As many of you know, I moved in February. I was very excited. The house is awesome, the location is even better. And the roommate seemed ok too.
Well. Looks can be deceiving.
The first time I looked at the house, Tina (roommate) showed me a big empty living area and said "this will be your living area, you can do whatever you want with this room" and then she showed me two bedrooms and a bathroom in close proximity and said "these would be your bedrooms."
Everything moved forward. I filled out the application. The sister/homeowner (Jen) sent me the lease to read over (there were some iffy things on it, but seriously, like the landlord is going to be looking over my shoulder?? - I would THINK.. ). Then, when I went to the house to drop off the signed lease, the living room area was filled with furniture. Tina said that Jen didn't want this furniture in the other room, but wanted it in the main living area. (Jen doesn't live there, Tina does..)
This was clue one that my landlord is a crazy controlling person, but I guess I overlooked it. (there were a couple of reasons A. the house and location were amazing, and B. there was a valid explanation and C. I was quite literally running out of time.)
So, moving forward, I move into the house. The day after I move in, my roommate tells me that she is going to court the next day, and that it looks like she's going to jail for 30-90 days. Dude, what? Yeah, 2 DUIs in 10 years = jail.
So. Fine, it's not the end of the world, right? AND I'll get the place to myself for a while. Sweet.
Not so much.
So. Tina goes to jail, and Amy gets the place to herself. Amy is happy.
I’m not sure where to put this part, but it’s important. While Tina was in jail, she was on Work Release, (that means she went to work, then back to jail every night. She was supposed to go STRAIGHT to jail after work, no detours)she stopped home a couple of times. Every time she stopped home, she moved my stuff around, she left me notes telling what I was doing wrong (with her house.. whatever.) and one time she was home when I go there, and she screamed at me because *gasp* I put a small (three shelf) bookshelf in the living room. “I TOLD YOU NOT TO PUT ANY OF YOUR STUFF IN THE LIVING ROOM. I TOLD YOU YOU ONLY RENTED A ROOM!!!” Other times, she came home and would leave me notes telling me what was what, “you left the hallway light on!!” that sort of thing.
On March 17th, my landlord came into the house (w/out telling me she was doing so by the way), looked around my room and noticed I had a mountain dew in there. She sends me a text "I noticed you had a mt. dew in your room.." I reply "and???" and she says "it's against the lease.." then quotes the section of the lease where she said "no food or drink in the bedrooms". To be honest, this was the part of the lease I read and thought "who cares, what's she going to do, spy on me??", that answer, is yes apparently.
She came into the house a few times while Tina was in jail. She’s move my stuff around, she would look at my personal stuff…
Turns out, that she also went into the bathroom the day she sent me that text, and took out the 5 (note FIVE) 100 watt lights over the mirror and replaced them with 3 (note, THREE) 25 watt lights. She also sent me a text telling me that the heat bill went up (*GASP* In FEBRUARY the heat bill went up?? You mean you use MORE gas on the -5F days???) and that I need to be careful. yeah. And her reasoning? "Since I am paying the bills, I want to make sure the bills stay low."
First of all sister, you ARENT paying the bills. You have added the bills into the rent, so I am paying the bills, YOU are just writing the check. (Please note, this is the second clue about the controlling nature of my landlord.
She also sent me an email in about Mid Feb. telling me that the stuff I'd put into the garage was going to have to be moved into storage. She tells me that when Tina gets out of jail, she is going to remove "about half" of her stuff from the shed (and it's a nice big shed, on a cement block btw) and she wants me to look in there, estimate about how much room I'll have to put my stuff, then get a storage unit for whatever isn't going to fit in there.. and she wants me to do all of this before Tina moves the first thing from the shed. Dude. Really? Unreasonable much?
So, I tell her that there isn't as much stuff in the garage as she thinks, and that with a small space given to me in the shed, it'll be no problem to put my stuff in there. She inists that I get a storage unit. I pretty much ignore that, because I KNOW that given about 1/4 of the shed, all of my stuff will fit in there.
