April 25, 2007
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This isn't the Blog I was going to Write
A PHOTOPOST I MIGHT HAVE TO USE IN COURT
Some background blogs: If you want to follow the story from the beginning:
Not Evicted (News and Notes) 4/10
Evicted (Edit to a post about the Marilyn Monroe page on my site) 4/02
Joel's housecleaning skills 2/13
The new bathroom addition 11/20/06
Renting a home in SoCal (the new bathroom is added) 11/09/06
Plumbing Update 12/17/05
Water main breaks (addition to a Christmas photopost) 12/15/05
This is where I hang out. Spring Cleaning 2005 04/08/05
I repeat in my "title" to this entry what I said when I posted the poem "Constant Carnage" on April 17. This is not what I wanted to post today, and I had a blog planned for last night. In the light of what happened when I came home yesterday, I chucked the original blog plans, and I thought I'd take some photos of the inside of my house and post them on my blog. It seems, according to the latest "notice" posted on my door, that I have three days to "cure the violations stated below....or quite the...premises...and deliver up the same to owner..." It's what's known as a "three day or quit" notice, and is filed as a court document in tenancy disputes. How did this happen? Some background in the articles I link to above. This is how people become homeless. My birthday is May 1. I turn 54. This is my birthday present from the owner and mangagement company of the housing project in which I have lived for the last 12 years. I'm going to present the PHOTOPOST and some explanation for why I'm posting these photos as "captions".
This is a composited photo of the "computer workstation" portion of my "Media Room" which is my living room in our house. It's incredibly cluttered, but there is a place for everything, and everything is in it's place. Click on any of these photos for full size versions or the "photoblog" version if the photo is in my photoblog. Here are some of the "violations" noted in the 3 Day or Quit notice. "Unit is in deplorable condition..cat urine and feces all over...unit is filthy dirty...bathroom is filthy dirty...kitchen is filthy dirty....dirty dishes all over....cat box is overflowing...carpet is filthy dirty....walls are filthy dirty...walls are filled with trash and newspapers...."
The other end of my media room. I keep the carpets vacuumed, and I dust regularly. There are lots of bookcases housing my media and books. I admit, I'm not as anal retentive at housecleaning as I used to be. Twelve years as "Felix" to my roommate's "Oscar" has mellowed me somewhat. In 12 years, I've seen our "filthy dirty" carpet soaked with water from at least four rainstorms and two plumbing mishaps, in four of the rooms and the hall. I have cleaned most of this up myself when we had bumbling owners (there have been three of them. I'm the longest tenant in this project.) who didn't really solve any problems.
My bedroom. The notice didn't mention my rooms at all. That's why I'm showing them first. These are composites and were taken yesterday. I 'stitched" four or five wide angle photos together in these first four photos, in order to show you as much of the room as possible. As you can see, there is a lot of stuff crammed in my two 9x12 rooms. I gave my roommate the master bedroom (which now has an accompanying bath) and he and the cats use the living/dining area exclusively since 2003. I of course have furniture and appliances in those rooms, but besides washing clothes, and going to the fridge for a malt liquor, I stay pretty much away from the front rooms as much as possible, and I "hang out" in my bedroom and media room. I "spring cleaned" my rooms again yesterday, after getting the notice, getting into corners which haven't seen a vaccuum in years. I actually talked to our owner yesterday, who was all smiles and wanted to show me the progress he is having with the renovation of the third unit. He has successfully either evicted or seen the first three tenants leave, and has renovated the entire project of four homes except for ours. (After renovation he charges more rent. There is no lack of available tenants in the SoCal rental market. The owners pretty much call the shots.)
Another view of the bedroom. I have a King size bed frame, with drawers, where I store most of the old media I can't play anymore, like my beta tapes. The bedspread is not discolored. I composited five or six photos for this view, and the lighting on the bedspread differed. I tried to tweak it in the Picture Publisher, but it didn't come out as planned, and I stayed up too late last night preparing this entry, after having spent three hours "cleaning up". My "end table" is one of my old 12" speakers for an ancient stereo system. My dresser is an antique I got from when I lived with my ex girlfriend.
