Still waiting.

Some two weeks later, I'm still waiting for all the crap at the house next door to be picked up. I'm waiting to pursue the issue with city council until after the election today; I don't want to keep emailing the guy I like if he's not going to win. I hope he does, though. I voted for him this morning.

I had hopes that this would all be resolved, because there have been people at the house working, constantly. Every day a different car is parked in the driveway. But the pile of crap outside remains. I was told today via email with the city's "Action Center" that Code Compliance had dropped the complaint, because they were told the property owner had hired someone to complete the pick up. Yeah, they picked up some of it, but not all of it. Why would the city just take a slumlord's word that he would get this done? Again, I keep coming back to the fact that the property owner is a prominent business man in town. Why do I have to keep prodding Code Compliance to complete their job??

I'm trying to get the straight story from the Action Center, and first thing tomorrow when I know who my city council person will be, I'll be emailing them the entire exchange. And if the candidate I voted for wins, I'll also be sending in pictures of every property this slumlord owns, because I believe he'll help me pursue substandard housing violations. If the other candidate wins, I'm not so sure I'll have help from my city council.

On being a good property owner.

I have just about had it with the slumlords who own the house next door to me. As I wrote about before, the renters moved out a few weeks ago. Ever since, there has been a large pile of Stuff in the alley (outdoor table, folding chairs, futon frame, charcoal grill, boxes of clothes and paper items, etc.), a pile of stuff on the side of the house (two side tables, linens, more boxes of stuff, a gallon of gasoline, a license plate that has since been stolen), and a recliner sitting in the front yard.

I called in a code violation on it over a week ago. I finally heard back from the city's Action Center, and they said they were immediately turning the violation over to the city's contractor, because they knew this homeowner would not take care of the situation himself. They typically give the property owners ten days to respond to the violation, and then the city turns the issue over to a contractor, and they have ten days to clean it up. But apparently the city's code compliance division is just SO familiar with my neighbor, that they already know it's worthless to contact him.

They own TEN houses in my neighborhood alone. They own over twenty city-wide. They paid less than $30,000 for all of them in the late 1990s, and paid as little as $5000 or $10,000 for a few of them. And they live in a $300,000 home in my city's poshest neighborhood. And he owns a prominent local event ticketing website. And he is a son of a former football coach at the University of Oklahoma. So, I just wonder if the city gives him a pass or two because he's obviously such a big wig.

I've been in contact with my city council person about this issue. Basically, I'm really, really tired of having to call code on this house. I know now that it wasn't the renters' fault, it was the property owner's fault. Starting last summer, I've called countless times. All of the complaints were over items left outside that don't belong outside. I don't understand why the city can't, somehow, further penalize the homeowner for these repeated violations. I'm also trying to pursue a "substandard housing" violation against them, because of several exterior cosmetic problems with the house. It's a slum, basically. And anyone can see that. But it's difficult to get the city to do anything about it.

I've also contacted my council person's election opponent. We're having elections for city council next week, and I thought it would only be fair to give him a chance to respond, and see what he suggested I do. I liked his response much better, and he'll be getting my vote next week. He suggested "making demands on the property owner" and "documenting the violations and then educating" the property owner "as to the financial loss he might sustain" if he continues to violate city code. Sounds good to me! I'm waiting for his response as to how exactly we go about this.

In the mean time, I've called the property owner myself. Yes. Twice. Once last week. I got the number from the For Rent sign that was in the yard. (I could also easily obtain it by googling his name.) Last week I asked very nicely when they were planning on removing the garbage, and his wife told me it would be taken care of that day. That was last Friday. I called again today and wasn't so nice. I feel bad about it, but these people are obviously jerks. I let them know that I had city council investigating what could be done, and that I would be photographing every property they own in my neighborhood to document possible claims for "substandard housing" violations. They've already rented the house out again, and have had someone over there making interior repairs for the past two days, and not one bit of garbage has been removed. I've also seen the owner's wife, the woman I spoke to, at the house twice, and she also couldn't be bothered to even put the boxes of trash in the polycart. (Also, did I mention she's driven TWO different huge, expensive SUVs to the property?) I fear they are just hoping the new renters take care of all the garbage at their new house, or maybe they think the new renters will want to use the garbage furniture that's been sitting out in the rain and elements for nearly two weeks now. That's not going to happen, because I'm fairly sure the person they've rented to is a young man in a wheelchair. Obviously they are taking advantage of low income, even *disabled* renters. (Nevermind that the house is NOT accessible, as every entrance point is accessed via STAIRS. What they plan on doing about this is beyond me- their solution will probably just be a sheet of plywood thrown over the stairs.)

I am also considering forming some sort of "young homeowner's association" in my neighborhood to combat these problems. There are quite a few young people who've purchased homes in my neighborhood in the past few years, and I'd like to see us all work together to help make the neighborhood a better place. Most of the "problem houses" are rented, and I don't fault the students or lower income residents who live there. It's a landlord problem. I'm discussing how to maybe start such a group with my council person, as well.