So, that was in late February.
In early April, she sends me an email (here is the email progression)
Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 10:46 AM
To: Amy Claeys
Subject:
Hey Amy,
I will be there Sunday with Tina, so I will finally get to meet you.
Can you please go look in the shed and see what you think will fit in
there. Tina is throwing away about 1/2 of her stuff. So you can plan
on using about 1/2 of the shed. The rest of your stuff will have to go
in Storage. I wanted whatever you are moving to storage to be out of
the garage before Sunday. I am cleaning the garage out and don't want
to spend my whole entire Sunday trying to do so. Anyhow, I will see
you Sunday.
Me to Jennifer:
Jennifer,
I'm confused. What would you like me to do with the stuff until Sunday?
If Tina isn't moving her stuff out until Sunday..
Regards,
Amy Claeys
From: Jennifer
Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 10:49 AM
To: Amy Claeys
Subject: RE:
The stuff that will fit in the shed can stay in the garage until Sunday.
I meant move the stuff that will not fit into storage before Sunday.
Me to Jennifer:
Jennifer,
I really can't afford storage, so I'll just have to make the shed work.
Regards,
Amy Claeys
From: Jennifer
Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 10:57 AM
To: Amy Claeys
Subject: RE:
Tina is going to want to be able to get to her stuff too. ... not to
mention there is not enough room for all of your stuff. I warned you of
this when you first moved in. So I dont know why you are acting like
this is a big shock to you. You told me you were getting a storage unit
when I expressed my concern. I never told you my garage would be your
storage unit. It looks like a junk yard in my garage and I don't like
it. I gave up my other room since you have kids and now I will be
moving my stuff in the garage. SO it is a big deal to me. -Jen
Me to Jennifer:
Jennifer,
I never said I would be getting a storage unit, however I did tell you
that much of the stuff in there was books, and that is almost all
inside. (there is one box of books left out there, I just haven't found
it yet). There isn't a whole ton of stuff left to be honest. I mean,
there is some stuff, but I think you are picturing what all was in there
at first. I've pulled a lot of stuff out. I pulled all of my books out
because the snow melted off Tina's truck, and soaked several of my
boxes, and I had to throw away a few books - about $150 worth in books
to be honest, due to mold and stuff. As you can imagine, this was rather
distressing for me. At any rate, all the books are inside, and put
away. It's not neat because I've been going thru it almost every day,
but it's not as much as it LOOKS like.
I think a large part of our confusion here, is Tina said one thing, and
you said another, almost at every turn. So, I was thinking one thing,
then found out it was something totally different. I am sure however,
these things will all smooth out, and hopefully soon. Being told what,
where and when is very stressful to me. So, I am eager to let everything
settle. I'm sure you understand.
Regards,
Amy Claeys
From: Jennifer
Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2008 11:43 AM
To: Amy Claeys
Subject: RE:
You did tell me you were getting a storage unit. You should have never
put your books in the garage in the first place. Its a garage... meant
for cars. What did Tina tell you anyhow? Did she tell you to store
that stuff in there? I told you the plan months ago and you did tell
me you were planning on moving your stuff in storage that didn't fit in
the house. Yes I am picturing what you initially had in the garage
it took up a lot of the garage. I'm not going to argue over what I
know I told you months ago. Its my house and I made that clear to you
months ago that you cannot leave your stuff in the garage as you had it.
I told you it was fine until April 20th but after that it had to go.
Jen
I didn’t respond to the last email, because it was going nowhere good. But Jen sent me another email, this time to my gmail account:
Jennifer to me
show details Apr 15 (8 days ago)
Reply
I sent you this on 2/11
I could barely fit Tina's car in there the other day and only moved it out because the sensor kept saying it was blocked. YOu have a lot of stuff I dont know where you are going to put all of that stuff??? The shed is a decent size so I can make some room for you so I can get the garage cleared out by April.
