34 weeks and HOMELESS. UGH!

TLRachelle · August 2013

I'm going to try to make this a short vent. My hubby took a job in Baltimore, an older couple at the church where he took the job said they had a rental house we could rent month to month til we got ourselves acclimated. They tell us this 3 weeks ago when we are here looking for an apartment to rent. So we stop looking for a rentals and arrange to move. Hubby starts new job on Aug. 15 so they send us a lease that starts Aug. 9th and we drive up with all our stuff in a moving van on Aug. 9th. They aren't ready for us and ask for a few extra days - we're flexible so we hold the truck and wait to call the movers. It gets to be Sunday evening and they haven't checked back with us on when we can move in so we call them around 8 pm. They say, bring the truck/movers Monday at 3 pm and we can unload our truck but the house needs an inspection. So I arrange things and we arrive at 3pm along with movers I'm paying by the hour. I walk into the house - and it's full of antique furniture, it's not even close to finished or ready for renters: the porch isn't even touched and needs major repair, the laundry room doesn't have the proper fixtures (but we were told it did last week), etc. etc. So I have to unload my truck b/c not only am I paying movers $80/hr but I am also paying an extra $100 a day to hold this truck. So I have the movers empty everything into bottom floor of this house. I look upstairs and both bedrooms are in complete disarray. All the closets in the house are full of stuff. Both garages are full of stuff. And to add to the fun - a box spring does not fit up the stairs in this old house. They failed to mention all of these "little details". To top it off I get to talking with the lady and it's NEVER been inspected for renters - EVER - and it was built in 1920.

The place is NOT ready to rent like they told us and they seem to think we'll be able to move in on Thursday. FAT CHANCE. I am falling a part. Did I mention that the house is FULL of antique furniture. She keeps asking me if I want this piece or that piece in the house - I'm trying to be nice but NO I do NOT want to be responsible for this lady's old antique furniture! I have a freakin' baby coming! And I can't even put my bed in the bedroom! I want to cry! I haven't signed the lease yet but these people are long standing members of the church and significant donors to the school where my husband will work. They seem to think that the house will pass inspection - I think it's obvious that it is not even close to passing inspection this month or the next. I am totally losing my mind here! I can't tick these people off b/c I don't want to make waves with his new job.

On the other hand I'm freakin' 34 weeks pregnant!! I don't have time to deal with this! In the meantime I am livng out of a suitcase with my husband's principal and her older mother. They are absolutely delightful but I want to sit around watching netflix and eating bags of chips in my underwear. I'm hot, uncomfortable and pregnant. I do not want to have to be fully dressed 24/7 eating other people's food and living in another person's house. I feel like a burden on these women to boot. I am just losing my mind with stress. How on earth do I get out of this mess?? Oh and to make matters just a little more sour - the landlord's daughter teaches at the same school as my husband and is on my facebook b/c I taught her daughter years ago and she is going on and on about how hard she is working on this house and how much she LOVES this house b/c it was her grandmothers...I wish I could reply "That's all great and good but I need a place to LIVE and I do NOT want to live in a shrine to your grandmother!!" This is just so insane. I have no idea what to do.

girlmama83 · August 2013

That does sound stressful and I'm sorry you're dealing with that so late in the pregnancy.

But, it could be a lot worse. You have somewhere to live, it's just not ready at the moment. There are people out there who are actually homeless and don't have a house waiting for them to move into. You have somewhere to stay for now and will have somewhere to go soon enough, so I would try to focus on that.

TxKelle · August 2013

We just moved overseas and lived out of suitcases for 5 weeks before getting a house. Now we have a house but it is empty because all of our stuff, including my car, are still in transit. We've been living like that for the last 3 weeks.... our household goods aren't scheduled to arrive for another week. So, even though our situations aren't exactly the same, I can TOTALLY sympathize with not having your own space with your own things, which is stressful enough. To add being in our third trimester into the mix, it's a lot of stress and a lot of frustration. I don't have a solution for you but I just wanted to say I'm sorry, and I understand. Sending lots of hugs!

TLRachelle · August 2013

Thanks. Glad to know I'm not the only one. The worst part is that I am pretty sure this house isn't going to pass renters inspection which means it is NOT habitable by people so I have to find something else. They made it sound like the place was ready to rent; it's not even passed inspection!! That's insane!! How much do you want to bet the place is full of lead and aspestos? They have NO CLUE how renting works AT ALL. They want us to pay $800/mnth to live in this place. $800!! a month. It's not a good neighborhood and similar homes in the area are about $400 a month b/c they are so small and the bedrooms are practically unusable. They lied to us and compared the home to much larger homes in the area I am so frustrated! I am getting bamboozled. After sleeping on it, I've decided I'm not living there. I want out. I am going to have to pay for movers and storage place for most of my stuff if we do rent the place and that's just not okay. I can't afford that. If I'm going to be paying upwards of $1000 a month between rent and storage; I might as well rent a place I can live in.

