May 2010, I will always remember as one of utter turmoil but also one of God given strength. I am still in the process of a huge life changing event and sometimes I feel it will never end.
On May 1, 2010 I was trying to fix a stuck drain in my bathroom sink. The day/week was very hot and humid and all I could smell was rotten wood/mold and I was in a mood as I have been fighting this losing battle for years. I immediately went to the phone and called my "very hostile" landord and complained to him and told him he must fix the mold problem or I was going to call the Board of Health. I also called the Boro inspector who acted like I committed a felony and finally decided to send out a kid to find the problem. The kid came, said he was in a terrible rush and decided he couldn't do anything without a key to the basement in which the landlord must be present. He said he would make an appt. with the landlord to meet him to try to find the source of the problem. The source of the problem is in the basement, full of mold, as told to us whom live in the building by a utility worker that the basement was not inhabitable. So much for inspectors, I have not heard from them since, nor have I tried to contact them as I have been too busy.
Why have I been busy? Because my landlord put a letter under my door on May 2, 2010, that he was not going to renew my month to month lease and I was to vacate the premises as of the end of the month. Now mind you that the end of the month was Memorial Day weekend so in essence I did not receive a proper 30 day notice. I have been living at this place for 4 1/2 years, first year under a year lease and month to month after that. The apt. looks okay when just looking at it at a glance, sorta charming and on a historical street in a small town BUT don't look too closely. It is downright scary. I guess my landlord didn't want to take care of the mold issue, easier for him to rid the place of tenants than of mold.
I am under the housing umbrella. I was a nurse all my life and became disabled and my income qualifies me for housing help. I worked many nursing agency assignments and they didn't take taxes out, I paid my own Federal and State taxes but I didn't think about Social Security. My bad!
I didn't put much into SS so I am not getting much back, thus the low income. When you have a "housing voucher" it is slim pickin's when looking for an apartment. You have to find a landlord that will accept a voucher and most landlords that do that want to get paid, but have very low standards. The complexes are drug infested. It is a scary situation.
In 14 days, I looked at a jillion apts. and turned them down, and finally found the best of the worst plus packed and moved! I am thankful everyday that I am not homeless. I moved 2 streets over and it doesn't matter if you move 2 streets over or across country, the headaches are the same. When one is "in the system" address changes alone can take days and most take making a phone call. Phone calls are my nightmare as I am mostly deaf and can only hear with the use of 2 hearing aids and speaker phone. Then it is still "iffy" and I get all confused with the menus as I can't hear them properly. I think I am done with the address changes (over 20 of them) except for TV Guide and I am not getting my TV hooked up for the Summer, as it is too expensive for reruns plus I need a couch. I got rid of my sofa bed as it was fading, very heavy and was the most uncomfortable piece of furniture that was ever made and I wasn't going to have people move this HUGE and HEAVY couch up a narrow stairway when I despised it.
Somehow, don't ask me how, but with God's help, He brought people into my life to help me move. I am now her in my new place and I still am unpacking and I am so tired of being on the go for an entire month. They say that moving is one of the biggest stressors in life, and to add to it all, my mom was taken to the hospital on my actual moving day and is now in rehab. She is 86 years old and I have been so busy and she is so tired that we mainly talk on the phone and I have not visited her. I spent the day at the hospital after I moved in the morning well into the evening, but that was all. I was so drained. My neighbors were such a big help, especially Penney, she was an angel sent from God. Georgia was also very helpful and supportive. Everyone who helped me sure got alot of pickings of things I was getting rid of, and money was flying out of my pockets for many things. Everytime I turned around, I needed money which I didn't have. It was hard, but people have it so much worse, who am I to complain?
I am trying to make this place homey. I have huge pictures and small furniture, after getting rid of things nothing seems to be on scale when decorating but it will have to do. I am on the waiting list for Lamont Apts. (subsidized housing) and they are real nice, less than 1o years old with elevators and washers/dryers. I will feel like I live in a palace. The waiting list is 3-4 years and I have waited a year already so I am just biding my time here. Hopefully when I move, I can start over with new furniture. I can honestly say that most of what I brought here I was only thinking 3 years down the road and then I will get rid of this stuff too. My bed, my hutch, my TV, a few pictures, not much else will be going with me to the new place. I will search the classifieds for tables etc. and buy new anything that has "material" as I don't know what is in that "material". For here, I might look for a used leather small couch or chair at Salvation Army that I can Lysol down.
Ok, I vacated my old place and did a walk-thru with my old landlord Frank. He was ridiculous with the things he wanted me to do that were normal wear and tear. I had him read off the list of deductions that would take away from receiving my security rent back and went out and bought a digital camera and took photos galore. I have wanted a digital for a long time as I now have a grandson and I also would love to get creative and take pictures of things and people that I find interesting.
I will probably have to take my landlord to small claims court but my dream is to see him lose and him have to refund me my security deposit in full as he is a mean man, a schemer and a slumlord. I will let a judge decide and fight him if I get a "deductions" list from Frank within the next 20 days as required by law.
I am tired, I am sore, I am disillusioned that there are people like my landlord that exist, that take advantage of the people who need a break, all in the name of money. That is very sad to me.
In the end, everyone must face God!
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