When I envisioned using my EF, I thought that a major catastrophe would have occurred: a fire wiping out all of my belongings, a death that I needed to rush back home for. Not this!
I put up my roommate ad over two weeks ago and I have gotten...zero hits. ZERO. How is that even possible?!
My email address is working, because I had a friend test it out for me. Just, no one is interested in viewing my apartment!! Over 400 people have viewed my ad, and 11 have put it on their 'watchlist' on Trademe. Over 300 people have clicked on my ad on Gumtree. But none have actually texted, called, or emailed me to look at my apartment.
I don't get it. I used the same ad as before, and have always gotten a decent number of hits, and at least one or two very cool people to choose between.
My roommate moved out today, and there is no one to take her place. No one to even show the apartment to! I am hoping this is just a pre-Christmas holidays lull going on, and that things will pick up in the New Year. But I have 4 rent payments to make before then...double my usual amount. I'm going to end up spending $2800 in rent this month. That almost equals my take-home salary!
OUCH.
Showing posts with label apartment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label apartment. Show all posts
Friday, December 16, 2011
Monday, December 05, 2011
An Experiment in Living Alone
Ah, roommates. At 33, they are getting a bit...old, kind of like me. I have never lived alone, and have never intended to. I enjoy having someone around once in a while, having extra room for less money, have someone to split the bills with, and I reckon having another person around keeps me from watching infomercials while eating ice cream at 3 am (I think...Lord knows what craziness my schedule would turn into if there weren't the roommate normalizing effect in my apartment).
Anyway, my current roommate moves out in a few weeks--her rent is all paid up until that time. Two days after she moves out, my mom and sister come to town for 3.5 weeks. I just returned from a week long work trip, and have major plans and heaps of work to do before they visit.
So. Here's what I'm thinking: I pay double rent for the time they are around, and we have my apartment to ourselves. It solves several problems:
Anyway, my current roommate moves out in a few weeks--her rent is all paid up until that time. Two days after she moves out, my mom and sister come to town for 3.5 weeks. I just returned from a week long work trip, and have major plans and heaps of work to do before they visit.
So. Here's what I'm thinking: I pay double rent for the time they are around, and we have my apartment to ourselves. It solves several problems:
- Having to immediately find time in my schedule for the grueling roommate interview process in the next week.
- The awkward, 'I'm going to bring in my crazy immediate family to live with us the day that a stranger moves into my apartment' situation. Um. No thank you, on either side.
- My mom and sister do not have to sleep on air mattresses in the living room, common area space. Instead, the two of them have their own queen bed and room, OR one has the spare bedroom and one sleeps in the living room on an air mattress (prob. my sister).
It also creates problems:
- Our trip just became $1300 more expensive for me (paying double rent for a 3-rent check month or more).
- We only need my apartment for 9 days/nights while they are here for 3.5 weeks--we are traveling the rest of the time.
- I will have to hope and pray that someone can move in RIGHT after they leave in early January, a time when most people are traveling themselves.
- My landlord may see this as an opportune time to try to sell my apartment. Try finding a new roommate in THAT situation.
- Bills would go up: I would have to bear the full cost of electricity and internet for a month or more.
So, what would YOU do?? I won't go into debt over this, but it is not ideal to spend SO much money on keeping my apartment empty.
Saturday, January 08, 2011
Mattress Mystery
Agh. I feel like I am in Crazytown, an alternate universe, somewhere where common sense does not exist.
The roommate has been out for almost a month now, and it still isn't over. There is a missing mattress, which was in her room when she moved in. While I was traveling in August-September, she bought a new bed, moved it in her room, and did God knows what with the original mattress, which is now missing. She told my landlord that she would replace it with her boyfriend's extra mattress, and landlord said, cool, wrap it in plastic and store it in the garage or somewhere safe, that is fine (new roommate has bought a bed and is using it).
So how is any of this my problem? Well, she apparently has no way to get the mattress over to our garage, and now is asking me to go half-sies on renting a trailer to move the stupid mattress.
Um...excuse me? How in any universe, parallel or not, is this my financial or otherwise responsibility?? Yeah, it's not. She keeps asking if I know what happened to it, but of course, I don't--when I got back from my trip, I just assumed she had bought a bed frame for the existing mattress, not a whole bed. She keeps blaming it on our evicted neighbors for stealing the mattress, but they moved out last April and nothing has ever been stolen from our garage, so that doesn't hold water. Some of the people I've told about this think she sold the mattress or gave it to her friend and is lying about it. I have no idea; at this point anything is possible!
She also refuses to 'run around the city' getting plastic to wrap the mattress in.
Whatever. The landlord is holding her bond until she does all of this. Ex-roommate keeps asking me to lie and tell landlord that the replacement mattress is there, but I refuse. I am not going to tell landlord to release the bond until every little thing of hers is out of the house (her broken huge-ass TV and lamp are still around) and that mattress is safely stored in plastic in our garage. And you'd better believe I'm not going to pay to move that dumb mattress. I didn't lose it and it is not in any way my fault or responsibility it is missing, but it will be if I lie to my landlord and ex roommate doesn't do what she needs to do. I will be the one left in the lurch, paying to buy a whole new mattress when she cuts and runs after getting her bond back. At this point, her bond is the only thing still tying her to her responsibilities here, and I am not going to give it up that easily.
It just seems like there is a 'right' way to deal with this kind of stuff: own up to your responsibilities and make amends where necessary, and a 'crazy' way: blame everyone else but yourself and refuse to cooperate, and she takes the crazy way every time.
I will lose a huge group of fun acquaintances over this nonsense, but I don't care. I can't deal with this ridiculousness any longer.
The roommate has been out for almost a month now, and it still isn't over. There is a missing mattress, which was in her room when she moved in. While I was traveling in August-September, she bought a new bed, moved it in her room, and did God knows what with the original mattress, which is now missing. She told my landlord that she would replace it with her boyfriend's extra mattress, and landlord said, cool, wrap it in plastic and store it in the garage or somewhere safe, that is fine (new roommate has bought a bed and is using it).
So how is any of this my problem? Well, she apparently has no way to get the mattress over to our garage, and now is asking me to go half-sies on renting a trailer to move the stupid mattress.
Um...excuse me? How in any universe, parallel or not, is this my financial or otherwise responsibility?? Yeah, it's not. She keeps asking if I know what happened to it, but of course, I don't--when I got back from my trip, I just assumed she had bought a bed frame for the existing mattress, not a whole bed. She keeps blaming it on our evicted neighbors for stealing the mattress, but they moved out last April and nothing has ever been stolen from our garage, so that doesn't hold water. Some of the people I've told about this think she sold the mattress or gave it to her friend and is lying about it. I have no idea; at this point anything is possible!
She also refuses to 'run around the city' getting plastic to wrap the mattress in.
Whatever. The landlord is holding her bond until she does all of this. Ex-roommate keeps asking me to lie and tell landlord that the replacement mattress is there, but I refuse. I am not going to tell landlord to release the bond until every little thing of hers is out of the house (her broken huge-ass TV and lamp are still around) and that mattress is safely stored in plastic in our garage. And you'd better believe I'm not going to pay to move that dumb mattress. I didn't lose it and it is not in any way my fault or responsibility it is missing, but it will be if I lie to my landlord and ex roommate doesn't do what she needs to do. I will be the one left in the lurch, paying to buy a whole new mattress when she cuts and runs after getting her bond back. At this point, her bond is the only thing still tying her to her responsibilities here, and I am not going to give it up that easily.
It just seems like there is a 'right' way to deal with this kind of stuff: own up to your responsibilities and make amends where necessary, and a 'crazy' way: blame everyone else but yourself and refuse to cooperate, and she takes the crazy way every time.
