Mandy’s Motherhood Musings

Renter’s Woes

James and I have been renters for many years. We’ve lived in quite a few different parts of the country, and every state has a different way of handling tenants rights. In New York when our landlord tried to take our entire deposit because he had to repaint, I had to call him for months and argue with him just to get back half of it. We didn’t have a lease with him, so we didn’t have much legal recourse. In Kansas we never had problems getting our deposits back, but they were so small, it never seemed like much of an issue. Even our first apartment in Maryland issued us a check for nearly the full amount of our deposit even though we were breaking our lease and paying a penalty for that. Hell, even my very first rental in Missouri, in a college town notorious for never refunding deposits, my housemates and I got nearly all of our money refunded. We take good care of our property, and we’ve always been told we’re excellent tenants.

But this time. I’m. Pissed.

We got a check awhile back from our landlord for less than half of our incredibly steep deposit (same as the crazy rent), and in his itemized deductions, he included a $75 deductible for each instance of repair. So when the pipe burst, and the mice invaded, and the stove broke, ka-ching. We checked back over our lease, and sure enough, in an addendum to our second lease, there it was. In writing. But – hold the phone – this wasn’t in our original two-year lease. It was only added to the second lease we signed for the last 6 months we lived there. So really this clause should only apply to two of the nine instances cited.

So we called the guy. And emailed. And called again. And emailed again. And when it was apparent that he had no intention of resolving this, we contacted the Maryland State Attorney General’s office. They had some interesting things to say on the matter. Like how this clause is COMPLETELY ILLEGAL. And we should get all of our money back. So we filed an official complaint, they sent the landlord a letter, and whatdaknow? He calls me back!

We had words.

Long and short of it, he was only willing to offer us another $200, which would bring us to half of our deposit refunded. And when push came to shove, he pulled out the ace in his pocket – damage to the hardwood floors. Damn you, hardwood floors! Apparently when you spray mosquito spray anywhere nearby (like on the entryway tile), it strips away the varnish. Of course, you don’t know you’re doing it until it’s too late. He only charged us $400 for that damage, but in the heat of battle he threatened to take our entire deposit to pay for it. Even though he had no intention of repairing it.

We were at an impasse. Unless we were willing to go to court, I wasn’t going to get any more money out of this guy. And if I pushed too hard, he might find more excuses to take even more of our money. I knew it might come to this, so I decided to cut our losses, take his measly check, and drop our charges with the state.

After I hung up, I started devising all of these passive/aggressive plans to get back at the guy. But after talking to my dad-in-law, who was actually a landlord once, I realized that he’s probably out quite a bit of money for the pipe bursting and the mice and the stove and everything else. Even though those weren’t our fault, he really is just trying to get by. And he wasn’t really a bad landlord. He repaired things on time, and he fixed up the yard, and he was responsive for the most part.

However, I’m still irked about the $75 repair deductible. I did some digging, and it seems some other landlords have been tacking this onto their leases all around the country. And while the state’s statutes may not expressly forbid this tactic (as our former landlord contends), it’s still a pretty crappy thing to include. If we’d known we were getting charged so much for repair calls, I probably wouldn’t have made so many. Which I’m sure sounds great to him, until he realizes all of the half-ass repairs we would have attempted and all the money he’d have to shell out to make the house right again for the next tenant. Which is common, from what I’ve read.

So I’ve decided to post my story wherever I can to warn people away from this bogus clause. I’m not being vindictive – believe me, I considered posting my former landlord’s name and all of his rental property addresses with a huge BEWARE. But, no, I’m not going to sink to that level.

Instead, just a warning for renters. Check over your leases carefully before you sign them, and if you see any mention of a repair deductible or maintenance clause, DO NOT SIGN!

Car Woes

Please forgive my rant. Car trouble ranks number two on my most-loathed-hassles list. (Number one: frustratingly unexplainable computer problems). I thought buying a brand new car would save me from these sorts of hassles for awhile. But I won’t fret too much. This tale has a relatively happy ending.

As you’ve read before, I’ve been dealing with a leak in my car door. It was something I noticed last winter – some of Liam’s stuff sitting under the seat was wet, and I figured he’d just spilled some water on it. It wasn’t until the summer that I really noticed the carpet was all wet near the door after a big rain. The only reason I noticed was because we’d moved Liam’s car seat to that side, and I was constantly picking up toys and cheerios from the floorboards. By the time I got around to having it checked out at the dealer, my warranty had just expired. And they wanted $120 just to diagnose the problem! That sounded steep, so I thought I’d take it to a shop instead.

So, here’s something to tick on the “cons” side of owning just one car. When you have to get it fixed, you’re stuck waiting for it at the shop. Unless you’re lucky enough, like us, to live right by the Metro. So I did some research and found a reputable place near a Metro stop in Takoma Park. We took the car in for an estimate, and they very helpfully suggested we talk to Honda about making an exception on the warranty. Sounded like a great idea.

Except, five phone calls and three weeks of playing phone tag later, and all I could get from them was that I had to get the problem diagnosed at the dealer for $120, and then they MAY consider covering it. The shop in Takoma quoted me less than $200, so I decided to take my chances with them instead.

