More Catastrophes

2017 is turning out to be a catastrophic year, one of the Hell years of my life, with everything going pear shaped as I pay the very high karmic price for my wife.

The catastrophic bond fiasco. My feelings are always correct. I knew the landlord was up to no good as he seemed in such a hurry to get the bond finalized, and no landlord is ever in a hurry to give money to tenants, so I knew at least I wasn't going to get any of the bond back. Well that fateful meeting finally happened last week just the day before Australia Day after I gotten my wife's death notice, and not only I wasn't going to get my bond back, but he is compelling me to pay out an amount that is about twice the bond amount for repairs I am allegedly responsible for. Not only for the walls as a consequence of the hospital installing mobility devices for my wife, but for other issues he had since picked up after the final inspection.

First thing I said was that I would need time to pay off the amount. He was bugging me to pay it now on the spot or at least come up with a payment plan, but I would not do it, I would need to consider my budget and financial situation. He was blaming this whole affair on his brother who part owns the house, claiming that his brother is pushing the issue, and he has an "evil temper" if he doesn't get his way. Virgo me usually tries to bend over backwards to accommodate others often at great personal expense, it is the trait of Virgos to do so, but not this time. All I could think of is my Peru trip. So I stood my ground, that I would get back to him with a payment plan when I am ready. As I left the house, he was complaining that he would not have to face his brother with the news that the money would not be paid immediately so likely to lose his temper. Tough noodles!!!! Not my problem!!!!

It was when I gotten back home that panic really set in. We Virgos are such anxious creatures. It's in the DNA of Virgos to be over anxious, stressed out, always worrying, always panicking. I just knew there was no way in Hell I would ever be able to pay this money without great personal expenses. I was worried that my plans for my Peru trip would be in danger. I did not sleep at all that night. Fortunate it was a public holiday the next day. I also had the day off work on Friday, thus making it a four day weekend. I certainly would need that day off, as I was in panic mode for two days. I cancelled all of my subscriptions, such as my DVD subscriptions, so to save as much money as possible, and decided I would not attend any more ecstatic dance sessions nor anything else that has an entry fee. I was determined to go to Peru even if I had to starve. Determine but very anxious at the same time.

Then by the 3rd day my Virgo analytical skills kicked in. We Virgos maybe are such anxious creatures but we are also very analytical creatures, and so my analytical trait kicked in. And I came up with several flaws in the landlord's case. First and foremost I did not sign any legal documents in regards to the payment for the repairs. He did not provide an invoice, only a figure on a piece of paper with some receipts. Furthermore, some of the issues represent only estimates of the costs, no one had even quoted on the jobs yet. Indeed he admitted as much on the aircon issue, the thermostat on the aircon having blown, which he blamed on me despite the fact my wife had reported the problem several years ago which he ignored. The only legal document I signed was the actual release of the bond, hence why he needed my wife's death notice. I did not sign anything legally for any of the repair jobs, the "agreements" were only verbal which won't hold any water legally.

Then there is such a creature as "fair wear and tear" which the tenant is NOT responsible for. There's a good chance that many of the issues would come under "fair wear and tear" therefore am not obligated to pay for such repairs.

And indeed time is very much on my side here. There are obligations that the landlord must fulfil before he can compel me to pay the money. First and foremost, he must provide a detailed list of the repairs that he is holding me responsible for. That is, what is being repaired, a detailed list of what the repairs involved, the cost of the repairs, and why I am responsible for the repairs. And he had better give good reasons why I am responsible for such repairs and why it is not just simply "fair wear and tear". Fair enough I be responsible for what the hospital did to the walls, but even then, the question I will ask is whether I am being charged ONLY for the parts of the wall which the hospital had damaged, or whether I am being charged for the whole wall even that parts not touched by the hospital?

So now my plan is, well to first wait to hear back from him in regards to the costs of the jobs not yet quoted, such as, the aircon thermostat repairs. He now has my email address thanks to the bond release form, so I need not meet with him again, all communications will be by email. So I will first wait for his email in regards to the aircon, etc. The onus is on him to provide at least this information before I even think about coming up with a payment plan.

When I do hear from him, I am going to request this information from him, as it is quite within my rights to do so, since I am being asked to foot the bill. The information is to consist of a list of repair jobs, with the job description, the reason why I am deemed responsible for the job, and the cost of the repair. And with this list I will also request copies of the invoices. If any of the jobs are yet to be done, he will have to wait until the job is completed. I will make it clear I will not take this matter any further until I get this information plus the invoices for each job completed. He also has my PO box so I will be asking him to send me the hard copy of this information and invoices.

Then I will be going through the list with a fine tooth comb, like the Virgo that I am. We Virgos are big on details. And where appropriate I will be asking for some clarifications, such as, for the wall issue am I being asked to pay for ONLY the parts affected by the hospital, or am I being asked to pay for the whole room?

Once I get the information to my satisfaction, I will then invest $40 for an appointment with a lawyer at Tenancy Advice. I at first wasn't going to seek legal advice, I was just going to foot whatever bill I was being asked to pay. We Virgos doesn't like to cause trouble, we try to please people even at our own expense, to not rock the boat. But being such a large amount which will cause me hardship and put my Peru trip plans in danger, I have no choice but to seek legal advice. So armed with this information I will make the appointment with the lawyer and see what his advice would be.

