I Believe My Dream is Just About Dead
I've been crying a lot.
I may be evicted from my cute little house -- all because the landlord refuses to repair the plumbing. The courts in Gainesville are landlord friendly, so I have a feeling I will be thrown out soon, even though I will probably have an attorney from Three Rivers Legal. If they don't take my case, I'm doomed.
Here is the story. As you know, I have had problems from day one I was here with things not working, in particular three plumbing issues:
#1 is bathtub plumbing that is completely worn out, leaking to the tune of about 2 gallons of water a day. Also, when I turn the water faucets on, water pours down the walls into the tub, which means I'm using a lot more water than I should be. I've resorted to sponge bathing and washing my hair in the sink most days to save water. I use the leaked water to flush the commode.
#2 is a hot water heater that does not heat water to the proper temperature. It is set on 125, but the water is not that temperature, or it would scald me. I can run hot water in the kitchen for five minutes and still hold my hand under it without being burned. It's a little hotter in the bathtub, but that's only if you run straight hot water. You can only mix in a tiny bit of cold water, or it's just cold, which is the opposite of how it should be. In normal houses, you run cold and then add a little hot to heat it up. So taking a shower requires almost straight hot water, which empties the tank and costs me electricity to heat it back up again. Plus, the plumbing on the hot water heater is the wrong size, so the water pressure for the hot water is half that of the cold water. I have to boil water in a kettle to get my dishwater hot enough to wash dishes.
#3 is a leak outside in the main line going to the house. The leak is actually in the shutoff valve, which is half broken off. There is so much water leaking into the ground that mushrooms are growing around it.
Then there is the foundation leak that makes the utility room pretty much useless. Every time it rains, it floods. I could fix it with some Great Stuff, but my landlord won't let me, even though he refuses to fix it. On top of that, he told me there were washer/dryer connections in the utility room. He had a nice 220 plug put in for a dryer, which is useless not only because of the flooding, but because there are no washer connections.
I have asked time and time again when he is going to fix these things, and he says they are "on the list." The truth is, he is not going to fix them until they become an emergency, which is against FL landlord/tenant law, but that's no guarantee the judge will rule against him.
On August 19, I sent a certified 7-day notice to him to withhold rent until these 4 repairs were made. The notice was delivered to his PO box on the 20th. He contacted me on the 23rd, at which time I told him there was a certified letter for him in his PO box, and he said he would pick it up ASAP. He picked it up on the 24th, which I'm told the judge may hold against me because he did not have 7 days to repair the problems before the rent was due on the first. The attorney says she thinks that since I can prove it was in his box on the 20th, and I informed him of it on the 23rd, it won't be held against me.
Anyway, I have not heard from him yet, except that he came and dug up a 20-year old sago out of my front yard to put at one of the properties he is trying to sell. It will likely die, which I tried to tell him, but he only cares about it staying alive long enough to sell the house. The entire neighborhood is angry at him for taking it out.
I'm pretty sure he will try to evict me. I'm expecting a 3-day notice by tomorrow, and eviction papers by next week. I will have 5 days to respond, and I'm already getting together documentation that these were ongoing problems that I had informed him of several times. Luckily for me, I know that everything in real estate has to be in writing, but that doesn't mean the judge will rule in my favor.
I do have the rent money, which is another thing in my favor. I can prove I bought the money orders ahead of time, intending to pay the rent on time when he made the repairs. If it carries over to next month, I will do the same thing. Once the eviction is filed, I will be able to deposit the money with the court registry to hold it until the case is settled. That's another thing in my favor, because I'm not witholding rent because I'm unable to pay. I can ask the judge to allow me to use the rent money to make the repairs myself.
In the two months since I have moved into this house, my landlord has purchased and fixed up two other properties for sale. He has poured thousands of dollars into them, while leaving my place to rot. It's all because he was offered more rent for this place after I had already signed a lease, which he has constantly thrown up in my face. Now he may get his wish, and even if he doesn't, I'm sure he will be making my life miserable while I am here and probably increase my rent to market value when it's time to renew, so I will have to move anyway. I like this house, and I like the neighborhood, as rowdy as it gets sometimes. Still, I'm going to work hard and save my money so I can get out of here at the end of the lease -- if I don't get evicted sooner.
Once he files eviction, I will call the city inspector and have them come out and inspect the whole property. Until then, I will try to hang on and see what my landlord does.
So my dream home is my nightmare home. I certainly can't afford to move again anytime soon, so if I am evicted, I will have to put my stuff BACK into storage and try to find some place to stay. At this point, I'm about ready to give up and go stay in a tent in Dignity Village or try to get a bed at St. Francis Shelter.
I'm so discouraged. It's hard to believe I will ever have a decent place to live again. All I wanted was a place of my own where I could grow a garden. I was willing to live in a low-income neighborhood to have it. What I got was a smooth-talking slumlord who lies out of both sides of his mouth. I have been kind and not mentioned his name or his company, but if he tries to evict me, all bets are off. At that time, I will let everyone know who he is and why they should not rent from him, because he will lead you on and then break your heart in two.
