When You Get Bucked Off…

Don’t sit there defeated. Instead, get back on and ride!

 

Ok, that is easier said then done I know! I definitely feel like I’ve been bucked off right now. I’m experiencing all the same emotions of getting bucked off yet I wasn’t literally bucked off a horse.

You see, last night my landlord came to me and said that starting August 1st (20 days from now) my rent was going up. Now she’s not increasing it a small amount she’s increasing it 24%. Her reasons for this are insurance has gone up because of the storms we’ve had except she has had no damage at all, property taxes went up yet that isn’t even out yet, and her job cut her hours back. Now, if it was a small increase I wouldn’t freak out and I would suck it up and make it work. However, this is a HUGE amount that I can’t afford and even if I could this place is not worth it. Here’s the reasons why it’s not worth it:

1. The barn is falling apart and they have yet to repair it.
2. The Fence is also falling apart because it’s old and rotten. They’ve said for weeks that they would repair it but still have not. So right now it’s being held up with a wheelbarrow.
3. Every time something breaks down in the house it takes days to get it repaired.
4. She told me before I moved in that the grass was established which was a complete lie because after I moved in she told me she just seeded it the fall before I moved. So it only had 5 months to grow.
5. She’s cussed me out before because the electric pump stopped working, tripped the entire house’s electrical, I had to call the fire dept. who told me to evacuate because they felt my place could “go up in flames.” It took her 1 week to get it repaired while I was in the meantime stuck living elsewhere. They had the nerve to cuss me out b/c “I cost her a lot of money.”
6. I’ve spent 10 times the amount I normally spend on my horses due to extra feed and hay being needed since there is barely any grass.
7. She goes on drinking binges with her friend and they end up getting so drunk that her friend has now passed out 2 times with my son around to see it all. One time he fell off the fence while climbing over it and my son came running to me saying he was dead. Another time he was falling while walking and EMS was called because he couldn’t talk or anything.  This stupid behavior alone is enough to make me want out. (BTW, both of these people are older. She is probably 50s or 60s and he is in his 80s I think)
8. She has cussed my brother out for coming over to pick up my 4wheeler, that he was borrowing, when I wasn’t home. He now doesn’t like coming to my place because he doesn’t want to deal with her.
9. With the place being at the back of her property she tells me how I can and can’t do stuff. She is like my mother telling me to pick up stuff all the time. (Stuff = Braxtons toys in the yard)
10. I spent a lot of money fixing up her place and get nothing out of it. I’d rather spend all that money on my own place where one day I benefit from it.
11. She is Bi-polar. No lie.

I could keep listing out more things but that’s enough to get my point across. Now it’s a matter of coming up with a quick game plan and figuring out where to go and what to do. I have so many emotions going through me that it just makes me dizzy. I’m panicked because I don’t have a lot of time to figure out anything, I’m scared because I don’t know how this will play out, I’m stressed, I’m sad because I did like the location of this place, I’m happy because I am free of her BS now, confused because I don’t see how she can increase rent with such short notice.

So I guess my dreams for buying my own place will now be on hold again. I don’t want to rush into buying a place just because I need somewhere else to go. My options now are to move back to the place I was at if there is room or to look for another place to rent while I look for my own place. Hopefully I’ll get all the answers I need in the next few days so I can start building my new game plan.

 

 

Questions for You:

• For Triad Residence: Do you know of any small farms for rent in Guilford, Randolph, or Alamance County?

• For Renters: Have you had a bad experience like this before? How did you handle it?