So recently I wrote an email to the property manager, informing her that we had had our house phone disconnected due to the dearth of calls from companies wanting to help us “save our house,” and that we had also gotten local Colorado cell numbers.  I gave her my new number.  Then I informed her that the downstairs toilet was running, and that the dishwasher was no longer getting dishes clean.

Her response was first, “how did those people get your phone number” and then “I’ll send the handyman over to fix the toilet on Wednesday,” and asking how long the toilet had been running (they pay the water bill here, I do not).  There was no mention of the dishwasher.

I was in a mood, so I wrote her back, reminding her that the house and its address was listed on every foreclosure site in the state, and that we were getting stacks of mailings from banks, the Boulder County Courts, and real estate agents, all regarding the foreclosure. I also told her that our phone number was listed, so it wasn’t all that hard to do a reverse lookup and get the number. I told her this was one of the more annoying experiences of my lifetime.  I also told her that I didn’t know how long the toilet had been running, that because the basement is pretty much unlivable in the wintertime that I am usually not down there except to do laundry, and happened to notice the running toilet.  I mentioned the dishwasher again.

Her response was:

“The restructuring of the mortgage is on tract. This is not our choice, it is Colo law procedure. :(. I have not ever heard of the dwn stairs being unliveable?? Can your husband not repair the running toilet? Per the lease agreement, tenants will be responsible for repairs $45 or less.”

If you’re guessing by this point that I’m seeing red, you’re right.  “This is not our choice.”  Really?  You didn’t pay the mortgage for at least six months, maybe more, but everything we are going through is “not their choice?”  This is wrong on so many levels it defies reason.  Just once, I’d like to see SOMEONE stand up and take some responsibility, admit their mistakes, and promise to do better.  All I’ve heard through this entire process is excuses and more excuses.  That it is the “economy,” it is whatever.  Well, I’ve paid my rent on time every single month I’ve been here.  So have the neighbors in the other side of the duplex.  We have paid our rent, which is collectively almost TWICE the mortgage payment.  I did my part.

Furthermore, what stake do I have in fixing the running toilet?  I do not pay the water bills.  I couldn’t give a rats butt right now about the running toilet.  I have no desire to fix it (although I could and it would be pretty simple as I’ve done this kind of thing before).  What possible incentive do I have to fix it?  I only told her about it because I thought she might want to have it fixed, since the extra use of water is probably showing on the bill.

And as for the downstairs being unlivable, she is already aware of this problem, and we have had email conversations about the issue with lack of heat and lack of electrical outlets in living spaces.  I have the emails that she sent me regarding the issues and how they were not going to fix them.  In fact, her argument about why they were not going to fix the problems in the basement was that the house had been approved for Section 8, and that meant there was nothing to fix.  She also suggested we purchase and plug in a space heater in that large room to make it usable.  She forgets there are no electrical outlets in which to plug in such a device.

According to Longmont City Occupancy Codes, which I have a complete copy of, the downstairs room with no heat and no egress window is not a livable space.  Neither is my daughter’s bedroom, which has heat and electric, but an improper egress window (needs a ladder and needs to be twice as big as it is).   To make matters worse, the other half of the duplex has heat and electric in the large “family room” and also has ladders and the appropriate size windows for egress from the basement should there be a fire.  And those tenants pay $100 less a month than we do.

Oh, and again, she failed to make any mention of the non-working dishwasher.

I really hate being lied to.  Especially in this big of a way.  When I signed my lease in June, and paid a quite handsome sum of money in rent and deposit, the owner was already not paying the mortgage.  That whole “approved for Section 8″ thing she used as an argument to not fixing the big issues with the finished basement?  Also a lie.  Then there was the whole “lie of omission” that occurred when we had to find out about the foreclosure by being served with foreclosure papers in November, four months after we signed our lease.

We are starting to look for another house.  We have time; the foreclosure sale is not until March 14th, and federal law says that even if the foreclosure goes forward, that we have 90 days after the foreclosure before we must leave the premises.  And if a refinancing is completed in time, and the house is saved from foreclosure, then I’m still obligated to the lease until end of June.  And if I find the perfect house and we’ve managed to save up the money to move, then I will be using my trump card to get the lease broken.  That trump card is a phone call to the City of Longmont Occupancy and Code Inspection office.  I’m sure they’d love to take a look around this place.

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 21st, 2012 at 8:20 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.