The Last Apartment in Houma
It started almost immediately. I knew the place wasn't in great shape, but it was the only apartment in town.
The neighbor's bathtub overflowed and soaked the carpet in my unit. Since I'd just moved in, a lot of stuff was still in boxes - cardboard boxes. Sketchbooks, manuscripts, all kinds of papers soaking up smelly burst-pipe carpet water like sponges. The weather was at least being decent, so it was possible to open the windows and get some air flowing, and it seemed like a nice gesture when one of the maintenance men brought a couple of blowers specifically to help dry things out.
You wouldn't think those things use a lot of power, but you should have seen my light bill.
At that point, I assumed the ridiculous security deposit was forfeit. Even though it wasn't anyone's fault, I know how landlords work.
As I said, it wasn't the best apartment in the world, but it was okay. For several weeks, sewage would back up into the bathtub, usually when you were trying to shower before work. They eventually fixed it. I shared a hot water heater with three other apartments, and eventually they upgraded it and it would produce enough hot water to allow you to shower for ten minutes rather than five.
One night, I came home and went to the kitchen to start dinner and for a brief, bizarre moment I couldn't figure out why the floor was making squishy noises. It was because the dishwasher next door had failed and, once again, flooded my apartment. I managed to mop up most of the water, but it was challenging to get someone out at eight o'clock in the evening on a Friday. I'm not asking asking you to put up new blinds, people, I'm flooded and I'm pretty sure the neighbors aren't going to be happy when they get home.
Five years later they replaced the kitchen tiles. Which just proves that old saw you hear about squeaky wheels getting the grease.
When the time came to move, we put in a lot of work on the place. I even dismantled the shelves in the refrigerator so I could wash down the interior. I vacuumed as thoroughly as I ever have. I even bought a small can of paint and touched up scuffed spots on the walls. I wasn't expecting any of my deposit back, but I had since gotten a job where I myself was an agent of a landlord, and I knew how frustrating a trashed apartment could be. They stay offline longer, take more money to fix up, and they piss of the maintenance workers.
Imagine my surprise when I got my deposit back. The check didn't even bounce!
The neighbor's bathtub overflowed and soaked the carpet in my unit. Since I'd just moved in, a lot of stuff was still in boxes - cardboard boxes. Sketchbooks, manuscripts, all kinds of papers soaking up smelly burst-pipe carpet water like sponges. The weather was at least being decent, so it was possible to open the windows and get some air flowing, and it seemed like a nice gesture when one of the maintenance men brought a couple of blowers specifically to help dry things out.
You wouldn't think those things use a lot of power, but you should have seen my light bill.
At that point, I assumed the ridiculous security deposit was forfeit. Even though it wasn't anyone's fault, I know how landlords work.
As I said, it wasn't the best apartment in the world, but it was okay. For several weeks, sewage would back up into the bathtub, usually when you were trying to shower before work. They eventually fixed it. I shared a hot water heater with three other apartments, and eventually they upgraded it and it would produce enough hot water to allow you to shower for ten minutes rather than five.
One night, I came home and went to the kitchen to start dinner and for a brief, bizarre moment I couldn't figure out why the floor was making squishy noises. It was because the dishwasher next door had failed and, once again, flooded my apartment. I managed to mop up most of the water, but it was challenging to get someone out at eight o'clock in the evening on a Friday. I'm not asking asking you to put up new blinds, people, I'm flooded and I'm pretty sure the neighbors aren't going to be happy when they get home.
Five years later they replaced the kitchen tiles. Which just proves that old saw you hear about squeaky wheels getting the grease.
When the time came to move, we put in a lot of work on the place. I even dismantled the shelves in the refrigerator so I could wash down the interior. I vacuumed as thoroughly as I ever have. I even bought a small can of paint and touched up scuffed spots on the walls. I wasn't expecting any of my deposit back, but I had since gotten a job where I myself was an agent of a landlord, and I knew how frustrating a trashed apartment could be. They stay offline longer, take more money to fix up, and they piss of the maintenance workers.
Imagine my surprise when I got my deposit back. The check didn't even bounce!