This is a weekly blog post that I'm calling Apartment Hell Life. I've mentioned a few times some of the crazy things that go on in and around my apartment complex in the past 24 years that we've lived here and people keep telling me I should write a book. But instead of a book, I've decided to share the crazy things that have happened in and around my apartment complex in the last 24 years here in a weekly blog post.
I was outside walking the dog at 7am and two police cars pulled up right across the street from me. There's one cop car is closer to me and one is further down the street. They went to the apartments on the corner who seem to be having the police there a lot. There are a lot of people in that building dealing drugs and a lot of the drug addicts and homeless people are hanging out there.
Tuesday morning the maintenance man asked if he could plug his extension cord into an electrical outlet in my bedroom because he was working on cleaning the plumbing in a drain right outside my window. So I plugged it in. But at first it wasn't working and I looked at the plug and pointed out that the prongs were very loose and that's probably why it wasn't working.
Here is the prongs on his extension corn. They were sooo loose. That one on the left just wiggled so much that it was obvious that was the problem and I pointed it out to him twice. He just kept asking me to plug it into a different outlet like I was an idiot and had no idea what I was talking about. I was married to an apartment maintenance man for 30 years. Dude, you need a new extension cord. I know how to plug into an outlet. So after wiggling it a little bit, it started working but I kept an eye on it while he was using it.
He had his snake outside my window and thankfully cleared the drain.
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While my daughter was sitting outside a neighbor came over and asked if our electric bill had doubled. It has not but apparently hers and another neighbor in the building across from me, theirs has. They have complained to the managers but they won't do anything like have an electrician check out the wires. So she said she was going to hire an electrician and try to have the courts make them take the bill off the rent. I don't see that happening but good luck.
She said her refrigerator wasn't working right and she made a work order but the maintenance guy said it was working good enough. So she hired a refrigerator guy to come fix it and submitted the bill to the manager. She's waiting to see if they will take it off the rent. Again, good luck with that. They are not going to pay for that.
Another neighbor said that they tried to raise her rent before her lease was up in April and she called the corporate office and they told her that the management company could not raise her rent until April. She told them she is retired and has all the time in the world to go sit in court if they try and raise her rent before her lease is up. They fixed it. Her rent won't go up until April.
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The high this week was 75F/23C
The low this week was 42F/5 C
So that's it for this week's Apartment Hell Life! Be sure to come back next week for more.
"She told them she is retired and has all the time in the world to go sit in court if they try and raise her rent before her lease is up."
ReplyDelete😂 Badass.
The maintenance guy is either an idiot or plays the part because he doesn't want to bother with upgrading his tools...
I have no doubt that she would have made good on her threat too. lol
DeleteHe's definitely an idiot.
That looks yikes, yeah one thinks he should have seen that himself
ReplyDeleteYou would think so.
DeleteSounds like corporate hires the dumbest people in the world to run their properties...
ReplyDeleteThey really do.
DeleteHi, Mary!
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking all those people who gathered at the building down the street from you were merely attending a pre Super Bowl party with non-alcoholic punch served as refreshment. :) Looks like most of your other problems this week involved handyman issues. It's a good thing that dummy maintenance man didn't cause a fire in your apartment trying to use a faulty extension cord. Strange that your neighbor's electric bill mysteriously doubled, but not surprising if the managers refuse to cover the cost of hiring an electrician. I applaud the woman who stood firm about her rent increase. Seems to me that if enough residents have the same type of problem, you could join together and file a class action suit to get management to buckle and yield on these issues.
Have a wonderful week, dear friend Mary!
I stood in there to make sure nothing sparked or caught fire. I'm glad she made them see that they couldn't get one over on her.
DeleteIf we brought any kind of lawsuit against them they would just give us all a 30 day no cause and we'd be evicted. Not really worth it for me at this point since I can't find another apartment complex that is affordable.
If you were a man, the maintenance guy would have believed you. SMH. Good for the retired lady! Ha!
ReplyDeleteOur electric company advertises that if you notice your bills going up, they will come out and do a free check.
