Paradise Below Us
Ahhh. Renting a house. I suppose that some people are able to have a good experience renting a house. Unfortunately, The Carrolls are not those people. Let me tell you our lovely story.
May 2006: Move from Austin, TX (*sniff*) to Nashville, TN. Move into apartment (gag) while trying to sell house in Austin (torture).
I really, really tried to keep a positive view of things.
After all, I was glowing with the aura of happy pregnant lady!
It didn’t work.
May 2006 – May 2007: Miserable living in apartment. Why?
*Brown Recluse Spider infestation.
*Loud “Horse-Laugh Harry” upstairs. I honestly think he is the illegitimate child of Mr. Ed. Really.
*Drug Dealers outside our window. Thank you, but no, our recovering drug-addict friend would NOT like to buy some pot from you, asshat.
*Stupid lady smoking a cigarette practically in my VERY PREGNANT face at the pool, who obviously had a death wish, but got lucky and somehow survived with her life. I am not holding a grudge, she just really deserves to have her Marlboros shoved into her other bodily orifices. While they are lit.
*Sh*tty Property Management Office that likes to lose your packages. “Ohh, really? That was your package? So sorry. We thought the box looked like it would be happy WITH SOMEONE ELSE.”
Etc.
May 2007: Not ready to buy another house yet, but eager to leave apartment living, we rent a house.
Summer 2007: Among (many) other crappy things, we discover that there is a problem cooling the house. The AC Unit runs all day long just to try to maintain a 78Degree temp setting. It fails. It is usually at least 85 in the house.
We nearly die.
Property Management fixes some of the faulty duct work (wasn’t even ATTACHED TO THE VENT under the house!!!), but refuses to do the entire job. We are left with leaky duct work.
Bills arrive for AC. We die again.
Current Day: We have just received a gas (heating) bill. This is separate from the electric bill. Almost $250.
For one month.
Our heads simultaneously exploded.
For that amount? My ass better have been leaving all the doors and windows open, cranking the heat up to about 85 and walking around here NAKED, sipping rum-filled drinks from my SWANKY COCONUT CUP and getting my feet rubbed by the Cabana Boy by the INDOOR, HEATED POOL that we had installed, while lovely Hawaiian tunes play in the background. AND I’d be needing to have had perfectly moisturized hair and skin and a FREAKING TAN.
Oh. No. Wait. Is that what was happening? HELL NO. I was all up in this mother wearing my ugly sweatshirts and socks, scratching my dried out, pasty-white, itchy skin, wondering why the stupid heater has to run so much just to maintain a temperature of 68.
DUR. It’s because our CRAPPY Property Managers and CRAPPY House Owner refuse to fix the duct work properly! They literally told us this on Friday. “Hi. This is your CRAPPY Property Manager. I am a useless bag of ****, have a nice day!”
They refuse to fix it. They don’t care about our exorbitant Heating/Cooling bills.
I think, in short, this is what they said to us:
Except they aren’t cute.
John walked outside the other night and saw steam rising out of the door to our crawl space.
STEAM IS RISING OUT FROM THE CRAWL SPACE.
*slaps self in forehead*
Of course! The Tropical Party is under our house, not inside it!
I need to pack up my hula skirt and my coconuts and squeeze under there. Do you think the Cabana Boy is waiting to give me a foot rub?
Until then? I’m off to browse real estate in Nashville. Guess who’s moving in May?
87 comments
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Sarah
Holy hell, that’s an insane bill!! Ours was $77 last month (3-bed, 2-bath apartment with leaky windows), and I thought that insane!!
Good luck with househunting!!
Sarah’s last blog post..Never Say Never
Twitter: SarahCB1208
Gordo
Yay! Spring moves are the best. I could NEVER go back to renting having our own own homes for 12 years. No way.
We’re shrinking our digs in the spring. We really don’t need extra space enough to have the entire offensive line of a football team stay overnight.
Gordo’s last blog post..I won the lottery!
Maggie
Ugh. Aggravating. We’ve had issues in apartments, but that’s crazy. I could almost deal better with a conglomeration person of Smoky McNoisyMan Drug Dealer before shelling out so damn much additional money every month. That sucks.