I will lose a huge group of fun acquaintances over this nonsense, but I don't care. I can't deal with this ridiculousness any longer.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Leasing
I'm a weird one--once I get it in my head that I'm going to do something, not much can sway me from doing it. So under the pressure of my roommate and her boyfriend, I made myself the deadline of deciding on a new roommate by tonight. That's a mere 5 days after roommate told me she's moving out, and after only 3 evenings of interviewing people. That's insane. But I did it. In the end, it wasn't because she wanted me to (although it was initially), it was because I set that goal for myself.
So, which did I choose? The couple which saves me bank or the guy? I liked the people involved about the same amount, so more money vs more space became the deciding factors. Because I've been saving up (in fact I'm about out of ideas for new savings goals!), I'm OK with money. I could use (a LOT) more in retirement, but I don't feel like have to sacrifice anything for the sake of having a little more disposable income. I have everything that I really want, and I can afford everything that I want. I just choose not to buy it quite yet--til I feel I've earned it or really need it, I suppose. So it feels like a treat, rather than something that I deserve.
So, the obvious choice was more space. I let the nice fellow know that I'd love to have him come live with me, and after a little bit of a miscommunication (he's foreign), he accepted. Landlord comes on Saturday to do the inventory (docking the roommate for the garage door opener and the mattress because I let her know what was happening), and then he signs the lease. And I am rid of the toxic energy that has plagued me for the past week.
Huz to the zah.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Learning
Yeah, this experience has taught me some things about myself, for sure:
1) I'm a pushover and easily bullied.
2) I react to bullying and guilt with manipulative and passive-aggressive tendencies. It has taken me this long to a) realize that is what I'm doing and b) quell my reactions to a more dilute level.
3) I hate hate hate confrontation. Instead I now refer to it as trying to figure out how to explain my feelings in a calm way when it becomes necessary. It takes the bite out of it and I know I can do that.
4) It can be fun to meet perfect strangers. It is not OK to tell a random stranger on the street in depth about yourself in real life, but in certain situations (like future roommate situations) it is acceptable and encouraged. I need to do this more often (meet people, not find roommates...ugh). And maybe internet dating isn't so bad? I've been doing internet roommate-ing for years.
5) I feel bullied or admonished very easily. Because I hate confrontation, I'm super sensitive to any situation where I feel like I may have to defend myself.
6) You never can tell what people are really like. Great one minute, psycho the next.
7) It takes me a while to realize that I'm being bullied, and when I do realize, I get ANGRY. It takes me another while to figure out how and what to tell the people that I'm angry at my feelings.
8) I've grown up. Her BF was ranting at me yesterday and normally that's when I lose it and snap due to the emotional pressure, ruining any chance of working things out rationally--I literally go from meek weakling to tiger in an instant (never violent though--just say things in a way that I wish I hadn't). Instead, I took it in, thought it over for a day, and decided that if they say anything else to me that I perceive as bullying--absolutely anything--we'll have to meet in person to talk this over. I didn't do any texting of the feelings or writing notes, which are total cop-outs. Instead, I fully intend to sit them down and calmly and rationally explain myself. If it escalates out of that, I feel good in standing my position to not back down and to demand 2 weeks to find a good person. If I find someone before then, cool. If not, too bad.
9) It can be exhausting to meet perfect strangers. It's amazing how I can tell, within a few minutes of meeting someone (really the first few seconds), if it could work or not. Even if you don't think it will work, you still have to go through the motions of showing people the place, etc., in order to not seem like a psycho.
10) You can tell what kind of people they are by their emails and texts. I haven't been wrong yet. Voicemails, however, are trickier and often very misleading.
11) I'm too emotional to tell right now, but I've let go of being friends with my current roommate. Whatever happens will happen. I might be too annoyed/appalled by her behavior during this debacle to be friends with her after this, anyway.
I say this all calmly and from a good place, because I have two good choices for the room. Neither are exactly what I wanted, but will do. One is a couple, around 35-40 years old, who are REALLY nice and who would make my rent super-low but possibly make the house feel crowded. They are extremely cool but I worry about only having the one bathroom. And they work all the time and I really wanted someone that would hang out once in a while. The other is a guy that I found easy to talk to and seems really reliable. He's very focused on his career and seems stable. I don't want to live with a guy, but if I have to, he'd be a good choice--no creepy vibes at all (might be gay...that'd be even better!!!). Even if I didn't choose him, I'd definitely invite him to some group activities and hang out with him again. If I lived with a guy, I'd just have to hide my underwear while drying it...and get a good full coverage robe. :) And not talk about reality tv or the microdermabrasion that I'm getting soon. Any other tips to living with a non-significant other of the opposite sex?
1) I'm a pushover and easily bullied.
2) I react to bullying and guilt with manipulative and passive-aggressive tendencies. It has taken me this long to a) realize that is what I'm doing and b) quell my reactions to a more dilute level.
3) I hate hate hate confrontation. Instead I now refer to it as trying to figure out how to explain my feelings in a calm way when it becomes necessary. It takes the bite out of it and I know I can do that.
4) It can be fun to meet perfect strangers. It is not OK to tell a random stranger on the street in depth about yourself in real life, but in certain situations (like future roommate situations) it is acceptable and encouraged. I need to do this more often (meet people, not find roommates...ugh). And maybe internet dating isn't so bad? I've been doing internet roommate-ing for years.
5) I feel bullied or admonished very easily. Because I hate confrontation, I'm super sensitive to any situation where I feel like I may have to defend myself.
6) You never can tell what people are really like. Great one minute, psycho the next.
7) It takes me a while to realize that I'm being bullied, and when I do realize, I get ANGRY. It takes me another while to figure out how and what to tell the people that I'm angry at my feelings.
8) I've grown up. Her BF was ranting at me yesterday and normally that's when I lose it and snap due to the emotional pressure, ruining any chance of working things out rationally--I literally go from meek weakling to tiger in an instant (never violent though--just say things in a way that I wish I hadn't). Instead, I took it in, thought it over for a day, and decided that if they say anything else to me that I perceive as bullying--absolutely anything--we'll have to meet in person to talk this over. I didn't do any texting of the feelings or writing notes, which are total cop-outs. Instead, I fully intend to sit them down and calmly and rationally explain myself. If it escalates out of that, I feel good in standing my position to not back down and to demand 2 weeks to find a good person. If I find someone before then, cool. If not, too bad.
9) It can be exhausting to meet perfect strangers. It's amazing how I can tell, within a few minutes of meeting someone (really the first few seconds), if it could work or not. Even if you don't think it will work, you still have to go through the motions of showing people the place, etc., in order to not seem like a psycho.
10) You can tell what kind of people they are by their emails and texts. I haven't been wrong yet. Voicemails, however, are trickier and often very misleading.
11) I'm too emotional to tell right now, but I've let go of being friends with my current roommate. Whatever happens will happen. I might be too annoyed/appalled by her behavior during this debacle to be friends with her after this, anyway.
I say this all calmly and from a good place, because I have two good choices for the room. Neither are exactly what I wanted, but will do. One is a couple, around 35-40 years old, who are REALLY nice and who would make my rent super-low but possibly make the house feel crowded. They are extremely cool but I worry about only having the one bathroom. And they work all the time and I really wanted someone that would hang out once in a while. The other is a guy that I found easy to talk to and seems really reliable. He's very focused on his career and seems stable. I don't want to live with a guy, but if I have to, he'd be a good choice--no creepy vibes at all (might be gay...that'd be even better!!!). Even if I didn't choose him, I'd definitely invite him to some group activities and hang out with him again. If I lived with a guy, I'd just have to hide my underwear while drying it...and get a good full coverage robe. :) And not talk about reality tv or the microdermabrasion that I'm getting soon. Any other tips to living with a non-significant other of the opposite sex?
Can't Deal
Yeah, OK, I'm not getting any work done this week, it's very clear. Or sleep much. I can't concentrate on anything except worrying about who is texting me about the apartment, when they are coming over, if my roommate left the garage door opener for me, and what if I don't find a good tenant. I had 10 people lined up and over half have already flaked. No more texts or emails came in today--bad sign. Only two people have kept their appointments--the Oz guy and a couple. I really just want to live with a fun, nice girl about my age. That might not happen.
