Moo rents apt. for teensprogs

I couldn't post on the main board, so here's my rant.

Last month new people occupied the apt. upstairs from me. Nothing unusual there, except that they're a 17 yr. old couple! One of their moos rented the apt. for them. The boy is nice, polite, and works two jobs. The girl is a slutty, bitchy, loudmouthed twat. She doesn't work, or go to school. Her life consists of cheating on her boyfriend, and playing rave/trance music so loud, that my closet doors rattle in their frames.

Yesterday, DH knocked on her door and nicely asked her to turn down her music, and one of her boyfriends threatened to kick his ass. According to her "guest" they can do whatever they want, and they don't care who doesn't like it. Okay, fine. Well, a few hours later, I was getting something out of my car, and the real boyfriend pulls up. We began talking, and I told him what happened. He apologized, and said it wouldn't happen again. I imagine they had a nice little chat, and didn't hear a thing for the rest of the night.

This morning, about 7:30, Girly bangs on my door, and starts screaming at me for "ruining everything." She said that it's all my fault for getting her in trouble, and I need to learn to keep my fucking mouth shut, because her BF is really mad about the other guy she had over. I listened to her raving, and told her that if she ever darkened my doorstep with her immature bullshit again, I'd call the sheriff each and every time I heard that damned bass. Also, I'd write a formal complaint about her behavior, and turn it in to the landlady. And, if her fuckbuddy ever threatens my husband again, I'd have them both arrested. She went white as a sheet. This dumb bitch actually thought she was going to scare me!?

She's also too lazy to throw her garbage in the dumpster, so she throws it down the stairs, and it lands right in front of my door. She doesn't even tie the bag shut, so you can imagine the mess. I took a picture of it, and plan to have another talk with BF when he gets home from work. My goal is to show this nice young man what he's involved with, so hopefully, he'll dump her ass, before she oopses him, or worse. I'd really hate this guy to have an eviction on his record because of her. He has two jobs, so he's not home to see what she's doing. Nothing would please me more than if he kicked her out.

Why are so many teenage girls so stupid? Oh, and she likes to go out on her balcony and giggle at 2am. I came close to violence the other night, when she wouldn't shut the fuck up. I had the bat in my hand, but, thankfully DH was there to keep me from bashing her (lack of) brains in.

Thanks for listening...

but dont you know all women are angels and they have to stick together, and who cares about the men, they are as needed as a fish needs a bicycle. (sarcasm off)

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I just post the stories, for interest.. for everyone

Lord, what fools these mortals be!
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act III, Scene ii

Voltaire said: "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."

H.L.Mencken wrote:"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. Albert Einstein

I love the turnaround, Mercurior! Very true...

A lot of teen girls are just plain nasty. Females are not automatically angels.

I lived in a complex from 1993 - '95 where two moos rented apartments for teens. One got evicted due to his LOUD music every single night. The elderly man downstairs was practically crying due to not being able to sleep. I lived across from him and it was hell.

This situation was in reverse. The teen girlfriend was actually very sweet. She left this @ss and he moved in a real slag. Moo had to come get the boy after the office had it with him.

Another was a young employee of a man I used to date who had a restaurant. The girl was alright. She had two teen male roomies who were only friends. I heard they were not noisy. They lived in another building but they did not pay the utilities and such....

When I was an older teen and in college, I knew a couple of 17 year olds who lived in an apartment while one of them was going to high school. The high schooler, a girl, was being bribed by her parents to finish high school by paying her rent and all associated living costs. When she and boyfriend (who was a dumbass stoner who stocked shelves at K Mart, I think he dropped out) got evicted, they wrote profanities all over the walls with a Sharpie. This was in one of those upper-middle class communities where I grew up where everyone's daddy was a lawyer or worked for Big Oil. I can't even imagine what those losers are doing today.

A quick question that someone might be able to answer for me on this thread:

Two years ago, our apartment was broken into via the back door. The perp used a crowbar, I assume, to basically dig the dead bolt out of the old wood.

This iS TWO YEARS ago.

The landlord fixed the problem at the time by installing two brackets into the wall using 4 inch railroad screws on either side of the door and sliding a 2x4 through them, thereby preventing the door from being opened. The door is for the most part, secure from entry by unwanted intruders.