Maggie’s last blog post..Weekly Winners Sunday 2/3/08
Mackenzie's Momma
Good luck house hunting you MUST try craigslist that place is like amazing. My Best friend just found a house on there for way cheap!
Mackenzie’s Momma’s last blog post..Weekly winners Tutu
river
I’m betting that for you May can’t come fast enough.
That gas bill stuns me! Over her, I’m renting a small unit, 2 bedrooms (although one is so small it’s a junk room), combined living/dine, tiny kitchen, tiny bath, laundry is an alcove. I’d prefer a house, but can’t afford it. Anyway, back to the gas bill, our bill comes quarterly and the last one was about $198, which is pretty reasonable compared to yours. We have a gas heater in the living room, gas hot water system, and a gas stove for cooking.
river
I’m betting that for you May can’t come fast enough.
That gas bill stuns me! Over here, I’m renting a small unit, 2 bedrooms (although one is so small it’s a junk room), combined living/dine, tiny kitchen, tiny bath, laundry is an alcove. I’d prefer a house, but can’t afford it. Anyway, back to the gas bill, our bill comes quarterly and the last one was about $198, which is pretty reasonable compared to yours. We have a gas heater in the living room, gas hot water system, and a gas stove for cooking.
Kay
I can’t believe they can charge YOU, the RENTERS for the duct work. UGH. Hope you find a better place in May!
Kay’s last blog post..Things I have said in the past 24 hours
Kay
Oh and I lived in a rent house, the gas was the heat only and in the winter we had $250 bills (but it was warm) and $125 electric. Gas prices are killer right now for most people in the South, you aren’t alone. We bought our house this past year, our payment is $150 less. We are all electric and heat and cool for more than HALF. YAY!
Kay’s last blog post..Things I have said in the past 24 hours
zoeyjane
i remember paying about $375 for two months and nearly stroked out. I feel for you. I really do. I also suggest looking into your rental laws and if applicable, like where I live, either filing a dispute or fixing the duct yourself and deducting the cost from your rent.
zoeyjane’s last blog post..Not Even Close to Sanity.
Christine
As renters, I can certainly sympathize. Always hated apartment living. Now we live in a rented house now with Mr. Play-His-Music-Too-Loud-at-2am as a neighbor. We’ve always seem to get landlords who are into DIY and never fix things right the first time. And you want to talk gas heating bill… Michigan winters are the worst!
Hope you find a new home… soon!
Christine’s last blog post..Link of the week: Energy Fiend
Veronica
Moving! WOOOHOOO!
I have always rented privately (real estate’s wouldn’t touch us because we were a) young and b) Nathan has stuff in collection)
My first landlord was lovely. He even came out and fixed a washer that was causing my tap to drip. They paid for EVERYTHING.
This landlord is just as good as the last one. Maybe you should just move to Australia with me?
Veronica’s last blog post..Sleep Wars by Amy
Taz
yay for moving..
yuck for crappy landlords..
we will move one day.. hopefully..
kerrianne
Surprise electric and heating bills are fantastic! And by “fantastic!” I mostly mean “pass me the tequila!”
(I love your hair, period, but also with hot fire red in it, amen.)
kerrianne’s last blog post..Because January Is For Lists
daysgoby
Oh, honey….RUN!
I hope you find a better place.
daysgoby’s last blog post..making my day
Beth_C
Sorry for the crap you have to deal with but…househunting is fun! Good luck!
Love the red highlights!
Beth_C’s last blog post..100 Things About Me…Part 3
Lilacspecs
Hey now! Do you know how long it took me to finally live in the same house as my cabana boy?? You guys better move fast if you plan on stealing people’s cabana boys right out from under them.
On a serious note, how’s the thyroid issue? Any better?
Lilacspecs’s last blog post..Sleepy Sunday
Donna W
I hate to laugh at anybody’s troubles, but you have such a way with words, I HAVE to laugh! I’m glad you’re going to move.
Donna W’s last blog post..Somebody just SHOOT me!
Maria
Our land lord is the awesome. When he’s not off surfing in Australia or Costa Rica, he’s really cool and making sure we have everything we need and never pressuring us about the rent.
He does overcharge tor this tiny ass house though. *lol*
We plan on moving around May as well – our first purchase.
Maria’s last blog post..Playgroup Escamotage…
Ree
Squee! Yay for The Carrolls. Moving, my dear, sucks eggs though.