Things have gone missing from the apartment, and I have a feeling that I'm going to be held responsible for them in the long run. 1) roommate let her friend borrow the garage door opener, and it's missing. That's $80 right there. 2) roommate moved the mattress that was in her room and bought a new bed, and that original mattress is gone. I don't think she thinks she should be held responsible for either...which is worrying. If the mattress was in the garage and someone stole it, but it was yours and in your room originally, aren't you still responsible? And generally, aren't people responsible for things they lend to their friends?
I also am a little worried that she's forgotten about the money I've given her for stuff. $20 for artwork that never appeared, $20 for a TV that never worked, $20 for a lamp (she's taking it with her), $50 for the dryer (it's staying). She mentioned that I owed her $30 for the dryer ($50 minus $20 for the lamp she's taking) but after thinking about it, I gave her more than that by knocking some money off of the utilities bills (for the things listed above), so we should be even. Also she should get a replacement for the fire extinguisher--she caused a fire and never replaced it, despite me mentioning it a few times. That's $40. It's adding up!
Just so many headaches. and tough conversations. that I don't want to have. esp. since her bf is already pressuring me about their money situation. on the same token, NONE of this was my idea, I didn't make her decide to leave, I am only trying to do what is fair for myself. I didn't make them not save any money for this kind of situation. It's really not my concern. I realize she didn't lose the remote, it was her friend, and it's not her fault that the mattress was stolen, but...still her responsibility, right? And I don't want to pay for someone else's responsibilities.
Maybe I could mention these things to my landlord, who will take the $$ for these things out of her bond? It is just so tricky. I really like her and her friends and would love to stay friends with them all, but if I am too hard-ass I may lose them. I don't have that many friends to begin with here, so maybe I should just eat it all, small price to pay for companionship while in a foreign land...
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Fair or Not Fair?
I am very stressed out.
It doesn't have to be like this.
Here's the question: who is responsible for getting someone in a vacant room in a house: a) the roommate that is staying or b) the roommate that is leaving?
In our lease, it says that the landlord needs 21 days' written notice for vacating the tenancy. Great, right?
But if the leaving roommate found someone else to take the room immediately after giving notice, what happens then? Who gets to decide who moves in?
It's a big gray area.
Here are the facts:
1) it's been 3 days since my roommate gave me notice. She initially said that she was giving me around a month's notice, she hadn't even told my landlord yet, she wanted to prepare me. Awesome sauce, sounds great. In the meantime, she puts up an ad and gets the good feeling about the Australiangirl guy. She hopes I will decide to let him move in the next day (Tuesday) so she doesn't have to pay any more rent than she has to--her lease started on a Tuesday, so she's hoping to stop paying on a Tuesday.
2) Yesterday at work, she finds out that she might be made redundant in a month's time. Awful!
3) We meet the Australian dude, I tell him I'll make a decision by Friday (4 days away) and let him know.
4) Today, roommate texts me that her friend can move in. I know him (it's a he for sure) and he can move in tomorrow. I've talked to him a few times at parties and he's a nice dude, but no one I'd normally spend a lot of time with. His ex-wife is crazy, he starts and scraps businesses very quickly, and he may be in some sort of major debt or trouble with the IRD, based on the mail we've gotten at the house (he stayed here when he was made redundant not too long ago, still gets all his (scrapped) business mail here). He also changes apartments on a whim very often. I don't want to go through this again in 3 months' time. I say no, I don't want to live with him when there may be better choices out there.
5) She texts back that the longer I wait, the more rent she has to pay. She has already moved in with the BF, so she is now paying double rent. I tell her that we'll talk about it in person.
6) She and the BF come over and the BF goes on a rant about how I blew it and I 'lost' the guy last night because I didn't make a snap decision to let the first person I saw rent the room. All I can say to him, over and over, is that I need to see people this week, and I'll make a decision on Friday or Saturday. It's an important one--I can't just let anyone move in because my current roommate has to pay double. I have to like the person that I live with. Current roommate says she thought it was up to her to find a replacement. He doesn't understand and tells me that the way I do things I'll lose every person to come through, and tries to convince me to let roommate's friend move in right away. I refuse. I actually think I'm being really fast by deciding after a week. I tell my roommate that she paid 3 weeks' bond so she has a cushion there.
7) I have to live with the person, shouldn't I get to choose? And shouldn't I get a reasonable amount of time to not only decide, but to interview people? I tried to assure my roommate that I wouldn't let this drag on for weeks, and that I'd have to pay her share of the rent if it exceeded 3 weeks' and I still didn't have a good candidate. I just don't know what my rights here are, I guess. I'm not trying to screw my roommate over but I need to LIKE my new housemate--my apartment is not that big!
What do you think? Is there protocol here?
It doesn't have to be like this.
Here's the question: who is responsible for getting someone in a vacant room in a house: a) the roommate that is staying or b) the roommate that is leaving?
In our lease, it says that the landlord needs 21 days' written notice for vacating the tenancy. Great, right?
But if the leaving roommate found someone else to take the room immediately after giving notice, what happens then? Who gets to decide who moves in?
It's a big gray area.
Here are the facts:
1) it's been 3 days since my roommate gave me notice. She initially said that she was giving me around a month's notice, she hadn't even told my landlord yet, she wanted to prepare me. Awesome sauce, sounds great. In the meantime, she puts up an ad and gets the good feeling about the Australian
2) Yesterday at work, she finds out that she might be made redundant in a month's time. Awful!
3) We meet the Australian dude, I tell him I'll make a decision by Friday (4 days away) and let him know.
4) Today, roommate texts me that her friend can move in. I know him (it's a he for sure) and he can move in tomorrow. I've talked to him a few times at parties and he's a nice dude, but no one I'd normally spend a lot of time with. His ex-wife is crazy, he starts and scraps businesses very quickly, and he may be in some sort of major debt or trouble with the IRD, based on the mail we've gotten at the house (he stayed here when he was made redundant not too long ago, still gets all his (scrapped) business mail here). He also changes apartments on a whim very often. I don't want to go through this again in 3 months' time. I say no, I don't want to live with him when there may be better choices out there.
5) She texts back that the longer I wait, the more rent she has to pay. She has already moved in with the BF, so she is now paying double rent. I tell her that we'll talk about it in person.
6) She and the BF come over and the BF goes on a rant about how I blew it and I 'lost' the guy last night because I didn't make a snap decision to let the first person I saw rent the room. All I can say to him, over and over, is that I need to see people this week, and I'll make a decision on Friday or Saturday. It's an important one--I can't just let anyone move in because my current roommate has to pay double. I have to like the person that I live with. Current roommate says she thought it was up to her to find a replacement. He doesn't understand and tells me that the way I do things I'll lose every person to come through, and tries to convince me to let roommate's friend move in right away. I refuse. I actually think I'm being really fast by deciding after a week. I tell my roommate that she paid 3 weeks' bond so she has a cushion there.
7) I have to live with the person, shouldn't I get to choose? And shouldn't I get a reasonable amount of time to not only decide, but to interview people? I tried to assure my roommate that I wouldn't let this drag on for weeks, and that I'd have to pay her share of the rent if it exceeded 3 weeks' and I still didn't have a good candidate. I just don't know what my rights here are, I guess. I'm not trying to screw my roommate over but I need to LIKE my new housemate--my apartment is not that big!
What do you think? Is there protocol here?
Adventures in Roommate Hunting--Prologue
The wily wonderful roommate is an elusive beast, wandering through the wilderness and concrete jungle. Only careful words will draw them near, and even then, the slightest flaw in circumstances can scare them away, never to be seen again.