We live on the third floor and this back door leads to the deck and subsequently the fire escape. I have asked him for several years now to install a screen door, as it is an old building with no screens fitting in any of the windows, and a screen door would have been nice so that we can open it in the summer and get a cross breaze. We have three kitties, so the air does get stale sometimes, and I can't just open the windows, as there is a catwalk that doubles as the gutter going around the entire third floor at window level (it's a very old building in the historical district. There's even dumbwaiters in some of the units)

My questions is this:
Isn't this a fire hazard and code violation the way the landlord has the door rigged? If there was a fire, it would be difficult if one was in a panic to get the large beam out of the brackets (you have to angle it just right) to open the door. Especially if there was a lot of smoke going in the apartment.

This is the only way the door will stay securely closed, as the door knob never worked anyway, and the dead bolt was the only way to really "close" the door.

I've tried to be nice to my LL about it, and he is a decent enough guy, but come on! Two years since this happened. I would like to be able to go on my deck without it being a fucking federal project.

BTW< when I suggested that I wasn't going to give him any more rent until the problem is rectified, he suggested we find somewhere else to live (which is out of the question right now, as we're still recovering financially from a recent health issue), and we're on a month to month lease deal.

Hi, NQS!
Your landlord is a cheap ass! All he would need to do is install an aluminum door frame, and they aren't that expensive at the Home Depot. FYI,our door was rigged the same way when we moved- in, but they fixed it after I let them know it was a bad deal. You can make a call to the county building inspector, and they'll take a look at it, and usually give the landlord a week or so to fix it. If he doesn't, he'll get a nasty fine. As far as telling you to find another place to live, that is typical of an LL who doesn't want to spend any money keeping his property up to code. By law, he isn't allowed to retaliate against you, but you can't withold rent unless he flat- out refuses to fix the door. Even then, it's tricky. You've lived with it that way for two years, and he may try to evict you for non- payment. If you choose to pursue it, you may have to find another place, anyway, especially if you're month- to- month. If you can stand it, it's probably best to drop it. Good Luck!!!

Yea, sprog, I plan to just drop it. It's almost like a running joke with he and I. He's not a slumlord and is a really sweet guy - almost like a second father in a lot of ways.

In fact, he's the hardest working landlord I've ever seen or heard of. When I leave in the morning, he's out with his van getting stuff to work on a unit, as he owns quite a few properties in the college district. He does his best and also has a few helpers, elves we call them, to do odd jobs as well. He's usually there when I get home from work as well (he keeps his little "office" in the basement of our building, amongst the cobwebs and paintcans. It's his little landlord central! lol

I don't think I could or would ever put a building inspector on it. He'd be REALLY pissed, but I did mention the new rental property code our burgh just passed and that I'm sure it's gotta be some kind of violation. Then I asked him to put the ladder back on my deck so I could use it to have sex on the roof before we finally leave the joint for more suitable young couple housing. He replied with "You stay off that roof, you little bitch!", with a wry smile as he said it. That's a running joke between us as well.lol

You might want to see if there is something like a Tennant Resource Center which will not only inform you of your rights and responsibilities but also possibly offer to mediate between you and your landlord.

That's awful! I'm a LL (3 unit rental home) and currently in the process of evicting an incredibly stupid pair of breeders. I'd have never rented to these people, except we inherited them when we bought the house.

Aside from deciding to quit paying rent, they have numerous rental agreement violations. It was only supposed to be the couple and their crotch nugget, but over the last month they've also moved in prego (step) daughter, her stoner boyfriend, and some other miscellaneous child. It's a two bedroom apartment! On top of that they keep picking up dogs, bringing them in, getting tired of them, and putting them out. I'm more apalled at the treatment of the dogs than the fact that dogs are against the agreement to begin with. They too toss all of their trash (shitty diapers and all) into the hallway. They repeatedly threaten to sue us over things we have no control over (a pond behind their house, the neighbor's perfectly nice dog playing in the neighbor's fenced in back yard) or damages they've done to the apartment. When we gave theses dumb fucks the 3 day notice to pay or get the fuck out, the she tenant started crying--turns out she's prego too. The he tenant threatened me, and they've begun regularly harassing my other tenants (who are wonderful people) as well as my boyfriend and I. I can't wait to get these deadbeats the hell out of my house.