You responded and said you are moving stuff in and out and whatever didn't fit was going in storage.
I also sent another message regarding this on 3/14
FYI: Tina and I will be cleaning the garage out and the back yard on April 20 (Sunday)..... I know its not for awhile, but I wanted to give you a heads up to make sure you clear your stuff out of the garage by then. She will make room for some of your stuff in the Shed behind the garage, but keep in mind its only a shed, so I don't think you will be able to fit all of your stuff in there.
I made myself clear as soon as I saw all of that stuff you moved into my garage. I really don't appreciate you acting as if this is due to Tina/your mis-communication. Tina has been gone from there since Feb 6th. I know you thought you could move couches in there initially but I made you aware that was not the case before the lease was ever signed. I was nice enough to bring those in for you even though I initially told you that I did not need anymore furniture.
Amy to Jennifer
show details Apr 15 (8 days ago)
Reply
Jennifer,
I am well aware of this email. And I'm not "blaming" Tina for anything, so please do not make this into something Amy vs. Tina. Nor did I ever say that you never talked to me about the April 20th "deadline".
I will have the stuff out of the garage. It will very likely fit into the shed.
I would prefer not to go back and forth. You want the stuff out, it will be out.
Please accept this as an end to this conversation. Thank you.
Angry doesn’t even describe how I felt at this point. In other words, she is saying “my way, or the highway”
So, on Saturday, I ask her what time she’ll be there on Sunday to do the moving stuff, and she says she doesn’t know. I explain that I have some family obligations that day, and will work around her schedule, she says she still doesn’t know. Ok. That’s fine. I tell her to go ahead and do what she has to do, and that when I’m done with my family stuff, I’ll move my stuff out of the garage before the end of the day. (This is a text conversation)
She replies via text: “If you aren’t here, I’ll move your stuff for you, because I want to sweep out the garage”
I reply, “I am not comfortable with you moving my stuff. I will move it before the end of the day. Please do not move my stuff around. Most of it is already in the shed.”
Sunday comes, I go to the kids birthday party thing I have to go to from 2-4, and am home by 4:30, and they are still not working on the garage. That’s fine. I realize that I’m SUPER sore from the party (it was a bunch of those moonwalk bouncy things, and I played with the kids in them.. mama out’a shape!) and decide to take a walk. As I’m getting ready for my walk, they pull up. I tell them I’ll be back in an hour or so, thinking that will give them plenty of time to get stuff moving, and then I’ll start moving my stuff.
I walk to my grandma’s house (really close) and visit for a while, and walk back. All in about an hour, (just like I said by the way). I walk up the driveway, and notice that ALL of my belongings are missing from the garage. All. So, on my way back to the shed, I say “I asked you not to move my stuff. I said I’d be back in an hour, and I WAS…” and continue on back. I didn’t yell, I didn’t hiss. I simply said.
Jen follows me to the shed and says, “how about ‘Thank you’”?
Seriously??
I reply, “I asked you in text and before I left that you NOT move my stuff. You did anyway. Why would I say ‘thank you’? Moving it all despite my request was rude, inconsiderate and disrespectful.” Again. I “said” I did not scream or anything like that.
She SCREAMS back at me “YOU TOOK OVER MY GARAGE WITH YOUR SHIT”
Dude.
I said, “No, I didn’t. Tina told me to put it there, and I did. Further, when I rented your house, the garage came with it, since it’s not on the lease that it didn’t.” (now I’m getting testy for sure, but still not yelling).
She replies, “YOU RENTED A FUCKING ROOM!!! I DON’T KNOW WHY YOU KEEP SAYING YOU RENTED A HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT’S MY HOUSE!!!!” and then she flounced off toward the house/garage. (the shed is behind the garage).
