The months' long drought has finally ended! It will take lots more rain for the land to actually start to recover, but for now, we are in our second day of light, nourishing rains.
It's blissful this afternoon, to be sitting in our gorgeous old house, listening to it rain, and not having anything else we have to do but that....
Things in general are starting to improve.
My family painted the condo last weekend, bless them.
The realtor confirmed with my husband that he changed the locks (so that psycho ex tenant can't cause any trouble), and will get copies of the new key to my family at some point. I think he said that he changed some light fixtures, too.
I still don't know if the new tenant has even moved in yet.
I disagree with having to be the one who is penalized for the move in/new lease inception date mistake, but, be that as it may, I will only be shorted on one month's rent.
The loose ends still include that I need my copy of the lease, the receipts for everything, and the carpet contract. Hope to get them in the mail one of these days.
Anyway, I still don't know all of what happened, or why, but now, I think it's pretty much over.
The issue of refunding the ex tenant is still pending, but I have a couple of weeks before that needs to be finalized. I'd prefer to get it over with now, but that's not going to happen because no one else wants it over with until the last possible minute. Make her wait.
I've been told to let it go.
Okay, then.
I had two anxiety attacks yesterday, and had two pretty bad night time ones over the past week, but this is a VAST improvement from where I was.
4 in a week is far better than 5 or 6 a day.
My adrenal glands are still not functioning properly, but the situation is improving.
THIS is why I don't know about everything that happened. This is why I never will.
I just hope that those who are angry with me for having to step aside and let others handle this process will understand that some day, and stop being angry with me for being sick.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Paula's Chili Verde Con Carnitas
1 to 1.5 lb extra lean pork loin chops, cut into bite sized chunks
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 bunch scallions/green onions/spring onions, cut into rounds
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 small can sliced black olives, drained
1 small zucchini, chopped
1 small yellow squash, chopped
6 or so golden fingerling potatoes, chopped
1 jar of your favorite tomatillo salsa/green salsa/salsa verde
juice of one lime
oil
salt, pepper, cumin, thyme to taste
Season the pork with the salt, pepper, cumin, and thyme. Brown the pork chunks in a skillet with the oil, add the celery, onion, and scallions, and cook with the pork until the onions are translucent.
Put everything in the crock pot. Mix. Cook 8 hours on low. Serve topped with chopped fresh cilantro, chopped avocado, and warm tortillas.
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 bunch scallions/green onions/spring onions, cut into rounds
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 small can sliced black olives, drained
1 small zucchini, chopped
1 small yellow squash, chopped
6 or so golden fingerling potatoes, chopped
1 jar of your favorite tomatillo salsa/green salsa/salsa verde
juice of one lime
oil
salt, pepper, cumin, thyme to taste
Season the pork with the salt, pepper, cumin, and thyme. Brown the pork chunks in a skillet with the oil, add the celery, onion, and scallions, and cook with the pork until the onions are translucent.
Put everything in the crock pot. Mix. Cook 8 hours on low. Serve topped with chopped fresh cilantro, chopped avocado, and warm tortillas.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Oct. 1
I don't think I have ever been happier, or more relieved, to see October arrive.
I sent a "welcome to your new home" card to my new tenant, and now the only thing left for me to worry about is how and when the issue of the refund, if any, of the old tenant's deposit will be handled.
The amount of insulation around me, provided by my husband and family, has allowed me to begin to recover from stress related illness.
There were phone calls made to my cell phone about 10 days/ 2 weeks ago that I have NO idea about.
I just handed my phone to Dave, and he listened to the messages. He handled it.
I asked him the other day what those calls were about, and he asked "How stressed do you feel right now?" before answering.
That was answer enough for me.
Maybe some day, I will be recovered enough from this situation to hear the full story.
But for now, I am happy to remain ignorant of whatever it was the ex tenant did.
I have NO idea how someone can be so hateful, and so difficult, when she had already relinquished hold on the property THAT SHE DOES NOT OWN, and has no claim to, to begin with!!!!!!!!!!
She moved out weeks ago, and removed her name from the electric service....
Why the fuck did she find it necessary to interfere with every step, and try to do her best to screw everything up?
THAT is the thing none of us will ever know.
