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So I put new Posts over on Watergate Summer, and there is new music, no Christmas Music tonight. I realized as I stood at the Grocery store grinding my teeth to Elvis " Blue Christmas" that maybe some of us need a break . ( Ok - that would be ME). as I wrote over at Watergate, I have been sitting here waiting for Mr.Furnace. And it is cold out and in here, so of course I have been daydreaming ALL day about my Favorite Warm Place in the world.....and I even found a Nice Photo of it....
Think you can guess WHAT my favorite Warm Spot is ? oh, come on...free Hot Coco if you get it right....and What is Your Favorite Spot ?
*{ The Music is Emerson,Lake&Palmer "From the Beginning", with an amazing slide show}*
9 comments:
Reminds me of places on the Mexican coast, or maybe in the caribbean. Wherever it is, getting a tan like that this time of year is worth it! Hope Mr Furnace showed up, or at least called to let you know when he'd be there, as a simple courtesy. They were playing Burl Ives xmas music in the chinese restaurant at lunch today!
MrFurnace did not come.
Mr.Landlord is being a Problem ( again).
Enigma is trying to figure out what to do....and is very unhappy this friday night, because MrLandlord had a meltdown- he went nuts this eve at 6pm because I called and left a messge asking when the repairguy that was suposed to be here 3 days ago was, and was he still coming and when should I be here to let him ?? about the furnace complaints ( that it is 60 years old, has been recalled and it is not working right, I have heat in 3 rooms, set at 60 and costing me $20/day....and it has been having a hard time- if it gets colder- it will get worse...okay so I am just complaining....really really worried....
I can not move in the Middle of Winter AGAIN...NOT again...I can not do this...
okay so I am just really really worried...sorry DK..
I was having such a good day, and I waited for the furnace guy, My landlord called me tuesday am and asked if I could be here to let him...and that he would be here by Friday...so I had every right to call and ask that...anyways he was horrible on the phone, screaming at me, and yelling and said it will get fixed when it gets fixed and it does not need to be replaced.
( the recall was for a Fire hazard 1999)....and besides it is 60 years old, and not working, and there are NO parts available for it...and that my gas bills are higher than food....
He was like a different person on the phone, not the person I talked with 4 days ago, and I have taked with him about this 4 times when I was preparing for the inspection....WHICH I helped him pass...
there is more to this story...
about how it takes WEEKS to repair Anything- I have fixed almost Everything in this house- Everything - holes in walls, broken stairs, doors, painted and cleaned every inch, cleaned out full closets, a yard that had not had work in years...YEARS....
I did not need to be screamed at for 20 minutes ....it was like the last thing I needed...
Merry Christmas...
Wow, the way he melted down at 6PM almost sounds like meds or something. Of course you have every right to ask about the status of the repair, especially due to the cold weather. Providing heat is part of making his rental property habitable, same as a working kitchen & bathroom. You know you're going to have to call him again & this time get the name & number of whatever repair service he is using, so you can call them direct & bypass his schizo screaming ass. If he won't give it to you, well ... you know there are city and state agencies you can complain to, but I know you don't want to cause trouble, you just want the furnace to work.
I wonder if the reason he's stalling is because he knows once an official repair person verifies that your furnace is unfixable (due to age & recall), he will be FORCED to have it done & done quickly since it is winter & a working furnace is vital. All I know is if your neighbors in similar size/similar age houses have significantly lower heating bills, there is something wrong.
Does your utility company provide one of those free evaluation services -- where they come out & evaluate all the ways you can reduce your utility bill? They would probably zero right in on the furnace & give you some chips on your side against the landlord.
What a bad end to an otherwise good day, huh?
Pull out the contract. Sue the bastard in Small Claims court for failing to provide proper habitability in accordance with terms of the contract. Call the County or City Health Department or both. File a complaint charging him with endangering your health and the health of your son for failing to provide proper heat in severe winter weather. Call the local Action Reporter on local TV (if they still have such a thing, it's one of the things I used to do) and invite them over with a camera crew. Send photos of yourself and your son wrapped in blankets and shivering in the apartment. Hold up a thermometer. Take a picture of that. Call the Plain Dealer. Invite them to use your case as an example to kick start an investigative series on Scrooge rat bastard landlords at Christmastime. Seriously.
One more thing. Call the Fire Department. Suggest the furnace may be a fire hazard and unsafe and ask for an inspection. And finally, call Legal Aid and get their advice on how to proceed in order not to give him an excuse to hassle you or worse.
Sometimes renters have some kind of protective service.... the landlord has X amount of time to respond to a critical function (something like heat in snowy/cold winter).
I once had a landlord take the *low bid* to fix a blown kitchen main light fixture (probably old wiring). the dolts came & instead of fixing it, blew out the entire circuit... all the kitchen & the bathroom. Back in the day of having a baby in diapers. Had to string a frigging utility light from across the hall to deal with diapers in the dark.
If there is no municipal coverage, then do call whatever utility the furnace is-- if it's gas the gas co, or electric people... maybe they can condemn the furnace. Renters should not have to live in fear their landlords will kick them out if they squawk about having a functional furnace. You pay both rent and utilities.
We don't want no stinking Potterville (reference to It's Wonderful Life movie).
Sending warm thoughts your way!
Thanks you alll....
So here is the latest in the Saga....
he came with Steve yesterday...Steve is his handyman...and they looked at it- and I did a really good job explaining how it can not keep up pumping heat to the house- and why- and I showed them the 1999 RECALL notice that I found- it is a Moncrief heater- made in 1950, and they stopped making them 1962, and the comp was sold...anyways 1999 the heater was recalled due to Fire hazards- the insulation on the side panel( mine has already been removed- which means Someone Knew....) and also Someone removed The Serial Number ( I pointed that out to them as well). I also explained that I pay more for heat, and am using more gas than anyone on the block- including the side-by-side neighbor that has same square footage as me- and my bills are FOUR times theirs...And that heat should never cost more than food.....and they both stood there beet red...( cuz one of them took the insulation and number off the heater).....
"Steve" the Handyman that never has tools with him, was a total shit., he was irritiated because I did not have "wire" , I did give him duct tape, and he fixed one hanging disintergrating piece of tubing , yeah, repairs with duct tape and "wire"....then steve found a Wire Coat hanger , and did some more repair work...shit---unreal...
So the bottem line is, I confronted them, and they were shits, but the Scrooge of a Landlord said that I will get a NEW Heater to replace this pathetic thing I have now, and all I have to do now is Wait and See if it happens....he said 2-3 weeks....
But thank you , all of you, don't worry I am taking ALL of your advice and I am going to keep make phone calls, because I don't trust him at all.
( and yes, I also spent the weekend collecting phone numbers of OTHER landlords on my street...)
So sorry you have to deal with this mess. I would still work on going over his head to see what teh guidelines are... I honestly don't think it is legal to make you wait 2-3 weeks for a functional/safe heater in the middle of winter. I actually think they have so many hours as in a few DAYS to bring it up to code. The main thing is it is not just that it is malfunctioning as a heater, causing you to use a space heater, it sounds dangerous.
The catch 22 is the landlord holds the cards. If you play hardball with him, he can play hardball back-- raise the rent dramatically, or give you notice to move, because of needed repairs to the building. Allegedly, you have protections, but the landlord can just find some legal way to mess with you. Truth is you should not have to beg, wait or argue about safe heat. Call the building code people to see what they have to say. If they deem it unsafe, the clock could be officially ticking for
Ye Olde landlord to get it up to code, or face steep fines. A furnace will not cost less in 3 weeks than it will now & he has an obligation. It's not just heat-- it is health & safety.
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