After months of certified letters, emails, phone calls and face to face meetings that accomplish nothing we’ve finally decided to ask the landlords to release us from the lease come May 1st.

We decided that asking to be released from the lease was the better way to go. If we needed to get a lawyer and present all our documentation supporting their breach of the lease we could. It is just that starting the legal battle takes much time and lots of money we didn’t really want to have to fork out if not necessary.

So, N made the phone call to the landlords this morning. He is the professional one who can present things in a non emotional way. I just tend to be blunt and rude about things like this and say stuff like F-you, you are an idiot. LOL…

Anyway, N got a call back about 10 min. before we had to leave for my chiropractor appointment be we figured that would happen and were ready.

During the call he outlined our frustrations with the rental situation. Talked about how paying them rent has been an ongoing challenge as a result of them changing banks and addresses monthly.

He brought up our health concerns over the mold and the fact that we asked them to take action back in November to help remedy the mold issue but they ignored our requests.

He talked about how we’ve sent multiple certified letters that they’ve refused to pick up and he basically said that we would like  to be let out of our lease, penalty free so we find a more stable home before baby Tater comes.

Her response was “Okay, we just need to get the owed rent from February and March first”… She didn’t even care about us wanting to be let out of the lease!

We recorded the phone conversation for our records and we’ll be typing up a letter stating that we’re being let out of our lease by the landlords that she will sign.

We’ve also placed a stop payment on the previously issued checks from February and March per her request and have turned those in to one big cashiers check to give her when she signs the “early release from lease letter”. Thank goodness we are out of here!

Basically we get the keys to our new place on April 1st and will have a month to get out of our current place and to tidy it up before the move out inspection here on May 1st.

We are super stoked and feel like a huge burden has been lifted from our shoulders. We are still trying to be sure we keep good documentation of all of it just to cover our butts but essentially it should be all done and over with now.

We found our new place, got released from our current one and are pretty much on track for getting all this madness taken care of before Tater comes. Yay!

For those of you in similar situations with unresponsive landlords you may find the following posts and references helpful. Read all about our moldy, indiana rental and what we did about it in these posts (arranged from newest to oldest):

• The Filter Queen, a cute country home and more landlord drama…
• Checketty, check, check those things off that list! The landlord comes a knocking
• Slumloards, credit scores and a prenatal chiropractor [in a pear tree]…
• Bubbling with anticipation and watching the world blow by…
• Getting the holiday ducks in a row and not looking like a hobo anymore! Mold test photos.
  
• In Indiana breathing mold is okay but home birth is not, just an FYI.
• I am just a tad angry right now! The saga of the first certified letter.
• Good morning all, got a flood? We do!

You may also find the following external links helpful:

• How to write an early termination letter to your landlord.
• Sample Letter: Breaking fixed term co-tenancy: all co-tenants vacating
• SAMPLE ONLY – Letter Breaking a Lease
• Mutual release from contract/ lease form

The post The final chapter of the crappy evansville landlord drama. appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.

I had N get me up early today so I could get busy taking care of some Custom Gifts by Talina duties… Things like bookkeeping, taxes, order processing and all that fun stuff. While I was in business owner mode N was dealing with our February rent check saga on the phone.

You probably can recall all the ridiculous landlord drama I’ve already shared here but I am pretty sure this latest development takes the cake. It requires a little back story though… Feel free to skip the back story if you already know it.

When we first signed the lease with our landlords we were provided with their mailing address for the rent payment. The lease also stipulates that we can make payments directly to the landlords checking accounts and it lists the banks they use. We were also provided with several deposit slips from their bank for depositing the rent checks.

Up until November the address and banking information they provided us with was correct. In November we sent out that certified letter detailing our issues with the safety of the home and we also included our December rent payment. Well, the certified letter was never picked up by them and was eventually returned to us.

Conveniently enough the landlord showed up at our door while our certified letter was in limbo land. She had new bank deposit slips and a letter explaining that they moved residences and also banks… Now our payments should go to their new address or deposited to their new bank account, more deposit slips were provided.

We also discussed our issues with the leaking basement/ the mold and were assured they would come out to take a look at it all after the holidays and make necessary repairs (it’s February now and no landlord has been here to inspect or repair anything).

We paid our December and also January’s rent with one check that was handed over to the landlord the day she stopped by to give us a dehumidifier for the basement after our discussion. We refused to make out another rent check until the first one was actually returned to us… That is the back story in a nutshell.

Well we just attempted to pay our February rent via electronic bill payment and have been waiting since the beginning of the month for the funds to leave our account. At first we thought it was an issue with our own banking facility as they did not process the payment electronically, they sent a paper check instead…

We’ve been worrying that our check is lost in the mail or stolen and have been upset that our bank didn’t process the payment electronically as we had requested.

I was just sure we were going to have to pay about a month in late rent penalties to the landlords and have been waiting to find out exactly what happen to our rent payment.

