Wednesday, October 8, 2008

update on our living situation/excuses for not blogging more

Ok so here is a shortened version of what has happened since Ike:

We leave two days before Ike to in-laws and stay for 5 days. Come home to water infested moldy apartment. Leave to friend's one bedroom apartment for 5 days. Go to hotel for 7 days (yey for space), and back to friend's apartment for 5 days. Move to other friends big house for going on a week and a half(yey our own bedroom AND a stove to cook with.)

[that is a lot of moving and relocating]

A week ago after battling with the apartment managers we have given up and found a new apartment. Hopefully we will be moving in this weekend! Finding this apartment was no easy task. Between home foreclosures (which are popping up all over the neighborhoods out here) and people being displaced because of the hurricanes, nice apartments at affordable rates in good neighborhoods are few and far between. and when we would find a nice one.... they have no openings for weeks. Normally I would never leave finding a new apartment to the last min. but we have no choice and no where to live somewhat permanently.

I am so torn on what to do about breaking our lease and losing our deposit at our current apartment. The owner and managers are in agreement that there is nothing wrong with our apartment and in fact went and washed all the mold off the walls and repainted them. They told me there was no mold there and that they did not want to see pictures because they were in the apartment already and saw for themselves.
They also informed me I am obviously making this up and over reacting. As a parent, I take my daughters health very VERY seriously and refuse to put her in a moldy apartment and even risk her getting sick or her allergies acting up again. I can't rent from people who accuse their tenants of lying and then try to cover up any evidence of the walls being soaked all the way through. I have tried being patient and giving them time and the benefit of the doubt but I feel like because we were not calling them nonstop from the beginning they are not taking us seriously. I never thought I would ever say or do anything like this but I really feel like we are being taken advantage of and we may be seeking professional legal help to fight them for our rent and our deposit.

Wish us luck with these new apartments. I will post pictures of it soon. It is a two story town home with two bedrooms and twice as many square feet. If anyone has a bed they are looking to get ride of.... we are now taking donations for the guest room/office/craft room. hehehe craft room!

p.s.
Yey for fall and cooler nights and mornings. Yey for all the acorns and pine cones on the ground and pumpkins at the store. I can't wait to take Isabella to the pumpkin patch! Yey for local farms! I don't remember much of last fall, mostly because I was on bed rest a good portion of it. I know it wont be as beautiful as Western Washington but I do hope for some color!


Oh and most of all.... YEY for fall arts and craft projects!
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4 comments:

transcendingworks said...

Emily, it sounds like your new place is going to work out ever better for you than the other in regard to space and black mold or otherwise is definitely not good to be around...I always thought, if they shut down prisons because of black mold growth it must be a bad thing! ; ) I had a dream about you and David last night that you were in a new place with all new furniture and it was pretty big too....hope you guys are hanging in there through your transitional period and it's good to hear you can find happiness with the simple things around you like leaves and pumpkins and crafts, oh my! Let me know when you get settled in because I still have that little thing I wanted to send you and I wanted to wait until you have a permanent address so it doesn't get mixed up in the mail....sounds like you guys are surviving through all your adventures ; ) say hi to isabella! <3 <3 <3

Emily Brown said...

Thanks Ashley! I am being unreasonably critical of what might be our new apartment. I didn't really get to say goodbye to the apartment we are in now and I really did love it and really will miss it. I will not, however, miss our lack of closets and space. I look forward to Isabella and the kitties to have 1000+ sq ft to run around in. Stairs just make me very very very nervous.

I can't wait to see you this winter. Will Ray be around for Christmas?

transcendingworks said...

For sure, he usually comes out on Boxing Day (a UK holiday the day after Christmas where everyone 'boxes up' their left over food and gives it to those in need....who knows if they still do that anymore though ; ) and he stays through mid January or so...it would be really nice for you two to finally meet! It will be fun to see Isabella too...I can't believe how fast she was walking in that video you sent me!!! I hope she's been settled through this whole ordeal...at least you and David are constant in her life and that's what's important = ) Maybe you can get those little wood or plastic gates for the stairs with a little lock on them so she can't figure out how to undo them as she gets older in the next couple years. By the time she's 4 or so she should be ok if she knows to be careful and take it slow. Plus stairs are good exercise which is always good : ) 1000 sq feet is so big! My place right now is 600 or so and I don't think I'm going to be able to buy it anytime soon.

Let me know when you get settled in...worst case scenario I can just save this little something I got for you until you come out to visit this winter...it's up to you....snail mail is still so fun even in our day of instant gratification! good to hear from you xoxo

Unknown said...

hopefully we will be moving into our new place this weekend. i will get you the address as soon as things settle down. <3 snail mail