My Urban Homesteading Dream is Turning Into A Nightmare

My LR A/C Unit

I moved in here last Saturday, and my dream has turned into a nightmare. I thought the landlord had fixed everything in the house, but he had not. He spent all his money on the aesthetic things -- tile floors, painting, etc., and not so much on the infrastructure, so there are problems.

Let's talk plumbing first. 

I had a flood from the toilet when I first moved in. Brand new toilet, so no reason. A plumber came over, but the landlord didn't like the price he gave, so I was left peeing into a bucket for the rest of the day. Then another guy came and changed out the wax seal, but he said he didn't think that would help much for long, and he was right. It flooded again the next day. Finally got a new plumber out that said there was a clog in the line, and he cleaned it out to the tune of about $200, but at least now the toilet is not flooding the bathroom.

The hot water heater just barely works. It's set properly, but the water is not hot enough, so there is something wrong. One of the elements is probably burned out, which means a new hot water heater is needed. The hardware in the bathtub, which he had said he was going to replace, is leaking like a sieve and dripping from the hot water faucet. I have to put something under it so I can at least recycle the water that is dripping. Same problem with the outdoor faucet -- it's dripping too. Since it's right under the front a/c unit, I put something under there that catches water from both, then just put it into the rain barrel or try to use it to water plants so it is not wasted, since I'm paying for all this dripping water.

Speaking of the a/c units, they were all totally filthy when I moved in. The filters were so clogged up that I had to soak them for awhile to get the crap off of them, which made them work a lot better. I took the faceplates off and cleaned them, but the fins are all gunked up and I'm going to have to find a way to do a deep cleaning (thank God for Google).

The front room unit is so old it's pathetic, and is definitely not energy efficient, actually not efficient at all. The part on top that directs air flow in gone, so all the air goes up into the window. The front bedroom a/c has a bad control panel, so I can't move the temp past 72 or turn it onto energy saver mode. The one in the back bedroom works well so far, but it's rather old too.

Then there was the stove. Only one of the burners worked. Two of them were always on, and had to be pulled out and the third didn't heat up. He replaced that somewhat nice stove with something that he could not have paid more than $25 for. The drip pans are all rusty, and he flat told me that I would have to buy new ones. The oven light doesn't work, so I have no way of knowing when the oven is preheated. The racks are so filthy that I am afraid to use them. I asked him if he could give me the racks he took out of the old stove, but no reply, so no guarantee of that.

The doors are not hung properly. The door installer was supposed to finish that up the Sunday after I moved in, but he didn't show, and now I have no idea when those will be fixed. The bathroom door barely closes and has no doorknob. The back bedroom door has no doorknob and there is no door on the front bedroom closet.

To top it all off, I was promised washer/dryer connections, and while he had a shiny new 220 dryer outlet installed, there are no washer connections at all. there is a place where they were, but it's been closed off for a long time. The utility room where the washer and dryer would be floods when it rains.

Then there is the paint. I asked for antique white walls and I got something called "breadbasket," which is a peach color. Nothing I own goes with this color, which is why I asked specifically for a neutral antique white. He says his "decorator" picked out the color, which I don't believe, and anyway, whoever picked it out isn't the one living here, so why would he let that person pick out colors for someone else?  I did get my yellow kitchen, although it's a little brighter than the one I picked out.

The Dream Is Likely Dead

Now for the worst part -- I don't think I will be here over a year, and maybe not that long if he doesn't fix this stuff. The landlord is bitching and moaning that he went way over budget on this house and he is sort of blaming it on me, although I did not ask for any of this fancy stuff, and reminded him that I kept saying "Whatever is best for you. I'm easy to please." He does not seem interested in fixing any of the deficiencies. Plus, he swears someone offered him $150 more a month for this property than I am paying, and he's mentioned it at least 5 times, so I see him trying to jack the rent up to that at the end of the lease, and it's definitely an amount I can't afford, which he well knows.

He kept saying he just wanted me to have a  home where I could live forever at a price I could afford. He said he just wanted me to be happy. Now he tells me he regrets doing all these things in the house, and acting like it's my fault. I am not happy. He doesn't seem to give a shit that I am not happy. He is at present pouring money into a new property he just bought out in Hawthorne, and I'm stuck here with leaky faucets and lukewarm water. In short, my perfect, wonderful landlord has turned into a slumlord.

I don't think I'm going to plant a vegetable garden or do anything to the yard. I will plant everything in containers that I can easily remove. I am going to get some free mulch brought in, because there is nothing but dirt and it gets tracked into the house too easily. I have to sweep several times a day. I need a better foot scraper mat for outside the back door.

And my precious cat, Angel, who I've had for 13 years, ran away. I can't find her anywhere, and she is probably terrified out there in a strange place on her own. She is not a friendly cat, so she would not go up and let someone catch her. I don't know what to do about that. I keep calling her and I'm going to put flyers up, but I fear she is gone for good. The landlord didn't seem to believe she is gone, insisting on peeking into every room when he was here, like he was looking for her somewhere.

My dreams of a tiny urban homestead are gone. I'm going to start immediately saving money to move in the future, because unless this stuff is fixed within 30 days, I'm out of here.

My life continues to suck, and I don't think I will ever have a home again. I cry a lot.