Today Chapter One in the Roommate Hunting saga took place. Actually, there is a prologue to the story:
I put up my ad on Saturday. On Sunday, a guy texted me under the guise of looking for a roommate in response to the ad I have up. I'd prefer not to live with a dude, but if the personalities fit, I could be down with it, so I'm also accepting interviews with a few guys. We set a time, and then he came back with, 'how negotiable is the garage rent?' I said, Very, for the right candidate, and we could work something out, like he does more cleaning or always takes out the garbage or something. He came back with an offer to massage me weekly, phrased very creepily (how is that ever NOT phrased creepily from a stranger, via text?!). I told him I don't go for massages really and he just kept texting back that I didn't have to go anywhere--we'd do it in the privacy of our apartment. Then I just said forget it, I've got plenty of other people who are willing to pay full price (not a lie). He texted back lots of winks and told me to 'think about it.' I'm still getting texts...
Oy.
Today Chapter One in the Roommate Hunting saga took place. Actually, there is a prologue to the story:
I put up my ad on Saturday. On Sunday, a guy texted me under the guise of looking for a roommate in response to the ad I have up. I'd prefer not to live with a dude, but if the personalities fit, I could be down with it, so I'm also accepting interviews with a few guys. We set a time, and then he came back with, 'how negotiable is the garage rent?' I said, Very, for the right candidate, and we could work something out, like he does more cleaning or always takes out the garbage or something. He came back with an offer to massage me weekly, phrased very creepily (how is that ever NOT phrased creepily from a stranger, via text?!). I told him I don't go for massages really and he just kept texting back that I didn't have to go anywhere--we'd do it in the privacy of our apartment. Then I just said forget it, I've got plenty of other people who are willing to pay full price (not a lie). He texted back lots of winks and told me to 'think about it.' I'm still getting texts...
Oy.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Time To Live Alone?
I don't know what is going on with me lately, but for the past few months, I've been really annoyed at my roommate. Even before the garage debacle, things were building up. Now? I just find myself avoiding her and going into my room straight after getting home. I work out, make dinner, eat it at my desk in my room while working or watching TV online, shower, and then retreat back to my room. Over and over. I just can't handle socialization sometimes...a lot of times, lately.
Things just build up, and like a bad marriage, I just get so angry at the tiniest little things. I have certain 'rules' about the way that I live and maintain my household, and while I don't expect everyone to adhere to them 24-7, 100% of the time, I do expect a base level of decency.
I feel like I told her my trigger issues when she moved in, but she still does them! Even with reminders! Can I just vent and list the things here and you can tell me if I'm being crazy?
Things just build up, and like a bad marriage, I just get so angry at the tiniest little things. I have certain 'rules' about the way that I live and maintain my household, and while I don't expect everyone to adhere to them 24-7, 100% of the time, I do expect a base level of decency.
I feel like I told her my trigger issues when she moved in, but she still does them! Even with reminders! Can I just vent and list the things here and you can tell me if I'm being crazy?
- leaves dishes out for DAYS at a time. Days. I will wash a roommate's dishes once in a while to be nice, but not every day. My rule for myself is I wash them within 24 hours of dirtying, unless I have an extremely busy and/or forgetful day. Even with that rule, my dishes are usually washed within 2-3 hours of the meal. Exceptions are when I have a late night snack--I do those dishes the next morning. When I left my breakfast dishes in the sink the other day because I needed to get to work, I sent her a text to apologize for the mess and said I'd clean them when I got home. Courtesy.
- Likewise, doesn't wipe the counters after preparing a meal. No one is that clean.
- does not clear out the dryer lint. EVER. OMG, this is my #1 pet peeve!!! (How weird is that?) I came home from my 2 month trip, and the lint trap was choking. She clearly hadn't cleaned it in 2 months!!! When we got the dryer, I told her how important it was for fire hazard & energy efficiency reasons (and for my sanity) for her to clear it out every time. A few weeks ago, I showed her AGAIN how to do it and told her that it could catch fire. Did she start cleaning it? N.O.
- she is scared of the garbage disposal, yet uses it and in fact throws things down it that she knows cannot go down it. Again, this was made clear when she moved in: no citrus peels, it'll break it. Today I found a teaspoon in it. Now, I am totally frightened of the thing, having seen too many gory scary movies, but I don't let that stop me from fixing it. She also doesn't turn it on. EVER. It just fills up and stinks up the place all day. Grrr.
- I recently discovered that she turns on the shower and lets it run for 15 minutes before even getting in. WHY????? All it does is confuse me, because I think she's in the bathroom and that the bathroom is therefore unavailable, when in fact, it IS available. Not to mention the wasted hot water/electricity. The shower curtain gets mildewy because she crumples it up in one corner after showering, and she drops water all over the floor, so I can't wear socks in there. I get so grossed out by wet socks...(I know the last two sentences are totally nitpicky.)
- Likewise, when I get home, EVERY light in the entire apartment is on, regardless of the room she is sitting in. Kitchen, bathroom, entry way, balcony, living room, her room, doesn't matter--they are all on, sucking up energy and wasting our electricity. Particularly disturbing is that the living room lights are on the ceiling, which is 20 feet high and therefore completely inaccessible to either of us shorties. Once those lights go out, we aren't getting them replaced for months, until my landlord's fixit guy can come over, and one of us is home.
- lack of guest warning etiquette. Particularly when guys are over, I need to get a warning so I can not walk into the kitchen in my white tank and short pajama shorts with no bra on, like I did last week when two of her guy friends came in the apartment at 11:30 pm on a Wednesday. AWKWARD. And her boyfriend is always coming over at random times nowadays. I don't mind him now, but when they first started dating, there was zero warning that there was a guy in the apartment that I didn't know. ZERO. My roommate was in the shower one morning (I saw her enter the bathroom while going to the kitchen), and while preparing my breakfast, I hear a noise that is decidedly NOT coming from the bathroom and then a guy walks into my living room. Had never met him before, ever. And he's in my house at 6:30 am. NOT COOL.
- never takes out the garbage bins to the curb. never ever. when she does take out the trash, she puts it in other people's bins.
- I guess I shouldn't complain about this in the face of the other issues, but she has weird cleaning habits. Like, I have a face towel I use every. single. day. I get it wet every morning, and hang it on the hook to dry. Every day, it is back in the cabinet, and I have to take it out. Every. day. Why on earth is she wasting time folding it and putting it away when I obviously use it daily?!
- I swear she uses a third of the toilet paper roll every time she uses it. The roll is changed every other day. It ain't me using it all up! I use like two squares to pee! I don't want to be a total TP Nazi about it, but sheesh, I refuse to buy nice TP if it is wasted like that.
- She wads up TP & overflows the bathroom trash (a ha! the mystery is solved), why not put it in the toilet instead of on the floor?! And why not put a plastic bag in the bathroom trash to control the germs?
Oh man, there are so many more of these. I think that, as much as I love my apartment and sharing rent and utilities expenses, I need to seriously consider living on my own when she moves out. Given the situation with her boyfriend, I think it is only a matter of time before they move in together--I give it 6 months before this happens! Especially if she has similar complaints about me or my nagging to correct the above.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Waiting for the Other Shoe
A few months back, I wrote about The Flood in our apartment. It was biblical in proportion, it was wet, and it was definitely worthy of those two capital letters. I also said that I notified our landlord about said Flood via phone call very soon after I came home and was greeted by water pouring down the stairs up to our apartment. I'd say that I notified her within 10 minutes of that greeting, actually. Upon some probing questions regarding the dimensions of The Flood, she told us good luck, and said that all we could do was sop up the mess as much as possible, borrow a dehumidifier, and try to squeegee the wet into the tiled floor in the kitchen and bathroom (they both have drains in the floor...I presume for these very occasions). Then when I told her that I was pretty sure that it had penetrated to the apartment below us and that she may be getting a phone call from them about this, I could hear her shrug and say that she wasn't going to tell them anything, and that they could deal with it on their own (she doesn't like them). Meanwhile, we did everything she suggested and more: squeegeed the floor, borrowed a few dehumidifiers, sopped up the wet, rented a wet-vac, and sprinkled baking soda and vinegar on the carpet when it began to smell. (The carpet is now perfectly clean (cleaner than it was before The Flood, thanks to the wet-vac!), and doesn't smell at all.)