The dining room. Here is a view, with two "Malcolm poses" of the floor of the dining area. This is where all the cat poop about which I blogged on Feb. 13th (link above) had been deposited. I have repeatedly cleaned, disinfected, and used "pet no more" type products in this area over the past two months. Joel parks his bike in the dining room. He hasn't ridden it for over three years.
Another view of the dining room. Both this and the above photo were taken yesterday afternoon after I showed the owner we had cleaned up the "cat feces" mentioned in his notice. I had just talked to the management agency the day before, and had a conversation with the owner two weeks ago, wherein I promised I would clean up our house. I've been doing what I considered a good job. The notice was based on an "inspecition" on March 7th, over a month ago, and I don't know why they decided to drop this "bomb on me" now, except perhaps as a "written record". My roommate thinks that the owner is going to needle us and needle us, even after we clean up, because he wants us to move, so he can renovate the "last house". We could fight this tooth and nail. I think you will see, even in the succeeding photos, that the "filthy dirty" house in which we supposedly live is really NOT as "filthy dirty" as the owner is making it out to be. There was a lot of junk on the dining table. Mostly unopened junk mail (addressed to Joel) and bags of 'stuff" he brought home from work and didn't do anything with. I've been repeatedly cleaning up this area since I initially "spring cleaned" it a few weeks ago.
Kitchen: Before shot. I actually took this photo a while back, but the "dirty dishes" which are "everywhere" are usually located in the sink and on the sideboard, along with Joel's beer bottles. The stains on the walls and cabinet doors are not all attibutable to either of us tenants. When the water main broke, parts of the linoleum broke open, and water streamed through them. When the "handy man" thought he had fixed the leaks, he turned on the water main, but he had forgotten to turn off the faucet which should be connected to the washer, and it spewed water all over the kitchen as if it were raining. Joel hasn't felt like "maintaining" anything in the kitchen since then. He used to wash the floor and walls on a regular basis.
Kitchen: After. I used to keep the counter clean, and before taking out the trash for collection would make it look like this. I am almost ashamed that I complain about my roommate so much. He is a cancer patient, and has been disgusted with this new owner and his policies since the guy bought the place. The most visible signs of "neglect" are the water stains from when the main broke and when it "rained in our house" because the handyman hadn't secured the roof before leaving in the middle of a rainstorm last winter. Of course the owner can't "fix" those things with us in the unit, so he's basically attempting to "force" us to leave now. If only he had been "upfront" with me when I asked him if he were thinking of kicking us out when I first met him. My roomie is staying home today and he told me he would clean the kitchen and his bedroom, the less said about the better.
"My" bathroom. I'm in the midst of a total overhaul of this room. When finished, I planned on getting carpets, new towels, and covers for the toilet. Joel didn't want me to "decorate" when we moved in because he thought it would be too "fou fou" as I think he called it. Now this is supposed to be my bathroom and the new one is Joel's but old habits die hard, and this is still used by both of us. As soon as I get extra cash, I'm putting up a Betty Boop bath curtain (if we're still around, that is) and that will scare him away from using this bathroom. Filthy dirty? You decide!
Living room: I've vacuumed and dusted the complete living room, but I haven't touched Joel's "mail" on the coffee table. I have removed the papers from the couch, but they just appear again almost immediately. Again, I think "filthy dirty" is overstating the case a tad. I wanted to rearrange the furniture. (When installing the new bathroom, the door was moved, and this couch is now too long to be placed up against that wall) But Joel was home last Sat. He works this Sat. so plans were to rearrange the living room this coming weekend.
I took a photo of Betty Boop's 1957 Chevy which is in my Media Room. I like the photo, so I'm including it here. You know, I'm a quiet guy, I pay my rent on time. I don't bother anyone. I was asked by the last owner to manage the whole complex, and part of the agreement was that we would move to another unit which the last owner renovated during a tenant changeover , however my roomie didn't want to "move" and didn't like the idea of collecting rents from some of the tenants with whom we had had "words" before, and after thoughtful process, I agreed. This owner seems to want to get us out, but he doesn't want to ask us to leave.
