Straw that broke the camel's back
We decided that this past weekend would be a good time to go back to Minneapolis. The older boy wanted to see some friends and I had a dentist appt. Monday. We decided to bring both vehicles so that Mike could drive back with the younger boy on Sunday. The older boy and I would leave after my appointment.
We left after lunch on Saturday. When we got to Alexandria, MN, we could see a huge, dark, and scary thunderstorm just to the north. There were tornado warnings being issued. Because it was still to the north, even if it was trending SW, we could still get ahead of it. Then we could get our cars in the garage at the Minneapolis place. It was very unnerving because it followed I-94 very closely, and I watched a pretty amazing lightning storm that was constantly to my left and barely subsided.
When we got to the Minneapolis place (about 4 p.m.), I remembered that my neighbor, who was checking on the place, said that the garage door hadn't opened the last time she was over. I decided to try it out.
As you may remember, I have a problem where things break around me. (Incidentally, garage doors really seem to have issues around me...)
The garage door opened. In the process, a cable came loose and two of the wheels popped out of the track. Mike and I went to look at it. We looked in shock, and then Mike said: "Look at that."
There was a padlock placed through the track. We turned to go look at the house and found that the doorknob from the garage into the house was gone. We walked into the house and found a sticker taped to the wall with a sign in sheet. The sticker said that the property had been secured by a company called Safeguard Properties. We looked at the front door, found the same sticker, and discovered a lock-box around the knob. They'd broken in and changed the locks.
The wheels started turning, and I remembered that a month and a half ago, I'd been served papers saying that my landlords were behind on the mortgage and the bank was starting foreclosure proceedings. The sheriff sale was supposed to have happened early this month...which would have been after my last visit down to Minneapolis.
I had been told by the sheriff as well as the MN Home line that I did not have to move and was, in fact, legally obligated to keep my contract until the six-month redemption period was over (the beginning of January). At that point, they said the bank would take over the property and that they were legally obligated to honor my lease.
Either way, I had a bad feeling about this. I called the police so they could file a report. We went to UHaul and rented a truck. Mike called a friend, and he brought two of his kids with to help. We packed up the place and loaded the truck. At least until 8 p.m. when the sirens started going off.
The storm we'd been following showed up with gusto. The sirens were not going off because of a tornado warning but because of straight-line winds. I've only experienced this once before, but it's not fun. Basically, it rains like crazy and the winds will kick up in excess of 70 mph.
We were sitting there with a garage door we couldn't close all the way and a bunch of stuff in the garage. Even though the winds were parallel to the garage door opening, the rain still came halfway into the garage. While we were waiting that out, Mike's friend's wife called to say that there was a tornado located in her area.
Fun.
The storm subsided in less than an hour. By 10 p.m., we had the truck loaded...although we left some furniture behind that I didn't care to haul back with us. We got a room at a nearby hotel. The next morning we drove one of the vehicles and the UHaul to Fargo. My parents met us at the house and took the kids. Then Mike and I drove back to Minneapolis. Monday morning, we got my car, which had been parked at the neighbor's house. Mike drove back to Fargo, while I went to my dental appt.
In light of the fact that I was now leaving, I decided I no longer needed me desk at the U. I packed up all my stuff and turned in my keys. I have to admit that it made me a bit sad.
As I told Mike, it was an unsurprising end to what has been a surprisingly difficult two years. It's not that being apart was difficult. I think we handled it really well. But it seemed like the past two years has been filled with one crisis after another after another. I think when they put the locks on the doors, I'd just had enough and decided I was not going to spend another year this way.
I was hoping that what happened was some sort of bureaucratic error. Turns out, this has been a persistent pattern as of late in many places. It was highly illegal. I'm not sure there is much I can do about it as this point as all remediation seems to be about letting someone move back in. I really have no desire to do that at this point.
But I guess this means goodbye, Minneapolis. I would like to say it was fun, but...not really.
We left after lunch on Saturday. When we got to Alexandria, MN, we could see a huge, dark, and scary thunderstorm just to the north. There were tornado warnings being issued. Because it was still to the north, even if it was trending SW, we could still get ahead of it. Then we could get our cars in the garage at the Minneapolis place. It was very unnerving because it followed I-94 very closely, and I watched a pretty amazing lightning storm that was constantly to my left and barely subsided.
When we got to the Minneapolis place (about 4 p.m.), I remembered that my neighbor, who was checking on the place, said that the garage door hadn't opened the last time she was over. I decided to try it out.
As you may remember, I have a problem where things break around me. (Incidentally, garage doors really seem to have issues around me...)
The garage door opened. In the process, a cable came loose and two of the wheels popped out of the track. Mike and I went to look at it. We looked in shock, and then Mike said: "Look at that."
There was a padlock placed through the track. We turned to go look at the house and found that the doorknob from the garage into the house was gone. We walked into the house and found a sticker taped to the wall with a sign in sheet. The sticker said that the property had been secured by a company called Safeguard Properties. We looked at the front door, found the same sticker, and discovered a lock-box around the knob. They'd broken in and changed the locks.
The wheels started turning, and I remembered that a month and a half ago, I'd been served papers saying that my landlords were behind on the mortgage and the bank was starting foreclosure proceedings. The sheriff sale was supposed to have happened early this month...which would have been after my last visit down to Minneapolis.
I had been told by the sheriff as well as the MN Home line that I did not have to move and was, in fact, legally obligated to keep my contract until the six-month redemption period was over (the beginning of January). At that point, they said the bank would take over the property and that they were legally obligated to honor my lease.
Either way, I had a bad feeling about this. I called the police so they could file a report. We went to UHaul and rented a truck. Mike called a friend, and he brought two of his kids with to help. We packed up the place and loaded the truck. At least until 8 p.m. when the sirens started going off.
The storm we'd been following showed up with gusto. The sirens were not going off because of a tornado warning but because of straight-line winds. I've only experienced this once before, but it's not fun. Basically, it rains like crazy and the winds will kick up in excess of 70 mph.
We were sitting there with a garage door we couldn't close all the way and a bunch of stuff in the garage. Even though the winds were parallel to the garage door opening, the rain still came halfway into the garage. While we were waiting that out, Mike's friend's wife called to say that there was a tornado located in her area.
Fun.
The storm subsided in less than an hour. By 10 p.m., we had the truck loaded...although we left some furniture behind that I didn't care to haul back with us. We got a room at a nearby hotel. The next morning we drove one of the vehicles and the UHaul to Fargo. My parents met us at the house and took the kids. Then Mike and I drove back to Minneapolis. Monday morning, we got my car, which had been parked at the neighbor's house. Mike drove back to Fargo, while I went to my dental appt.
In light of the fact that I was now leaving, I decided I no longer needed me desk at the U. I packed up all my stuff and turned in my keys. I have to admit that it made me a bit sad.
As I told Mike, it was an unsurprising end to what has been a surprisingly difficult two years. It's not that being apart was difficult. I think we handled it really well. But it seemed like the past two years has been filled with one crisis after another after another. I think when they put the locks on the doors, I'd just had enough and decided I was not going to spend another year this way.
I was hoping that what happened was some sort of bureaucratic error. Turns out, this has been a persistent pattern as of late in many places. It was highly illegal. I'm not sure there is much I can do about it as this point as all remediation seems to be about letting someone move back in. I really have no desire to do that at this point.
But I guess this means goodbye, Minneapolis. I would like to say it was fun, but...not really.