Fast forward a month and a half later. The apartment below us is being prepped for renting. A lady in charge of the corporation that deals with the communal portions of our apartment building, and renting out the apartment below us, knocks on our door and asks if we have had any sort of water damage. Roommate, annoyed that she is bothering us (landlord has given them STRICT instructions to ONLY deal with her, and to NEVER bother us), shoo's her out.
A few weeks after that, my landlord contacts me and tells me that the lady has reported three ceiling panels and a light fixture that needs to be replaced due to water damage. Our landlord says that this damage coincides with the date of the flood and that she has admitted liability and is waiting for their repair estimate.
OK. Now I'm not sure what to do. On the one hand, our landlord hasn't said that we are totally responsible for the cost of the damages. On the other, I notified her within a few hours of The Flood. Wasn't the responsibility then passed on to her to notify the building maintenance people (who also are the landlords of the apartment downstairs)? I think the damage could have been minimalized if she had taken immediate action, like we did in notifying her.
However, I'm afraid that the responsibility of the entire cost of The Flood will be placed on me and my roommate's shoulders, er, bank accounts. And because my landlord hasn't explicitly said so, I'm afraid to ask, for fear that she thinks I'm volunteering to pay. I think that The Flood, while entirely my roommate's doing, was a mistake that either I OR she could have made very easily--it's what I know she would do for me if circumstances were reversed. Therefore, I'm willing to accept responsibility for half of the cost--I wouldn't make her pay the whole thing by herself. The most fair way to do this would be for my landlord to pay for half, and for my roommate and I to pay the other half. Yes? No? Thoughts?
p.s. NO IDEA how homeowner's insurance works in NZ, or in this case. Any advice would be welcome. Do you think damages caused by your tenants to other apartments are covered in NZ homeowner's insurance? Or is it entirely your tenants' responsibility? How much does a ceiling panel cost, anyway?
Fast forward a month and a half later. The apartment below us is being prepped for renting. A lady in charge of the corporation that deals with the communal portions of our apartment building, and renting out the apartment below us, knocks on our door and asks if we have had any sort of water damage. Roommate, annoyed that she is bothering us (landlord has given them STRICT instructions to ONLY deal with her, and to NEVER bother us), shoo's her out.
A few weeks after that, my landlord contacts me and tells me that the lady has reported three ceiling panels and a light fixture that needs to be replaced due to water damage. Our landlord says that this damage coincides with the date of the flood and that she has admitted liability and is waiting for their repair estimate.
OK. Now I'm not sure what to do. On the one hand, our landlord hasn't said that we are totally responsible for the cost of the damages. On the other, I notified her within a few hours of The Flood. Wasn't the responsibility then passed on to her to notify the building maintenance people (who also are the landlords of the apartment downstairs)? I think the damage could have been minimalized if she had taken immediate action, like we did in notifying her.
However, I'm afraid that the responsibility of the entire cost of The Flood will be placed on me and my roommate's shoulders, er, bank accounts. And because my landlord hasn't explicitly said so, I'm afraid to ask, for fear that she thinks I'm volunteering to pay. I think that The Flood, while entirely my roommate's doing, was a mistake that either I OR she could have made very easily--it's what I know she would do for me if circumstances were reversed. Therefore, I'm willing to accept responsibility for half of the cost--I wouldn't make her pay the whole thing by herself. The most fair way to do this would be for my landlord to pay for half, and for my roommate and I to pay the other half. Yes? No? Thoughts?
p.s. NO IDEA how homeowner's insurance works in NZ, or in this case. Any advice would be welcome. Do you think damages caused by your tenants to other apartments are covered in NZ homeowner's insurance? Or is it entirely your tenants' responsibility? How much does a ceiling panel cost, anyway?
Friday, April 23, 2010
Whoops
Well, we rented a carpet shampooer yesterday, and sucked up as much water as possible. We had all of our fans and heaters running yesterday, and we tripped a power breaker! I was really worried that we had ruined the wiring for about a half hour, before I found the main power switch downstairs had flipped off.
The carpet is starting to dry a little bit, but for the most part, it is still very damp and slightly squishy underfoot. I've read about diatomaceous earth to dry it out even more, and I've borrowed a dehumidifier from a coworker to boot. The dehumidifier is on its highest setting in the hall at the moment.
My carpet was starting to smell a little bit over last night, so I spread some baking soda on it, and will leave it there to soak for a few days before vacuuming it up.
I'll also try the cat sand, or diatomaceous earth, once I can find it in NZ.
More worrisome than our apartment is the downstairs damage. No one lives downstairs at the moment, and it STINKS in the stairwell connecting our two apartments. We sucked up as much water as possible from the hallway outside of the locked downstairs apartment, but I'm really afraid of what it smells/looks like in there--the water definitely goes underneath the apartment door. Also, I opened the garage door today (which is directly below the downstairs apartment) and there was a huge puddle.
There is a tenant on the first floor behind the garage, but we haven't heard any complaints from him/her. It looks like the water drained toward the garage, anyway.
The lighting in the hallway has also decided not to work in the downstairs portion. As I said, water was POURING out of the light fixture hole in the downstairs hallway onto the landing to the downstairs neighbor's apartment...that light stopped working during the flood, but the other three still worked up until this evening. I am afraid that we fried the electrics somehow. Everything on the 3rd floor (where we are) works fine, though.
I've let my landlord know about all of this, so it is out of my hands and into home insurance, right? She doesn't seem too worried, but I kind of am nervous that this is somehow going to cost me out of pocket...
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Flood!
If I didn't have a reason for renter's insurance before...I surely do now.
My roommate is kind of a mess. Last December she nearly burned down our place while boiling eggs, and today I came home to see water pouring through the light fixture in the stairwell I take to get up to our 3rd floor apartment. "UH-OH," I thought, before she yells down the stairs, "You're not gonna like this..."
I get up to our apartment, half expecting to see a river carrying our stuff out to the balcony and onto the sidewalk below. She's futilely soaking up a mop sponge full of water from the drenched carpet, and then wringing the dripping mop out in the bathtub. There is a half inch of water underneath the carpet. Puddles form under each footstep I take. The water spans a probably 30 foot diameter patch of carpet, emptying from the bathroom, out through the hallway up to the front stairs, from the bathroom to the middle of the living room, and from the bathroom into our two bedrooms. Here, I drew a map:
Um...yeah. WOW.
So, what happened was, my roommate turned on the washing machine and left to do some errands or whatnot. The washing machine empties into a washing tub (yeah, don't ask me why they didn't just hook it up to a pipe (?)), which then drains the rinse water out. Only, for some reason, my roommate had accidentally left a towel in the washing tub...which then stopped up the drain, which then caused my house to flood.
The water was pouring out of the ceiling light fixture hole in the stairwell...I am scared about what all that water did to the electricals and carpet in the 2nd floor apartment downstairs!
I immediately want to call my landlord, but my roommate doesn't want me to. I'm not sure why she didn't call me to warn me right away, either--it's not like she could have mopped this up before I got home!! I call my landlord anyway. No way am I being evicted because I didn't tell my landlord what was going on...this was too big of a mess to hide, and she's visiting us in a week! Plus, what if the downstairs landlords or property managers call my landlord? Luckily, no one lives downstairs at the moment (the old tenants got evicted), but still, what if they show the property tomorrow? Nuh-uh. I like the better safe than sorry route.
My landlord is typical Kiwi and totally laidback. She's totally cool about it, just says to squeegee as much water into the non-carpeted kitchen and bathrooms, which each have drains in the floor. Then she goes, "I don't envy you. Good luck!" Whew. I mention that the downstairs may be flooded, too, and she says that she will just let them figure it out, hopefully it'll dry before they notice...ha!
