Slum Lords of Summer: A Letter to Our Property Management Company

Dear A***** P******* M*********,

I wish I could say that we, unfortunately are unable to fulfill our lease requirements regarding duration, but, honestly, I will be glad to see the house at ***** in our rear-view mirror. When we moved into the house in late October, we were desperate due to a job transfer that brought us to Durango. However, after living in it less than a week, we were visited by two of Durango’s finest police officers who stopped by to make an early morning visit. They were looking for a previous tenant.

After that event, we spoke to the guys over at the gym on the property and found out that meth was being used and manufactured in the house. This claim was corroborated when we spoke to the owner of the property during one of his several unannounced visits to the property. We also found out from the guys at the gym that the police department conducted surveillance efforts from the upper floor of the gym, as the height and cover of the location provided a good opportunity to observe the comings and goings of people from the house. The guys at the gym also told us that since they have been there, we are the longest tenant, and when there was an active meth lab and distribution hub on the property, there would be people tweaked out and strewn across the front yard. Charging them $1900 per month for a warehouse that has been without heat and has numerous holes in the overhead, leading to leaks in the rain and inclement weather is another indication of the quality of the maintenance that has been conducted on the various buildings located on this property.

I have numerous health issues that have been exacerbated by living in such an environment. Although the inspection sheet indicated that the carpets were replaced, and painting was done in October 2016, more needs to be done to remove these toxins. My physical health has been compromised and I am now rated at 60% disabled through my military physician. This is double the rate of when we moved into the home.

We also have developed skin irritations, respiratory issues, anxiety, and depression, none of which were as severe prior to moving into this house. The level of upkeep and maintenance at and around the property is lacking too. As I noted on the move in inspection report, close to half of the windows have been painted shut and will not open. Among those that do open, the majority do not stay open due to the poor installation and maintenance of these windows. Additionally, most screens on the windows are kept in place with screws that have been driven in from the outside. This is a SERIOUS safety hazard in the event of a fire, as it could certainly impede a swift and safe escape.

During the winter, mice moved in and left their mess. We were able to rid them from the house, but the stress of living in such a state was not hospitable to a healthy life. Ants have also infested the large bedroom (old garage space) and were not deterred by any of the commercial bug repellants. We were able to cease their entrance into the house, but I am not sure for how long. There is little wonder why these pests were able to gain access to our house, as the windows are very drafty, and I had to cover all of them in plastic sheeting during the winter.

We will be vacating the premises by June 15, 2018. We will leave the premises in better condition than when we moved in. I would recommend you remediate the property from meth contamination with urgency, or at least prior to renting it to another unsuspecting family. The failure to disclose this type of information should be criminal. I would also recommend a test of the quality of the well water, as contaminants from the chemicals used on the premises could potentially have leached into the water table. Oh, and you may want to inform any future tenants of the various spirits who also call this home theirs, as we have been scratched, burned, shoved, and pushed by things that we cannot see, as well as hearing auditory hallucinations of one another’s voices when the other person is not home or in the room. Items have also flown off the walls.

These are just a few of the things that we will not be missing when we move. Keep our deposit if you must, but we cannot stay longer than necessary. For the health of future residents, I urge you to conduct proper meth lab remediation efforts and to inform potential renters of the history associated with this property. Testing should also extend to the well, as there is a risk of contamination there too.

Here are some links to articles on how to conduct a meth lab cleanup, as well as the dangers associated with living in a home that used to serve as a meth lab, with excerpts from the articles for a quick glance of the dangers of living in a former meth lab and the steps that need to be taken to remediate this dangerous issue.

https://www.livescience.com/23721-meth-lab-toxins-cleanup.html

When an Oregon family started experiencing mysterious health problems soon after moving into a new home this summer, a neighbor came forward with a likely explanation: The previous owners had produced methamphetamine there. The house had never been properly cleaned after the drug cooks moved out, but an environmental engineer who studies meth labs says the family may not have been safe even if a cleanup had taken place. His research suggests that once a house has been used to make meth, the drug can continue to percolate in the walls for years.

http://aeidecon.com/house-contaminated-meth/

The biggest filter in your home is the carpet and carpet pad. Airborne particles float through the air and settle on the carpet and get embedded in the fibers of the carpet including meth residue. If you come into contact with that carpet the residue can be absorbed into your body dermally. This is why children are more susceptible to the contaminants than adults because they are the ones that spend more time on the floor therefore having more carpet to skin contact.

https://www.rentprep.com/tenant-viewpoint/tenants-need-know-meth-homes/

The Cost of Meth Cleanup
            Cleaning a home that has been used to make meth is an expensive and arduous process and must be passed off by the health department as habitable before it can be rented out again. A friend of mine was able to buy several homes very inexpensively because they had been the sites of meth production labs and the landlord was financially unable to fix them. Each of the homes required full carpet and drywall replacement throughout the home.
            Once these were removed and disposed of properly, he had to power wash each room with a chemical cleaning solution. Before he could replace anything, the health department had to come and check for residue and give the green light to begin restoring the homes. All of this work had to be done while wearing a protective suit. After new carpet, new drywall and new paint, he could finally rent out the homes. Some experts estimate the cost of repairs to a meth home to be around $30,000.