Weljadraak · August 2013

This is why I hate renting. Things never seem to get done right and I have always had smoke blown up my ass. Ay yi yi...I feel for you.

magicalbride2bee · August 2013

WOW! That's all I have to say! I am so so so sorry that you have to go through this at 34 weeks pregnant! Hopefully you can continue to look for another place to rent. I'm not sure if you said that you had a contract with this lady, but even if you did, I think it's safe to say that it will not be active if the house is not ready when she said it is. So sorry!

Arielle27 · August 2013

I am so sorry!! That sounds so frustrating and stressful! Can you go to a renter agency and ask for an immediate placement somewhere else for month or two while you look for a new place??

imakeeff0rts · August 2013

That's pretty crazy. Is there a way that your and your husband can start the apartment/other rental search and let them know that because of how close you are to delivery, you need to be somewhere that's ready and that you will consider leasing from them in the future or something? That way, you won't really be making any waves and you'll get your own space.

thedash · August 2013

I think you're doing the right thing finding another place. You may have to take the blame for not being able to wait for it and go on and on about how wonderful the offer was and you're sorry you can't take advantage of it. Just to try to leave things positive with the owners. But move on and find a nice new home for your family!

leahaustin · August 2013

I would be so irritated. At this point, I would kindly decline living there and find an apartment to rent. This house sounds like a nightmare.

roo1oo · August 2013

Wow, if its not a safe neighborhood of Baltimore I would definitely be getting out. I went to college in Baltimore and lived in and around it for 3 more years. If you don't like the neighborhood, DON'T live there. Doesn't matter how cheap it is. A good indication is whether there are bars on the windows and doors of the houses in the neighborhood. If there's bars on lower windows AND doors of most or all homes, it's not safe. Lower and upper windows is real bad. There are plenty of neighborhoods in Baltimore that are safe, though may require slightly more driving, and you should be able to find something quickly. Check Craigslist for private rentals. Good luck!

Disneygeek77 · August 2013

Yeah, I wouldn't live there either. Thank them for offering but say it won't work. Don't give details, just say it won't work but thank you.

Then go out and find a better place.

TLRachelle · August 2013

So my hubby called in a mediator b/c it was impossible to talk to these people. All of our stuff is already sitting in this house and we're just freakin' out b/c we have no access. I had an OB appointment today and all my medical records are in there. UGH. Thank God she was really flexible and I got my old OB office to fax records over. Anyways, the mediator arranged for us to move our stuff to his garage. We have some people picking it up tomorrow night and redepositing it in the garage.

In the meantime, we put in an application at one apartment today and we found a really awesome apartment community in Cockeysville which we are checking out tomorrow. We'll probably get our second application going for one of those tomorrow. And here's hoping that we will get into a place ASAP.

I just can't believe these people expected us to live in what the mediator referred to as a shrine to their mother. GRRRR! I will be happier when all my stuff is out of that house and somewhere safe.

Oh and to add to my stress - my husband's office didn't send his insurance paper work out right away so I don't "technically" have any health insurance. Once BCBS gets the paperwork into their computer I will have retroactive coverage but now I have to file claims adjustments for all my lab work today at the OB plus the OB office appointment. And I don't have an address to give my doctor or to put on the hospital registration forms so I have to resubmit those when I get that information. It's amazing that I haven't experienced BH or early contractions or any other stress related side effects. I attribute that to chocolate and netflix on my tablet. lol!

scamberlous3000 · August 2013

TLRachelle said:

Thanks. Glad to know I'm not the only one. The worst part is that I am pretty sure this house isn't going to pass renters inspection which means it is NOT habitable by people so I have to find something else. They made it sound like the place was ready to rent; it's not even passed inspection!! That's insane!! How much do you want to bet the place is full of lead and aspestos? They have NO CLUE how renting works AT ALL. They want us to pay $800/mnth to live in this place. $800!! a month. It's not a good neighborhood and similar homes in the area are about $400 a month b/c they are so small and the bedrooms are practically unusable. They lied to us and compared the home to much larger homes in the area I am so frustrated! I am getting bamboozled. After sleeping on it, I've decided I'm not living there. I want out. I am going to have to pay for movers and storage place for most of my stuff if we do rent the place and that's just not okay. I can't afford that. If I'm going to be paying upwards of $1000 a month between rent and storage; I might as well rent a place I can live in.