Also luckily, nothing is damaged. Tomorrow my roommate's friend, who is staying with us, is renting a Rug Doctor and they'll suck up as much water as possible using that. It's the only thing I can think of to do...we spent hours upon hours soaking up towels and blankets full of water, running them in the spin cycle in the washing machine, and then repeating the process...it hasn't even touched the wetness, I still squish, squish, squish through the house.
I've escaped twice in 6 months with nothing burned or electrocuted or flooded. Next time I may not be so lucky. I was going to buy RI when I bought my health insurance policy, but Southern Cross doesn't offer them. Time to get serious about buying that renter's insurance!
That reminds me...we should really replace the fire extinguisher before my landlord gets here and asks what happened to empty the old one...
My roommate is kind of a mess. Last December she nearly burned down our place while boiling eggs, and today I came home to see water pouring through the light fixture in the stairwell I take to get up to our 3rd floor apartment. "UH-OH," I thought, before she yells down the stairs, "You're not gonna like this..."
I get up to our apartment, half expecting to see a river carrying our stuff out to the balcony and onto the sidewalk below. She's futilely soaking up a mop sponge full of water from the drenched carpet, and then wringing the dripping mop out in the bathtub. There is a half inch of water underneath the carpet. Puddles form under each footstep I take. The water spans a probably 30 foot diameter patch of carpet, emptying from the bathroom, out through the hallway up to the front stairs, from the bathroom to the middle of the living room, and from the bathroom into our two bedrooms. Here, I drew a map:
Um...yeah. WOW.
So, what happened was, my roommate turned on the washing machine and left to do some errands or whatnot. The washing machine empties into a washing tub (yeah, don't ask me why they didn't just hook it up to a pipe (?)), which then drains the rinse water out. Only, for some reason, my roommate had accidentally left a towel in the washing tub...which then stopped up the drain, which then caused my house to flood.
The water was pouring out of the ceiling light fixture hole in the stairwell...I am scared about what all that water did to the electricals and carpet in the 2nd floor apartment downstairs!
I immediately want to call my landlord, but my roommate doesn't want me to. I'm not sure why she didn't call me to warn me right away, either--it's not like she could have mopped this up before I got home!! I call my landlord anyway. No way am I being evicted because I didn't tell my landlord what was going on...this was too big of a mess to hide, and she's visiting us in a week! Plus, what if the downstairs landlords or property managers call my landlord? Luckily, no one lives downstairs at the moment (the old tenants got evicted), but still, what if they show the property tomorrow? Nuh-uh. I like the better safe than sorry route.
My landlord is typical Kiwi and totally laidback. She's totally cool about it, just says to squeegee as much water into the non-carpeted kitchen and bathrooms, which each have drains in the floor. Then she goes, "I don't envy you. Good luck!" Whew. I mention that the downstairs may be flooded, too, and she says that she will just let them figure it out, hopefully it'll dry before they notice...ha!
Also luckily, nothing is damaged. Tomorrow my roommate's friend, who is staying with us, is renting a Rug Doctor and they'll suck up as much water as possible using that. It's the only thing I can think of to do...we spent hours upon hours soaking up towels and blankets full of water, running them in the spin cycle in the washing machine, and then repeating the process...it hasn't even touched the wetness, I still squish, squish, squish through the house.
I've escaped twice in 6 months with nothing burned or electrocuted or flooded. Next time I may not be so lucky. I was going to buy RI when I bought my health insurance policy, but Southern Cross doesn't offer them. Time to get serious about buying that renter's insurance!
That reminds me...we should really replace the fire extinguisher before my landlord gets here and asks what happened to empty the old one...
Monday, December 21, 2009
Fire! Unprepared!
My roommate almost burned our building down today.
I came home from my jaunt around town in my fancy rental car, and smelled something burning. I rushed into the kitchen, and there were three eggs sitting in a dry pot, cracked open and burned to a crisp, flames shooting from the bottom of the pan around them. The burner was on high, and no one was in sight.
Luckily the flames were contained in the pot and so I turned off the burner and moved the pot to a cool burner. Then I grabbed the fire extinguisher our landlord thoughtfully left for us, pulled the pin, and aimed at the pot.
It was also lucky that I am the floor fire warden at work, and have had training about how to deal with kitchen fires and how to use a fire extinguisher.
It was 1:30 pm; my roommate had left the house around 9:30 am!! OMG, what if I hadn't come home then?! My plan was to go about an hour and a half out of town but I decided to go elsewhere today, at the last minute. Whew.
Our patio window and bedroom windows were wide open and a breeze was blowing straight through the apartment; otherwise I'm sure the fire alarm would have gone off already. But there was nothing. I guess the fire has to be much bigger before it goes off.
Also worriedly, neither of us has renter's insurance. My theory was, I don't own enough in NZ to replace to justify the cost, and that my landlord's home insurance should cover their belongings in the house. But now I don't know. I kind of want insurance.
What I'd grab in a real, get out now fire: my grandmother's heirloom ring; my laptop; my backpack with my wallet in it; and my paper file carrier with all my tax info on it.
Whoo, it was a scary day.
I came home from my jaunt around town in my fancy rental car, and smelled something burning. I rushed into the kitchen, and there were three eggs sitting in a dry pot, cracked open and burned to a crisp, flames shooting from the bottom of the pan around them. The burner was on high, and no one was in sight.
Luckily the flames were contained in the pot and so I turned off the burner and moved the pot to a cool burner. Then I grabbed the fire extinguisher our landlord thoughtfully left for us, pulled the pin, and aimed at the pot.
It was also lucky that I am the floor fire warden at work, and have had training about how to deal with kitchen fires and how to use a fire extinguisher.
It was 1:30 pm; my roommate had left the house around 9:30 am!! OMG, what if I hadn't come home then?! My plan was to go about an hour and a half out of town but I decided to go elsewhere today, at the last minute. Whew.
Our patio window and bedroom windows were wide open and a breeze was blowing straight through the apartment; otherwise I'm sure the fire alarm would have gone off already. But there was nothing. I guess the fire has to be much bigger before it goes off.
Also worriedly, neither of us has renter's insurance. My theory was, I don't own enough in NZ to replace to justify the cost, and that my landlord's home insurance should cover their belongings in the house. But now I don't know. I kind of want insurance.
What I'd grab in a real, get out now fire: my grandmother's heirloom ring; my laptop; my backpack with my wallet in it; and my paper file carrier with all my tax info on it.
Whoo, it was a scary day.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Interior Designing (Before)
As part of my holiday project to spruce up my room, I've started to buy new accessories and have gotten creative with the stuff that's already in there. I'll now share some before pictures!
View as you walk into my room (I took the pic at night, sorry for the bad lighting!).
View back towards the door. You can see I have this weird entry/hallway to my room, and I have no idea what to do to the walls there. I don't want it to feel too claustrophobic. Also, there's the electric panel on the left.
I'll go in a clockwise fashion around the room. here's the shelves (you see the side of them as you walk into the room), and my desk area. I love the bulletin board but it's pretty boring and messy.
Moving over to the right, my bed area. Again, messy, brown, and boring! Lots of wall space that I'm not sure what to do with.
All that wall space...
Continuing around the room, here's my 'craft corner.' I bought a few picture frames; they and my paint canvases are just living on the floor til I decide what to do with them.
Craft corner and wardrobe. Again, there's some weird wall space above the wardrobe that I'm not sure what to do with (if anything). Which brings me to:
My wardrobe! Packed to the gills. I've installed the lime green/blue fabric drawers and the sweater organizer/hanger, but it still needs some work to make it look neater.
As you can see, there's no real theme or anything--the walls are a sort of cream/off-white color, the wardrobe is white, the headboard and nightstand are a dark brown, and the desk and shelves are a tan/light wood color, the curtains are navy blue, and the carpets are a lighter navy blue. Ugh. I can't change: the curtains, the carpets, the wardrobe, the walls, the headboard, or the nightstand colors. I can change: that ugly light wood on the desk and shelves. I'll just have to live with the other colors, as I'm not going to spend the money to change or replace things that my landlord has provided to me/owns.
