Can't wait to get a house.... landlord rant

**lisettelovebug** · 06-29-2008, 10:12 PM

Well, it's happened again!!! Water is backing up into our washer drain AGAIN!!! So, this means we can't flush the toilet, take showers, etc. And of course, dh calls the landlord and he won't come out until tomorrow. This is the third year in a row this has happened. Last May/June it happened and the couple on the other side were very upset that he did not come out that night to deal with it and moved. It sucks because they were really nice people (now we're stuck with the noisy people who like to run up and down their stairs, slam doors and yell.. uuggghhh).. If this had happened on Friday night you can bet that he wouldn't have been on until Monday morning either... Dh has to go to his grandma's tomorrow morning to take a shower after he gets out of work.

Dh says that there are roots out there that are messing with the pipe. I guess all the landlord does is stick a snake through the pipe. He would rather do a quick inexpensive fix than fix it right. I'm sure eventually that will bite him in the butt. We've had to fix so many smaller things around here since we've lived here because he would only quickfix them. and then a few months later they woudn't be working again.

uuuggghhh!!! Sorry for the rant just frustrated with him and SO ready to buy a house.

**Jamauk** · 06-29-2008, 10:17 PM

check the laws in your state - if I'm not mistaken, he is not allowed to leave you without certain things for longer than 24 hours (I believe a working toilet is one of them....)

**Marie78** · 06-29-2008, 10:19 PM

I am so sorry this is happening to you. We live in an apartment complex and they would be really good about coming out, even on a Sunday night if we had a problem like that. I know what you mean about "quick fixes" though. We have lived in the same apartment for three years now, and each time we have a problem with the faucet it just gets fixed for the moment. We have problems a few times a year with either the kitchen, bathroom, or shower faucets.

Now we are having problems with our bathroom faucet, shower faucet, and our ceiling fan hasn't worked all week (it just died). Now we have to call for a maitenance order, sometime when we will be here to let them in and show them the problems. UGHH!!!

**Michelle68** · 06-29-2008, 10:21 PM

I know exactly how you feel. We rented a house for 9 years before buying our home and our landlord must have been your landlord's long lost brother because we had the exact same problem. It is so frustrating, but I got through it by keeping my eye on the goal of finally buying a house. One thing I can suggest, is there a big tree in your yard which is causing the root problem? Perhaps your DH can offer to help your landlord get rid of it in exchange for a break on the rent. Good luck!

--Michelle

**Jamauk** · 06-29-2008, 10:24 PM

Ok, just looked up NY state's tenant laws and their fairly vague. It does say that he must keep it "habitable" and failure to do so is grounds for withholding rent. However, it goes on to say that he could then sue you for the rent and you would have to counter sue for breach of habitable warranty.

It also states that if an emergency arises, you may take the necessary steps to fix it and deduct reasonable costs from your rent (need to keep reciepts). The example it gave was a broken lock and the landlord didn't make it out in a timely fashion, you could then call a locksmith and deduct the price from your rent.

Not sure if this information is of much use to you....but just using it in conversation and letting your landlord know that you know your rights might be enough to make him fix it right this time...

Good Luck.

**shortstack** · 06-29-2008, 10:31 PM

Maybe I'm evil here but have you tried pouring lots of bleach down your drain to kill the roots? I know that it wouldn't be great for your carbon footprint to do that but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do

Andrea

**lisettelovebug** · 06-29-2008, 10:52 PM

Yes, there is a HUGE tree on the other side of the driveway - OLD!! I'm sure he won't cut it down. I just wish he would fix it right the first time. The basement also leaks on the one side when it rains - i think it's because the wall needs more sealant stuff. He just has a problem putting money into his places. I think the only reason that this place has newer carpets and cabinets, etc is because the last people probably left it in pretty bad shape. And then he painted the door casings without sanding or scraping first and as soon as we put up a tension gate it started making it peel (which is really what I want happening with 2 little ones in the house).

we went to look at a 3 bedroom apartment he had on the next street over last year and it was a dump! Kitchen floor was stained and all scratched up, appliances were really old and carpets weren't very nice. Just overall nothing we would live in. We decided to stay in our 2 1/2 bedroom apartment until we found a house.

We are still waiting for final approval from rural development for our loan. Had to send in some extra paperwork on my loan deferments and income information from when dh was on strike so hopefully they will get that Monday and everything will keep on moving along. We went to some open houses last week just to get abetter idea of what we want and don't want. We also went to look at the one house we had been eyeing online. It had 3 acres, fenced in area for the kids and looked nice on the outside. Well we went in and it was AWFUL. They're trying to sell it for $105,000 but it would need at least $20,000 just to bring it up to code and that doesn't include any cosmetic fixes. In this area for $135,000 you can get a nice split level on a 1/2 acre lot. It's a shame though because I liked the idea of having 3 acres of land.. tons of room for kids to play and for me to have a garden.

**Michelle68** · 06-29-2008, 11:16 PM

I've been wondering how your plans on buying a house through rural development was going. I'll keep my fingers crossed for y'all that you find something you like are able to buy a house soon.

--Michelle

**jamie79** · 06-29-2008, 11:38 PM

Keep you eye on the prize and in the mean time bug the heck out of the landlord

**HisDaisy** · 06-30-2008, 12:15 AM

Your landlord must be related to my landlord. He also makes small repairs to fix the immediate problem, but does not fix the overall problem. Hopefully we will be moving in a few months and will have a better landlord. We are not ready to buy yet.
Anyway, I hope he fixes the problem soon and until then keep bothering him.

**larabelle** · 06-30-2008, 08:29 AM

Man oh man that is the pits!! I can not believe that the landlord is so lazy!! He needs to come over right away to fix your water. It is the summer after all and you have kids.
I live in an apartment and the maintenance is Wonderful!! I have had them even come in on a Sunday morning to fix things. I have no complaints.

**Darlene** · 06-30-2008, 08:30 AM

Hope you get rid of your landlord> :drunk: soon. What a bum!

**Greebo** · 06-30-2008, 09:02 AM

I'm not excusing letting this sit till today.

But do you know how much it costs to fix a problem like this "right"?

How many homeowners, faced with the choice of a $250 quick fix for now vs. a $4,000 fix involving digging up and replacing a sewer main, would pick the quick fix?

**Moonblossom** · 06-30-2008, 09:32 AM

We've had this every year also for the past 3 years in the house we rent they have had to come out and snake the toilet, when he pulled stuff out it was full of tree roots, but he told us that unless the LL removed the trees it would happen over and over. We didnt have to pay the bill but our LL from hades has not fixed the shower faucets that we have to use a wrench to turn on and off even though for a year we have been asking them to fix it. My DH and I are finally at a place were we can start looking at homes though we wanted to be ready in every way possible before we bought one.