The Rabbit Hole

- DO actually show up on time when you make an appointment with your tenant. Showing up on Wednesday instead of Tuesday is unacceptable. Especially when you couldn't even call to say you couldn't make it on Tuesday. It's a good thing I don't have to take time off work for that kind of nonsense, but it's rude, thoughtless and inconsiderate, and people do have shit to do instead of just wait around for someone to show up, who eventually doesn't.

Showing up at 2pm instead of 11am on a separate visit days later, also not acceptable.

- DO NOT show up when there really isn't anything you have to contribute. Showing up a second time to look at the broken washer (which broke a week ago today!) to then tell me that the repair guy hasn't gotten back to you yet, and you'll call him on Monday, isn't helpful. In fact, it only makes me laugh on the inside when you hurt your hand badly with the washer snapping something onto it as you pointlessly look inside it for a second time.

- DO NOT talk to me about how tough things are in this economy. I know how much you charge for this tiny no-storage-space place, and I know you put in the cheapest fixtures and things. We also know you rent the place out behind ours too. And, we know you work as a bank manager, not exactly a minimum wage job. If things are so fucking tough for you, sell one of your rental properties, or maybe that gas-guzzling Chevy Suburban. Or put your wife on a smaller budget, she could do with feeding your fat ass less.

Expect no sympathy from your tenants in regards of the cost of things. At least you own your house. Fucker.

- DO NOT take forever to finally get around to repairing things and doing maintenance. I mean, I laugh because it will cost you more in the long run, but seriously, we shouldn't need to wait 6+ months to get a tap and light socket fixed. Or for you to come power wash the exterior. Or paint the flaking and rotting fences. You may see the light of day when you have to replace those fences though and it really costs you...

- DO NOT give me all kinds of excuses as to why you couldn't get around to [insert whatever needs doing, and was supposed to have gotten done months ago]. I don't care that your mother wanted you to fix her stuff, or weed her yard. We pay you rent, we do so on time, you should do things for your paying tenants in a timely manner.

- DO NOT use the fact that you renovated the kitchen with cheap-ass stuff 8(!) years ago as some kind of selling feature. After 8 years, it's not exactly newly-renovated. It's really just kinda old now. You might be able to mention it if it was a particularly stellar job involving nice materials. It wasn't. Get over it. Move on.

IN CLOSING. If you can't be a proper landlord who gets stuff done on time, without doing the "woe is me, it's so expensive" whining, either stop being a landlord, or get a management company to do your shit for you.

The day before I left the UK to come home, I realised while packing that I had misplaced my cell phone, sometime between New Year's Eve and the 13th. Either it fell out of my pocket somewhere when we were out, or Dashiell lost it for me when I gave it to him to play with, though that was usually indoors or in the car, but no phone to be found anywhere when it was searched for.

Prez and I were labouring under the impression that our cell plan wasn't up until March, and that I'd have to wait until then to get a new phone with the renewal of our plan. Of course today he found out that our plan was up back in November, and I could immediately get a new phone with the renewal of our plan along with the renewal discounts that you get on the cost of the various phones.

I will soon be getting a nice purple phone, woot! It's on order (because apparently the purple Samsung Gleam is only available on the Verizon website, not in the actual Verizon stores), but I can wait the extra few days for it to be shipped. Prez just called me from his new phone which he picked up on the way home, and he made the guy at the Verizon store put my number on his phone, so for the intermediate period, I will be able to use his old phone. Well, I will when he gets them to unblock my number again, because he had that done when we reported it lost. Knowing my luck that'll occur around the time the new phone arrives...

In other completely unrelated news, I have to thank vgnwtch for finding this icon, letting her hubby show it to me, and that I had to steal. It is much with the awesome!