I did have some of my paintings up on the walls, and that made it more 'homey' and not so boring, but I've decided that I really dislike my own paintings, and I'm not good at it, so I took them all down. I'll throw up some real photographs that I've taken, instead.
I've already bought a colorful new duvet cover that brightens things up tremendously. I'm planning to rearrange the furniture, too. If anyone has any suggestions, please make them! 'After' pictures to come when I've finished!
Friday, September 11, 2009
$840 More Saved!
Recently I received a refund of the overpaid rent from my landlord, in the sum of $840. I immediately transferred it to savings. I am 31% of the way to the first goal that I am concentrating on: topping up my US EF to $5000. I currently have about $2800 USD in savings, and therefore have to save about $3385 NZD to make up the difference of $2200 USD.
If the USD-->NZD exchange rate keeps rising, I will have to save less for this goal. Go, exchange rate, go!
$5000 is enough to pay my mom back if she needs to call that loan in, or, if not, I will have almost a year's worth of Roth contributions and a partial EF when I go back to the States.
With that paid out and rent due this Friday, I have about $200 left in my bank account until payday this next Friday. However, I am in the field for most of the next week so I should be ok!
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Getting PAID
I just got an email saying that my payslip was ready. Aaahhh...payday. I love it so much. I don't know why, because it's the same amount every two weeks, and I spend about the same amount every month...but it just feels nice to see things get topped up.
Anyway, this pay period it is even MORE relieving to see it because my landlord hasn't reimbursed me for the rent money I overpaid due to XBF's slipup. I should get $840 whenever she remembers to pay me back. In the meantime, I've already transferred $1450 to savings and I only have $260 left in my checking account...the lowest it's been in a very long time.
(Yeah, I am one of those people that keeps a $500 to $1000 buffer in my checking JUST IN CASE. I know it's crazy, but it helps me feel comfortable and secure.)
Anyway, this pay period it is even MORE relieving to see it because my landlord hasn't reimbursed me for the rent money I overpaid due to XBF's slipup. I should get $840 whenever she remembers to pay me back. In the meantime, I've already transferred $1450 to savings and I only have $260 left in my checking account...the lowest it's been in a very long time.
(Yeah, I am one of those people that keeps a $500 to $1000 buffer in my checking JUST IN CASE. I know it's crazy, but it helps me feel comfortable and secure.)
Friday, August 21, 2009
The Deal Is Sealed
Verbally, at least. I guess I shouldn't get too excited until a contract is signed, but...I can't help it!
A potential new roommate emailed me today and asked about my apartment/room for rent. I immediately texted her and asked her to come by, and she said that she could come at 9:30 pm.
Normally, I would tell people that is too late, but I WAS DESPERATE. I went to my class, and when I came back, she came by to check my apartment out.
She loved it! And luckily, she was way cooler and way more normal than the couple I almost had to rent to. We talked for an hour and a half and got to know each other a little bit, and she was willing to say almost immediately that she liked the place enough to take it right then and there. And even better, she could move in straightaway!
I told her if she was in, I was in. I didn't want to be eager or anything, but honestly, it was such a good vibe that I ended up telling her the story of the couple and how I was so happy that she had emailed me.
Rent will stay the same, but honestly, I don't care at this point. I want a happy, fun home and the extra $$ is worth it to me. :)
She even has lots of friends in the city already, which is awesome. If it works out, maybe I could get a few friends out of the deal too?
It's good stuff like this that makes me want to believe in God (even though I don't go to church and absolutely accept other names for that entity/energy/force--Allah, Buddha, The Universe...). All I can say is: WHEW.
A potential new roommate emailed me today and asked about my apartment/room for rent. I immediately texted her and asked her to come by, and she said that she could come at 9:30 pm.
Normally, I would tell people that is too late, but I WAS DESPERATE. I went to my class, and when I came back, she came by to check my apartment out.
She loved it! And luckily, she was way cooler and way more normal than the couple I almost had to rent to. We talked for an hour and a half and got to know each other a little bit, and she was willing to say almost immediately that she liked the place enough to take it right then and there. And even better, she could move in straightaway!
I told her if she was in, I was in. I didn't want to be eager or anything, but honestly, it was such a good vibe that I ended up telling her the story of the couple and how I was so happy that she had emailed me.
Rent will stay the same, but honestly, I don't care at this point. I want a happy, fun home and the extra $$ is worth it to me. :)
She even has lots of friends in the city already, which is awesome. If it works out, maybe I could get a few friends out of the deal too?
It's good stuff like this that makes me want to believe in God (even though I don't go to church and absolutely accept other names for that entity/energy/force--Allah, Buddha, The Universe...). All I can say is: WHEW.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Emergency Funds Act as a Buffer Against Douchebaggery
My landlord called again today about the missing rent. It's so unfair to her to have to keep bugging us about this, and to cover her mortgage payment while XBF is being a douche. Since XBF is AWOL, I ended up paying it with a promise from her that I'd get his portion of the bond if he ended up not paying at all. His portion of the bond (like a security deposit for you US folks) will only cover half of what he owes from the missing rent payment, though.
I'm never going to see that money again, am I? Once again, the EF comes to the rescue. If I didn't have that, I wouldn't have grocery money for next week!
He still is scheduled to pay his last rent payment on August 28 (next week), but I doubt he pays that either. I told my landlord that if he defaulted on that too, then to please let me know so I could pay her on time.
If the heinous couple moves in, part of that last payment will be covered by them. Yet another reason to invite them to move in (groan).
Ah well. At least I salvaged my relationship with my landlord (and my reference from her).
(Does anyone know: If I let the heinous couple move in and use their wireless (Woosh) internet network, could they see my posts here? and all of the sites I visit and twitters and stuff? I don't want to have to censor myself...!)
I'm never going to see that money again, am I? Once again, the EF comes to the rescue. If I didn't have that, I wouldn't have grocery money for next week!
He still is scheduled to pay his last rent payment on August 28 (next week), but I doubt he pays that either. I told my landlord that if he defaulted on that too, then to please let me know so I could pay her on time.
If the heinous couple moves in, part of that last payment will be covered by them. Yet another reason to invite them to move in (groan).
Ah well. At least I salvaged my relationship with my landlord (and my reference from her).
(Does anyone know: If I let the heinous couple move in and use their wireless (Woosh) internet network, could they see my posts here? and all of the sites I visit and twitters and stuff? I don't want to have to censor myself...!)
I Give Up
You guys all gave great advice when you told me not to let the heinous couple move in. Really great advice. I agree with you, actually. They gave me the name of their blog, and I went to it. It's not to my taste, and made me uncomfortable at various points due to some sexual references. How can I live with them?
But I have no other choice. NO ONE else has responded to my ads. And my ads are up EVERYWHERE--every internet site and every cafe, backpackers, notice boards around the city. I've double and triple checked the information in the ad and my contact information. I've written to people on share-accomodation and in every section of apartment-needed sites. I'm getting NOTHING. Nada. No response whatsoever. It has been over 2 weeks now. Two people have contacted me, one of whom turned me down. I am backed into a corner here.
Since I have to give 3 weeks notice to move out, and due to the way that XBF-my rent payment schedule shakes down, I would have to pay the Sept. 11 rent on my own no matter what. Therefore, I told myself that I had until tomorrow (3 weeks before Sept. 11) to make a decision re: moving out or staying put, entirely based on whether I can find someone else to move in or not. Since I can't find anyone, I guess I'm moving.
However, I've been scouring the ads for places I could move to with the similar or less rent and the same amenities that I enjoy now. I haven't found many, and those I do find, have already found someone to move in by the time I contact them. So I'm going to keep searching, but in the meantime, I'd have to pay the whole rent until I found a place. $435 a week. BY MYSELF.
I can't do that. I just can't. That's way over a paycheck a month for me.
So. With a heavy heart, I contacted the heinous couple. They are still looking for a place.
