Get Your Briefs On

I have a brief update for you all.

First of all, after I received that rather interesting voicemail from those people, I worried a little bit about the last e-mail that I sent them. So, I forwarded the whole conversation to my attorney and she assured me that I had done nothing illegal. That’s what I thought, but in situations like this, you can never be too sure.

Secondly, our property management guy, Ed, was able to get into the house through a window this morning. He reported that there was no major damage to the interior of the house. He said it needed a major cleaning, minor repairs, and paint throughout though. He also said that the yard is still a massive mess. They even left either a snow mobile or a 4 wheeler (can’t remember what Ed said it was) there. It also turns out that those people have a weird idea of what “vacated” means because Ed said that there was still wood smoldering in the fireplace this morning. Whatever. I’m waiting to hear back from my attorney about what I can do with their property that they left at the house and how soon I can have the locks changed. I’m hoping that she says today because Ed is on standby. If not, he’ll do it first thing in the morning.

Cleaning, repairs, and trash hauling isn’t cheap. You’re allowed to sue for up to $5,000 in small claims court and with court and legal fees, we’ll be pushing, if not exceeding, that max. I’ve never been to court before. I wonder if I can add a new outfit to their list of expenses, lol.

Now that I have a more complete idea of what I’m dealing with, I’m in a much better frame of mind. I haven’t cried since Saturday, lol.

Now, I’m off for lunch and then back to work. Oh. Did I mention that I’ve taken on a third client over the weekend? YUP! I was pretty excited about that and it’s wonderful to have something positive to focus on.

Again, I Spoke Too Soon

I spoke too soon, yes, but I was trying to be positive and optimistic. See what optimism gets you? A swift kick in the ass that you didn’t really see coming.

Our realtor sent us pictures of the outside of our house that he took yesterday. He didn’t take any interior pictures because the key that I sent him wouldn’t work. I’ve spent the last hour crying like that solves anything. What I’d really like to do is go and beat the crap out of something…or someone.

The front of our house when we lived there:

The picture from yesterday:

The end of the driveway:

The backyard when we lived there:

Backyard pictures taken yesterday:

If this is how they left the outside, I can only imagine what the inside is going to look like when we can finally get in to see it. And I have no idea what those wooden structure things are in the backyard. It’s no wonder they needed a dumpster. How much CRAP did these people have?!?!

There’s no way we can show the house in this condition. At this point, we are trying to sell a piece of crap and in today’s market, nobody wants to fix up houses.'

UGH!!!

The Straw That Broke The Camel’s Back

I think we’re pretty close to a finale with the VT house drama. Well, at least where the tenants are concerned. Throughout the entire thing, I have not addressed any of the accusations that our tenants have made against us. Not to them anyway. You poor people have had to “listen” to quite a bit of it. ;) After the e-mail I received last night, I could no longer keep my mouth shut. I do believe that I showed herculean restraint up to this point. I drafted a response last night, sat on it all day, and finally (after reading it to the Mister over the phone) hit send just a few minutes ago. I feel amazingly better. Holding that much anger and bitterness inside just isn’t good for one’s mental health. I am so proud of my e-mail, that I decided to share it with you all. You’ll have to take me at my word, but I assure you and promise that I copied and pasted our e-mails word for word. Like I have the imagination to make this crud up anyway.

Jenn and Peter,                                    11/18/08

According to my lawyer, you are not legally able to use your security deposit to pay November's rent. The purpose of the security deposit is to ensure that all rents and utilities are paid and to ensure that there is no damage to the property and to pay to have the house cleaned upon your vacating the property. If you'll refer to your original lease, it states that the $1300 you paid in February 2007 was a security deposit and not last month's rent. I also have a letter from Morningstar Properties that defines that payment as a security deposit that I can scan and e-mail to you if you'd like. Furthermore, you would be responsible for not only paying the $500 that you still owe for November but a prorated amount for the eight days of December that would get you to the end of your 30 days notice which would total $335.00 ($1300/31 = $41.94 x 8 days = $335.52).

By December 8, 2008, which  is the last day of your 30 days notice, you will owe the following:

Sewer/Water:  $704.39

Returned Check Fee for October:  $20.00

Late Payment Fee for October:  $25.00

My Bank’s Returned Item Fee for October's Returned Check:  $5.00

Balance of November's Rent:  $500.00

Late Payment Fee November:  $25.00

December's Prorated Rent:  $335.00

Total Due by December 8, 2008:  $1614.39

This amount does not include any cleaning or repair charges that will be deducted from the $1300.00 security deposit.

Sincerely,

~

Trisha

 

Trisha,                                        12/2/08

Just letting you know that the house is vacant.  There are some things that are in the yard that will be picked up this week.  When we moved in there was hardly any oil in the tank and we had to have an emergency delivery made, therefore you should know that there is very little oil in there now and you should probably arrange for a delivery so that you don't have problems with the pipes.