So glad you decided to go with another place! Just curious though, are you sure that the testing for these two hazards are included in a home inspection in your state? I ask b/c I'm a real estate agent in NC and lead based paint and asbestos testing is not required by law here, and they are specialized tests that have to be requested and paid for accordingly by the renters/buyers. The presence of lead based paint & asbestos only has to be disclosed if it's known about prior to renting/purchasing. Again...just curious!

tashad18 · August 2013

Do not sign a lease until the inspection has been done. If you really think it won't pass then there is your excuse right there. If you do stay I would tell the lady that you don't want any of her items in the house because you don't want to risk damaging them. They honestly can't expect you to store their items in a house you are renting from them. That's what storage is for!

TLRachelle · August 2013

It has to be lead and asbestos inspected b/c it's over 100 years old and we're in Baltimore, MD. I think it's part of the renter law here but I can't be sure b/c these guys didn't seem to have a clue what they were supposed to do as landlords. It could also be something to do with insurance.

I'm getting my stuff out of there tonight. I hope there aren't any incidents. And then I am totally done with the place. I feel like they just wanted to make money off of us. I think they are older and clueless and trying to figure out how to keep their shrine while also finding someone else to pay the increasing high city taxes on the place. I'm not okay with being used. I think they saw my pregnancy as a vulnerability and took advantage. They knew we needed a place quickly b/c I'm going to be full term soon. They also knew my husband's salary b/c they are on the board at the church/school where he works. They are just jerks if you ask me. I can't wait to get my stuff out of there so it's safe. I don't trust them.

roo1oo · August 2013

Cockeysville is a great community. You'll like it there. Glad you're getting out of the bad rental and hope you get settled into your new place soon!

Disneygeek77 · August 2013

Hope you got your stuff back.

BabyCampbell312 · August 2013

I'd consider finding a new place to go..... with a place that old and that has not been inspected, I'm not sure its safe for a baby. Tell them that. They can't fault you for protecting your family.

jwthoms1 · August 2013

Did you not see the house before you agreed to this arrangement?

msronzio · August 2013

Did you not see the house before you agreed to this arrangement?

I was wondering this too. I am assuming not because it was cheap and seemed like an easy leg up, even if just for a first year or something.

kellyrn9956 · August 2013

I agree with PP's - you did the right thing getting out of the city.

I lived in the Wintergreen complex in Cockeysville for many years and it was fantastic. The rent was reasonable, rooms were large, and never had any problems whatsoever. Well, except laundry access, but all complexes have that problem I guess

The rental company that owns the majority of the complexes in that area is great to work with.

missjean81302 · August 2013

I feel ya with this.....kinda makes my situation seem a little less crappy.....our house is in foreclosure and my mom bought us a double wide trailer and had it moved to a really nice park in my daughter's school district but they have been dragging their feet with getting utilities hooked up and getting the place inspected so we can move in. We have been staying with my mom and kinda living day to day with what we pick up from the house, and food.....shoot. We have none of our own because there's no electricity at the new place so we have it STORED at my gma's.....and I'm almost 33 weeks so yeah i totally feel ya on this being in limbo during a move. it is NOT fun at all. I really hope things work out for you and it all gets figured out soon! The worst part is sitting around WAITING for everything to fall into place.....but once it does, you can breathe a sigh of relief. Hang in there!

magnoliagrl1 · August 2013

I am 38 weeks pregnant and am going through a similar situation. I can totally relate to your frustration. Two weeks ago all tenants were evicted from our Philadelphia apartments due to mold and code violation. My apartment seemed perfectly fine, but apparently was not. We just bought a ton of baby stuff and I have been working less so being told we have 2 weeks to move is INSANE. We ended getting a truck and driving to upstate NY to stay with a friend. It is very temporary as they don't really want an in infant in the house. The hubby has no job due to the move and I am back to FT at 38 weeks to try and get us in an apt ASAP. Trying to be positive and grateful but most days I feel like crying!

meloscar · August 2013

That sucks. Not quite the same situation, but I remember when my husband and I were looking at houses, there was this one house that we were interested in until the inspection. Our inspector basically called the house a "death trap." We knew it needed work but we didn't realize quite how much work. We backed out of the deal (we didn't have a signed contract yet) and the realtors involved (including our own) basically acted like we were insane for not jumping on this great "house." We fired our realtor and he continued to email me trying to convince me that the house was great and it was my inspector who was wrong.

I visited Baltimore last year and stayed at a Mariott Residence Inn. It's basically a hotel designed for long term stays -- the rooms are basically apartments with full kitchens. I'm sure it's expensive (we were only there for 2 nights) but it might be a decent worst case scenario option. the free breakfast and cleaning service may help defray the cost.

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