Find someplace good and hope you get to stay there a good long while.
Ree’s last blog post..The Great Interview Experiment – Part 1 (Kyran interviews Ree)
irunwithscissors
yay for moving! Well, actually moving kinda sucks, but yay for getting out of a crappy renting situation!
irunwithscissors’s last blog post..Wait, todays super bowl sunday?!?
irunwithscissors
oh, p.s. loved the red in your hair.. that was way cute!
irunwithscissors’s last blog post..Wait, todays super bowl sunday?!?
Tasina
Ahhh the joys of renting. But actually, we’ve been very lucky with our rental house. Our landlords are really nice and anything we fix ourselves or have repaired we get to deduct from the rent. The house is LITTLE BITTY TEENY TINY but it’s got a nice fenced backyard which is great for Noah. We also do that budget billing thing for our heat/cooling – I’m sure we’d have outrageous bills in the winter and summer if we didn’t.
Tasina’s last blog post..Weekly Winners 02.03.08
tommie
First off, let me say…You are gorgeous pregnant. There is no way I could ever pull off that shot looking that cute!
Second good luck on the hunting…..We are moving this summer, but only because Uncle Sam says it is time to go somewhere else!
tommie’s last blog post..weekly winners
Beck
We’re paying $350 a month for heating oil here. But we live in the frozen north.
I just went and looked up “real estate Nashville” and there are some AWESOME houses there. That’s it, I’m moving! (not really.)
Carrie
Good luck house hunting! I hope you find the perfect home.
Carrie’s last blog post..The Bucket List a la moi
Twitter: koehmstedt
Kitty
I feel for you! We rented a condo a year ago and had the same exact problems you’re having with the electric bills/heating bills/constant running furnance with a freezing house.NEVER AGAIN!!!! NO HOAs EVER with “property managers”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Place was a brand new piece of shit with nothing hooked up and came with amongst other things no shelves in the kitchen cabinets.NIGHTMARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Melinda
Man, that sucks!! I had a similar experience when we lived in our apartment a few years ago. I think we lived in the same complex, at least the descriptions are similar : )
Glad to hear you are getting out of that hell-hole.
Melinda’s last blog post..Man with Yellow Hat
Junebug
Agreeing that you do look gorgeous pregnant. What a fab picture! I never thought of having a sexy picture back in the stone age. Ha! Also the red in your hair looked fantastic.
Yes, moooove! Our gas bill was high last month. $252.97, but we have a pretty big house, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths and kept it quite toasty. My thermostat is set on 74. I should turn it down. It also was stinkin’ cold outside here in Oklahoma for several days.
Junebug’s last blog post..Fun Monday-The Bucket List
amy
Oh man, that is INSANE!! Yep, I think it is high time to get outta Dodge! Good luck on the house hunt!
amy’s last blog post..Sharing the Love
Josh
I was out walking last week in East Nashvegas and came across a house that was for rent.
Chester Ave (between Gallatin & Chapel: 37206)
Josh’s last blog post..3006 words
MommyTime
Even when you’re pissed you’re funny. But you seriously need to move. Until then, may I suggest you call the Building Inspector? That’s what we did when our landlords wouldn’t fix the windows that wouldn’t close and we were paying our own heating bills in Madision, WI. We didn’t actually report them, just called to find out what it would take for the windows, etc., to meet code. Then called the landlords and let them know that we’d done just that, and if they didn’t make the repairs, we were going to have a follow-up call to schedule an actual inspection. Our windows were fixed that week. Worth a try…
MommyTime’s last blog post..Give a Kid a Camera
sassy
Yer from Austin? I grew up there ! I can see how (sniff) renting in Nashville is for the birdies.
But if you want to buy a house, I’m selling mine here in France. Think about it. I’ll cut you a sweet deal.
justmylife
I am getting used to our $250. elecric bill, we too apparently love the tropics, but to add a gas bill to that, I woould have died on the spot. I would look into a rent strike until they fixed THEIR duct work. Its not your place to fix their problems. Good luck with the realtor ads.
justmylife’s last blog post..We have a couple of new members….
Suzy :)
ROFLOL! At least you have a sense of humor about all of this nonsense!
