Crazy House Troubles

VioletArrows

VioletArrows

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I do know how you folks love your weird advice and crazy roommate drama.

I just moved into a house for my last semester of college this fall, because I can't live in the dorms and I was fucking sick of living in student housing. The house is semi-old (40-50 years, covered in wood paneling, no grounded outlets, ancient fusebox filled with glass bulbs), but I loved it since I got the master bedroom, and the location is almost perfect.

My housemate (I actually have two, but no beef with one, so he'll stay out of the picture) is an irresponsible flake. But since she's the one who was in charge of the house in the first place, she is in charge of the bills, the lease, etc, and it's all in her name. By irresponsible, I mean, I've been nagging her for over a month, and I have yet to see the lease (I'm glad for this now, more later), any of the bills I'm supposed to pay, or maintenance tasks.

Now. Tropical Storm Fay came two weeks ago, and the poor house couldn't take it. Water washed into the kitchen, and even though we live on a giant hill, the living room and back porch was under 2" of water. Carpet was ruined. We immediately called the landlord, and he told us to call those emergency restoration services. Too late, the carpet molded instantly and it hadn't even stopped raining/flooding yet. We found frogs in the living room. Cute as they were they had to be out. So the landlord gave us permission to tear up the carpet and so I did last Monday, flake roommate is nowhere to be found, even though she said she would help me. I had to get my father to help me tear up and cut up the carpet, even though his house is also flooded and FEMA's being douchenozzles again. Find that the water's also in a layer under the tile in the dining room. Can't tear that up, and the mold/mildew is spreading. I can't breathe.

Wednesday, the AC's dead. In Florida. In the hottest part of the year. Stupid flake roommate calls landlord, who doesn't send anyone until the following Monday (Labor Day, ironically). The guy he sends is a fucking retard of the highest caliber, after mucking about with the AC and determining that it's broken, he comes back and starts messing with the FUSE BOX, stuffing aluminum foil around the glass fuses, and blows 90% of the house. Needless to say, bitch is fired. And now there's no power in the house, let alone AC.

Flake roommate for some reason has kept the landlord's number for herself, and choosing to ignore me, other housemate, and the problem at large, has moved in with her girlfriend (before you scream omglesbian, she's not the fun to watch making out kind) and turned her phone off so I can't call her and the landlord to scream obscenities about being stuck in a house with no AC, lights, kitchen, or video games. Only thing that works is one outlet in the den, where the modem is hidden. So at least I can still sort of do my homework, meanwhile trying to fend off clouds of mosquitoes (hurricanes cause blooms), and drowning in my own sweat for 4 days now.

My plan at this point is, since she STILL has not given me the lease to sign, and they have no intention of listening to me or other roommate, I have no obligation to stay. I'm going to pack my shit up this weekend and look for a new place to live, leaving the month's rent and utilities that I've already stayed here, and moving into an apartment.

Any insight, oh wise and smartass-ed CAG?

TL;DR: I hate my roommate and I'm skippin town.
 
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That sucks dick, man.

If you're not on any of the paperwork and she's been dodging you... I say fuck her, and just leave.
 
Mold is some nasty shit, dude. That stuff will make you sick if it doesn't get cleaned up properly.

The insurance company needs to be notified. And wtf is up with the aluminum foil in the fuse box? I've heard that duct tape can be used for fixing virtually anything, but I'm not sure what the purpose of using the foil was (unless the dude deliberately wanted to mess up the fuses).

Is your name on the lease?
 
[quote name='shieryda']Mold is some nasty shit, dude. That stuff will make you sick if it doesn't get cleaned up properly.

The insurance company needs to be notified. And wtf is up with the aluminum foil in the fuse box? I've heard that duct tape can be used for fixing virtually anything, but I'm not sure what the purpose of using the foil was (unless the dude deliberately wanted to mess up the fuses).

Is your name on the lease?[/quote]

I was tested by an allergist last year and he found that I'm badly allergic (there's still scars on my arm from the test) to mold and mildew. I just stay out of that room for now and leave doors and windows open for fresh air.

I don't know what the landlord's done as far as insurance yet, and because I'd just moved in two weeks before, I didn't have renter's insurance yet. I just pray that what the electrician did didn't fuck up my babies (Wii and PS2, my laptop seems to be okay).

