Housing Fiasco Part 2

Well, boys and girls, in case you've just joined us in the recent national tragedy that newsmakers are calling, "Katie's Dramatic Move 2005," please take a moment to acquaint yourselves with the events that have transpired in the last 3 days.

After calling the new landlord and having a very calm, yet forceful discussion with her on the phone, she informed me that she would make the cleaners cancel their camping vacation and come over to finish cleaning the house. Her instructions to me were to leave the house key under the flower pot on the back porch and by the time I got home from work on Tuesday, the house would be magically transformed into a quasi hygienic, non-third world looking domicile.

With confidence that my new landlord was not going to let me down, I carried out her instructions.

After work yesterday I slowly approached the door. I hoped with all my heart that it was sparkling and clean. I hoped that the cleaning people had used as much elbow grease as Allison did this weekend. I just really wanted it to be perfect so that my new roommate, who I've recently dubbed "FURY," would be placated.

I took a furtive glance around and noticed that the place had obviously had the windows scoured. Plus, the black slime that was growing above the shower surround was much less noticeable.

Somewhat satisfied for the moment, I finished up painting my new bedroom. It is a beautiful creamy light yellow color that just makes me feel at home.

I went out for dinner with my friend Martin in Denver and when I came back at around 9 I was presented with interesting new information.

FURY was home and chomping at the bit to tell me the events that had transpired during my absence.

She said that the landlord had stopped by. FURY had walked through the house pointing out things that were still unacceptable. The landlord kept trying to make excuses for why the house was presented to us in such a horrifying states. The landlord said that she had tried to tell the former tenants that they needed to clean the house or they would be charged for it. The landlord kept trying to make it everyone else's fault but her own. FURY was having nothing of it. She told the landlord that she was very disappointed thus far in our relationship with her and felt like we needed some kind of offering to repair the relationship.

Later, after the landlord left and before I got home, the previous tenants stopped by to talk to FURY. They were really confused by why we were reacting so much to the condition of the house's cleanliness (or filth rather).

The previous girls told FURY that the landlord told them not to worry about cleaning because she was going to have all the walls repainted and the hardwood floors sanded and re-stained.

FURY and I have decided that they are both liars and we aren't going to trust what either side of the argument says.

We're drafting a list of complaints about the house, having the landlord walk through and inspect them and then demanding that they be fixed by October 1 or we are going to withhold rent. The landlord is going to sign it and so will we.

This morning as I was leaving the house for work I looked in our mailbox and saw that the landlord had left us a check. She pro-rated the rent for the month and gave us our rent back for August 1 since it was too dirty to move in.

I'd say that's a nice way to attempt to rebuild the relationship.