According to my attorney the $1300.00 security deposit should be in an interest bearing account until such time as the tenant vacates the premises.  The money should be available to you to pay the utilities of $704.39.  When we reported to you the loss of our belongings that were in the "dry" cellar, you never responded back to us.  We didn't pursue it because we thought you had enough on your plate and we could address it at the end of the lease.  The house is in the same condition it was when we moved in so instead of returning the balance of the $1300.00 which equals $595.61, please apply it to the balance of the $910.00 you claim we owe and the $314.39 left doesn't come anywhere near the loss of personal property and the cost of dumpster to clear the damaged property.  I'm really sorry it has come down to this.  I had hoped that we would be able to end this relationship amicably.

Sincerely,

Peter and Jennifer

 

Jenn,                                12/3/08

I suppose after all these months the things you say and do should no longer surprise me but wonders never cease. You continue to pass blame and not take responsibility for your actions to the point where it is laughable. I will never understand how your bouncing four rent checks and paying your rent late consistently and habitually is my fault. If you are honest about this situation, you will admit that out of the 21 months that you bothered to pay your rent at all, we could probably count on one hand how many of those months you paid on time and with good funds.

You would be wrong if you think that I don’t accept responsibility for my role in this soap opera. I allowed you and Peter to weave stories, make excuses, and take advantage. That was my fault. I was too trusting, too kind, and allowed for you to get away with too much. Something else that we should be honest about here is that if you had pulled the stunts that you did on any other landlord, you would have been evicted many months before my husband and I evicted you. However, if you were an honest and forthright person, you would pay the money that you owe me and stop making excuses which you clearly aren’t capable of doing. Instead, you will most likely turn tail and leave my husband and I to clean up after you and sink further into debt without the least bit of regard for what you have done. Maybe it was easier for you to take advantage of us because you don’t have a face to put with the name, but let me assure you, we are real people, with real children, and real problems, a good portion of which you have caused. It would be a small thing if you could acknowledge that.

As for the “damage”, your selective memory continues to amaze me. I repeatedly asked you to send pictures of the supposed “damage” which you never did even though you said you would. I’m not sure how you expected me to take you at your word when you couldn’t manage to pay your rent on time. Even so, you never once implied that the “damage” was hundreds of dollars. Furthermore, as I told you before, repair requests were supposed to be made in writing which is something else  you never did. This is just one more thing that you’ve dragged out of the muck to muddy the situation in your favor. One more thing to pass blame on, one more thing to lessen your guilt. I have to shake my head that you would try and say that I’m responsible for your renting a dumpster. There is nothing in your lease that states that you had to rent a dumpster in order to vacate the premises not that you ever read your lease, apparently. If you had read any of the three leases that were given to you, two of which you signed, you wouldn’t have been able to try and accuse me of slipping things in on you. I specifically remember urging you to read the things before signing them.

This whole ordeal has tired me and I am as done with it as I can be. I expect you to mail all keys to me within a week. If you do not, I will bill you to change the locks which is just one more thing you will run from, I am sure. Your concern for the pipes was touching, by the way, and you can save your insincere apologies for the next poor schmuck you rent from.

~

Trisha

And there you have it. I doubt she’ll have the courage to reply and even if she does, like I said, I’m done. I’m, as I type this (I’m actually on hold with the oil company, heheh), making arrangements to winterize the house until we can get it sold. The last thing I need at this point is frozen, burst pipes. Luckily, I’ve been told that the winter up there has been mild up to this point. Since it’s looking like we won’t be able to get an oil delivery until January, I hope the weather holds out. I sure picked a bad time of the year to put my foot down.

I’m off to nurse my killer headache.

Christmas Edition #3

No, I didn't skip #2. That was yesterday but Thursday is always titled, "Thursday Meme" when I participate so that's what you got.

Anyway...

Question #5 from the list:

Do you dream of a White Christmas like Vermont....New England, or do you dream of a more tropical Christmas like Florida or Hawaii?

HA!! What do you think my answer to this one is going to be??? You (I mean the universal "you", not Jennifer's mom) can take your white Christmas and shove it. I had Vermont Christmases for three years and I don't care if I ever see another snow flake for the rest of my natural and unnatural life. You think white Christmases sound all nice and traditional and like it's something beautiful off of a Christmas card. Does anyone ever factor in the subzero wind chills, the sliding down the steep, mountainous roads even in your 4 wheel drive, and that a white Christmas in Vermont means 40 inches of the stuff and not just one or two that's manageable??? NO! They don't. I suppose it's all fine and dandy if you're into snow shoeing, sledding (that's snowmobiling to you laymen), skiing, and frostbite. I hate the cold and the snow and one day a year doesn't make all the rest of it okay. Our house in Vermont got over 100 inches of snow last winter. Take that and put it in your stocking.

Much to Tell

I'm home from my exams. They weren't nearly as bad as I thought they would be. My English exam was looooong but not hard. I had to write a poem, an intro for a creative nonfiction piece, and a short story in addition to regular exam-type questions. It was a LOT of writing.