I too find myself in the horrid renting cycle. Currently I have a HEARD of ELEPHANTS (8 hispanic men, in a 2 bed 1 bath apartment) living above me. As if the constant trouncing isn’t enough, they’ve decided to start blaring music so loud it vibrates my walls… seriously, they are vibrating, but when I go up to their door, I can hardly hear it… weird. Anyway their, music is loud AND in a language I can’t understand!
We were just about to make an offer on our own new place, when my hubby broke his leg… now we can’t get a loan until he’s off Worker’s Comp, and HR won’t let him return to work until he’s off crutches (2 months). So, we sit here a while longer.
Have fun looking for your new home!
Suzy
Suzy
’s last blog post..Grandmother’s Flower Gardens and Other Such Quilts
Jessa
Isn’t there some way to fight them not repairing things? I know they only have to maintain certain temperatures, but the equipment is obviously not working! I’d look into local landlord/tenant laws and see what you can do.
Jessa’s last blog post..Show Me the Flute
Sarcastic Mom, aka Lotus
Hey guys: Just wanted to mention that we were really dumb and signed a lease which included these words:
“Resident has examined the leased premises and agrees to take them in their present condition without alteration or repairs….”
So, yeah. We’re hosed.
It’s okay – moving sucks pretty hard, and it’s going to cost us money that we don’t have, but we know we’ll make it somehow (we’re counting on the Lord’s provision).
We’re very concerned that they will just rent the house again, and someone else will be in the same situation.
Twitter: LotusCarroll
Leslie
I think we lived in the same apartments! Drug dealers. Annoying smokers. Lost packages. I was there, too!
I totally feel you on your bill. We had a $450 electric bill for December – and our house isn’t even heated with electric! Then our oil furnance died. Ugh! We own our house, so the repairs are all up to us. If I can offer some advice when you buy – get a home warranty! Ours has paid for itself five times over. It is worth it!
Happy House Hunting! There’s nothing like buying a home. It’s so exciting! Good luck!
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A Whole Lot of Nothing
You got a major hose-job there, Missy. Good luck w/ the house hunting.
MP
Good for you!! Owning is a pain in the ass too..but at least it is YOUR pain in the ass…
MP’s last blog post..It’s Weekly Winners Time!
jill
i have to agree with you on the heating thing. although for some reason our ELECTRIC BILL ALSO went up to 250$ and um, our heat is gas.. i havent figured this out and my husband keeps ignoring me when i mention it. we both want to move. asap.
jill’s last blog post..Super Tuesday/Negative Campaigning Humor
Steph
What a crappy time you have had, I am happy to here that it will soon be over.
Hydes Like Us
Come oooooonnnnnn May!
Hydes
Hydes Like Us’s last blog post..“Hai” there… “Ku”ld you help me?
Colleen
Thanks for the laugh – we’re in a similar boat, but only in that WE’RE the landlords in a nearly 100-yr-old house. I should write down some of the home destr-I mean-construction projects we’ve gone through over the past eight years. (Thank GOD our tenant is my brother!) Can’t wait to get the heck out of our place, hopefully this summer!
Colleen’s last blog post..Me & Poops McGee
Angella
If I bring my own coconut, can I join you in the crawl-space party?
We’ve had our house for seven years now, but oh the stories I could tell of renting apartments in Vancouver back-in-the-day.
Happy house hunting!
PS – You look absolutely adorable in all of the above photos.
Angella’s last blog post..Sunday Best
Marie
I had the same experience with our apartment in FL. Our electric bill in the summer was over $300! For an apartment! With the thermostat set at 80! In Florida! When I was pregnant! We asked the management to do something about the ducts and they said they weren’t required to so they weren’t going to. When we were moving out, Brad removed some screws from the bathroom wall, and nice cold air gushed from the holes. Now we’re in NM, in a much larger apt., and the highest our bill has ever been was $128.
Marie’s last blog post..Starbucks!
Dawn
same as our gas bill … same temp as our house… hmmm
Dawn’s last blog post..NaNoWriMonday – 2:3
Eve
Good luck with your house-hunting. I really, really hate packing everything up to move and then unpack again when I get there. I vowed 25 years ago I was never moving again. Since then I have moved 8 times and will likely move again within 6 months to a year. Bring on the Valium – mama needs to relax.