I have a lot of fieldwork coming up, and won't have time to move in the next couple of months. I'll keep looking when I have time, but in the meantime, I guess I am staying put until I find another place that is PERFECT.
And I guess I'm offering the place to the heinous couple tomorrow, unless someone contacts me in the next 24 hours and is marginally better than this couple. I'm praying to God right now that that happens.
Plus sides to couple moving in:
My rent would go down by $150/mo. Electricity and internet should decrease by a LOT. That's it--the only upside to all this is financial. I guess I should count my blessings.
*Sob.* My awesome apartment with everything I could ask for, invaded!
Ugh. I DO NOT feel good about this; my gut is rarely wrong. Maybe it won't be as bad as I think it will be? I will give them a chance until Sept. 10 (when my fieldwork starts), then decide whether to move out or not.
Moving sucks. But bad roommates can suck even worse.
But I have no other choice. NO ONE else has responded to my ads. And my ads are up EVERYWHERE--every internet site and every cafe, backpackers, notice boards around the city. I've double and triple checked the information in the ad and my contact information. I've written to people on share-accomodation and in every section of apartment-needed sites. I'm getting NOTHING. Nada. No response whatsoever. It has been over 2 weeks now. Two people have contacted me, one of whom turned me down. I am backed into a corner here.
Since I have to give 3 weeks notice to move out, and due to the way that XBF-my rent payment schedule shakes down, I would have to pay the Sept. 11 rent on my own no matter what. Therefore, I told myself that I had until tomorrow (3 weeks before Sept. 11) to make a decision re: moving out or staying put, entirely based on whether I can find someone else to move in or not. Since I can't find anyone, I guess I'm moving.
However, I've been scouring the ads for places I could move to with the similar or less rent and the same amenities that I enjoy now. I haven't found many, and those I do find, have already found someone to move in by the time I contact them. So I'm going to keep searching, but in the meantime, I'd have to pay the whole rent until I found a place. $435 a week. BY MYSELF.
I can't do that. I just can't. That's way over a paycheck a month for me.
So. With a heavy heart, I contacted the heinous couple. They are still looking for a place.
I have a lot of fieldwork coming up, and won't have time to move in the next couple of months. I'll keep looking when I have time, but in the meantime, I guess I am staying put until I find another place that is PERFECT.
And I guess I'm offering the place to the heinous couple tomorrow, unless someone contacts me in the next 24 hours and is marginally better than this couple. I'm praying to God right now that that happens.
Plus sides to couple moving in:
My rent would go down by $150/mo. Electricity and internet should decrease by a LOT. That's it--the only upside to all this is financial. I guess I should count my blessings.
*Sob.* My awesome apartment with everything I could ask for, invaded!
Ugh. I DO NOT feel good about this; my gut is rarely wrong. Maybe it won't be as bad as I think it will be? I will give them a chance until Sept. 10 (when my fieldwork starts), then decide whether to move out or not.
Moving sucks. But bad roommates can suck even worse.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
I May Be In Trouble...Advice Needed!
I have had my apartment ad up since last Tuesday. It's now been 12 days since I put the ad up. There was an initial 'frenzy' of 3 responses. I set all of them up with appointments and they each flaked. I had only wanted to live with another female, but when a couple contacted me last week, I agreed to consider it for the right couple. Plus, my rent would go down considerably.
So I met with said couple last Thursday, and they seemed cool, so I promptly offered them the apartment, should they want it. They were only staying for 6 months, but I thought that would give me time to see if I liked living with a couple, and would also allow me to save some money over the summer months, when I'll be traveling lots (I hope). Today, couple #1 decided that they wanted to move in with their friend instead of with me.
Another couple then contacted me, and I met with them Thursday night. On paper, they are perfect: they want to move in right away and stay indefinitely, the guy used to be a handyman, so I know my landlord will love him, and they will use the garage downstairs for a bit more money, further reducing my rent from $912.50/mo to $739/mo, a savings of $173 a month. Not to mention the splitting of utilities by 3, saving me probably another $30 to $50/mo.
But I effing can't stand them. I mean, the girl is fine, but she doesn't speak much, or much English at all, actually, and she's just a little slip of a thing, so she practically doesn't exist. The guy, however, DOESN'T SHUT UP. Everything out of his mouth was either telling me what I'm doing wrong, or bragging about who he hangs out with and what he's done in the past 45 years that he's been alive (yeah, that's another thing: he's a little bit too old to have 31 year old roommates). The guy also just runs all over the girl, who doesn't have a job, so she'd be home ALL THE TIME.
Every time I thought about letting them move in, I flash on accidentally hearing them get it on and I physically gag and immediately know that not having to hear that is worth my entire paycheck. Plus, I think he was checking me out. GROSS.
Given all of this, I crossed them off of my list even with the great financial aspect of their tenancy.
But now I'm running out of time. My first choice couple turned me down. No one else has even contacted me to see the apartment. I have ads up on every single internet site, and on every bulletin board around the city. Either my apartment is priced too high in this economy, or my ad sucks. I can't reduce the rent, because then MY rent would go up.
Most people have to give a 2 or 3 week notice to move out of their apartments, and XBF pays his last rent on Aug. 28. I HAVE to find someone to move in before Sept. 1, or else I'm paying the whole rent by myself next month. I can afford it, but barely, but I really don't want to have to.
It's not too late to ask the heinous couple to move in, save loads of money, but spend all my time in my room and dislike my roommates. My only other alternative is to wait this out and see if anyone suitable contacts me in the next few weeks. If no one does, I'll give my own 3 week notice, and move to another place. I really don't want to do that, either...What should I do?! What would YOU do?
So I met with said couple last Thursday, and they seemed cool, so I promptly offered them the apartment, should they want it. They were only staying for 6 months, but I thought that would give me time to see if I liked living with a couple, and would also allow me to save some money over the summer months, when I'll be traveling lots (I hope). Today, couple #1 decided that they wanted to move in with their friend instead of with me.
Another couple then contacted me, and I met with them Thursday night. On paper, they are perfect: they want to move in right away and stay indefinitely, the guy used to be a handyman, so I know my landlord will love him, and they will use the garage downstairs for a bit more money, further reducing my rent from $912.50/mo to $739/mo, a savings of $173 a month. Not to mention the splitting of utilities by 3, saving me probably another $30 to $50/mo.
But I effing can't stand them. I mean, the girl is fine, but she doesn't speak much, or much English at all, actually, and she's just a little slip of a thing, so she practically doesn't exist. The guy, however, DOESN'T SHUT UP. Everything out of his mouth was either telling me what I'm doing wrong, or bragging about who he hangs out with and what he's done in the past 45 years that he's been alive (yeah, that's another thing: he's a little bit too old to have 31 year old roommates). The guy also just runs all over the girl, who doesn't have a job, so she'd be home ALL THE TIME.
Every time I thought about letting them move in, I flash on accidentally hearing them get it on and I physically gag and immediately know that not having to hear that is worth my entire paycheck. Plus, I think he was checking me out. GROSS.
Given all of this, I crossed them off of my list even with the great financial aspect of their tenancy.
But now I'm running out of time. My first choice couple turned me down. No one else has even contacted me to see the apartment. I have ads up on every single internet site, and on every bulletin board around the city. Either my apartment is priced too high in this economy, or my ad sucks. I can't reduce the rent, because then MY rent would go up.
Most people have to give a 2 or 3 week notice to move out of their apartments, and XBF pays his last rent on Aug. 28. I HAVE to find someone to move in before Sept. 1, or else I'm paying the whole rent by myself next month. I can afford it, but barely, but I really don't want to have to.
It's not too late to ask the heinous couple to move in, save loads of money, but spend all my time in my room and dislike my roommates. My only other alternative is to wait this out and see if anyone suitable contacts me in the next few weeks. If no one does, I'll give my own 3 week notice, and move to another place. I really don't want to do that, either...What should I do?! What would YOU do?
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