For my Mythology exam, it was long also in content but the last 12 questions were definition which were easy peezy.

My business exam was crazy. My instructor is out of her flipping gourd. I got all the answers correct as far as the technical part of it went, but then she wanted examples of out the book, examples from real life that were less than 3 years old and she wanted me to map the chapters that the questions were from. It was ridiculous. AND the stupid thing was only 4 questions long, 10 points a piece, and 25% of my grade. I hope to hell I never get her for another class.

But, it's done and I'm glad to have one less thing on my plate.

As for the house deal in Vermont, JMT isn't taking my calls. She's not answering my e-mails. She's not answering her voicemail. And, she's taken to taking her phone off the hook at night. How ridiculous is that?? It's not as if I can jump through the phone and strangle her. I just want to talk for pete's sake and figure out what the freak is going on. And, of course, to ask where the hell my money is at. It looks as if I'm going to have to involve the sheriff after all which I was trying to avoid doing.

And, lastly...My mother-in-law and her husband arrived last night for a visit from Ohio. They took the girls out somewhere so I have the house to myself for a bit. It's nice. Peaceful and quiet. I was also able to have lunch with C after my exams which isn't something we've done since Vermont. Lunch on his lunch hour from work that is. Not have lunch altogether. Heheh.

Now, I'm off to take a nap. I didn't get to sleep until late and I got up with C this morning because I couldn't sleep. I'm beat.

Considerably Calmer *Update*

But no less panicked and pissed off. I feel better now that we have a plan of attack concerning JMT, our renter. What sucks is that I have to follow Vermont's laws or she would already be out on her ass. Step 1: Mail a certified letter to pay or quit. By Vermont law, I have to give her 14 business days to pay her late rent and all the fees. She's now into us for almost $1500 if you were wondering. Step 2: At the end of the 14 days, regardless of whether or not she sends us the money she owes, I'm mailing out another certified letter which will contain an eviction notice. She has yet to sign a new lease since hers was up July 31st so she's only living in my house on a month to month basis. The next step depends on whether or not she pays us the money she owes, but if she doesn't, Step 3 will be to notify the police that she's passing bad checks which, in the state of Vermont, is a felony offense because they're for over $500, punishable with up to a year in jail, and a $1000 fine. Step 4: List the house for sale and hope for the best. This whole thing has the potential to ruin us financially but what else can we do? I had the worst night's sleep last night that I've had in over 7 months. My hands and feet are swollen which means my blood pressure is high again. And I can't eat which is the only good thing about this. I've been running up my cell minutes trying to reach her and various other people. She had her cell phone disconnected and won't return my calls when I leave messages on her home phone. Big shocker there. She has one certified letter that's been sitting at her post office for 5 days now (we've been having other problems with her for the past 4 months that I didn't want to post about) and another one on the way. I've tried reaching her at work, but I only get her voicemail. I've also been in touch with the rental management company and they're sending me all the background info they gathered on her. I also called a realtor to discuss the housing market in Vermont and the possibility of listing the house. The timing couldn't be worse. Why couldn't her check have bounced on Friday when I wouldn't have found it until after my exams??? This is such a nightmare.

Well, I'm off to the post office to make yet another futile attempt to contact her. Wish me luck.

****UPDATE****

So, I mailed the notice for all the good it'll do me. The first certified letter I sent her, I mailed on 8/7 and it's still sitting in the post office in Vermont. I also talked to a lawyer to make sure that I'm doing all of this correctly and I am. Of course. However, it turns out the the Pay or Quit notice I sent today serves as an eviction notice so all she has is 14 days from receiving the letter to pay or vacate. Receive being the operative word here. Is she refuses to pick up the letters, she hasn't received notice. Legally. My lawyer suggested that I call the sheriff's office and have her served. Are you all believing this? I have to have somebody served and it's not even divorce papers, lol. If this ends up in court, I hope I can get all my post office fees, serving fees, and all other freaking money back. This legal business don't come cheap.

What a Bunch of Bull!

Read this article on The Simpsons Movie. I cannot believe that freaking Vermont beat out all the other Springfields. From all the votes, this just reinforces my belief that most people are complete, freaking, morons. Now, Vermont gets to premier the movie. It figures this would happen mere months after we move away. Sheesh.

Stuff

I feel like rambling. I know. What makes this different than any other time that I post? Well, :P to you.

M's birthday went really well. She and her friend had a good time last night and she liked all of her presents. Today at the beach was kinda blah. There have been storms in the area so there was a yellow flag up today and it was definitely warranted. The surf was very rough. We only stayed about 2 1/2 hours.

On another note, C and are taking tentative steps to selling the house in VT. It's a long, boring, and complicated story that promises to have many plot twists but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the process won't be too painful. The ball, for the moment, is in our renter's court so all we can do now is sit and wait to see what she says.

Tomorrow is going to be full of the homework that I put off during the week. I suck.