Especially me, because, as I have said before, I was never anything but kind. I let her get away with stuff no other land lord would have put up with......breaking the lease the moment she moved in, breaking the rules about her dog, balking at a rent increase.... and I never batted an eye.
I just let her have her way, so that she would stay.
And my repayment for being kind to her was for her to try to screw me in every way that she possibly could.
Some people are just like that, I guess....though I cannot understand how they do it, nor to what purpose. I am simply not wired that way, so I can't relate to it.
I cannot understand how they get through life being so bitter, and filled with unjustified anger toward others.
How did it benefit her to be that way about this, really?
Likely, it will result in her losing money....so....what was the point?
But, be that as it may, she is no longer a problem.
Good riddance to bad rubbish, and that's what she is. Trash.
Her name is like ash in my mouth. I spit it out, and it's gone forever. Done.
SO, to sum up.....I am extremely thankful to my realtor for pressing on, and signing a new tenant, despite hurdles that had to be jumped.
I am beyond grateful for my husband stepping up, to protect me from further stress....
and I am thankful for all of the help my family back home has, and is still providing.
I never wanted this to be an issue for my family.
It wasn't supposed to be, and I am so, so sorry.
I sent a "welcome to your new home" card to my new tenant, and now the only thing left for me to worry about is how and when the issue of the refund, if any, of the old tenant's deposit will be handled.
The amount of insulation around me, provided by my husband and family, has allowed me to begin to recover from stress related illness.
There were phone calls made to my cell phone about 10 days/ 2 weeks ago that I have NO idea about.
I just handed my phone to Dave, and he listened to the messages. He handled it.
I asked him the other day what those calls were about, and he asked "How stressed do you feel right now?" before answering.
That was answer enough for me.
Maybe some day, I will be recovered enough from this situation to hear the full story.
But for now, I am happy to remain ignorant of whatever it was the ex tenant did.
I have NO idea how someone can be so hateful, and so difficult, when she had already relinquished hold on the property THAT SHE DOES NOT OWN, and has no claim to, to begin with!!!!!!!!!!
She moved out weeks ago, and removed her name from the electric service....
Why the fuck did she find it necessary to interfere with every step, and try to do her best to screw everything up?
THAT is the thing none of us will ever know.
Especially me, because, as I have said before, I was never anything but kind. I let her get away with stuff no other land lord would have put up with......breaking the lease the moment she moved in, breaking the rules about her dog, balking at a rent increase.... and I never batted an eye.
I just let her have her way, so that she would stay.
And my repayment for being kind to her was for her to try to screw me in every way that she possibly could.
Some people are just like that, I guess....though I cannot understand how they do it, nor to what purpose. I am simply not wired that way, so I can't relate to it.
I cannot understand how they get through life being so bitter, and filled with unjustified anger toward others.
How did it benefit her to be that way about this, really?
Likely, it will result in her losing money....so....what was the point?
But, be that as it may, she is no longer a problem.
Good riddance to bad rubbish, and that's what she is. Trash.
Her name is like ash in my mouth. I spit it out, and it's gone forever. Done.
SO, to sum up.....I am extremely thankful to my realtor for pressing on, and signing a new tenant, despite hurdles that had to be jumped.
I am beyond grateful for my husband stepping up, to protect me from further stress....
and I am thankful for all of the help my family back home has, and is still providing.
I never wanted this to be an issue for my family.
It wasn't supposed to be, and I am so, so sorry.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Is it finally over?
SO...the past several weeks have been a roller coaster of stress and uncertainty.
The whole process has been a series of crisis after crisis. You'd think that it COULD have gone as easily as it did the first time, when I found a renter within 2 days of listing my property for rent. But no.
The most recent crisis had to do with the realtor signing the new tenant, which is a GOOD thing, but he signed the lease to begin 9/26, while the ex tenant's lease was still in force.
I assumed that he realized what he was doing, and that he had somehow worked things out to make it okay, so I didn't even think to question his actions, because he's the pro....
I just said "great!"
I was wrong.
He just spaced out. People make mistakes.....but this one caused a lot of trouble, or so I hear.
The fact that my ex tenant is CERTIFIABLY INSANE does not help.