https://www.rentprep.com/property-management/landlords-know-meth-labs/

The cleanup is not just limited to scrubbing and removing garbage. Often running into the tens of thousands of dollars, meth lab cleanup is strictly regulated and must be inspected by a government agency before a property can be deemed livable again. If a meth lab has not been properly cleaned, the property owner will not be allowed to rent it out. A meth lab location must be cleaned by professionals, and it gets very expensive. When a meth lab is discovered in a rental property, the owner of the property is responsible for the cost of cleanup.

http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/12/real_estate/home-meth-lab/index.html

Straightforward decontamination jobs can cost $5,000 to $10,000, according to Mazzuca. Surfaces must be rinsed with special detergents, rooms stripped of carpeting and other materials and meth residue must be sucked off of walls and other hidden surfaces.

Things to Ask Before You Rent, Part I

            Prior to moving into our current house, it had not dawned on me to ask certain questions aside from the regular ones that people routinely ask. Knowing if the utilities are included, what the policy is for having dogs at the property, and the length of the rental term all seem like common questions to ask when doing a walk-through of a prospective property. However, over the course of our rental history, we have encountered incidents that would have benefited from additional inquiry prior to signing a lease. So, I guess, our experience can help you to prevent similar situations from happening to you! This is the first part of a multi-part series, so stay tuned!

Do Bugs Bug You?

            One of our rental experiences still haunt me to this day. A few years ago, we decided to move to a bigger place and one that hopefully didn’t wake me up with water dripping on my face from a leaking roof. While we did get a larger place and the roof didn’t leak, we only stayed there for about a month. Fortunately, we were transferring from one property to another within the same property management company, so we didn’t have to complete an additional background check or pay an additional deposit, as it was just transferred from one account to the other.

            The yard was large, but it was not without fault. There were numerous stickers and other non-dog friendly aspects to the yard that made it less than enjoyable for both man and beast. Not only were there stickers and thorns in the sandy yard, but there were scores of bugs. We noticed some bugs walking through our kitchen and up on the walls while we were eating our first meal in the new place. There were SCORES of them, all marching in a line as if they were lining up to induce nightmares if or when I fell asleep. That night we tried to put it out of our heads, as we were exhausted from moving that day. However, sleep was not possible, at least not for me, as the bugs were also IN OUR BED! The would crawl on the walls, on us, on the dogs, on basically any surface. I couldn’t stay in the house due to the bugs. I ended up driving to our old place in the middle of the night, where I proceeded to make a bed of sorts on the floor. However, there were bugs on the blanket I brought over there, but fortunately, not as many. I sent the landlord an email in the middle of the night to share my experience. She sent out an exterminator the following day.

             According to recent research, ticks that carry Lyme disease have been found to be present in over half of all U.S. counties (Asher, 2016). Lyme disease can lead to serious health complications, with the population of this type of pest experiencing an astounding 320% increase over past two decades (Asher, 2016). However, much of the increase in tick population has been found to occur along the West Coast, as well as the East Coast and much of the right half of the country, which is nowhere near where we lived in New Mexico...

            The exterminator told us that it was the worst TICK infestation he had ever seen. Yes, we had ticks. Not just a few, but thousands. The handyman had noticed some of the bugs when he replaced the sliding glass door that was in the kitchen, but didn’t do anything about it. We were pulling ticks off of the dogs and ourselves. The exterminator had to come out once a week and it didn’t put a dent in the infestation. I spoke to my neighbor, as it was part of a duplex, and he said they have the bugs too. How did they not affect him or his family? Was he just used to living in filth? I suppose so. He was a strange cat.

Stay tuned, as Part II of What to Ask Before You Rent will be uploaded tomorrow.

Asher, C. (2016). Lyme-disease carrying ticks are now in half of all U.S. counties. Science Magazine.

            

Stranger Danger!

So, we are FINALLY moved. Still a lot of unpacking and a bit of frustration, but isn’t that to be expected when you have three weeks to find a place and move to a different state, all while finishing up your last course before you graduate with a MS in clinical psychology with a specialization in applied research, while also living with the lovely symptoms of fibromyalgia and most likely stress-induced fainting?

The new place is nice and is the first one in a while where there was carpet. Our neurotic dog Downey, as well as myself, appreciate it. One thing that I am not digging though, is the weird and creepy owner of the house. See, we went through a property management agency, which has not been too weird in the past when we used one when we moved to New Mexico. However, this guy, see, we have lived here all of a week and he has come by twice, yesterday and today, to water our yard. Normally that wouldn’t qualify as being creepy, but, dude, he has a strange vibe. Sort of like a person who you just KNOW has a body or two in his basement. Normal weird and strange, I can dig, but this is just... different. It has also rained since he came over last (yesterday), so I don’t know why he is back again to water.