I haveN'T even seen the damn lease. I've politely asked for it 3 times now, and she swears she'll print it out ASAP to give it to me. And just like Monday when I told her to bring home a shit load of ice to try and save the refrigerator and all my and other roommate's food (she doesn't have any food, she only eats takeout shit), she either forgot or ignored me 30 seconds later and hasn't done it.
 
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[quote name='VioletArrows']I was tested by an allergist last year and he found that I'm badly allergic (there's still scars on my arm from the test) to mold and mildew. I just stay out of that room for now and leave doors and windows open for fresh air.

I don't know what the landlord's done as far as insurance yet, and because I'd just moved in two weeks before, I didn't have renter's insurance yet. I just pray that what the electrician did didn't fuck up my babies (Wii and PS2, my laptop seems to be okay).

I have even seen the damn lease. I've politely asked for it 3 times now, and she swears she'll print it out ASAP to give it to me. And just like Monday when I told her to bring home a shit load of ice to try and save the refrigerator and all my and other roommate's food (she doesn't have any food, she only eats takeout shit), she either forgot or ignored me 30 seconds later and hasn't done it.[/quote]

If you'll not be punished for "breaking" the lease, you need to get the fuck out of there. Do you have any buddies that you can stay with temporarily?

I don't know which allergist you went to, but you shouldn't have any scars from the testing. I had mine done 30 years ago, and didn't have scars from it. I'm sure the testing is quite different (improved) today.
 
I don't have anyone to stay with, otherwise I would not have put up with trying to sleep in 100 degree heat. :p

It was a scratch test. In that he scratched me with toxin dipped pins, they came up negative 20 mins later, I scratched my arm an hour later thinking nothing of it, and realized too late that I'd done a bad thing by scratching giant itching bloody holes in my arm.
 
IANAL but I don't see how you can be on the hook for anything if you didn't sign anything.

Also I don't know what you're doing getting your dad to rip up carpet on a house you're just renting.

There's got to be something better - I'd imagine even a craigslist search would turn up something better then this. I mean - it's a swampy shack with no electricity - you'd be better off living in a van down by the river.
 
The landlord told us to tear up the carpet because it was molding and the house smelled like death.

Ironically, craigslist is where I found the house in the first place.
 
[quote name='VioletArrows']The landlord told us to tear up the carpet because it was molding and the house smelled like death.

Ironically, craigslist is where I found the house in the first place.[/QUOTE]

An unhealthy/uncomfortable living environment, a jackass roommate, incompetent maintenance, and an unreachable landlord? And you haven't signed a lease? Time to get the fuck out.

Is the non-a-hole roommate on the lease? If not, you should invite him to be your roommate and go find a new place together.
 
Nah he's cool, if not even more shy and busy than I am. I'd thought about seeing if he'd go for an anime marathon to get to know him better (I spotted a bunch of his anime dvds as I walked by one day), but.... it'd be kinda hard to with no power. I don't think he is on the lease, since he moved in a few days after I did.

Damn, it's going to be a bitch trying to get all my stuff back in the boxes.
 
As far as I know, he's silently fuming but resilient. Not a talker, that one. He did manage to move the fridge to the working outlet, but we still can't cook anything.He probably isn't functioning well since he has asthma, his nebulizer works on electricity, and with no sense of smell, can't sense that he probably shouldn't be staying in the living room (the ceiling fan there works, but it just blows hot air around). He's been spending more and more time on campus with his studies (grad student) to avoid coming back to the house, but I'll ask about what he's planning to do this evening.
 
What I find interesting is that the landlord allowed you and your dad to do all the manual labor in removing the ruined carpet. They usually have a crew of laborers to do that type of work. But, I suppose if you need something done right away, sometimes is best to do it yourself.

How did you get hooked up with the female roomie in the first place?
 
I went through the housing ads in Craigslist. When I first met her, and we went through the house, everything seemed good. The house was clean and kept up, I would get the master bedroom (previous roommate graduated and went to grad school), and she herself was cheerful, getting ready to graduate herself and be a kindergarten teacher (I WEEP FOR OUR FUTURE), easygoing, and a little weird like me. All I can say is, everything went to shit at once (can't help a hurricane or what it does) and she has no coping skills, making her completely irresponsible.
 