The "end stage" of this process has just gotten more and more stressful, and has now managed to make me literally, physically ill.
I went to the doctor, after waiting three weeks for an appointment. She gave me medication for anxiety, and I turned out allergic to it...which made me even sicker.
This has not been my favorite month. The past week has been the worst of it.
So Dave has stepped up and gotten between me and the situation. He has been taking and making all of the necessary calls, even to my family, and is handling all of the final details.
There is stuff going on right now that I don't know about, that I don't NEED to know about....and I am trying to remember how to breathe again. He is insulating me from the stuff that would, at this point, land me in the hospital.
Apparently, my ex tenant has been in the way through every step of the process, and that has not yet changed.
I have no idea why. I was never, EVER, anything but kind and accommodating with her.
It makes absolutely no sense at all that she should have any kind of ill will toward me. But she has gone above and beyond in her efforts to block and thwart the process of my renting to a new tenant.
But, I am being protected and insulated from it, and for that I am very grateful. This is what I had prayed for.... to come through everything okay financially....as well as emotionally/mentally. To be protected from harm and the hateful energies being projected on me by my ex tenant.
My malfunctioning adrenal glands make it so I react to stress far more radically than someone with normal ones. I tend to freak out more easily than most. This situation has been no exception.
So anyway, the ex tenant told the realtor several weeks ago that she had not vacuumed my carpet, with a dog in the condo, for two years. This was one of the primary reasons the carpet had to be replaced: she didn't vacuum for 2 years, then had it cleaned, and left it wet, and it stunk.
So the realtor talked me into replacing the carpet. I could NOT afford it...had to do it on credit. More debt. Great. $100 less grocery money per month so I can pay for the effing carpet now.
Then, my sister went in and cleaned the place, and said that it was obvious that she had also never cleaned the oven...... or the bathroom. And that the whole place had a sticky, gray residue on it.
However, there was never an "official" inspection or walk through with the tenant, before the carpet was changed out, the cleaning was done, and the painting was started.... and this is apparently one of the reasons she is being psycho.
The realtor never got any of this information down in writing....but.....I have to wonder why that matters....
because when Dave and I moved out of our apartment in May, we had NO final walk through, and when we got our measly $18.00 refund on our security deposit, there was no attachment, no explanation, nothing we ever had to sign.
That was just all we got back. They didn't HAVE to tell us why.
And we moved out of an apartment complex. Not a privately owned property. You'd think someplace like that would really need to spell everything out, and they didn't.
Anyway, when she first notified me that she was not renewing, I had emailed her back in August and said that my agent would be contacting her for an inspection. I gave her contact info to a couple of different people.
I asked my realtor to be the one to compose a letter to her, since he was the one she told that she never vacuumed.
I just figured it would all be taken care of.
It wasn't. Or at least, has not been yet.
It's my fault because I TOLD her there would be an inspection.
But then, I remember that the manager at our apartment complex that we just moved out of told us that we'd "probably get our whole deposit back," because it was time to replace the carpet there anyway...and then, we just got $18....
so....what the hell??
So, I don't know yet, but I will probably have to release her deposit back to her, even though she ruined my carpet and never cleaned her home.
The good news is: the new tenant is a retired gentleman with an impressive credit score. He really wanted the place, and was willing to pay a higher deposit to get it (there was actually a bidding war last weekend, between two potential tenants, and he won).
Sadly, he lost his wife, but my condo was the place he wanted to down size to when he sold his house. Oh, and he also told the realtor that he might be interested in buying the place some day.
Yeah, sure, whatever. I've heard that before. The ex tenant assured me that she loved the place, never wanted to leave, and would buy it if and when she could. Right.
SO--I just need that rent check to come in every month to pay most of my expenses. I will still have the same monthly shortfall, as I am still charging the same amount of rent despite the new carpet....but that's okay. I'll take it.
I just want it all over, and I want to never, ever have anything ever to do with the ex tenant again.
She's just a hateful person -- for no reason.
The whole process has been a series of crisis after crisis. You'd think that it COULD have gone as easily as it did the first time, when I found a renter within 2 days of listing my property for rent. But no.