Today after more digging N found out that our landlords account was closed before our rent payment even went out. We’ve not been notified of a third new account or a new address to send payments to, the info they (the landlords) have most recently supplied was the info we were trying to use.

When N called their bank to try and figure out where our rent check is today the bank representative said she wasn’t allowed to say more about their account but that it had been closed and that our rent payment would have been returned to our bank…

So now we are waiting for our bank to provide some sort of documentation of the check being returned to them as a result of the payees account being closed.

The documentation is important proof of our attempt to pay rent on time and in a timely manner (so we aren’t evicted or charged penalty fees for late payment). We’ve never had a landlord who was so difficult to pay rent to!

The even better part is the landlords are delinquent on the property tax owed to the city on this place, they have been since July 2008 and also have penalty fees and money owed from 2007 on this property (it is public information) and also on all the other 40 properties they owe…

The thing with property taxes here is that if you get severely behind on them the city/ sheriff can auction your property to recoup the owed money… So we are particularly interested in finding out more about the tax situation as it could result in us having nowhere to live. We are also wondering if they are even making the mortgage payments on this property, if it is foreclosed we’ll also be out on our ass so to speak…

Good times huh? Isn’t it amazing how all this randomness and drama just finds us (or do we find it? Never mind don’t answer that…)

In other news, I saw a prenatal chiropractor on Saturday because my pelvic pain was getting so bad I couldn’t sit or stand for longer than 30 minutes. Turns out my tailbone/ right pelvic bone was jacked up. It was stuck between a standing and sitting position which is why only laying on my side made me comfortable.

I’ve got followup appointments scheduled with the chiropractor to check my pelvic alignment and to keep me in check, since the insurance covers 80% of it. We figured it couldn’t hurt to relieve my pain and to keep my back and pelvis in proper position especially since I’ll be having Tater in about 4 months!

For those of you (who have commented) who are also pregnant and having tailbone, pelvic or back pain I would strongly recommend finding a prenatal chiropractor and having them take a look at you.

It made a huge difference for me! I thought I was having circulation issues, possibly getting hemorrhoids and having back pain as a result of the weight of my growing uterus. Turns out all my complaints were resolved once the Doc got my right pelvic bone back in correct position. Amazing!

Oh, and look what just arrived in the mail. It is even cuter than we thought!

We love it even more than we thought we would. The green and blue are so vivid and cheerful and the fabric is super soft with adorable designs and fun textures. Happy day! We even found the perfect way to include just a splash of pink in the room, see:

We also heard back from the mortgage lady today and got the news we expected. Once the disputed items on the credit report are resolved and once the student loan status is changed from derogatory to “in good standing” (in 2 months) we’ll be approved for a mortgage. It is just a matter of going up 18 points credit score wise…

In the meantime N is going to get more answers from his employer about the future of his on air career. Buying a home might not even be something we want to do in this particular city, especially if N’s career growth is limited. Once he knows more about the employers plans for him we’ll be able to decide about our home buying saga.

Basically we’ll either stay here through the remainder of our lease (late august 2009, if the house isn’t auctioned out from under us before that) then we’ll buy something or we’ll move from here ASAP and get in a nicer rental home that we can STAY in for the remaining 2 years left in N’s contract.

*sigh* explaining all this has sure made me tired, are you tired after reading it? I guess that means it is time to move from the office desk to the bed and resume my pregnancy slackerific ways for the rest of the day. Ooo, here are some belly pics (one in undies and bra and one in clothes) since so many are asking. These were taken 3 days ago. Now go place your baby weight bet okay? You could win cash!

The post Slumloards, credit scores and a prenatal chiropractor [in a pear tree]… appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.

[POPUP=IMG1]My own birth story and video from when Everly was born at The Farm can be found here and in August 2011 the home birth of Baby Sister is planned and will be live blogged here.

If you have posted a home birth story somewhere I would love for you to enter the URL below and share it with us!

I am also a huge home birth advocate and have written many posts on the topic including:

• Preparing for my “homebirth” via my dreams.
• My body = my decision: A rant about big medicine
• Babies are popping out everywhere! Read some birth stories!
• We toured The Farm and are super pleased!
• Taking the next step towards birthing at The Farm
• In Indiana breathing mold is okay but home birth is not, just an FYI.
• Exploring more birthing options, The Farm in Summertown, TN
• Lets take back our birthing rights!

The post Home birth appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.

This reminds me of how we felt discovering that same sex domestic partnerships are recognized here but not male/ female domestic partnerships and how mold is lawful here but not home birth.

This means birthing at The Farm is only possible if we can pay the $4700 out of pocket to deliver and stay there. I just spoke with Pamela over at The Farm and did the phone interview with her.

It is amazing how different people give you different vibes that can have a major influence on your feelings about something. After talking to Pamela I feel 100% comfortable and even a bit excited about a natural birth at The Farm as opposed to my feelings and vibes from others I have met and spoke with.

