Hey yawl. It’s been a while. I haven’t had a second to myself in the last few weeks because for those of you who are unaware, I have been in the process of finding a place to live after being thrusted out of my childhood home on to the streets at the tender age of 26. Can anyone say child abuse?
The steps leading up to the move have been highly stressful due to my keen eye for interior design and my lofty goal of creating a mid century modern art deco inspired gothic maximalist living space. I want PATTERNS. I want GLITZ. I want FUR. I want a BLUE VELVET TUFTED COUCH WITH EXOTIC ACCENT PILLOWS.
Apparently, when moving in with a partner, you also have to take into account their opinions on how your home should look. With that being said, my plan for a solid gold lamp in the shape of a flamingo with a cluster of real feathers in place of a lamp shade was brutally rebuffed. ( Here’s the link if anyone’s feeling generous- https://www.wayfair.com/lighting/pdp/willa-arlo-interiors-josie-305-gold-table-lamp-w003321599.html)
However, the arduous design process was merely a foreshadowing of what I would endure upon move in. I will leave you all with a copy of an email which I have sent to someone who works in my building whos title I am still wildly unclear of. I have not yet received a response.
Good afternoon,
I do not have a contact for the building manager and if there is someone more appropriate or more equipped to deal with these concerns please forward this email to them. I’ve attached the only other email contact I have, who I believe is an assistant property manager.
It is not my intention to be difficult or unreasonable, and I hope that going forward we can have an amiable and positive experience. However, there are several things which I’ve been left wildly confused and disappointed by.
Renovations– First, I felt it was reasonable to assume that by our move in date (which was set by the building), the apartment would be ready. However, on our move in day when I was taken in to the apartment (not prior) I was informed that the two bathroom floors would need to be torn out and replaced, the cabinets in each bathrooms would need to be refurbished, the deck would need to be stained, and the outside deck space would need to be painted. When this does occur (I was told this would be sometime over the next week, not actually given a date), we will need to find alternative boarding for our two dogs, who I predict will not respond well to men who they are unfamiliar with in their living space. To that end, I frequently work from home, and I imagine that will be difficult to do in the midst of construction work which will most likely span over the course of several days.
Parking– I completely understand that I was initially given the wrong parking space number- mistakes happen. What I was not prepared for however, was that the alternative parking space that I was actually assigned would be between a cement pole and the wall and not actually big enough to fit my car. In attempting to fit in the space, I scratched the side of my car and caused considerable damage. I have attached photos, and would like the parking space changed and potentially have the damages covered by the building. Please let me know if there is a legal department associated with the building management that I should contact.
Maintenance– It is not my intention to get the maintenance team in trouble, and they were very kind. However, I’m not sure if this is the policy of the building, but on our first morning in our new apartment I awoke to two men standing in my living room. When I called out “Hello?” They replied “Maintenance”, (already inside) and proceeded to attempt to repair the closet lighting fixture. I think that by any stretch of the imagination it can be agreed upon that maintenance letting themselves into an apartment without notifying us of an appointment, or so much as knocking, is inappropriate, particularly as I was in various states of undress at the time. Furthermore, my boyfriend left for work while they continued to work on the light and I was woken up several times further ( it approximately 8:30 a.m.) by one of the men knocking at my bedroom door to gain access to the electric box. While they haphazardly tinkered around in the electric box, on numerous occasions I was forced to stand in the bathroom. It is also important to once again mention that our two dogs, who were thankfully not in the apartment at the time, would not have responded well to the intrusion.
Damages? – There are currently several things that are damaged/broken in the apartment. As previously mentioned, there was the light in the closet of the master bedroom which has since been fixed. However, and I’m not sure if this is just common place for the building, the fans in each bedroom do not have lighting fixtures. At night, if it were not for the light from the street, the bedrooms would be pitch black. We haven’t had a chance in the first two days to go out and buy the lamps required to light the rooms, and we’ve found ourselves stumbling around in the dark lighting the way with our phones.
- The sink in the master bathroom does not drain unless I remove the drain piece entirely. I don’t know the technical terms for this, but the lever which typically allows you to push up the piece which blocks the drain doesn’t work.
2. The handle to the door which opens the washer and dryer is broken and hanging off on one side.
3.The cabinets underneath the sink in the kitchen do not close.
4.This is more for the building’s knowledge- but there is a considerable raise in the wooden flooring in the kitchen which suggests a build up of water underneath. It also feels loose when stepping on it.
5.We can not open the drawer for the utensils in the kitchen unless we push the stove back.
6.The counters were were covered with grease upon move in, we’ve done our best to clean this up.
7. The wooden floors, which I was informed would also be changed out prior to move in as they look particularly dull, and for lack of better word, dingy, were not changed have several paint spatters.
8. The burner of the front right corner stove falls off entirely. I found this out the hard way, as I was cooking dinner last night and very narrowly avoided third degree burns.
9. Although I have previously mentioned the deck and I understand that it will be “stained” it appears that the planks may need to be replaced entirely as the distance between them is vast. I looked down yesterday morning to see someone staring up at me from the unit below and I was quite alarmed to say the least.
In light of all of this, I think it would be reasonable to request a considerable discount on our rent for next month, if not that it be waived entirely. (as you know, I paid the prorated rent on move-in day). I would also, as previously mentioned, like my parking spot changed to a spot where my car can fit, and I would like a contact for someone I can discuss potentially having the damages covered.
I’m sorry for the lengthy e-mail. I don’t wish to be difficult, but I think we can all agree that many of the aforementioned issues are unacceptable.
Let me know how to proceed,
Rachel LaBella
Wine and Zoloft 