The most recent crisis had to do with the realtor signing the new tenant, which is a GOOD thing, but he signed the lease to begin 9/26, while the ex tenant's lease was still in force.
I assumed that he realized what he was doing, and that he had somehow worked things out to make it okay, so I didn't even think to question his actions, because he's the pro....
I just said "great!"
I was wrong.
He just spaced out. People make mistakes.....but this one caused a lot of trouble, or so I hear.
The fact that my ex tenant is CERTIFIABLY INSANE does not help.
The "end stage" of this process has just gotten more and more stressful, and has now managed to make me literally, physically ill.
I went to the doctor, after waiting three weeks for an appointment. She gave me medication for anxiety, and I turned out allergic to it...which made me even sicker.
This has not been my favorite month. The past week has been the worst of it.
So Dave has stepped up and gotten between me and the situation. He has been taking and making all of the necessary calls, even to my family, and is handling all of the final details.
There is stuff going on right now that I don't know about, that I don't NEED to know about....and I am trying to remember how to breathe again. He is insulating me from the stuff that would, at this point, land me in the hospital.
Apparently, my ex tenant has been in the way through every step of the process, and that has not yet changed.
I have no idea why. I was never, EVER, anything but kind and accommodating with her.
It makes absolutely no sense at all that she should have any kind of ill will toward me. But she has gone above and beyond in her efforts to block and thwart the process of my renting to a new tenant.
But, I am being protected and insulated from it, and for that I am very grateful. This is what I had prayed for.... to come through everything okay financially....as well as emotionally/mentally. To be protected from harm and the hateful energies being projected on me by my ex tenant.
My malfunctioning adrenal glands make it so I react to stress far more radically than someone with normal ones. I tend to freak out more easily than most. This situation has been no exception.
So anyway, the ex tenant told the realtor several weeks ago that she had not vacuumed my carpet, with a dog in the condo, for two years. This was one of the primary reasons the carpet had to be replaced: she didn't vacuum for 2 years, then had it cleaned, and left it wet, and it stunk.
So the realtor talked me into replacing the carpet. I could NOT afford it...had to do it on credit. More debt. Great. $100 less grocery money per month so I can pay for the effing carpet now.
Then, my sister went in and cleaned the place, and said that it was obvious that she had also never cleaned the oven...... or the bathroom. And that the whole place had a sticky, gray residue on it.
However, there was never an "official" inspection or walk through with the tenant, before the carpet was changed out, the cleaning was done, and the painting was started.... and this is apparently one of the reasons she is being psycho.
The realtor never got any of this information down in writing....but.....I have to wonder why that matters....
because when Dave and I moved out of our apartment in May, we had NO final walk through, and when we got our measly $18.00 refund on our security deposit, there was no attachment, no explanation, nothing we ever had to sign.
That was just all we got back. They didn't HAVE to tell us why.
And we moved out of an apartment complex. Not a privately owned property. You'd think someplace like that would really need to spell everything out, and they didn't.
Anyway, when she first notified me that she was not renewing, I had emailed her back in August and said that my agent would be contacting her for an inspection. I gave her contact info to a couple of different people.
I asked my realtor to be the one to compose a letter to her, since he was the one she told that she never vacuumed.
I just figured it would all be taken care of.
It wasn't. Or at least, has not been yet.
It's my fault because I TOLD her there would be an inspection.
But then, I remember that the manager at our apartment complex that we just moved out of told us that we'd "probably get our whole deposit back," because it was time to replace the carpet there anyway...and then, we just got $18....
so....what the hell??
So, I don't know yet, but I will probably have to release her deposit back to her, even though she ruined my carpet and never cleaned her home.
The good news is: the new tenant is a retired gentleman with an impressive credit score. He really wanted the place, and was willing to pay a higher deposit to get it (there was actually a bidding war last weekend, between two potential tenants, and he won).
Sadly, he lost his wife, but my condo was the place he wanted to down size to when he sold his house. Oh, and he also told the realtor that he might be interested in buying the place some day.
Yeah, sure, whatever. I've heard that before. The ex tenant assured me that she loved the place, never wanted to leave, and would buy it if and when she could. Right.
SO--I just need that rent check to come in every month to pay most of my expenses. I will still have the same monthly shortfall, as I am still charging the same amount of rent despite the new carpet....but that's okay. I'll take it.