I'll be out taking pictures of the ten houses he owns this evening. I'm curious to see exactly what state some of them are in, because most of the pictures on the county assessor's website are three years old.

They're gone!

I do believe that at some point during this past weekend, my neighbors moved out! They left behind a recliner in the front yard, and a futon frame, "patio" table and chairs in the back yard! Oh, and the swan figurines are still on their front porch.

I'm wondering, should I freecycle these items for them? Maybe I'll wait a few days... But I really don't think they're coming back for any of it.

Here's hoping that even worse neighbors don't move in soon. And here's hoping that the slumlord who owns the place spiffs it up a little before new renters do move in.


In other news, I am having some artwork commissioned for my living room! Yes, commissioned. I'll call it that. I'm expecting some Lichtenstein-inspired paintings on vinyl records. Pretty cool, huh? I can't wait to see them! My friend Paul is painting them, and you can see a test run of his interpretation of Lichtenstein here.

Oh and... All of the projects that I possibly had planned for this spring are hereby ON HOLD. The taxman raped me this year. Because I was stupid and filled out my W-4 for my second job incorrectly, so I guess in this instance I was asking for it. Those little economic stimulus checks we're all supposed to get will just barely cover what I owe the feds, and the two states of which I was a resident in 2007. Live and learn, I suppose. In the meantime I'm just going to save my money, and maybe this summer I can do it up big with an even nicer dishwasher, screen door (or two), and new deck. Sometimes I feel like an ant climbing a mountain, living in this house. It's very hard for a goal-oriented person such as myself, to have to keep postponing these things due to issues like taxes, unexpected ice storms, etc.

And yeah, it would still be nice to have a house husband. Even if he only just stuck around long enough to clean my gutters. (....No pun intended? I think?)

New bathroom hardware

Last week I got my hardware in from rejuvenation.com. I'm pretty pleased with the results!


Here is a close-up of the knobs, which are black glass.


And here's a shot of them with the new switchplate cover, which is an oil-rubbed bronze finish.


I think they're a classy addition to the bathroom, and definitely add some "gravitas" to an otherwise girly and very light space. I am still on the hunt for a new towel ring and towel bar.

In other random news, the house to the east of me has a "for rent" sign out. Looks like I'll be getting new neighbors soon. I've got half a mind to call the number on the sign, and ask when they plan on moving their branches from the ice storm. There are still several *huge* branches that fell in their yard during the storm, that are all right up against my fence. Considering our recent fire danger, it's kind of dangerous! I'd also like to ask if they plan on making the necessary repairs to the house before new renters move in. They have an exterior door on their kitchen like I do, but this door is a wood door that is obviously not meant to be an exterior door. It is painted in white paint that is obviously not meant to be weather-proof exterior paint. The paint has chipped into large sections that run the length of the door, and they're completely loose from the door, so they actually flap in the wind. It's quite ugly, and very visible from my front porch. The un-protected wood door is a lovely termite draw, roughly ten feet from my house.

If these walls could speak!

Every once and awhile I remember this GREAT website that our local county tax assessor has. You can plug in any address, and it will give you all these details about the house. The last sales, the square footage, a floor plan, and even pictures! Today I decided to check out the details on my neighbors' houses. I learned a few things!

1. The people to the east of me DO rent. This explains several things.

2. The people to the west of me have a *huge freakin' house.* 1800 square feet. In my neighborhood, that's like... dinosaur-huge. They built the add-on themselves. He's a fireman and very handy.

3. Most interesting (hah, to me!), is that both of these houses on either side of me were built in the 1930s! And here I thought I was living in a post-war neighborhood. In fact, most of the houses on my street were built in the 1930s. Mine was built in 1950. Doesn't that seem odd? That a house would be built some 15 years later, *between* two existing houses?? I wonder if mine really wasn't built in 1950? I don't know, I thought that was very strange.

I suppose I could just ask the people across the street, as they are the original owners to their 1944 bungalow. They saw my house being built! I learned from my kind-of-nosy to the west neighbor that the people across the street got married when he was 21, and she was 12! He's 95 now. And they've lived in that one house since it was built. Can you imagine?


I just find my mind wandering off to strange places during the day, like, "I wonder if the grout on my bathroom tile was always that dark, or what color it was originally..." or, "I wonder if all the baseboards were painted aqua like that one in the living room...."

I know that, since the 1990s, I'm the third owner of this house. I wonder how many there were before that? Today I looked up another house that I had considered buying, and holy moly! That poor house has had no fewer than seven owners since the late 1980s. And more than two of them were quick flippers, buying and selling it in under three months' time.


I guess it's just the historian (and the geek) in me that wonders how this house effected other peoples' lives.