I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time relaxing when there are strangers (or even non-strangers) in my house or on my property. As someone living with a chronic pain condition, the added stress of having a property owner lurking around is just something I do not need. We have been here a week. A. Week. Now, tell me how I am supposed to relax in the few hours a week I get that isn’t devoted to cleaning, school, work, other job work, taking care of our non-human friends, etc… when there is a weirdo creeping around outside. I hope that Strange Steve will make his presence scarce once he sees that we will take care of his place. However, isn’t that what a property manager is supposed to do? To manage your property as an intermediary so that you can rest assured that your home would be cared for by the tenants who rent from the property manager?

I will keep you updated.

Uprooting and Stress: Is There a Better Way?

Imagine this with explosive diarrhea

     

Nature's Pain Relief

       Dude. I don’t even know where to start. It has been such a whirlwind and at times it feels as if I am barely hanging on, fingers about to slip into the swirling vortex of stress, anxiety, and, at times, depression. Fun times, right? Let’s not forget about the physical effects of this emotional turmoil, as I live with fibromyalgia and small fiber neuropathy, which can be aggravated by stress. Good thing I am not stressed, right? Oh, and diverticulitis and IBS are also affected by stress, so we’re over here playing naked Twister, trying not to soil ourselves. Great visual, right?            

So, how did we get here? Trees and heat. Seriously. See, I am not a fan of the heat and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the use of air conditioners was not something that was common, as the fog would often roll in, working as Mother Nature’s air conditioning. I currently live in the desert. Sure, there are some trees, but nothing like I lived among in the Pacific Northwest, where I was living prior to moving to Texas, then New Mexico. Fortunately, I work from home, so as long as I have an internet connection and WiFi, I’m good. Well, my boyfriend has been putting in for jobs with his company in various states, but all of which had cooler weather and either medicinal or recreational marijuana. Those were our main criteria.

Animals are friends for life. Not disposable. Not ours to eat or breed.

            Fast forward a few months and DING-DING-DING, we are bound for Durango, Colorado. Oh, and his supervisor wants him there in about two weeks. TWO WEEKS. TWO. MOTHERFUCKING. WEEKS. Not a problem. Let’s just work on finding a place, packing up all of our belongings, including our dogs, a turtle, and fish (because we are not the kind of people who put dogs up on Craigslist for “free” because they are moving to a new place that doesn’t allow pets), and move to another state in two weeks. Simple, right? Fuck.

            So, in order to ensure that we are not homeless once we arrive in Durango, we took a trip up there. Leaving a little before 5am and getting back after 10pm, it was a long day. But, we met with a realtor who showed us a place that we had been talking with the current tenant and landlord. Everything was going well until Monday morning, today, when I received an email from the current tenant, who stated that the landlord was not satisfied with our background check (namely my credit report), and as such, we would not be considered further for the house that we wanted to rent. Hopes? Dashed to smithereens. My heart sank.

Guaranteed to make you feel sexy as hell

            Perhaps my mood to hearing that we wouldn’t be able to rent the house we looked at was intensified due to an event that occurred earlier in the day. I have been having terrible post nasal drip for the past few months. It got to the point where I physically collapsed several times, hitting my head on a hard surface a few times due to becoming very lightheaded while trying to clear my throat of stuff that can only be described as having the consistency of cold molasses. I finally conceded to go to our local VA health clinic, where they gave me a shot of an anti inflammatory and prescriptions to the EXACT SAME FUCKING THING I HAD BEEN TAKING. Same dose. They then told me to come back into the clinic within the following week if I am not feeling better.

Not so Breaking News

Well, I am not feeling better, so I went back to the VA clinic this morning, prior to hearing the news about the place. Good thing too, as I would have probably been placed on a 5150 hold and unable to do the things I need to do in regards to the move, school, and work. After filling out the triage form, I took a seat and waited to be called back to be seen. That would not happen today, as a nurse (?) called me up to the window and told me that they can’t see me anymore since I had been referred out via the Choice program and had a civilian primary care provider now. Well, I saw that person once, for about five minutes, and she didn’t listen to me at all during that time. I was also told the previous week to return to the clinic location if I wasn’t feeling better. See the frustration?

Not actual house

So, we’re back to square one, looking for a place to live, while residing in a different state, seven hours away. We have expanded our search radius. I didn’t want to, as it snows there and my boyfriend will have to drive in the snow, which is why I wanted to be relatively close to his work, which is in Durango. We will be filling out more applications. One place looks like a murder house, but it’ll do for now, as the owner will be fixing it up more come the warmer months and then put it up for rent for a much higher price I presume.

You can donate by hitting the word PayPal

I am not one to ask for help lightly. I often pride myself on my ability to do things all by myself. However, I am not sure I will be able to maintain my sanity without a little help. I have been diagnosed with a number of chronic pain conditions, which are intensified by stress. I am trying to keep myself together, as the next month will be very stressful. If possible, if you feel so inclined, I have set up a link via PayPal if you would like to help me to maintain some sanity while we go through this stressful time. My boyfriend’s company isn’t providing any relocation assistance, so it’s just us, our savings, and rescues. After we get settled in the new place, wherever that may be, I will be working on my mental and physical health, finishing up my last course towards my MS degree in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Applied Research, and hopefully able to breathe once again.

Thank you for reading and feel free to share this post with others 😀