I just want it all over, and I want to never, ever have anything ever to do with the ex tenant again.
She's just a hateful person -- for no reason.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
this gives me joy
Dancing at an outdoor festival 9/17 in Norman, OK. Right at the moment this picture was snapped, a dragonfly flew right over my head.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
gaaaaah!
So, it's the 15th, and there isn't a new tenant yet.
My realtor and a carpet guy convinced me that the carpet in the place was actually 25 years old, not 10 years old. (plus, the fact that my ex tenant told the realtor that she DID NOT VACUUM for 2 years....jeezuz!!)
The carpet guy said that if we tried to stretch and trim it, it would probably tear....and also that stretching and trimming would cost $1000, no payment plan available..
New carpet is about $2000.
So... shit.....new carpet was installed today. And they did give me a payment plan.
So...shit. Great, more debt. And Dave's most recent hospital bills have started to add themselves to the thousands we already owe from the heart attack and after.....
Good Gawd...this past month of relentless stress has been very very bad for me.
But the good news is, we have two applicants on the rental...but they both applied for a Nov. 1 move in. That's a month LATER than I need it to be.
But right at the moment, the realtor is showing it to another person.
Just trying to have faith...
The stress has effected me to the point that my boss noticed today. She suggested I take a "mental health day" tomorrow. I took her advice.
I am hoping that the realtor and my family will work together to get the place painted some time pretty soon, now that the carpet is in.
It's frustrating for me to be 900 miles away.
It bothers me that my family has to do anything in regard to this property.
It's scary to think that I have to send my mortgage and association dues checks out next week and have no rent coming in.
I really should also mail the refund check to my ex tenant, but the realtor tells me I have 30 days after the end of the lease before I have to release those funds.
Just trying to remember to breathe. Not so easy these days.
In other news, the 100 degree weather was not yet finished, as they had told us previously. We had 2 days this past week above 100. But today, it's been in the 50's with drizzle.
Some real rain could be nice, but we aren't getting it.
Dancing this weekend at the local Pagan Pride festival. We are doing a 30 minute set, and I am doing a solo.
Trying to focus my energies on that to give my mind and adrenal glands a break.
My realtor and a carpet guy convinced me that the carpet in the place was actually 25 years old, not 10 years old. (plus, the fact that my ex tenant told the realtor that she DID NOT VACUUM for 2 years....jeezuz!!)
The carpet guy said that if we tried to stretch and trim it, it would probably tear....and also that stretching and trimming would cost $1000, no payment plan available..
New carpet is about $2000.
So... shit.....new carpet was installed today. And they did give me a payment plan.
So...shit. Great, more debt. And Dave's most recent hospital bills have started to add themselves to the thousands we already owe from the heart attack and after.....
Good Gawd...this past month of relentless stress has been very very bad for me.
But the good news is, we have two applicants on the rental...but they both applied for a Nov. 1 move in. That's a month LATER than I need it to be.
But right at the moment, the realtor is showing it to another person.
Just trying to have faith...
The stress has effected me to the point that my boss noticed today. She suggested I take a "mental health day" tomorrow. I took her advice.
I am hoping that the realtor and my family will work together to get the place painted some time pretty soon, now that the carpet is in.
It's frustrating for me to be 900 miles away.
It bothers me that my family has to do anything in regard to this property.
It's scary to think that I have to send my mortgage and association dues checks out next week and have no rent coming in.
I really should also mail the refund check to my ex tenant, but the realtor tells me I have 30 days after the end of the lease before I have to release those funds.
Just trying to remember to breathe. Not so easy these days.
In other news, the 100 degree weather was not yet finished, as they had told us previously. We had 2 days this past week above 100. But today, it's been in the 50's with drizzle.
Some real rain could be nice, but we aren't getting it.
Dancing this weekend at the local Pagan Pride festival. We are doing a 30 minute set, and I am doing a solo.
Trying to focus my energies on that to give my mind and adrenal glands a break.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Emerging from hell....
The weather channel tells us that our last day in the 100 degree and above temp range was Friday....yesterday was 98 or so....today.....81. Tonight? 51...I. Can't. Wait.
