Mario's Minion, Bruce called Marty Sunshine this morning at 6 a.m. I would have relished in delight that it wasn't my phone that was lighting up, but I was zonked out, starting my fourth day of this flu hell and not much was going to make me relish in delight. Besides, Marty has a job and I would be a fool to think--flu or not--that I wasn't going to somehow get involved in this mess.
Bruce doesn't like to call me. Frankly, I don't think he knows how to take me. All of the labels that may have been bandied around about my personality were hopefully dispelled by Kirby, who voluntarily swore to me one day that he told all what an awesome a person and landlord I really am. At the time I didn't ask why my name came up, though right now I am pretty interested. But, I digress.
Bruce's issue on Friday was that the tenant in the one and only house Bruce and Mario manage managed to screw up again. This time a pipe burst. And, it flooded the downstairs, which is 97 percent of the house. And--as I found out when Bruce called me later and related the entire scenario to me once again--the house is uninhabitable.
Though I blame it on the illness, I shortly asked Bruce, how stupid is this tenant? Did she not think to open a pipe--knowing it was freezing and then would thaw? And come on! This wasn't the first time this particular tenant has done something utterly boneheaded (and through my drug-induced stupor, I rattled off a pretty darn accurate list). Did she live in an actual house before she rented this place? I really did expect an answer to that last question, given I have seen what as passed for "shelter" in swampy areas of the south. And I assure you if the tenant lived in one of those shelter-y things, they probably never dealt with running water.
After a couple of hours of this nonsense, I have spoken to two insurance folks, Bruce and relayed messages through him to a plumber, restoration company and tenant. I am told no less than 100 gallons of water has gone though that house today. I have visions of people donning ice skates zipping across the living room. Perhaps if Bruce charges enough for admission it will cover the deductible. Of course the insurance adjuster may not get around to going over there for a few days, given he is probably busy with other claims of similar nature. And now I have one more house to tour when I make my unscheduled trip out to there this spring.
According to my cyber pal Lori, no matter when things happen during the week, a tenant will wait until Friday to alert landlord. That pretty much sums it all up.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Random Bama
Though I have been silent, I have a few blog posts brewing. For now, you are stuck with these tid-bits.
Mr. Partner and I have been at odds for the past couple of days. Apparently he is trying to fax me and the fax isn't going through. Would I please check my connection?
My connection is fine. I get faxes every day. But for whatever reason, I cannot receive his fax. I haven't suggested the obvious: scan. Or mail. Or as he is driving right by my home on his way to work, stop by. Or even better, give the said documents to Marty Sunshine while they are at the office. But whatever.
I hope he figures it out.
I have two vacant homes. Actually, I have three. But one I am told will be rented by Feb. 1st.
Marty and I are bandying around whether or not I need to haul my butt to Birmingham and have a talking-to with Daisy and the new property management company in the next few weeks. I am voting no. Hopefully the property management company will concur and rent out the darn homes.
Besides, my other choice is Mario.
And finally I got a lovely letter from Attorney Flip the other day. He sent me my bill and a super-sweet note suggesting a "Significant contribution towards my balance would be appreciated."
No kidding? As an amazing coincidence, the plumbers I use in Birmingham feel the exact same way. And statistically, I will need a plumber before I need a lawyer again so the plumber wins.
Mr. Partner and I have been at odds for the past couple of days. Apparently he is trying to fax me and the fax isn't going through. Would I please check my connection?
My connection is fine. I get faxes every day. But for whatever reason, I cannot receive his fax. I haven't suggested the obvious: scan. Or mail. Or as he is driving right by my home on his way to work, stop by. Or even better, give the said documents to Marty Sunshine while they are at the office. But whatever.
I hope he figures it out.
____________________________
I have two vacant homes. Actually, I have three. But one I am told will be rented by Feb. 1st.
Marty and I are bandying around whether or not I need to haul my butt to Birmingham and have a talking-to with Daisy and the new property management company in the next few weeks. I am voting no. Hopefully the property management company will concur and rent out the darn homes.
Besides, my other choice is Mario.
____________________________
And finally I got a lovely letter from Attorney Flip the other day. He sent me my bill and a super-sweet note suggesting a "Significant contribution towards my balance would be appreciated."
No kidding? As an amazing coincidence, the plumbers I use in Birmingham feel the exact same way. And statistically, I will need a plumber before I need a lawyer again so the plumber wins.
Thursday, January 09, 2014
Birmingham Hath Frozen Over
Ms. Angie sent me a text yesterday. Because I was in the throes of a parenting crisis (Buckaroo and two of his buddies were missing for two hours--turns out they took it upon themselves to go to the park a mile away without permission, however at the time we were thisclose to an Amber Alert), and because she sent me a text instead of calling, I didn't realize the enormity of what she was suggesting.
It wasn't until I finished with Buckaroo did I let Ms. Angie's text message sink in. Her outside pipe had burst. Water was rushing. The only way to take care of it was to shut off the main or get a new pipe.
For those of you enjoying today's 67 degree Arizona day, let me explain. The rest of the Northern Hemisphere is dawning the realization that Mother Nature is on crack. Record-breaking low temperatures are rampant. I spoke with a friend in Chicago the other day who said it was minus 8 degrees at 4:00 p.m. Yay them. Even Birmingham, which might get a smattering of snow flurries here and there every January has succumbed to the Arctic weather.