I may be evicted from my cute little house -- all because the landlord refuses to repair the plumbing. The courts in Gainesville are landlord friendly, so I have a feeling I will be thrown out soon, even though I will probably have an attorney from Three Rivers Legal. If they don't take my case, I'm doomed.
Here is the story. As you know, I have had problems from day one I was here with things not working, in particular three plumbing issues:
#1 is bathtub plumbing that is completely worn out, leaking to the tune of about 2 gallons of water a day. Also, when I turn the water faucets on, water pours down the walls into the tub, which means I'm using a lot more water than I should be. I've resorted to sponge bathing and washing my hair in the sink most days to save water. I use the leaked water to flush the commode.
#2 is a hot water heater that does not heat water to the proper temperature. It is set on 125, but the water is not that temperature, or it would scald me. I can run hot water in the kitchen for five minutes and still hold my hand under it without being burned. It's a little hotter in the bathtub, but that's only if you run straight hot water. You can only mix in a tiny bit of cold water, or it's just cold, which is the opposite of how it should be. In normal houses, you run cold and then add a little hot to heat it up. So taking a shower requires almost straight hot water, which empties the tank and costs me electricity to heat it back up again. Plus, the plumbing on the hot water heater is the wrong size, so the water pressure for the hot water is half that of the cold water. I have to boil water in a kettle to get my dishwater hot enough to wash dishes.
#3 is a leak outside in the main line going to the house. The leak is actually in the shutoff valve, which is half broken off. There is so much water leaking into the ground that mushrooms are growing around it.
Then there is the foundation leak that makes the utility room pretty much useless. Every time it rains, it floods. I could fix it with some Great Stuff, but my landlord won't let me, even though he refuses to fix it. On top of that, he told me there were washer/dryer connections in the utility room. He had a nice 220 plug put in for a dryer, which is useless not only because of the flooding, but because there are no washer connections.
I have asked time and time again when he is going to fix these things, and he says they are "on the list." The truth is, he is not going to fix them until they become an emergency, which is against FL landlord/tenant law, but that's no guarantee the judge will rule against him.
On August 19, I sent a certified 7-day notice to him to withhold rent until these 4 repairs were made. The notice was delivered to his PO box on the 20th. He contacted me on the 23rd, at which time I told him there was a certified letter for him in his PO box, and he said he would pick it up ASAP. He picked it up on the 24th, which I'm told the judge may hold against me because he did not have 7 days to repair the problems before the rent was due on the first. The attorney says she thinks that since I can prove it was in his box on the 20th, and I informed him of it on the 23rd, it won't be held against me.
Anyway, I have not heard from him yet, except that he came and dug up a 20-year old sago out of my front yard to put at one of the properties he is trying to sell. It will likely die, which I tried to tell him, but he only cares about it staying alive long enough to sell the house. The entire neighborhood is angry at him for taking it out.
I'm pretty sure he will try to evict me. I'm expecting a 3-day notice by tomorrow, and eviction papers by next week. I will have 5 days to respond, and I'm already getting together documentation that these were ongoing problems that I had informed him of several times. Luckily for me, I know that everything in real estate has to be in writing, but that doesn't mean the judge will rule in my favor.
I do have the rent money, which is another thing in my favor. I can prove I bought the money orders ahead of time, intending to pay the rent on time when he made the repairs. If it carries over to next month, I will do the same thing. Once the eviction is filed, I will be able to deposit the money with the court registry to hold it until the case is settled. That's another thing in my favor, because I'm not witholding rent because I'm unable to pay. I can ask the judge to allow me to use the rent money to make the repairs myself.
In the two months since I have moved into this house, my landlord has purchased and fixed up two other properties for sale. He has poured thousands of dollars into them, while leaving my place to rot. It's all because he was offered more rent for this place after I had already signed a lease, which he has constantly thrown up in my face. Now he may get his wish, and even if he doesn't, I'm sure he will be making my life miserable while I am here and probably increase my rent to market value when it's time to renew, so I will have to move anyway. I like this house, and I like the neighborhood, as rowdy as it gets sometimes. Still, I'm going to work hard and save my money so I can get out of here at the end of the lease -- if I don't get evicted sooner.
Once he files eviction, I will call the city inspector and have them come out and inspect the whole property. Until then, I will try to hang on and see what my landlord does.
So my dream home is my nightmare home. I certainly can't afford to move again anytime soon, so if I am evicted, I will have to put my stuff BACK into storage and try to find some place to stay. At this point, I'm about ready to give up and go stay in a tent in Dignity Village or try to get a bed at St. Francis Shelter.
I'm so discouraged. It's hard to believe I will ever have a decent place to live again. All I wanted was a place of my own where I could grow a garden. I was willing to live in a low-income neighborhood to have it. What I got was a smooth-talking slumlord who lies out of both sides of his mouth. I have been kind and not mentioned his name or his company, but if he tries to evict me, all bets are off. At that time, I will let everyone know who he is and why they should not rent from him, because he will lead you on and then break your heart in two.
Deb, I am so sorry you are going through this, and I can't imagine how horrible this is. I am praying you find a better place to stay, when you are ready to leave and on your own terms. This is just terrible.
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