I didn't think anyone was following it. XD I actually moved into an apartment last week, away from *most* of the trouble. But I'll do a full post either this afternoon between classes or this evening.
 
[quote name='VioletArrows']I didn't think anyone was following it. XD I actually moved into an apartment last week, away from *most* of the trouble. But I'll do a full post either this afternoon between classes or this evening.[/quote]

I must know every detail from Sept. 4 up until now...
 
Sonovabitch IE crashed right in the middle of my typing! :bomb:

For two weeks after I made the post, I called around looking to get the same setup (renting a room). You'd think people would be lining up to get me to live in and take care of their house, but no one ever called me back. Maybe it was my whole 'don't be psychotic' requirement. Meanwhile the house just kept pissing me off more and more. I leave the door open for air, I find lizards, mosquitoes, and weird things all over the place and no air.

Crazy bitch roommate had pretty much abandoned the place and her cat. This is probably ranked number 2 on what pissed me off the most. Without her, me and sane roommate were taking care of him, but since he's not our cat either, we couldn't really do much for him (he didn't really like us either, don't know what he saw in that twat). One day I'm petting him trying to get on his goodside, and I look down and my arm's covered in fleas. I give him an Advantage treatment I found and put him outside to keep the fleas out of the carpet, but it's too late. He'd been sleeping in her room, and they were everywhere. It was so goddamn disgusting I probably would've beaten her clean to death had she actually been there. And with no electricity, I couldn't vacuum them up. I felt bad for kitty and tried to find him a new place to live, but no one would take him because she couldn't even be assed to get him neutered.

I called my father in a rage and he came and helped me again. I should've called him sooner because HE knew how to fix things, how the fuse box worked and managed to get electricity back to HALF the house (engineer). Bedrooms and bathrooms were still broken, and the kitchen was rerouted through the den, which meant turning the oven on activated the lights, the coffee maker, and the toaster. *sigh* He also brought poison for the fleas and rerouted the den electricity to my bedroom to work the fans and a vacuum. He also took me all over the place looking at apartments since I couldn't get to another house.

Dad also told mom and his sister, who then panicked, flew into a rage and then told their friend who worked at FEMA. As much as I hate to say it, it really is about connections. Orange County wasn't counted as a disaster until the day after I called them. XD Next day a disaster accountant/inspector walked with me through the house, had me sign papers, and left. Packed my shit the week after, and moved last Saturday.

I'm splitting the money with sane roommate since he's about to get kicked out of the house. I found crazy bitch roommate the day I moved at the store giggling and doting with her special buddy. She brought up a bunch of excuses and lied to my face again, saying that she was stopping by regularly and doing what she could (just not paying her part of the bills, taking care of her cat, yelling at the landlord when she was the only one with his number, and helping us fix the house). Then she tells me I should've gotten calls since she gave the number to the landlord. I received no such calls. Then she backpedals and tells me, "well it might've been that he's been out of the country all this time", and since she hadn't gotten anything out of him either, she's moving out.

As far as I know, sane roommate has no idea, though I'm hoping she could've at least told him this week. I doubt it. I'll go over and see if he's okay this week, and hopefully the FEMA check will be here so I can split it and put the money back I got out of savings to move and pay the initial lease costs on the apartment. I also see a lawyer tomorrow so through all the shit that's happened, neither of them can come after me for covering my ass.
 
Glad to hear it's starting to move towards some return of normalcy.

Sorry that you had to go through all that crap, especially with your glorious joy of an ex-roommate.

The lawyer angle is a very good idea, especially when the landlord gets back and blows his stack about what happened.
 
Your name isn't on the lease.

You have no obligation to pay anything. You are a house guest.

If the house is unacceptable, leave.

If the house is acceptable, pay no rent and stay until the sheriff evicts you.
 
[quote name='RAMSTORIA']FEMA? It's gonna be weeks before they get there.[/quote]

As much as I hope not (he did say 5-7 business days), I get a sinking feeling you're right. But I suppose I can make due for now off of my school money. I just don't like that it cost me way more to move this time ($500) than before ($200).
 
