Monday, August 20, 2007

my life as a soap opera


This is the drama that I have had to deal with for the last month in the form of email conversations. Names have been changed to protect the identity of the involved parties, no matter how not worth it they may be.

Manic Hispanic says:
sluggo:
we need to discuss a couple things regarding your move out date. do you know when it is? i will be out of town aug 16-sept 1. i foresee that i will not be in town when you leave.
my tentative plan is to give slim jeans my keys so she can begin moving in once you begin vacating and check on the cats food supply. this all depends on what works best for you. would you like slim jeans to begin checking on the cats before or after you move out? i've assumed it's ok for her to begin some light moving before you're officially out. is this actually ok? or is it not?
also, mr. rental man in planning on dropping off the lease for slim jeans and myself to sign. your signature is not required. if you could leave that on the coffee table or my laptop (or any other place that is visible) that would be great.
last thing, i'm dog sitting for a woman in shoreline which is why i've only been passing through in the AM to feed and water the cats and to scoop poop.


Sluggo says: I'll be leaving around the 23rd-25th. SJ is more than welcome to start moving her stuff in early as long as she pays me $200 for her half of the security deposit and you pay me $250 for your half of the pet deposit. She doesn't need to take care of the cats until I leave,
I can take care of them. But you should give me her phone number so
we can communicate while you're out of town. And I haven't yet seen
the lease in case you were looking for it.


MH: I'll pass this on to SJ.
As far as the $250 goes, I will not be able to pay you until I get my financial aid money. School starts Sept 26. So, I would imagine it will be in my bank account by the 17th. It may be earlier, but I can't imagine it will come later. So, you will need to leave a forwarding address for me to mail a cashier's check or pay pal account information. Sorry if this is inconvenient. However, it is the only way you will actually get the money, as opposed to a bouncing check.


S:
Hey manic hisanic-

I'd really like to have SJ's phone number or email address before
you leave town so her I and I can communicate in your absence.

MH: SJ did not say it was ok for me to give out her contact information, but that shouldn't be too much of an issue.

What i figure will work best, is if you call or text me when you are officially out, leave the keys on the kitchen table or in the basket on the coffee table, and i will let SJ know that the apartment is ready to move into. She will have my keys to get in and out of the building. So, you don't need to worry about coordinating that.

If there is anything that comes up that is imperative for you communicate to her, it can be relayed through me. (i.e. cat issues, etc...)
n>

S: Hey. I can't move out until September 12. I hope that's okay.

MH: that is actually NOT ok. 5 days is not enough notice to change plans so drastically. SJ and i are signing the lease to begin on Sept 1st. Devon told her current roommates that she would be out by Sept 1st. Your room is SJ's and SJ's room is someone else's on Sept 1st. this was all based on you communicating that you would be out by the 25th. SJ has a rental truck scheduled for the 25th. If you stay behind, you will need to reimburse her for costs incurred in the duration.
in short, this is not going to work and you need to figure out something else.


this next response was written as an addendum to the previous.

MH: Alright, SJ and i spoke to the leasing office.
It is our hope that you can be out by the 1st. However, we can be a bit flexible.
If you stay through the 12th, you are responsible for your entire share of September's rent. SJ is neither obligated nor interested in splitting this with you. this was verbally confirmed when SJ went in to discuss the technicalities of the lease and the possible impact of your refusal to vacate.
Also, she will need to move her stuff into that bedroom on September 1st. So, you will need to have your things out of there by that date. In addition, you will need to relinquish your keys to SJ or myself on the 1st of September. Since you are encroaching upon a verbal contract, we shall not attempt to work around your schedule.
Another thing to note, you would typically need to pay a $250.00 fee for vacating the apartment early. We were not previously considering deducting this from your deposit, but are seriously considering it at this time.
Ultimately, you need to do what you need to do. It is not our wish for you to be homeless for two weeks. However, there are various monetary repercussions that are within our legal right to exhaust should you choose to stay.


S: Well I was kinda counting on the $450 you and her owe me and I can't
afford to drive down without it so I need to work for another
paycheck. I'm still on the lease until Sept. 1st so SJ shouldn't
have rented a truck for the 25th. If you want me to leave as
scheduled I'm gonna need that money.


MH: The way it is going to work is that you will get your money if you leave as scheduled. The longer you stay, the deeper the hole you dig. Much like if you were vacating at the proper time, you can't count on getting paid in advance. Something you should have considered is that you need to leave the former lessor with a forwarding address. A landlord is not going to take it on good faith that you deserve your security deposit in full. This is especially true because you are breaking a legally binding contract. The are monetary consequences for breaking contracts in all areas of life. I find it hard to believe that you did not consider this in your decision to move. Incidentally, money was not an issue when we all thought you would vacate without a hitch. SJ and I both believed we were being gracious to pay you money when typically you would lose money. We have now decided that the more burdensome you make this, the less money you will receive. Don't take for granted that a lease is a business transaction and the old adage holds true: time is money. You are not owed or entitled anything until you fulfill your end of the bargain. So just do what it takes to be out by the 31st, so SJ can move in on the 1st. Besides, if you need the $450.00 so badly, I don't know why you would want to incur an additional month's rent along with accompanying expenses.

can anyone guess how happy i will be when this bitch is finally gone?