I am either blessed or cursed, like Shakespeare's Hamlet, to be able to see all sides of every situation. I understand the reasons for the owner's ire and since I'm anal retentive I can see that to him he will not have "finished" before he's able to gut and reconstruct our unit. I understand why Joel is upset, and doesn't care to clean a place that for the most part has been made almost unlivable by the owner's constant renovations. I just want a place to stay until I can afford to leave and get my own place. I can't understand why the owners of senior mobile home lots won't accept someone who's 54 instead of 55, but I guess there are rules, and I understand those.
Just another point, and then I'm finished (for now, at least.) When people leave a rented house, or an apartment, they have to "clean the unit" so that they can receive some of their deposit back. Owners don't "clean walls". They paint over them.When we moved in 12 years ago, the walls had not been painted. But they can easily be painted when we do leave. The carpet is almost always replaced. The owner is putting in hardwood floors in the renovated units. He can do that when we leave. He just wants all four units to be the same "now". He's stubborn. When I get home tonight Joel will have undoubtedly had a conversation with him, and undoubtedly if the exchange gets heated, the owner will tell Joel the I said he's at fault for everything, which isn't really what I told the guy but that will be his perception I'm a bit defensive, you see, and I keep saying "I live in the back of the house".
On another completely different matter , THANK YOU SO MUCH for the positive feedback on my latest movie, "The Cultural Blender." It's been viewed 89 times on Xanga, and is #6 on the Most Discussed page for the week. I want to thank Dan (the Theologian's Cafe) for giving me some pointers. And I am beaming from the praise I've received from my readers. I found out that the video will rise through the ranks of the video page on Xanga if it gets comments and "stars". I hate to ask this (especially if you've just slogged through this entry) but when you get time, if you haven't already, go to the "video page" itself, and give me some stars/comments. Dan tells me "boost" is not worth it, and he's possibly the most famous person in the Xangasphere, so he should know. THANKS AGAIN for all the support. I hope I don't have to ask anybody to let me stay at your house for a couple of days if I become homeless!!!!!
Comments (16)
Michael,
My friend all I can offer from the other coast is my prayers. Know that you have those.
:sunny:
Steve
The place as you show it looks pretty good! I hope you're able to show them the improvements made and keep your home, at least until you're eligible to move to the community you want to. When my uncle died in my grandparents' basement a few years ago, the place was in deplorable condition. My grandparents didn't have people over because of the filth and mess. Grandpa was a packrat, and they were getting old so things got dirty in addition to messy. My uncle was quite overweight when he died, and it took the fire department to remove his body from the house. An inspector came and practically condemned the place. A couple of my uncles called the authority, explained the situation, and tried to get an extension. Well, the place is in much better condition now. I myself wasn't very involved in the process, but I know I was responsible for moving hundreds of pounds of crap (not literally crap, for the most part) out of the place. My aunts and uncles did a lot, and my mom did an awful lot, staying months on end to help fix the house and then take care of my grandparents when Grandpa's health failed. All this to say that if you've made these sorts of improvements, they should let you keep it for a bit. You have every right to fight this in court, and a good chance to stay.
RYC: Thanks for the Tempest link. What a fun band. I'll have to check out their website, too.
Prayers and peace be with you. ~ Emily
That's a maddening situation. If only you could talk to the owner and let him agree to let you stay until you qualify for the new place. That would give your roommate time to make arrangements, as well. A year is not so long, but possibly this guy wants to to turn around and sell the place, too. Would Joel pitch in for some level of housecleaning, and would that satisfy the owner for a year?
Good luck!
fight the power my man. Landlords need to be a little more - hmmm - accepting, and that should be in the law.
I will have to view the Cultural Blender from my work computer (which is far, far superior to my ancient home computer). Neither unit has speakers (correction: my home computer has speakers that don't work). Boo on me.
Your living dilhema is very sad. As a landlord (landlady? person of land?), your photos look like you keep the place in good shape. Your landlord has seen much worse, I am sure, and he doesn't have much to complain about. He probably wants you guys out so he can charge the next people more money after making superficial renovations.
Have you been looking for a different place? It sounds like he is going to bug you until you leave.
Hi Mike. It's always something isn't it.