[quote name='DestroVega']If you aren't on the lease, which by your story, I doubt you are, why bother paying anything?[/quote]

Attraction to suffering?
 
[quote name='fatherofcaitlyn']Your name isn't on the lease.

You have no obligation to pay anything. You are a house guest.

If the house is unacceptable, leave.

If the house is acceptable, pay no rent and stay until the sheriff evicts you.[/quote]

Already gone.

And I'll see what the lawyer has to say about me not paying this guy. The house actually was in decent shape for 3 weeks before this all happened, and I supposedly 'owe him' for that. But this is crazy roommate's words. :roll:
 
[quote name='VioletArrows'] I supposedly 'owe him' for that. But this is crazy roommate's words. :roll:[/QUOTE]

Tell that bitch to go suck a dick.
 
[quote name='VioletArrows']As much as I hope not (he did say 5-7 business days), I get a sinking feeling you're right. But I suppose I can make due for now off of my school money. I just don't like that it cost me way more to move this time ($500) than before ($200).[/QUOTE]

im sure you could find another place for $200, and im also sure it would be just as shitty.
 
No, that was just to move; IE paying for a truck, getting bins to put things in, paying people to help, and the cost of signing the application and lease. As for rent, I'm actually paying twice as much than if none of this had ever happened ($800 a month instead of $400) which makes me even more pissed off. T_T
 
[quote name='VioletArrows']No, that was just to move; IE paying for a truck, getting bins to put things in, paying people to help, and the cost of signing the application and lease. As for rent, I'm actually paying twice as much than if none of this had ever happened ($800 a month instead of $400) which makes me even more pissed off. T_T[/QUOTE]

paying people to help?! what a bunch of jerk friends
 
That and it's only fair since I borrowed cars, used up gas, and such. And not pay as in such as buy everyone lunch, sugar, and junkfood.
 
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So I went to see the legal advocate today to see what I should do, and she basically said that if the guy couldn't even be assed to come get rent or a deposit from me back in August when I first moved in, then the work involved with going to court to get $400 out of me is definitely not in their scope. So nobody gets anything. Not even me, as those fuckheads at FEMA denied my claim and sent a letter full of paperwork baiting me to try again. Don't know why I thought they would actually be useful, seeing as how I'm black, lower middle class, in the south, and had an actual emergency.
 
[quote name='VioletArrows'] Don't know why I thought they would actually be useful, seeing as how I'm black, lower middle class, in the south, and had an actual emergency.[/QUOTE]

fixed
 
And now my new apartment is flooding.

Dear God, I can't describe how much I hate this state. 6 more months and I'm getting the fuck out of here.
 
[quote name='VioletArrows']And now my new apartment is flooding.

Dear God, I can't describe how much I hate this state. 6 more months and I'm getting the fuck out of here.[/quote]

Oh bad luck man.

I always thought Florida should be a great place to live. Sunny weather, tropical climate, all those fresh fruits and veg. It's a shame because they really could build a paradise there.
 
[quote name='camoor']Oh bad luck man.

I always thought Florida should be a great place to live. Sunny weather, tropical climate, hurricanes, all those fresh fruits and veg. It's a shame because they really could build a paradise there.[/quote]

fixed
 
No, Florida is a miserable fetid swamp where old people come to make everyone else miserable before dying and nothing can be done to fix it. Tropical climate my ass, there's no seasons, just unbearably hot and two weeks of light jacket weather somewhere in late January. Go outside for 10 minutes and your either burnt badly or look like someone pushed you into a swimming pool. Also, most of the food we get around here comes from the Caribbean and Central America. Don't kid yourself.
 
[quote name='VioletArrows']No, Florida is a miserable fetid swamp where old people come to make everyone else miserable before dying and nothing can be done to fix it. Tropical climate my ass, there's no seasons, just unbearably hot and two weeks of light jacket weather somewhere in late January. Go outside for 10 minutes and your either burnt badly or look like someone pushed you into a swimming pool. Also, most of the food we get around here comes from the Caribbean and Central America. Don't kid yourself.[/quote]Question is, if you're stuck there for six more months, where to after that?
 
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