Eve’s last blog post..A Maudlin Monday or My Life as a Porcupine
the mama bird diaries
Oh I am so sorry. That really, really, really sucks.
But on the bright side, you are such a cute pregnant gal! Look at you in that photo. ADORABLE.
the mama bird diaries’s last blog post..our upstate getaway
Kris
Um, our electric bill for last month was $125. Our gas bill is also separate and was almost the same. It’s crazy – and that’s our normal bill, at 68 degrees. But we’re in WNY. Go figure.
melissa
Oy, I think I would end up buying, too. Good luck!!
melissa’s last blog post..Name Our Kitty Contest…
Saundra
Can I post your website address on my blog! Sharing you would be a joy!
I almost wet my pants with laughter!
Saundra’s last blog post..SUPER BOWL… RED CARPET???
Carrie
UGH! That sounds awful! Hope the next move is better….and no thankyouverymuch to the spiders! You need to move to Washington. We may have snow right now, but no brown recluses! Eeeeeeeek!
Your pictures are awesome!
Carrie’s last blog post..Wyatt’s Blog
zoe
that sucks! the last time i rented a house it was a nightmare. i worked nights and woke up at 10 am…butt naked with some guy in my hallway. apparently management neglected to tell me the electricians were coming to bring us up to code. nice.
zoe’s last blog post..Must Know Monday
janet
crappy landlords suck. i rented a house years ago — i was the first tenant after the landlady bought it. there were MULTIPLE problems… and after i called a few times, she told me to stop bothering her!!!
then six years later, she called to give me 30 days to get out because she was gonna sell it.
thanks a lot for nuthin!
janet’s last blog post..Fun Monday #51: the bucket list edition
Twitter: planetofjanet
Tara
I just found your blog through A Whole Lot of Nothing… I REALLY enjoyed reading your post. Sorry about the crappy landlords… I can totally relate.
Tragically we actually OWN our house but our heating bill is out of control… and we can’t afford to fix it. Sucks to be us.
Tara’s last blog post..But I LIKE cat food mom…
Aggort
I wish I would have found your blog sooner. Every time I read it it makes me smile even if what your talking about sucks so bad you just always seem happy.
Aggort’s last blog post..Keepin’ With the Trend
jennifer
Renting does suck. We have had bad luck renting too. We rented a nasty , cat pee smelling, Yucky kitchen, bee infested house. And I swear it was haunted too. We had a six month lease but were out in less than 5 even though we had to pay for 6 months. I could not get out of there fast enough. Never rent a house by pictures off the internet.
jennifer’s last blog post..Two-Day Course For Men
Christina
Ugh! We had a $170 gas bill for last month, but we live a few states north of you, where it’s a little colder.
Can you call them and threaten to hold rent money in…I don’t remember the word, but it’s like escrow…until they fix the problem? Check your rental contract carefully and threaten to take them to court. That might get them working on the problem a little faster.
HRH
Oh so sorry that really sucks. Good luck with the house hunt. Finding one with good ducts, no laughing horses or drug dealers may take until spring…
HRH’s last blog post..Monday morning potluck (if you dare)…
Jenni
Please, please come buy my house!
Jenni’s last blog post..Misinterpretation
Kat
Ug! We’re moving in July. Our cute little rented house has no central air – and check out my post today for a picture of the heater. That’s the heater. The only heater. My last bill was the same as yours. There’s no crawl space. Ug!
Kat’s last blog post..More Weird Behavior
Jenski
You survived a Brown Recluse spider infestation. SCARY! That sounds like an awfully trying chain of events. I hope they let you into the party below your house.
P.S. You looked like a very happy and beautiful pregnant woman, and I’m not just saying that!
Jenski’s last blog post..I wouldn’t want to cheat
Laura
Gotta love the brainiacs who rent and/or manage rental property…the last one, in MT….Helena, Montana, Byron Road…this house we were in for 2 years, 8 months…lots of fun, but rather crowded…8 people in a 3 bedroom, 2 bath double-wide trailer pre-fabricated home. Cozy! This is also the land-lord that accused my children of leaving the doors opened, because we all know that is the ONLY way mice can get into a house!
We also survived the Brown Recluse infestation…with several bites and the resultant boils….oh, yeah, brilliant landlords….
