands of dollars in damages
Also part of their ‘re-decorating’ scheme, several carpets were found rolled up inside, a newly painted bathroom cabinet was scratched and a rock was strangely left inside the shower
Seemingly ritualistic drawings were painted on several of the home’s fixtures
‘We ultimately called the sheriff’s department, and the sheriff came, and they were going to help us remove him from the property.’
It wasn’t until 3:30 pm, nearly five hours after the allotted checkout time, that he finally returned.
Villegas said the renter ‘was a little combative with the sheriff at first’ but ultimately decided to move past the issue and onto packing his things.
Villegas claimed the man then asked for two additional hours to vacate the property, but Villegas only granted him a half hour to gather his things and get out.
The disturbed renter allegedly carried all his clothing out in trash bags before he boarded a local bus.
The man was also said to have carried out a large piece of cardboard, claiming it was artwork he had made.
Curious as to why the man left the property in such state, Villegas questioned the riotous renter.
‘I asked him, why did you move the furniture?’ Villegas recalled.
‘He said that he wanted to redecorate the space to make it more homely for him and that he was a well-known decorator designer from Chicago and that he wanted to make it a special space for him and for others.’
It wasn’t until property manager Vince Villegas arrived at the rental property he manages for a friend, at around 10 am on the slotted checkout date, that he became aware of the extensive damages to the home
Property manager, Vince Villegas, 41, who manages the home for a friend, captured the extensive and costly damages in a now-viral video posted to TikTok, that has since garnered over two million views
Villegas captured the extensive and costly damages in a now-viral video posted to TikTok, that has since garnered over two million views.
Villegas captioned the near five-minute clip of the house turned upside down, ‘When they moved out, they sent us a $1,000 invoice for their redecorating services.’
‘It cost us $3,000 to put back what they moved and replace what they destroyed,’ he added.
Villegas has since fixed and cleaned the property for new renters, though it took about a week to get the home back into a suitable condition.
‘The property has now been cleaned,’ Villegas said, adding that police found the then-unknown red substance coating the walls to be lip gloss.
