Marcus Webb manages a mid-size rental complex near the Hickory Hollow area. He’s been doing it for eleven years. He’s seen tenants leave behind all kinds of things — but when Sharon, a long-term resident of four years, finally moved out last fall, even Marcus was caught off guard.

He called us on a Tuesday around 2 PM.

“She left everything,” he said. “I mean everything. Couch, mattress on the floor, a chest freezer still running in the kitchen. I’ve got someone moving in Friday morning and I can’t show this unit looking like this.”

We told him we could be there the next morning by 8.

“What’s it gonna run me?” he asked.

We explained how we price — by how much space the load takes in the truck, not by the hour. We’d come, take a look, and give him a number before touching anything. If it didn’t work for him, he owed us nothing.

He said, “Alright. I’ll be there.”

When we walked in Wednesday morning, the unit was a full two-bedroom. The living room had a heavy sectional, a coffee table, two floor lamps, and three garbage bags of clothes the previous tenant left behind. The bedroom had a queen mattress and box spring sitting directly on the floor, a dresser with two broken drawers, and a pair of nightstands. In the kitchen, the chest freezer was still plugged in and humming — half full of food. There were stacks of cookware on the counter, a microwave, and a box of random kitchen items. The storage closet had cleaning supplies, a vacuum, and a space heater with a cracked casing.

Marcus walked through it with us. We gave him the number on the spot: $285.

He looked around the unit one more time. “That’s it?”

That’s it.

We were done by 10:30 AM. Marcus texted us later that afternoon — the unit had already been shown to a prospective tenant.

Two months later he called again. Different unit, same situation. That’s how it usually goes in Antioch.

Note: Marcus gave us permission to share this. Last name used with approval.