Regular readers know that our landlord wants, as soon as possible due to his impending divorce, to move back into the house we’ve been renting from him for the last two years. If we have to move, we’d like to move before the baby is born --although that is now in 24 days. So, we’ve been looking at houses and duplexes and apartments and everything. As usual, when home-hunting, I am appalled by how much money people want for some crap. But here’s the latest wrinkle: at a couple of places, the owner wants to leave some of their stuff in the house. Then they don’t understand why that would be a problem.
I don’t feel comfortable having your father’s treasured grand piano in a house with two small children. Not only because we're paying for the whole house, including the large area of the living room that the piano occupies, but also because God forbid it should get damaged while we live here with two small children. Note: the response to this was that we could just cover the piano with something. So we should just walk around this hulking covered-up thing in the middle of our living space. By the way, no one in the house plays piano. Sweet Dub took lessons long ago, but you know how that goes…
Last night, we saw a house which was really well-suited to us. The owners want to leave a console table in the entryway, a china cabinet in the dining room (they’d take the china with them), a large Mission-style bookcase in the living room, and a 5-burner gas BBQ on the back patio. Again, we'll be living there with two small kids. I know they’re going to wreck something, and I’d rather it be something we already own so we don’t have to hassle with the landlord over it.
Well, we’re looking at another place tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed.
8 comments:
I remember when I was in 2nd grade my brother and I found boxes of really cool stuff in the basement of the house we lived in and set up a "store" selling all sorts of nice china and glasses. Then, months later when the landlords came back and saw all their prized wedding china and stemware strewn about the basement (with a few broken pieces - it can happen with the best of kids!) they were really upset, and our father had to have a "talk" with us. It's such a horrible memory, and now reading your post I'm feeling bad all over again!
You see? That would be my fear. And then, as my husband says, "Good luck getting our security deposit back."
Sorry to bring back all the horror for you! But I have to say, again, if you're renting the house out, you need to get all of your stuff out of it so incidents like that don't happen. Nobody is going to care for your stuff more than you do.
People are weirdos. Good luck.
Girl, Don't they know you're trying to rent a living space, not a storage unit?
cee in sf nailed it on the head (weirdos) and mango mama did too but I think the larger picture here is the level of "cheapness". IE: we don't want to spend the money it would cost to store or move our crap that we (apparently) so desperately need. *ahem* I bet they'd even be the type of landlords that wouldn't let you put any nails in the wall to hang your pictures either.
I'm with you, Lisa. My kids are great kids but they ARE kids and therefore would ruin the one thing in the house that didn't belong to me and I'd be a nervous wreck trying to prevent it. Either that or I would be the one to bash the grand piano with the vaccum. *wink*
Hope the search has been more fruitful.
cee: yes, you're right.
mango: EXACTLY! I wanted to say, "Are you going to knock some money off the rent in exchange for storage?" Please.
bridget: yes, I am particularly concerned about the china cabinet, because of the glass. Sweet Dub is a lawyer, so of course his take is, "We'll rent the house as long as you release us from any liability for damage to stuff you store here." It's not unattractive furniture and it would kind of go with what we have (except the console table in the hallway - it is made of some weird pinkish stone), but it would also be nice to be able to fill the empty space with whatever we want. And to realize our kids are inevitably going to do something to it, whether scratching it, chipping it, breaking it, or drawing on it in permanent marker (I'm thinking the baby would be the culprit in that last case. One of those "I just turned around for two seconds!" dealios.). Sh!t happens, regardless of how well you watch them or how well-behaved they are.
These landlords need to stop being cheap and buy a storage locker because they are charging an arm and leg for rent. How ridiculous.
There's a house across the street from me for rent! :)
And do you need help packing up your stuff? I know that cannot be easy for you with a baby due in five seconds. We have never met but I don't mind helping you if you need it.
Thanks, LA! I emailed you privately just now - I may take you up on your offer!
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