Laura’s last blog post..My celebrity look-alikes!
Chelsea/PB&J In A Bowl
Good luck with the move. I live in Nashville and we are also planning to move sometime this spring. We are so tired of renting this crappy apt.
Velvet Verbosity
WAIT!!! Hold on there, I think you’re living in MY RENTAL HOUSE in a parallel universe. Girl, if you were my neighbor we WOULD be sipping tropical drinks in our shorts brought to us by the CABANA BOY because with heating bills THAT high there better be some fecking PERKS!
Just sayin’.
Found you on NaBloPoMo but haven’t visited in a while. Nice digs! Funny stuff.
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Piper of Love
You are SO tagged. Deal with it!!
I tag because I’m a bitch. I tag because I love.
http://piperoflove.blogspot.com/2008/02/seven-six-random-things-meme.html
Piper of Love’s last blog post..Seven Six Random Things Meme
regina
wow! I hated renting. And I love owning my own house! The only thing I need now is a good handy man.
Here in the colder states a heating bill can be equal to or even more than rent or mortgage (trust me I know). People in these parts go into debt over heating bills.
regina’s last blog post..Superbowl Sunday!
Jennifer
Too bad you can’t deduct the cost of your heating/cooling bill (or a big % of it) from your rent, to reflect the management’s complete and utter asshole-ness.
My god, that cat is damn funny. Almost fell out of my chair. But that may have something to do with the glass of wine I was drinking.
Jennifer’s last blog post..Stitches
Suzanne Says...
Too bad I can’t (legally) recommend my solution: house fire. Worked for me, though. Rather expensive and stressful, but very effective.
Suzanne Says…’s last blog post..Yes. We. Can.
Hecticmom Undone
Unfortunately – I’d LOVE to have an electricty bill that was only $250. In the summer we’re lucky to keep it under $700 (we did have the vent not connected to anything one summer.)
We don’t have a huge house – just one with lots of windows. Our next house will have solar power (or south facing roof so we can purchase solar panels.)
We don’t squander electricity either – it’s just the standard cost in this area. *bleh*
Hecticmom Undone’s last blog post..Peanuts = Death Nuts
Katie Ann
I cannot even fathom running a heater right now, as north central Texas experiences a freakish warm front. We broke the high temperature record for today with a high of 80-something, and the low was only 68. Luckily, even when it was cold we didn’t have to run the heater because our apartment is boxed in on all sides except the exterior wall, which faces the south, and gets no cold winds.
frogpondsrock
psssst.. come to Australia….
hehehehehe
cheers Kim xoxox
frogpondsrock’s last blog post..*Doh*
Lisa (the girls' moma)
Oh, holy crap, you are so freaking cute.
SO. FREAKING. CUTE.
Even when pregnant as all heck. My goodness.
Lisa (the girls’ moma)’s last blog post..Tag: Page 123
Supreme High Ruler of The W. Household
We had a crappy landlord in Tx. It took weeks sometimes to hear back from her when we needed something to be fixed- like the air conditioning in the middle of a West Texas summer!
The best, though, was when we moved out. I forgot to pro-rate the rent (we would be moving out 3 days after our rent was due, so in essance we’d only be paying rent for those 3 days) and sent her the whole thing ($1150). I called her and explained the situation and she said she would be sure to refund us the overage. Months later I call her to see what the deal is withour check- she tells me she had to use that money to replace a carpet in the house because “it looked like a cat had given birth there.” This is shady for 2 reasons: she did a walk-through of the house the week before we moved out and declared that “it looks as if it were hardly lived in”, AND we didn’t own an animal of any sort. But she insisted the stain smelled like blood and urine and no one could get the smell out so she had to replace it. I didn’t have proof that it wasn’t there when we moved out so- bye bye money. We got an (inadvertant) character reference about our landlords now, so we’re pretty confident they won’t screw us over. But wow, it was an expensive lesson to learn about human character!
Supreme High Ruler of The W. Household’s last blog post..Flybaby
Kellyology
Oh, wait, yes I’m still here. I’m just stuck on this sentence,”Move from Austin, TX (*sniff*) to Nashville, TN.” I’m sorry. I’m just so, so sorry.
