what do you guys think of this?

Jena

New Member
yup it's me Issue packed me LOL

so i had to share this with all of you. just got difficult child to bed. sheesh long night dinner, than she had lice so i had to run to get treatment. its' 11 and im finally kidless.

so, listen to this carp. tell me what you guys think....

we took this house, ok it's big and lots of space. we have a huge backyard (one of reasons we took it).

we come to find out after getting our first $700.00 (OMG, haven't paid it yet) oil delivery that we pay for the guy who rents the small apt. attached to the other houses heat and hot water!! i cannot believe.

than we come to find out that their splitting up the backyard to please all the other ppl that live here. i shoudl put a pick of house up on here so you guys get an idea. it's a huge colonial, it's actually a landmark apparentley george washington lived here years ago. their two attached houses yet from the front looks like one.

so, i spoke to landlord about fact we're paying for toher guys heat and hot water and i said hello i cannot afford that, you should of told me going into this.

second i said what are you doing to backyard? apparentley their splitting our huge back yard into 3 sections to please the other 3 ppl that live in house that is attached. we have backdoor that leads to OUR backyard. i'm p*ssed. boyfriend claims that the owner's husband discussed briefly with him possibly adding an area of the backyard putting up pvc for the other woman and her son who live in the other house. that was no big deal and i felt bad plus they'd build sep entrance and it would be no where near us at all. than i come to find out their splitting our side of the bkyard to share with the other guy.

than two nights about boyfriend and i are watching hells kitchen my new favorite show by the way and we see gracie playing with one of her toy mouses only to find it wasnt'a toy it was real!!! so now we have mice here also.

so, we are on a mos to mos lease here she doesn't sign 2 year leases. so basically i really have no recourse i'm guessing.

but i gotta admit i'm not happy about anyo f this. i told her i'm not paying for his heat and hot water so figure out what it costs him and deduct from rent. now i have back yard issue. i mean, come on whomever lived here before us had full use of it and now suddenly we're in and they want to change it all? i'm not pleased. boyfriend's gut said not to take this place yet i shoved on i'm beginning to think he was right.

i mean, can you imagine 3 sections of backyard it's not that big. it's giong to be stupid. i'm not a mean person you guys know that yet i rented this a certain way not to walk in the back and find my gated area to be in.
 

JJJ

Active Member
If you are only on month to month, can you just move? It might be easier than taking on so many problems with this landlord.
 
M

ML

Guest
How frustrating, I too would be really upset. Jena I'd be looking for another place as soon as possible. That's just not right. Hugs, ML
 

tiredmommy

Well-Known Member
I'd let your utility and water authority know that the other apartment isn't metered... it may be an illegal apartment. And I would start looking for somewhere new to live asap.
 

Jena

New Member
see you guys i was thinking the same thing, yet there's the issue of difficult child and transitions. it has taken this long for her to calm down just slightly. moves are so hard on our kids as i'm sure you all know.

i mean they have rectified the mice issue i guess the exterminator came today. yet i gotta say i dont' want to kill them. i lead the mouse out the back door he was a baby when i got home the other night. i closed him into the den with the glass doors while kids watched and i put pieces of bread infront of him he followd me basically out the backyard door.

i hate harming things. i know weird.

so you really think i should uproot difficult child?
 

tiredmommy

Well-Known Member
My thought is that it's better to have upheaval now rather than have to go through transitioning from the beginning again. Why put off the inevitable? Get it over with!!!
 

klmno

Active Member
TM is right- if they don't have separate meters, I think the landlord is supposed to provide it and cover the costs. Of course, he'll raise the rent to cover it, but it should be raised for all that use it, proportional to the size of the apartment/house. As far as the yard- I'm not sure. It probably depends on exactly what is in writing. If he has a few rental properties sharing a yard, he might be able to split it up. Call your planning/zoning department to find that out.
 

Jena

New Member
klmno - i think to be honest due to fact we have a mos to mos lease we're just at their mercy. i won't give up on the heating/oil issue. yet the rest of it it's just not right what their doing is all.

their springing all this junk on us after we move in. it just isn't right. i hate to admit it but boyfriend was right. ugh.

i mean the backyard is inback of our house. so all these other ppl will be walking over to our side of the house to go into backyard. it's going to be weird and probably loud. just think we'll be in house trying to sleep and possibly entire backyard filled with ppl. i mean it's not that big.

i'm just upset that they played games with us. i also have to go around tmrw nad fill the holes in the house here and there with steel wool for the mice. this place is really beautiful it just doesn't seem right
 

KTMom91

Well-Known Member
I would start looking for another place. I would also check with code enforcement about that apt behind the house. The landlord should have told you up front you would be covering somebody else's power usage, but since he didn't, maybe contact fair housing? I would think that even if you're on a month to month agreement, the landlord would still have to inform you of some of these changes in writing, but I'm not sure.

Good luck with the rodent population. As long as they stay outside, I don't have a problem with them. Once they're inside, though, it's trap and peanut butter time.
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
Good suggestion ktmom.

Jena, turn them in. You shouldn't be paying for someone else's utilities. NO way!

