This past Saturday I had the great misfortune of having the sink which my washing machine drains into clog. Not a small clog either apparently, because three bottles of drain-o type chemicals later it still wasn’t working. So after a day of failed attempts I gave in and sent the Land “lady” an e-mail:
FROM ME on Monday, March 1, 2010, at 6:30 PM:
Dear Land “lady”:
The sink in the basement that the washing machine drains into is clogged. I've tried plunging it and 3 bottles of Drano (all different kinds) to get it unclogged, but I haven't had any luck. Can we get a plumber over here tomorrow? This has been going on since Saturday. I was really hoping I could fix it, but I think the drain most likely needs snaked and that's beyond my skills.
Jacob has a doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon. If you could get a plumber here around 4:00 pm I could be here, as long as it wouldn't take them more than an hour and a half to fix the drain.
Let me know.
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FROM the Land “lady” at 11:00 PM (yes PM) on Monday, March 1, 2010:
It needs snaked...no plumber. Do you have a lint catcher on the end of your washer hose? You need them...found at grocery store to prevent lint clogging.
Please ask my ex. He should have a snake. Also. he should be the first person to ask for help there.
Land “lady”
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OK, I don’t really care who fixes the drain at this point, but I’m mad that she waited until 11:00 p.m. to tell me this and they only way I saw this was I get messages on my blackberry. So as soon as I got her message I texted her ex something like “I have a clogged drain in the basement and Land “lady” said to call you to fix it. Help.”
Then Land “lady’s” ex calls me up and asks what the problem is, and I apologize for him even having to be called because 1. he’s NOT the landlord anymore and 2. he gets no rental income of payment for fixing things in my side of the duplex.
I proceed to tell Mr. X what the situation is and that “lady” said I should call him. We discussed back and forth that it’s wrong for her to put either one of us in this situation, but there you have it. So Mr. X said he’d come by the next night to fix the drain. Problem solve, right? WRONG. He never showed up! Grrr. So now it’s Tuesday. I haven’t been able to do any laundry for about 3 days and with two kids in the house it’s starting to get ugly. When I get into work I decide I’m going to send the “lady” a nasty e-mail and tell her I’m hiring a plumber and I’ll deduct it from the rent, because, quite frankly, this is a load of crap. Fortunately I got stuck in a meeting and came out of that meeting to find this message waiting for me...
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FROM the Land “lady””:
Okay Beth – I have Mr Rooter scheduled to come to your house this evening between 6 & 8. They have a 2 hour window. I gave them your home number of xxx-xxx-xxxx.
My EX tells me that you are considering moving because of the repair issues there? Is this true? He also said he repaired the tiles at the entrance there. If he was to fix the items I purchased and didn’t (I had no idea that he didn’t), you needed to either leave him a note or call him on it. Remember the message previous was that I purchase the items and he will fix them. I didn’t know he didn’t – no one told me.
His work is xxx-xxx-xxxx or xxxx and cell is xxx-xxx-xxxx if you ever need to call him.
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NOW I’M MAD. I had sent her a letter at least one month before this telling her that Kevin had replaced the broken toilet seat and the broken door knob. So she ABSOLUTELY knew, but just didn’t care, or never bothered to read my letter…whichever. And why is it on me to make arrangements with HER ex to repair things in this house??? REALLY? Um, don’t think so.
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MY RESPONSE to Land “lady”:
You can also give the plumber my cell number which is xxx-xxx-xxxx. I'll try to leave work a little early so I'm sure to be at the house by 6:00.
And yes, for a number of reasons I am considering moving. In part because of the repair issues, and also because of the school district. With the likelihood that a contract will not be resolved in the school district by next fall I don't want to put Jacob through another strike. He truly needs routine and between the snow delays (which obviously can't be helped) and then a week of strike time, it's really affected him.
As far as the repairs I find it frustrating to be at the mercy of Mr. X’s schedule and availability. I told you in a letter I sent with the last rent check that my boyfriend repaired the door knob and the toilet seat, because I simply was done with waiting. Mr. X isn't around all that often, or at least he's not around when I am, so things just continued to remain unresolved. Given the personal issues between the two of you, maybe it would be best just not to involve him in the repairs and upkeep, and since he's not the landlord (or at least doesn't receive the rent) then there really isn't much incentive for him to keep up the property...it puts all of us in a bad position.
And yes, Mr. X did glue down the tiles, but I don't know how long that will last. He mentioned trying to find some replacement flooring, but said that probably wouldn't be for awhile.
By the way, Mr. X had told me he was coming last night to fix the drain, and I never heard or saw him, so I was going to contact you today about a plumber coming over to fix the situation. As you know with little ones in the house the laundry piles up pretty quickly.
Thank you for contacting the plumber. I'll let you know once they have finished the work
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AND Land “lady” responds:
Hang in there Beth, seems neither of us can count on him, therefore, we won’t. But in any case, if you do need him, keep those numbers I gave you. For anything else regarding repairs, I will do them (because frankly, I can or I can certainly try) or I will hire the job out. Let’s just leave Mr. X out of the repair picture. He’s still in retaliation mode towards me. Sorry about that!
Now regarding keeping that drain clean, please get the metal mesh lint catchers found at the local grocery store or hardware store. They catch 99% of the fabric lint that tends to clog those drains.
I had no clue that he said he’d fix that drain – he didn’t tell me.
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After talking to Mr. X I find out that she is lying about talking to him about this. Plus, she never told him she was going to hire a plumber. Meanwhile, she called her attorney and got him on the phone with Mr. X’s attorney DEMANDING that he make this repair. At this time I’m un-aware of all of this.
But I did send this response:
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“Yep, I called him after I got you e-mail and was expecting him last night to fix it. By 10:00 pm I gave up waiting and called it a night.
I did buy the lint trap thing too, so I'll make sure that's on when the plumber comes over.”
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From Land “lady”:
Yeah, the lint trap will really help. I've used them for years.
Sorry about Mr. X. What else can I say. Can't control his behavior. Just call me in the future.
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Ok, so the woman is a nutter and has no business sense whatsoever. Talk about a bad way to handle this situation.
Even better, when I got home from work last night my front door was open, and Mr. X was in the basement fixing the sink drain, which ok, fine, thank you for fixing it, but I told him “you know Land “lady” hired a plumber to come do this right?” He says “no” of course and so we started piecing things together, only to find that she was tell us both two different stories.
Yeah, all this over some freakin’ lint in my drain…and she wonders why I want to move out????
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