Not a good call, it turns out. I had to take it in twice (which entailed rushing out the door early to get there as they opened, walking back to the Metro a mile in the freezing cold, and making four trips out there because they had to order parts), shell out $300, and two months later my door is still leaking. I came back a third time, working myself up to demand they fix it for free. But they very politely suggested I take it to the dealer or take it to a body shop, because the problem is likely related to the welding of the door or the panel, which they can’t fix. Someone stronger-willed would probably have demanded their money back for all the parts and labor these guys put into NOT fixing the door. But I suck at confrontation, and I don’t think these guys were trying to pull one over on me. They were endorsed by Car Talk. That should count for something, right?

So, this morning I drove right over to the dealer in Bethesda (right by the train, yay!), explained the problem, then took the train home to wait for their diagnosis. They said they’d call Honda to see what they could do about my warranty. I was dreading the worst: paying $120 for the water test, plus another thousand or so for a new door. But they called me back this afternoon to basically say, “My bad.” Turns out there was some panel improperly fastened when I bought the thing, so regardless of my expired warranty, they’re fixing it at no charge. Apparently it’s been leaking since day one, but I only noticed it recently. I mean, who was going to notice that? You could only tell if you put your hands down on the carpet on the floor after a big rainstorm. Sheesh!

So amid much aggravation and phone tag and wasted time and money, in the end it’s not as bad as I’d feared. But it certainly could have been better. If there’s a lesson here, I’m not sure what it is. I always thought the dealer was the LAST place you go for basic repairs. But whatever. Aside from this and a rather aggressive curb check requiring a little body work, My lil’ Fit has done me well. Let’s hope she continues that way.

The trip home

Sheesh, what an ordeal! It all started about halfway through our flight home, when we expected Liam to be sound asleep in our laps, and instead he was a cranky, stubborn mess. He didn’t seem happy anywhere, but constant snacks did appease him somewhat. We landed at four, the luggage came out right away, the shuttle bus got there without much delay, and it seemed our day was brightening. Until we pulled up to pay for our economy parking, a whopping $96!!! We quickly did the math, $12 a day for 7 days…yeah, that’s right. What a rip off! And it’s the cheapest parking you can get there. We had considered taking the Metro, but with Liam in tow, and the luggage, and contending with morning rush hour on the way there and evening rush hour on the way back, we figured it would be worth the cost. Just barely, I’d say.

So, coming out of our parking sticker shock, we immediately hit DC traffic. We crawled up highway 1, sped through the tunnel under the mall on 395, then crawled again on Massechusetts. About an hour later, and right in the middle of the ghetto, this guy pulls up next to us to signal we should roll down the window. Said our rear driver-side tire was flat, and he’d been trying to let us know for a few blocks now. I guess we figured someone was honking at someone else with all that traffic. OH, and did we mention it was raining?!

Rather than mess with AAA, James and I changed it ourselves. James got those stubborn lug nuts off while I did the jack, and Liam woke up from his doze (at 5:30 PM!!!) to watch us in his bemused way. Thankfully the rain had stopped, and it didn’t take long for us to figure it out. James may not know a lot about cars, but he does know how to change a tire at least.

So, with the delay, and the traffic, we finally made it home at 6:15 – over two hours after our plane landed. Lesson learned: no more “naptime” flights on weekdays during rush hour. Tomorrow the craptasticness continues with my hunt for a new tire, canceling my morning play date, and attempting to catch up on all the work that has piled up while I’ve been away. And my shiny new grass is probably all dead now, what with 95-degree weather they had while we were away and with no one here to water. Wunderbar!

More Whining

Hoping that last cute video post will make up for the whine-fest I’m about to spew forth. I finished my last CSS class this morning, and I’m feeling more dejected and defeated than ever. I did my coursework, I took notes, I read my chapters, but I still feel like I’ve only got a vague notion of how to make CSS work on websites. I’m feeling like a very old dog confronted with a shiny, new trick. You want to hear the worst part? Aside from the technical hurdles, I don’t think I could even design a good website right now. It’s like my brain is through with creativity. All I want to do is eat badly, watch TV, and count off the days until Christmas. I want to…neeeed to….start meal planning. James and I are eating so poorly, and wasting so much money. We’ve got some very bad habits to correct, and it’s going to take some concentration and discipline on my part to set us straight. I’m hoping I can devote more time and energy to things like these–I hate to say it, but “homemaking”–and maybe this will help clear my head. Feeling all muddled and confused lately…and whiny, heh.

The furniture saga continues…

I had lunch with my friend Lisa today — she came over to see the house and eat PB&Js, since getting out and about is a bit of a challenge for me these days. She mentioned that Marlo Furniture, the place where we bought our bed and sectional (or, rather, half a sectional), might be going out of business. So tonight I googled it, and discovered an entire website full of complaints against this place. Greeeat. We even bought the 5-year protection plan, which people are complaining isn’t being honored. I went ahead and called their customer service line tonight to check on our sectional, and they said a new one would be coming on Dec. 31st. So far I haven’t experienced any rude customer service agents, and the fact that they’ve been damaged during delivery hardly seems like the furniture store’s fault. But we’ll see — if we continue to have problems, or if any of our furniture starts falling apart, I might be adding my own angry letter to this site. I will say that their delivery time windows have been off — like they’ll call to change the time or won’t show up — but because I’m working from home now, it’s not a big deal for me. If I were taking off work to meet them, on the other hand, I’d be totally pissed.