Though I live in the desert, even I know with cold temperatures, one needs to leave a faucet line open so that if water freezes in the pipe, as it thaws the pipe will not burst. Apparently I am of a small minority who is aware of this tid-bit because I just talked to Daisy and the plumber who are both inundated with calls of this nature. Daisy tells me I have three homes with piping issues right now. However, she said that is a small number based on the overall calls she is getting. I asked her not to get any more calls from my tenants.
But back to Ms. Angie. Because water was gushing everywhere, I ended up paying time and a half for the plumber. I did tell the plumber's charming phone person that I would appreciate it if they would send out their most competent person who can fix the problem in 10 minutes. I don't think the charming phone person thought I was serious. Apparently there isn't any damage worth noting. And hopefully Ms. Angie now fully understands one needs to keep the pipes open.
It wasn't until I finished with Buckaroo did I let Ms. Angie's text message sink in. Her outside pipe had burst. Water was rushing. The only way to take care of it was to shut off the main or get a new pipe.
For those of you enjoying today's 67 degree Arizona day, let me explain. The rest of the Northern Hemisphere is dawning the realization that Mother Nature is on crack. Record-breaking low temperatures are rampant. I spoke with a friend in Chicago the other day who said it was minus 8 degrees at 4:00 p.m. Yay them. Even Birmingham, which might get a smattering of snow flurries here and there every January has succumbed to the Arctic weather.
Though I live in the desert, even I know with cold temperatures, one needs to leave a faucet line open so that if water freezes in the pipe, as it thaws the pipe will not burst. Apparently I am of a small minority who is aware of this tid-bit because I just talked to Daisy and the plumber who are both inundated with calls of this nature. Daisy tells me I have three homes with piping issues right now. However, she said that is a small number based on the overall calls she is getting. I asked her not to get any more calls from my tenants.
But back to Ms. Angie. Because water was gushing everywhere, I ended up paying time and a half for the plumber. I did tell the plumber's charming phone person that I would appreciate it if they would send out their most competent person who can fix the problem in 10 minutes. I don't think the charming phone person thought I was serious. Apparently there isn't any damage worth noting. And hopefully Ms. Angie now fully understands one needs to keep the pipes open.
Monday, January 06, 2014
Kirby
After spending New Year's day fretting about if Kirby paid me the rent money he owed before his company disappeared into the dust, I followed Marty Sunshine's gentle patient frustrated urging and actually called Kirby. As I kept explaining to Marty, Kirby isn't one to actually answer his phone and promptly calling people back isn't really his thing.
"He likes you. You were his favorite." Marty said for the twentieth time and I finally caved.
You see, at the end of every month, Kirby e-mails me a statement saying he paid me the rent money to me. In December I hadn't received it. Therefore I had no way of knowing if the money had been transferred to my account until many days later (the bank process is slow. It is a Southern thing). I needed to know as soon as possible, because I had mortgages due.
I did call Kirby. And by some miracle, he called back almost immediately. He had made one last deposit into my account before his company went poof at midnight. However, he had just forgotten to send me the monthly statement. We ended up talking about this and that for about 20 minutes, and I got the distinct impression he didn't want to get off the phone.
Kirby did tell me I had been his favorite landlord. He said, "Sometimes you would get squirrely like the rest of those owners, but I would get you back into shape and you'd come around." I believe if I am translating that correctly, he meant that he would ignore me and let the issue in hand pass over. When I said as much he laughed and said, "That has to happen sometimes to get those owners into shape."
Though I will miss Kirby, I will probably be better off with a different company. Perhaps one better organized. I suspect Kirby was running himself ragged. He didn't really have enough people to handle the amount of work he had. I am hoping I will have a chance to stay in touch with him down the road. Because he really was one of the bright spots in this journey.
"He likes you. You were his favorite." Marty said for the twentieth time and I finally caved.
You see, at the end of every month, Kirby e-mails me a statement saying he paid me the rent money to me. In December I hadn't received it. Therefore I had no way of knowing if the money had been transferred to my account until many days later (the bank process is slow. It is a Southern thing). I needed to know as soon as possible, because I had mortgages due.
I did call Kirby. And by some miracle, he called back almost immediately. He had made one last deposit into my account before his company went poof at midnight. However, he had just forgotten to send me the monthly statement. We ended up talking about this and that for about 20 minutes, and I got the distinct impression he didn't want to get off the phone.
Kirby did tell me I had been his favorite landlord. He said, "Sometimes you would get squirrely like the rest of those owners, but I would get you back into shape and you'd come around." I believe if I am translating that correctly, he meant that he would ignore me and let the issue in hand pass over. When I said as much he laughed and said, "That has to happen sometimes to get those owners into shape."
Though I will miss Kirby, I will probably be better off with a different company. Perhaps one better organized. I suspect Kirby was running himself ragged. He didn't really have enough people to handle the amount of work he had. I am hoping I will have a chance to stay in touch with him down the road. Because he really was one of the bright spots in this journey.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)