The windows are open in the house this morning for the first time since we actually moved in. We we able to open them while we were just coming here to paint, but by the time we moved in, the heat had started, and we had to keep them closed.
The air smells SOOO good.
Rain should be coming soon. Nothing yet, but the radar shows some headed our way.
Highs this coming week? 80s maybe 90. Bliss, after a solid three months over 105, save a day or two here and there in the upper 90s.
This weekend, the party I suggested 6 or 7 months ago is taking place!! Dave's parents both turn 80 this year (Dad was in June, Mom is in Oct), and their 60th wedding anniversary is this year, too.
I could not let that kind of mile stone pass us by, so I started talking to Dave about getting with his brothers and planning something. Their family is NOT usually the type to do something like that....but THEY DID!!!
There are relatives in town from Kansas, Utah, Texas, and Virginia. Dave's Great Aunt Hazel in Virginia was the only one who couldn't come, as she has become too elderly and frail to travel.
We did not keep it a surprise, because we knew people would have to travel in from out of state if they wanted to come, and that some would probably be best off staying with Mom and Dad.
I was reminded during this planning that my parents would have celebrated their 60th anniversary the day before yesterday, had they not passed away. Hopefully, they're celebrating it wherever they are now.
In other news, my realtor FINALLY accessed the condo. I have no idea how or why my soon to be former tenant was able to PREVENT him from getting in there for TWO FULL WEEKS, when time is of the essence if I am to NOT default on my mortgage.....he has keys!!!
It's my property, he's my agent....what the fuck??
Anyway, he finally got in there Friday night, and said that she told him that she is having the carpet cleaned on Tuesday. This is good news. Now I don't feel so bad about giving her back that extra $100 she sent me that was NOT supposed to be refunded.
She's paying for something I was going to have to pay for anyway....so.....it's all good.
Supposedly, there is the first showing this weekend. I have also alerted another realtor I know back home and asked her to work the listing. She said she would.
If I don't get someone signed for Oct. 1, I am in deep, deep shit, and we've already lost the last 2 weeks of August for the search because the tenant was blocking the process.
The windows are open in the house this morning for the first time since we actually moved in. We we able to open them while we were just coming here to paint, but by the time we moved in, the heat had started, and we had to keep them closed.
The air smells SOOO good.
Rain should be coming soon. Nothing yet, but the radar shows some headed our way.
Highs this coming week? 80s maybe 90. Bliss, after a solid three months over 105, save a day or two here and there in the upper 90s.
This weekend, the party I suggested 6 or 7 months ago is taking place!! Dave's parents both turn 80 this year (Dad was in June, Mom is in Oct), and their 60th wedding anniversary is this year, too.
I could not let that kind of mile stone pass us by, so I started talking to Dave about getting with his brothers and planning something. Their family is NOT usually the type to do something like that....but THEY DID!!!
There are relatives in town from Kansas, Utah, Texas, and Virginia. Dave's Great Aunt Hazel in Virginia was the only one who couldn't come, as she has become too elderly and frail to travel.
We did not keep it a surprise, because we knew people would have to travel in from out of state if they wanted to come, and that some would probably be best off staying with Mom and Dad.
I was reminded during this planning that my parents would have celebrated their 60th anniversary the day before yesterday, had they not passed away. Hopefully, they're celebrating it wherever they are now.
In other news, my realtor FINALLY accessed the condo. I have no idea how or why my soon to be former tenant was able to PREVENT him from getting in there for TWO FULL WEEKS, when time is of the essence if I am to NOT default on my mortgage.....he has keys!!!
It's my property, he's my agent....what the fuck??
Anyway, he finally got in there Friday night, and said that she told him that she is having the carpet cleaned on Tuesday. This is good news. Now I don't feel so bad about giving her back that extra $100 she sent me that was NOT supposed to be refunded.
She's paying for something I was going to have to pay for anyway....so.....it's all good.
Supposedly, there is the first showing this weekend. I have also alerted another realtor I know back home and asked her to work the listing. She said she would.
If I don't get someone signed for Oct. 1, I am in deep, deep shit, and we've already lost the last 2 weeks of August for the search because the tenant was blocking the process.
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