So, I follow her and I say “first of all you don’t get to talk to me that way” to which she replied “I’ll talk to you any FUCKING way I want!” I then said “so do you want to talk about this, or are you going to continue having a tantrum” or some such. I may have said continue screaming.. I’m just not sure. I told her at this point that she had better re-read the lease because she leased a house to me, not a room. She screamed back at me, “I KNOW WHAT HE LEASE SAYS, I FUCKING WROTE IT!!”. I said, “well, you need to read it again. It doesn’t say anywhere that I am renting a room. It says I’ve rented “the property at 3926 woodland”. THE PROPERTY. It also says I am responsible for maintaining the grounds (cutting grass, shoveling snow), which backs UP that I’m leasing a HOUSE.”
At this point Tina chimed in (Tina isn’t very smart btw), “Why are you talking so crazy? The ad said there was a ROOM for rent, Not a house.” At which point I reminded HER that she answered MY add that she was looking for a roommate.
She then says, “do you OWN the house? No. Jen does. It’s not MY house either, I’m just living here, it’s JEN’s house.”
I have to admit I was a little shocked by this. Tina also pays rent, about the same as what I pay. She isn’t staying here as a guest, but as a leasee. I just think she is used to being controlled by crazy, controlling jen.
I say to that, “well, when you sign a lease, the house becomes yours. For the time of the lease. I think you (to Jen) need to find out more about what it means to rent out your house… seriously.”
She screamed something back at me, I honestly don’t remember what, so I turned my iPod up, and went back to the shed to reorganize the stuff she so disrespectfully moved.
It would be good to note here, btw, that the kids were NOT home with me at this point. They were with their dad, so at least they didn’t have to deal with the crazy lady.
I pretty much ignored them both the rest of the day.
The next day was Monday, and I had it off from work. Tina was around for most of the day, and I didn’t really talk to her right away (amy holds a grudge, yo) but she talked to me, like everything was normal.. so wanting to keep the peace I did the same.
Tuesday (jesus fucking Christ, right? Is this ever going to end??) I went back to work. She sends me a text around 3 and says that I left my bedroom window open, so she went into my room and closed and locked it. I reply “I’m not happy” because I’m just SO fed up by now, right? She sends back “I’m NOT leaving the house open.. your window was open, so I went and closed it.”
I had stopped replying, mostly because I knew it would get me nowhere. She sends another text: “it’s perfectly reasonable to ask you to close your window during the day” to which I replied, “yes, it is. However, that’s not what you did.” She sends another message to me stating that if the fuses went out, she’d expect me to go into her room to fix it (that’s where the fuse box is). I didn’t answer that one either.
This, THIS was the last straw. If it were the first thing that had happened, it really wouldn’t have been a big deal. But I have dealt with being pushed around, told what to do, when to do it.. I feel not like I’ve rented a home for me and mine, but that I asked a friend if we could stay, and like we are being disrespectful to that friends home (which btw, we aren’t being disrespectful to anyone). In other words, I feel like an unwanted guest.
This is not an acceptable living arrangement.
I go the “Renters Rights” booklet from the city of Royal Oak, and in it, it states that the landlord must let me know before she comes in the house. (now, I understand that the landlords SISTER lives here, but for 72 days, she didn’t. She lived in Jail. And during that time, she SHOULD have told me before she came over). She did not ever tell me before she came over. It also states that I have the right to “quiet enjoyment” of the rented premises. From the context, I take this to mean that I have the right to LIVE in the house, free from the landlord looking over my shoulder at all times. That is not happening. Not even remotely.
I believe that these are premises on which I can break the lease. And I plan to do so.
*sigh* I don’t want to move again. But hopefully, I’ll move, and STAY in the same place for a couple/few years. Hell, at this point, ONE year would be nice. (The last house was 11 months.. they lost the house, this one I moved in Feb.. and when I was with Denise, that was only 11 months as well. This is absolutely ridiculous.)
Wish me luck folks.
*sigh*
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(By the way.. if I pay almost $300 for a boot, could I please have my toes covered.. hello snow)
) 
busy