Having someone who understands your motivation and is not judgmental or scared about the process makes a huge difference in how confident and prepared you feel. I have been searching high and low for a midwife who is confident in me and the process, supportive of my wishes and who is also upfront and honest about all the specifics.

Pamela took down my info and we talked about diet and health. She says I seem like a good candidate for a Farm birth based upon my weight, height, age and my reproductive history.

We also talked about the RhoGam shot and my blood type. At the Farm they will test the baby’s cord blood after delivery and will administer the shot if it is needed after labor. They do not have you get the shot during pregnancy unless you are having a placental complication or other blood contamination risks.

Everything I want is possible at The Farm including the medical support and knowledge of emergency situations. Their statistics are very good and they also have quite the positive birthing track record. What I like most is their philosophy that women with normal, risk free pregnancies shouldn’t be afraid of having a natural birth outside the hospital.

As long as you have a back up plan and are open to the idea that you may need to transport to the hospital in an emergency there is no reason to not try for the birth that you want. That is exactly what The Farm is for us, both a safety precaution and the freedom to have what we want.

I desperately want to be able to pay for a birth at The Farm, now I need to figure out the finances. I wont bore you with the specific details but basically we need to come up with about $7000 cash in 6 months to repair the Nissan (that is still in Arizona) and to pay for the birth we want otherwise I am stuck with a much less preferable hospital birth.

A fellow blogger near me (YERTblog) discovered Clark Memorial Hospital’s Birthing Center that is near us. They have a natural birthing room with the birthing tub and they are more open to natural birthing preferences. This hospital seems like the best hospital option in our area and our insurance does cover this facility so we have a back up plan if we aren’t able to financially make The Farm happen.

Unfortunately with hospital birth comes the fear mongering, the lack of support and all the possibilities of unnecessary interventions. It just wont be the spiritual birth I want for me and my baby.

In other news this 14th week of pregnancy has resulted in much growth! I am clearly showing now (it is a small bump) and I have begun to feel the skin stretching and pressure, you know the fun of growing a human being. Here are some shots for your viewing pleasure:

Now I am just trying to crunch the budget and figure out how we can come up with the cash we need.

Pamela at The Farm wants us to come out for a tour and an exam before we make any financial commitments or sign and forms. She suggested an appointment sometime in January or in March so N and I have some decision making to do.

Oh yeah, have a happy new year all!

The post Still trying to find somewhere near southern Indiana to deliver my baby… appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.

N called the landlord over the weekend about it and their response was “well, we’ve been busy and we figured it was returned to you already”. She then said once it was returned to us we could “drop it by some store of theirs” or she could come by and pick it up from us.

Yeah, you are going to have to come by and get it from us since your laziness is not our issue. We sent the letter off to you like we are legally required to and you were too lazy to claim the dang thing, not our issue!

So like I said it has been 18 days since we sent our letter and rent off and the landlord doesn’t seem to have any desire to get it. It is still sitting at the post office and a notice was left at the landlords residence to come claim it.

This raised some questions for us so we looked at county records and found that our landlord owns 38 other houses (not including this one) just within this county. Oh and the house we are living in is worth about $80,000, they are charging us $875 a month and are making killing.

Well no wonder they don’t care about cashing our rent check, they have tons of money coming in from us and other sucker renters! Now N thinks they are acting unresponsive and avoiding our communications because they know they are caught and have wronged us.

Like I said in a previous post, I am fairly certain we have a mold issue just based upon the home’s age and the leaky basement issue. Our basement is finished, here have a look:

I think the electric heater/ fireplace thingy gives the decor age away don’t you?

Then there is the wood siding and the indoor/ outdoor carpet that is water stained from our recent floods.

Check out the green cabinets! Those scream 1970 to me.

So I am wondering… If all the decor and “finishing” in the basement is that old and there is such a big leak issue down there. How many years of mold growth do you think there are? It is kind of scary to think about.

We are certain there is mold growing because we have all had some odd respiratory issues since moving here, including the pets. You know allergies, sinus issues and even bloody noses. Generally nasty stuff!

That is why we sent out the certified letter outlining our concerns about their “lack of disclosure” on the flooding issue. We also mentioned the fact that the moisture from the leaks is impossible for us to fully clean up since the basement is finished and that they need to provide us with a means to clean up the soaked carpet each time the basement floods (aka a carpet cleaning machine or dehumidifier).

Seems like we covered all the bases right? Too bad they have not claimed the letter from the post office and they intend on leaving it unclaimed until the letter is returned to us…

I am not sure what to do next. We did just spend $50.00 on 4 do-it-yourself mold test kits so we’ll have proof of the mold soon but we can’t really afford an attorney to sue them. Is that the only way to take action on this?

—————–

Updates: There have been updates regarding this landlord saga, you can see them by checking out the following posts.

1. Slumloards, credit scores and a prenatal chiropractor [in a pear tree]…
2. In Indiana breathing mold is okay but home birth is not, just an FYI.

Related post search results can be viewed here.

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