NotQuiteSure--
Your request for a screen door is perfectly reasonable, and only having one exit is definitely a fire hazard. Your options depend on where you live, but in the US it's pretty standard varying slightly from state to state. You've already verbally requested the repairs, so your next action should be to send a written letter (specific form for some states) to the landlord giving him 30 days to fix the property. (In some areas this could be considered an emergency, and require less time--check with your local building inspector to be sure.) If the repairs aren't made within the 30 day limit, you can check into putting your rent into escrow. You'll have to pay it to a local court rather than the LL until the repairs are made. I've never done it, nor have I had it happen, so I'm not entirely sure what exactly happens past that, but it's an option if you're interested in getting things done. Also, it's illegal (at least in all of the US) for the LL to retalliate against you (eviction, unless rent is unpaid, raising the rent, cutting back services) for exercising your rights as a tenant. Good luck!

lets hope the next people in are CF, socio.. hell if i was near there and could afford it, i would rent.. and make sure no breeders would get it

*********************************************************************************************************************************
I just post the stories, for interest.. for everyone

Lord, what fools these mortals be!
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act III, Scene ii

Voltaire said: "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."

H.L.Mencken wrote:"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. Albert Einstein

NotQuiteSure,

Yes, this is definitely a fire hazard!

My dad is a retired fire chief who's done a lifetime of building inspections incl. alot of Chicago high-rises w/ outside fire escapes, told me that your fire escape door beam is a big no-no.

Escape doors cannot be blocked and the door must easily open outward. (Ideally, a lever vs. a knob is best) And awkward wooden beams can burn so you won't even get a chance to open them. Dad says he's met many LL's who just fix the immediate problem but fail to plan for a fire scenario or just put it on the back burner, so to speak.

Any competant inspector would fine this LL's ass and/or give him a time limit to comply. You may want to start with contacting a local building inspector or call the non-emergency line for your fire dept and tell them your building needs an inspection. They'll direct you from there.

Thanks for all the advice guys. The problem will be solved soon.

I got home last night and the LL asked if he could come up and get the rent (I usually just sign over the occasional paycheck to him. It's more than the rent, but I just put all the info into a spreadsheet and calculate if I'm ahead or behind. It all comes out in the wash).

So he comes up, and I sign the check and then proceed to bitch about the lack of screen door and the lack of a proper locking back door. I did mention that it is a fire hazard the way he has it set up. He then proceeds to show me that he plans on doing the screen door today (thanks,it's only going to be in the low 70's all week. Would have been nice when it was 95 for most of the summer).

I then say that he has to do something about this bar across the door issue. He then starts yelling at me that it was what I (emphasize I) wanted. I told him that at the time we discovered the robbery (which is actually almost 3 years ago now), it was the most logical solution to the problem, as it was 8 o'clock at night, and as the perp pried out the deadbolt, there was no way to secure the door, and the board was meant to be only a TEMPORARY solution, or in the event that we would be out of town or at work, as an additional barrier to unwanted visitors.

I then explain that I didn't get to use my deck all summer, because of the inconvenience of having to take the board out of the door. DH is a bit of a security freak (can you blame him?) and was always walking on eggshells whenever the door was unsecured with the board off, even if it was during the day. After all, not too long ago, an 84 year old woman was stabbed in the chest and died because a crackhead was casing her apartment maybe only a mile away from us. This happened in broad daylight. The crackhead, btw, was a Salvation Army dropout who had heard about the SA in our hometown when he was an inmate in a NJ jail. He was incarcerated there because he set fire to the house where his child and its mother were living. The SA never bothered to do a background check. Nice.

Then LL FINALLY saw the light of the problem. He thought that there was already a deadbolt on the door and that I was just being a pain in the ass. He then said "ALright, I see the problem. Okay okay. I'll be up tomorrow to put in a new deadbolt."

We'll see if he does it today. I'll give an update if it does or doesn't happen.

YAY! The LL finally fixed the door! Yippee! I think the fire hazard thing did it. He's usually on top of any code type issue if it is pointed out to him. We can now lock and unlock our back door to enjoy our deck without it being a project.

I've been a little out of it this week, and forgot I posted here.

Mercurior, thanks! I actually have an older, single, childfree man approved to move into the apartment. He's looking to move in Novermber 1st, and we expect the sheriff to boot the tools in the beginning of October. That'll give us plenty of time to repaint, change locks, remove the kid stench, and all that stuff. I feel so relieved over this!

NotQuiteSure, good to hear that the LL came through. I've lived in apartments with LLs who won't fix things and it sucks. I never want to be that type of landlord.