I'll offer some advice as I worked for 15 years as a Housing Inspector, mainly dealing with rental properties being maintained to the standards (law) of the Housing Code. First call the Tenants Union, or United Way First Call For Help for a referral, and/or a lawyer (Legal Aid, if you qualify). Leave a message at these places, as they are very busy, but will get back to you as soon as possible. Document that too, especially if you have to go to court before they get back to you. The judge might delay any hearings until you can get help. Even given all the court cases I've heard of, and been involved in as a HI, no one can predict what a judge will decide. Your best defense is the pictures, and your documentation of the problems, especialy of the water damage, etc. that would show a lack of maintenence on the owners part. Bring those should you go to court, and a copy of your local housing code, which you should be familiar with.
You do have rights as a tenant, but so does the owner. My understanding of the law is that the owner can demand possession of their property at any time, for any or no reason. In fact, the best and fastest way to remove a tenant is to claim their property for only possession, not to bring up back rent, nor conditions caused by the tenant. The fact is they own it, and even a judge cannot deny that. Many owners remove tenants for renovations, and it is legal.
From the pictues on your post, the owner does NOT have a case based on "filthy, dirty"- sanitation. And I have seen a lot of apts. and rental houses where sanitaiton is an issue. I have never heard of a judge deciding a tenant is able to stay for a year after a court case, at the most it would be a couple of months.
Well, good luck, you will have to deal with whatever happens. Make the best of it.
Congrats again on your newest vid. Concerning your pics, I liked Gumby with the guitar.
~ Peace ~
ryc. community is as community does.
I joined whole-heartedly because I read the proviso and knew what the click of commitment meant. We live in a world where we've achieved our convieniences and now we can let others down at light speed. So know this, that pilot who rests behind the eyes and between the ears of any fellow bi-pedic-homo-computus community member knows if he/she 'aint playing the game, that is enough. You have achieved change in many, thoughts have been shared, ideas have been spread. The Island is very much alive :goodjob:
I enjoyed the peep into the life of Mike.
Hi, Mike: Good to see you again.
I'm sorry to hear about your housing situation, though ... what a - for lack of a better phrase at 3:00 a.m. - total pain in the butt!! Our landlord/tenant rules up here in Canuckland are quite different than yours and I think llibra gave you some great advice; I hope you are able to work this out without it becoming too much of a burden. I was so glad to get out of the rental situation when I bought my condo (which turned out to be leaky and a nightmare of another kind) but I have discovered there are equally as many problems dealing with strata councils. I've begun to think think anyone who has a "good" landlord or an easy to deal with strata council is just plain lucky. Have you considered going to the senior mobile home community you want to buy into and asking for special consideration? They may be willing to make an exception for you due to your situation. It would certainly be worth a try if all else fails.
RYC: I agree that socialism eventually leads to totalitarianism and it's easy to see what lies ahead as the rights and privileges of our individualism are slowly being eroded. It scares me to think about the Canada my grandchildren will experience.
Your situation does not sound like fun at all. I'm sorry you have to deal with this right now. Is there any way you can sit down and have the situation mediated? Perhaps you could come to some kind of agreement (what you could do for the owner in exchange for one more year?). Everything looks fine except for the cat poop area. That was bad. I wonder if you agreed to change the carpet?
As for the deposit, I doubt you'll see anything. In the case of eviction, if it was me, I wouldn't clean a thing. You won't see any money anyway because the guy has already documented all the "filthy" items that need cleaned up.
Sorry, again, that you're having to deal with that. People are so incredibly greedy.
I do not even need a TV anymore because you are MUCH more interesting. I think the clutter problem in this country is caused by JUNK MAIL. I think you have a very nice bathroom and I'd be honored to use your throne.
Oh, what a mess! Not the apartment, the situation. Your before pictures and the living room could use a bit of tidying, but ... well, I won't show you the room I'm in at the moment, because it need a major tidying. (The rest of my house is better.) Your place doesn't look all that bad, even in the before pictures. It must be frustrating that you can't move where you want to now. Did you talk to them and see if they ever make any exceptions?
looks like you have spent a lot of time fixing the situation, but i suspect that he wants you out so he can get more $$ for it. hope you all win!
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