Kellyology’s last blog post..Post Super Tuesday – What now 2?
dKaye
NashVegas ain’t *that* bad! I actually miss it. Surprisingly, a LOT! Grew up not too far from you – in Mt. Juliet – and go “home” about twice a year. Sadly, am now permanently planted up here in NJ – well for at least the near future. Trust me, there are places much worse you could’ve ended up.
Having had an abundance of amenities available at the apartments/condos in Tennessee, it was a RUDE awakening to find exorbitant rents for friggin’ cracker boxes. The amenities? Nada! The majority of housing here has electric baseboard heat and in-window air-conditioners. And mighty expensive to run. You’d think this being the 21st century, and one of the richest states, they’d be a little more advanced than the Appalachians.
Oh well.
Good luck with your move. I’ll be following your adventure. (But not in a creepy, stalker kind of way.)
dKaye’s last blog post..Balmy February. In New Jersey?
dKaye
NashVegas ain’t *that* bad! I actually miss it. Surprisingly, a LOT! Grew up not too far from you – in Mt. Juliet – and go “home” about twice a year. Sadly, am now permanently planted up here in NJ – well for at least the near future. Trust me, there are places much worse you could’ve ended up.
Having had an abundance of amenities available at the apartments/condos in Tennessee, it was a RUDE awakening to find exorbitant rents for friggin’ cracker boxes. The amenities? Nada! The majority of housing here has electric baseboard heat and in-window air-conditioners. And mighty expensive to run. You’d think this being the 21st century, and one of the richest states, they’d be a little more advanced than the Appalachians.
Oh well.
Good luck with your move. I’ll be following your adventure. (But not in a creepy, stalker kind of way.)
Sue
Uh… I would call a lawyer Refusing to fix something that could lead to loss of life is illegal. Seriously. You could get hypothermia, and you could overheat. Landlords need to make the housing hospitable. Take pictures of the duct work too, and if they do ‘work on it’ get any proof you can. They just need a little arm twisting. I rent, and I’ve learned a lot about tenant rights.
And after you consult a lawyer, find out if you are elligible for liheap (to help with the bill)
Tenant rights and Landlord obligations:
http://www.enotes.com/everyday-law-encyclopedia/landlord-tenant-rights#landlord-obligations
I seriously hope this helps you!
http://www.state.tn.us/humanserv/adfam/afs_hea.htm (Liheap)
Sue’s last blog post..I love me!
Sue
By the way, that clause in your lease could be illegal. I would still check with your lawyer.
And the gas company might have a ‘budget’ system too.
Sue’s last blog post..I love me!
Sandy (Momisodes)
Damn girl, I feel your apartment pain. I can relate to nearly all of that and more….you’ve seen evidence of the umbrella peeing. That crap still hasn’t been fixed, and we’re moving in 1 week!
I hope you all can find a decent place soon. Keeping my fingers crossed for you all …
Sandy (Momisodes)’s last blog post..I Used Behind His Back….
Shelly
Hi, I love your blog!! I am a transplant to the Nashville area. I wanted to pass along a real estate website. You can search any county in Middle TN.
http://www.realtracs.com/
Good luck in your search
Xbox4NappyRash
Spooky post there!
I’ve been reading through your posts (backwards obviously, I am a man of course).
This one is freaky…
Our planned holiday this year was to include 3 cities in the US, 2 of which…Nashville & Austin! AND my mother’s family is Carroll…
Doo doo doo do…(supposed to be eerie sounding tune, but may just sound like the guy at the next urinal, depending…)
Xbox4NappyRash’s last blog post..The Container Dilema
carla
ok.
brace yourself.
YOU are my new (not so secret) blog crush.
and I just got to the part where you reveal
that you used to be a fellow austinite?
who knew?
MizFit.
carla’s last blog post..Viewer Mail.
» But the rack does make a difference.
[...] decided to walk through our (rental) house (that we’re staying in for another year, despite this, ugh.) and look around a bit while mulling the question [...]
Megan
Wow!!! Renting there sounds a lot like renting in France! We lived (?) for over 8 months with toxic black mold in one (of two) bedrooms, and when we asked for a reduction in rent (because we also couldn’t use our shower) we were told~in very snippy French~that it wasn’t a convenient time for the management co. to give us a refund. Like it was convenient for us to be breathing black mold. yeah.
Megan’s last blog post..Bruxelles
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