i hate moving rant

[francine1985]

ok so my rant begins at the end of last year when the people in the apartment moved out. the landlord started working on fixing up their place to rent out... well all the hammering and stuff was not only loud but it would occasionally shake our apartment. then we started finding piles of jiprock and stuff under the heaters in every room.. shortly after that we thought we saw a shadow move quickly across the floor when we came home one night.we didn't think much of it until dh was in the kitchen and noticed a bag of bread was chewed into... we bought a couple of traps but it quickly became obvious that wasn't gonna be good enough. so we told the landlord who didn't seem to care. just asked if we had any traps... well when things got even worse the landlord gave us a bag of pellets and told up to drop a bunch down all the holes. great except the mice were dragging them out of the holes and we would find them all over the floors (we have 2 kids the oldest is 3 1/2 so this is a big problem for us) anyway it got to the point i told dh either we give our notice and move out asap or I'm gonna find a place to take the kids until you are ready to move. it became a huge fight but i ended up winning. (after we went to bed only to wake up in the am finding mouse droppings in the baby's crib so it was in there with him while he slept.)... the neighborhood didn't help much either though.. there was a drug house next door as well as a party house across the street where there were constant fights and domestic disturbances at all hours of the day and night (i was woken up one night to someone yelling they were coming back the next day to kill people... both kids were in our room because i was too scared to have ds1 in his own room.) i also had to keep both kids up on the bed during the day because the problem got so bad dh would clean everything up and the next day the floor would have several new droppings in every room. (we caught 14 before we moved out and we know there are others there still since we saw them)

we gave our month notice on august 31st that we would be moving out. (which apparently the landlord misinterpreted to mean if things didn't improve even though that still didn't make him do anything to help us.) we rushed to find a new place that would take kids which was very stressful but we found a great place. its bigger than our old place for the same rent (heat and hot water included here instead of just heat. but has a coin operated washer and dryer so it even out to be about the same). we had to borrow money for a damage deposit and we also paid half a months rent for me and the kids to move in right away while dh stayed at the old place to disinfect and pack up everything. then clean everything up...well apparently without me there keeping the kids on the bed they were climbing on the bed during the day while dh was at work.so he was going there after work to clean and pack. then walking back here to sleep.

we had to throw out so much stuff. all our utensils, pots and pans, dishes (yes i know they could be clean but the idea of using them after seeing droppings in them was too much) we threw out all our food and at the end only ate out of the fridge or a plastic bin since the food on the counter, in the cupboards, and on the table were all compromised. we had to throw out a bunch of toys and stuff...(anything that couldn't be put in a bath of cleaning solution or wiped down with a disinfectant wipe) we washed all the stuffed toys and bagged them up. well apparently there must have been water left in them even though they felt dry... since everything in the bag molded and got tossed. we got rid of our bed since it had holes in in and had springs sticking out on one side... dh and i are currently sleeping on an air mattress on the floor while we save up for a new one (we have a set for us on layaway and a mattress for ds1 since my dad gave us my old twin bed set without a mattress 'bed and 2 dressers' so he will be moved out of his toddler bed when that's paid off)

our cable and internet wasn't set up here until October 9th...we had to call a special number that wasn't working due to the iPhone launch so we had to go through chat help (doesn't work if you don't have internet) dh ended up using my cell phone to get online with the computer and they told him to update the address online and we would be contacted in 2 days. no contact so he goes on the chat again and is told its 4 days not 2. 4 days go by 5, 6. so he goes on the chat again and they escalate it. then i finally got a call on Friday October 5th making an appointment for Tuesday...

and of course with all these expenses with money being tight i couldnt get most of the good coupons since i only had the internet on my cell phone for almost a month... the one i hated missing most was the sneiders fpc... but we are all moved in now... slowly making payments on our beds and got some dishes a pot a pan and some bake ware in a clearance sale lol. our place is bigger and nicer. both kids are happier. ds1 can run around and play ds2 is having tummy time and can already roll over and is scooting and will soon be crawling (hes only 4 months). we had a couple small issues here and the landlord fixed them quickly. so this rant does have a happy ending at least.

[thriftygranny]

I feel so bad for you, totally understand not being able to live with mice, they creep me out to no end.I almost get sick thinking about them. I am glad you are settled and hope you love your new place.

[francine1985]

we did not do any damage to the other place and applied online to get it back once our internet was set up... no we are just waiting for a cheque or a response since we dont even know if our damage deposit was given to the rentals man. (we still have our receipt so we will get it back at some point even if we have to fight for it)

[thriftygranny]

Hope you get your Deposit back, I would contact the Landlord and Tenant advisory regarding the infestation in the building. No one should have to put up with a mouse infested home and not get assistance form the landlord. there must be rules for cases like this.

[francine1985]

Hope you get your Deposit back, I would contact the Landlord and Tenant advisory regarding the infestation in the building. No one should have to put up with a mouse infested home and not get assistance form the landlord. there must be rules for cases like this.

i told dh to take pics of the droppings while he was cleaning... if we have to fight for our damage deposit we are prepared to go that route... however we both just want to be done with the whole situation. so i guess it will be up to the landlord how we proceed with it.

[glowworm2k]

Yikes! I hate dealing with mouse infestations. I picked up a few boxes from my Mom's house this summer that were all full of mouse poop from an infestation she had 5 years ago (she's a hoarder, btw).... sooooo disgusting!

In terms of replacing the last of the stuff you threw out, don't overlook the online classifieds and second-hand stores to replace the items. There are many great bargains to be had so that you don't have to pay retail, or even discounted retail prices (I get nearly-new stuff off of kijiji for cheaper than even the second-hand stores!). We have saved a ton of money this way and now I rarely buy anything new

[nessa23]

that's a horrible story! Glad that it had some-what of a good ending.

Good luck with the damage deposit, as far as I'm concerned, they more than owe that you to.

DH and I made the mistake of moving into a house owned by friends. They kept the downstairs for themselves (and half the garage) even though it is not a legal suite. Not that i'm comparing what-so-ever.... but we had such a hard time with them. They bought a retro-looking house and didn't update ANYTHING. They painted (only the main rooms) and thought that was enough.....AND they wouldn't even let us put up pictures/decor that involved putting holes in the wall, or mount our flatscreeen. They were so cheap, they never replaced anything... just 'fixed' it.
...They had a couple realators come out and appraise the house. They did not get the answers they were hoping for. (secretly DH and I )

Needless to say, we just got the keys to our new place the other day, and the new landlord has already replaced 2 garage door openers, and 2 locks, and has told us to call him if anything else needs being done.

I guess it's best to just move on sometimes.... even if it's a pain in the butt. I hate moving too.... seriously. We have soooo much stuff...!

Hope everything works out for the best OP