Exactly. He treated me like I had a hole in my head and my brains were dripping out.
DeleteIt's always something crazy around there. I sure wish you could move Mary!
ReplyDeleteMaybe one of these days but with housing costs skyrocketing right now there's nothing affordable.
DeleteI got a good laugh out of the neighbor who told management she was retired and had time to sit in court. I guess management thought they'd raise early, pocket the difference without corporate knowing. Your maintenance man is as idiotic as the tech guy I got stuck with.
ReplyDeleteThey thought they could but she definitely made them see they couldn't.
DeleteElectrical problems are real. One good thing about the US is that we use the same universal cord throughout the nation. I've been overseas and it's like pulling out your hair to find a suitable adapter.
ReplyDeleteThat's true.
DeleteRoberta's comment is spot on. And I really admire bad asses like that one.
ReplyDeleteI do too.
DeleteThat's early to start the day with someone doing something they shouldn't. Have a good week.
ReplyDeleteTrue.
DeleteDon't you just hate when people treat you like some kind of idiot? Least he cleared the drain and left.
ReplyDeleteI do. I know he has no idea who I am but don't treat a woman like she knows nothing just because she's a woman.
DeleteI wouldn't want that maintenance man working in my place, he's a fool.
ReplyDeleteYes, he is. I made sure to stay and watch the cord in case it sparked or caught fire.
Deletemen...never a dull moment for you. :-)
ReplyDeletesherry @ fundinmental
Nope, there's always something.
DeleteThat maintenance guy sounds like quite a piece of work. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Yeah, he's a dingo alright.
DeleteI'm always amazed at the goings on around your building... And you're a better person than me for I'd have growled at that maintenance man!
ReplyDeleteLOL I'm not sure he has enough brain cells to understand.
DeleteYou don't need a TV, just watch what's going on outside your window.
ReplyDeleteRight? Every week I have something to talk about.
DeleteOh goodness, I wouldn't want that maintenance man working in my house!!!
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
I just hope he quits before I need something done.
DeleteWell, at least the dude is working, that's something.
ReplyDeleteYeah, there's that.
DeleteGlad the retired lady won her little war. Sounds like the plumber needs a new cord. I hate it when men think we don't know what we're talking about. *sigh* Have a good rest of the weekend, Mary!
ReplyDeleteI hate that too.
DeleteI'm glad she didn't let this place get one over on her.
Have you thought of sending your weekly write up on "Apartment" I would guess maybe some college and or University. Might want to study human behavior in this time peroid.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on and stay safe
That's an interesting idea.
DeleteIt's bad when your maintenence man is an idiot
ReplyDeleteYes it is.
DeleteWell, at least he got the drain fixed.
ReplyDeleteThat's true.
DeleteFun times with the management company. Doubling of the electric bill?> Gah...
ReplyDeleteYeah, I don't know what's going on with the electric bill.
DeleteEnergy bills are set to rocket in the UK because of a huge rise in the price of wholesale oil and gas. Maybe that's the situation in the States as well?
ReplyDeleteEveryone pays the same amount here per hour. So they have to be using more power from something they have plugged in. Mine hasn't gone up at all.
DeleteGood to see some residents are fighting back even if it is against a loosing cause.
ReplyDeleteAt least her rent won't increase for a couple more months.
DeleteHere, maintanence guys are always think that they are right (but they are mostly not right and most of them are stupit). Also they are so unfriendly guys. I think situation is same there. Am i correct? LOL
ReplyDeleteYeah sometimes.
DeleteI am sorry you had to go through that with the maintenance guy. I can't help but wonder if it was because you are a woman. What could you possibly know? At least the drain got cleared in the end. Sounds like our temperatures are about the same these days. I hope you have a good weekend, Mary.
ReplyDeleteOh I'm sure it's because I'm a woman.
DeleteDoes it seem like things are getting worse with the drug activity and homeless situation? 😐
ReplyDeleteThe drug activity is worst. The homeless people come and go. Sometimes it's bad and sometimes there's only a couple of people around here.
Delete