Even then I hate the thought of legal action, but in fact, legal action is seen as a last resort. Typically the path the lawyer will first take is to arrange mediation session between the disputed parties - myself and the landlord. Only in the event of the failure of the negotiation process that the matter would be placed in the hands of the Local Court. Most landlords tends to avoid this action where possible, so this I will be using without mercy. There will be no more mercy. I am being placed in a position where I don't deserve to be. I have spent $500 on professional cleaners to clean the place top to bottom for the final inspection, the first time I ever did this. Furthermore I had invested more time and money in repairing the walls myself, and I believe I did a reasonable job thankyou very much. SO to be treated like this is absolutely inexcusable, it's not as if I left the place like a pig sty!!!! So I will NOT be giving any mercy to the landlord, he is going to have to explain his actions, if necessary in the presence of a lawyer. And I will not be paying a cent more than what is absolutely legally required.

So now feeling a great deal better about the situation, that I really have the upper hand here, and that time is on my side here...... well I went to last night's ecstatic dance session anyway.

Then today I felt led to Google for some camper beds, and the first thing that came up on Google is a camping store in Perth that are selling the beds for 40% discount!!!! So I decided it was an offer too good to pass up, and so I now have a camper bed, I am no longer sleeping on the floor. There are several reasons why I chose a camper bed rather than a "normal" bed. Well its cheaper, and easier to carry, it has its own carry bag. And these days the beds are designed to be very sturdy. Easy to unfold but also sturdy, it is indeed like having a normal bed. Furthermore, I will have the bed when I finally decided to turn into a nomadic soul, to get a camper van and hit the road. This is likely to happen when I become redundant in my job, it is only a matter of time before this happens, though I have probably two to three years yet.

The other catastrophe....... my bicycle. Here at the apartment complex the bicycles are kept in the bicycle shed. It's more viable than taking the bicycles up several flights of stairs to our apartments, and the elevator is not big enough for bicycles. However there has been complaints about bicycles being stolen from there, with often locks being cut to access the bicycle. Of course most people has those chain locks which are utterly useless anyway, it's easy to get some bold cutters to cut through the chains. So I had always used my D-lock which is basically made of hardened steel that cannot be cut, well not easily anyway. So I figured my bicycle would be safe, though the wheels could be stolen. A lot of people steal the wheels if they can't get the whole bicycle. And indeed I had a feeling that my wheels would be stolen...... and as usual my feelings proved to be correct!!!!! So am now without a bicycle. Well at least it saved me the bother of having to come up with $300 to get the bicycle serviced, it is now a mute point.

Fortunately I live just around the corner from the railway station, so I did my Virgo analysis of the situation. We Virgos are very good at analysing things. So I analysed the cost of taking the train versus the cost of replacing the wheels, getting additional D-Locks for the wheels, and $300 for the general service it so desperately needs. It turns out I now live closer to the city, so the train fare will be only 1-zone. From my old abode it was 2-zones. Furthermore, when I use my transport "smartrider" card, I get 25% discount on the fares. So the cost of fixing up my bicycle would be roughly equivalent to six months worth of train fares to and from work. No brainer, it works out more cost effective to catch the train. So now I catch the train and incorporate my daily walks, as it is a fair walk between the train station in the city and my workplace. A most viable arrangement. But I DO miss my bicycle!!!!! Such is life in the city whose crime rate is higher than that of New York City!!!!

Then just after the episode with the bicycle wheels, one of my colleagues at work mentioned about one of her family members whose car had the license plates stolen from. And as word got around in the office, someone else mentioned that he knew someone whose license plates were stolen. And indeed the coppers told my colleague that theft of license plates are actually very common, and is so the plates are used on the thief's vehicle to carry out shady activities and the blame lays on the rightful owner of the plates unless the theft is immediately reported!!!! And it costs $50 to replace the plates. Me being typically Virgo being over-anxious and over-thinking had got me really thinking, plus the fact that the theft of my bicycle wheels were very much on my mind. I had led a sheltered life, my car was always locked in the garage at my old abode. But now it is in the more vulnerable position of the apartment parking lot. It maybe a gated community but it wouldn't stop anyone from jumping the fence and steal license plates, like the thief with my bicycle wheels!!!! Furthermore when I got home that day I looked at the other cars in the parking lot and noticed that from the 40 or so vehicles I noticed FOUR of them without license plates!!!! However I was told about the theft-proof screws that one can get from any auto shop. Basically screws with heads designed so that you can screw in with a screwdriver but you can't remove the screws with just the screwdriver, well not easily anyway. So typically Virgo anxious me went as soon as possible to an auto store, I had gotten these screws, and replaced my old screws with these special screws. And well its not foolproof. Fort Knox is not foolproof as an old James Bond movie proves. But lets put it this way...... someone enters looking for plates to steal, they look at my car with the special screws while the car next door has only normal screws, he is going to go for the car with the normal screws!!!!!! To be sure my car does have an alarm but of course it would be ineffective in regards to license plates theft.

And so my struggles continues as I strive to save towards my Peru trip. To be sure in spite of all this happening I am making progress in my savings plans for my Peru trip. I set my intention and so it IS going to happen.