Sounds like that month to month lease is going to work in your favor. I'd start hunting asap. Might as well take the leap before difficult child gets all settled in.

So sorry your dream home is turning into a PITA
 

Andy

Active Member
I agree with finding a new home. Tell difficult child that the landlord did not tell you ahead of time that you had to share the back yard and you want one that will only be used by you guys. Also, you do need a bigger home with more bedrooms so YOUR kids can each have their own and one for boyfriend's kids the two nights they are there. Maybe a 4 bedroom that includes a small den that you can convert to boyfriend's son's room - his girls can share for the two nights.

I know this is hard since you love this home but if your frustrations are high now, they are not going to get easier.

For this month, I like the idea of handing the entire bill to the landlord. I know most places utilities are extra so you probably did rent with that agreement. The landlord should not be renting out in this fashion though if each unit is not metered.
 

hearts and roses

Mind Reader
klmno - i think to be honest due to fact we have a mos to mos lease we're just at their mercy.

Actually, Jen, you're looking at it backwards. IF the apt is illegal and since she never disclosed to you that you would covering the costs of their heating and hot water, and it is very likely that the apt is not properly coded to that property...you have all the power.

You have no lease and therefore, can leave any time you like. Or, you can refuse to pay your rent until she rectifies the heat/hot water situation to your satisfaction and she can't even kick you out. It costs A LOT of money for a homeowner to have their tenants evicted and it takes a very long time. The law, believe it or not, very often sides with the tenant over the landlord in cases like these. I know all towns have illegal apts, but there are pockets of LI where this is just a rampant problem. Is your landlady's name Lovelace by any chance? hahaha, can you tell I have experience with a LI landlady from he//??

Get something in writing that says you're paying for the other tenants heat/hot water. Then make a call to your town's/county's building inspector's office and find out if that apt is legal. Again, document everything.

In the meantime, start looking for a new place. Better to uproot difficult child now than after a harrowing few months with you and the landlord in a mess and you all stressed out. Nip it in the bud, as they say.

Hugs - this is just not something you need right now.
 

Jena

New Member
thanks guys i soo appreciate all of you whenever i need you, you are there :) when is our get together i voted on the poll???

boyfriend said same thing. we had another interesting incident this a.m. so i'm giong to try to nap before i get easy child from work in 2 hours than i'm talking to the landlord, than i called a house rental there was only 1 listing and left a message.

i'm at fault here you guys, boyfriend's gut was telling him not to take this place and i didnt respect his opinion i was wrong. i should of after 2 years and seen him be right before respected it and listened to him. so he's laughing now because i text him and said ok i conceed i should of listened to you, i was wrong.

he got quiet for a bit than text me saying he passed out on the floor lol. oh boy gotta keep that sense of humor.
 

klmno

Active Member
Well, I'm kind of looking at this differently now. I think with the economy the way it is, it might be worth trying to talk to the landlord first. If this is in an area hard-hit and the landlord is having trouble finding good tenants, he/she might be willing to negotiate. Maybe you and boyfriend could tell the landlord that you are considering moving if the yard is split up that much and you are expected to pay everyone's utilites. See if they will work something out with you. Maybe you can work something out with the neighbors about sharing the yard so that it doesn't have to be split up. If negotiations don't work, you can still move.
 

Jena

New Member
that's a good idea, yet it's weird when i spoke to her hte other day on the phone she kept saying how she rented this out for alot more prior, etc. was trying to make me feel bad that she'd have to raise the other guys rent to compensate for lowering ours due to us paying his heating costs. bizarre.

it's a great idea yet with-her i dont' think it'll work. i'll try. crazy crazy i know
 

klmno

Active Member
Well, maybe just try one short conversation about it. At least then if a future potential landlord asks, you can say that before you moved out so soon you tried to work out a better plan that was satisfactory to all- you didn't just up and move out on them.

I was just remembering that a board member here posted something about their landlord being will to lower rent for them, so I thought it might be worth a shot.
 

muttmeister

Well-Known Member
Put me in the column that says you should start looking for a different place TODAY. This is a toxic landlord. It's not just a collection of circumstances: he is skewing you. He probably figured that with new tenants, you would settle for some inconveniences just to get in and settled. I wouldn't want to have to deal with this jerk month after month. I think you are lucky not to have a lease; if you did you would have to fight it out but this way it will be easier to just move on. If difficult child has trouble with transitions, the sooner you move the better as there won't be so much time to get settled in.
As far as the mice go, I love animals; I eat vegetarian most of the time because I don't want to have something killed just so I can eat; I've even had pet rats. But when mice get in my house I put out poison and kill the little buggers. If you catch them and put them out, they just say thank you for the adventure and sneak back in while you're not looking.
Good luck.
 

Jena

New Member
lol you guys are funny.

klmno i totally agree truly and it's a great point.

mutt - thanks, i had to laugh when you said you put poison out and done with-those buggers. yes i should take a poll should i stay or should i go now?? hey, that's a song.

i will put you in the "go now" side of poll.

it is exactly that, they figured we're new we'll deal with- a bunch of inconveniences.
 
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