I am the Author of my Own Misery
...at least I hope I am.
I am very much dreading the "etat des lieux" tomorrow, the handing over of the keys, the verification of the inventory and the state in which we have left the apartment.
I always leave a place spotless. Spotless. I am not a tidy person, but when I leave a home, you could eat off the floors, the walls, out of the dishwasher*... We have replaced what we have broken and have not damaged anything irreplaceable.
However, the lady who is coming to do the état des lieux has not been...friendly whenever we've spoken on the phone.
When we had to replace the broken induction stovetop and called to find out the procedure for insurance purposes, she was downright witchy, practically accusing us of trying to rip off the rental agency when all we were trying to do was follow the proper channels.
Then, the other day, in setting up the appointment for the "check out," she told me we were going to have to pay a plumber to do the annual maintenance for the heating. We lived here from March to 1 Oct and had no need of the heating. I asked her to discuss it with J, citing we had only been here six months. She went ballistic and said we were going to HAVE TO pay so no need to discuss anything. To which I politely insisted she talk to J about it.
When we moved in, the realtor (different agent) said the maintenance was our responsibility, at which time J asked for a receipt showing the last upkeep done on the boiler. We never received anything.
Anyhow, the witchy lady never called J. He called the agency instead and repeated the need to see a receipt for the last maintenance because, hey, why should we have to pay for something we never used? And the agency kept dragging it out, claiming to be waiting on the plumber to send them the last bill. Only the thing is: They handle this apartment for the owner. It is their responsibility to have all of these documents on hand, already.
Witchy lady finally called back, leaving a message, in which she said, "Lucky for you, the last maintenance was done in Sept 2010, so you don't have to do it." (Remember the maintenance is ANNUAL, so they dropped the ball in 2011.) Lucky for us? Why lucky for us? If we had bowed to her attempts to cow me, then we would be stuck paying something that is not our business to be paying. Luck plays no part in it. They messed up; they have to pony up. Who wants to bet they try to fob off the expense on the next renters?
All day today, I've been tormenting myself with scenarios of her trying to find something wrong with the apartment and succeeding, thereby getting to keep all or a part of our deposit. I'm making myself miserable. I'm borrowing trouble from tomorrow, when perhaps there will be no trouble. I know that, but I just can't stop. Stupid mental playback of misery!
OK, enough whinging. Time to get back to cleaning so as not to give witchy woman any ground...
____
* that might seem an odd thing to say, but have you ever cleaned a dishwasher filter? Nasty,greasy things...
I am very much dreading the "etat des lieux" tomorrow, the handing over of the keys, the verification of the inventory and the state in which we have left the apartment.
I always leave a place spotless. Spotless. I am not a tidy person, but when I leave a home, you could eat off the floors, the walls, out of the dishwasher*... We have replaced what we have broken and have not damaged anything irreplaceable.
However, the lady who is coming to do the état des lieux has not been...friendly whenever we've spoken on the phone.
When we had to replace the broken induction stovetop and called to find out the procedure for insurance purposes, she was downright witchy, practically accusing us of trying to rip off the rental agency when all we were trying to do was follow the proper channels.
Then, the other day, in setting up the appointment for the "check out," she told me we were going to have to pay a plumber to do the annual maintenance for the heating. We lived here from March to 1 Oct and had no need of the heating. I asked her to discuss it with J, citing we had only been here six months. She went ballistic and said we were going to HAVE TO pay so no need to discuss anything. To which I politely insisted she talk to J about it.
When we moved in, the realtor (different agent) said the maintenance was our responsibility, at which time J asked for a receipt showing the last upkeep done on the boiler. We never received anything.
Anyhow, the witchy lady never called J. He called the agency instead and repeated the need to see a receipt for the last maintenance because, hey, why should we have to pay for something we never used? And the agency kept dragging it out, claiming to be waiting on the plumber to send them the last bill. Only the thing is: They handle this apartment for the owner. It is their responsibility to have all of these documents on hand, already.
Witchy lady finally called back, leaving a message, in which she said, "Lucky for you, the last maintenance was done in Sept 2010, so you don't have to do it." (Remember the maintenance is ANNUAL, so they dropped the ball in 2011.) Lucky for us? Why lucky for us? If we had bowed to her attempts to cow me, then we would be stuck paying something that is not our business to be paying. Luck plays no part in it. They messed up; they have to pony up. Who wants to bet they try to fob off the expense on the next renters?
All day today, I've been tormenting myself with scenarios of her trying to find something wrong with the apartment and succeeding, thereby getting to keep all or a part of our deposit. I'm making myself miserable. I'm borrowing trouble from tomorrow, when perhaps there will be no trouble. I know that, but I just can't stop. Stupid mental playback of misery!
OK, enough whinging. Time to get back to cleaning so as not to give witchy woman any ground...
____
* that might seem an odd thing to say, but have you ever cleaned a dishwasher filter? Nasty,greasy things...