When I signed the lease for this house, I got a rude shock. The realtor who managed the transaction told me never to call. I should not call him with a problem. I should not call the landlord with a problem. Surprised, I said, What if something needs repair? Nope. That's your responsibility. Okay, but what if the toilet explodes in the middle of the night. Then I would need to call her, right? Nope. That's your responsibility. But, if a tree falls on the house and tears a hole in the roof? Yeah, then you should probably call her.
Silly me. I took his word for it. Just last night, I sat down to reread the lease and learn exactly our responsibility. Contractually, our landlord is responsible for all appliances as well as for general maintenance of the house. I have no idea what the manager was talking about when he discouraged me from calling.
But that he gave me bad advice a few months ago did not keep said landlord from lecturing me this afternoon. The washing machine stopped working Tuesday night last week, with a pool of water on the floor around it. I called the landlord first thing Wednesday morning. She finally made it out for a peek this afternoon - Monday. She lectured me for not explaining more clearly; for not calling earlier; for not attempting to solve it myself; for not cleaning it up on my own; for not installing something to stop the problem. She explained to me how the fuse box works; how the shower head works; how I ought to think for myself.
I owned my own house for 6 years in St. Louis, as well as managing rental property that I also owned down the street. We still own the rental property in St. Louis, and rely on managers (aka my parents) to keep it in good condition. I have become fairly savvy about property maintenance.
We rented the last 3.5 years in China - 4 different properties and 4 different leases. We had problems with bugs. We had problems with washing machines. We had mold. And each time, I hated working with the landlord, largely because they all seemed to believe me an idiot. Fair enough - I did not speak their local language. Americans are guilty of the same thinking far too often. But knowing that the landlord looked down on me drove me nuts.
Sadly, none of those problems were unique to China. In the few months we've lived in this house in Virginia, we have had bugs, mold, and a faulty washing machine. The washing machine seemed worthy of a call to the landlord, as the lease has a specific clause making all appliances her responsibility. Using Midwestern English, she talked down to me the whole time. Apparently it has little to do with language issues - maybe landlords just think tenants are idiots.
So now I know that I am supposed to notify her immediately of any problems. I also hope not to have anymore problems, because contact with her is no fun.
But more generally, I am reminded that my life abroad was not as foreign as I thought. I enjoyed complaining about the bad service I got in China, and how difficult it could be to communicate simple problems. Clearly, bad service is global and communication can be difficult within the same language. Our next move will make the United States government our landlord, or at least our property manager. As I ought not complain about that landlord in this forum, I had best set bad landlords as my standard, and see myself pleasantly surprised at how well I am treated in Venezuela.
Silly me. I took his word for it. Just last night, I sat down to reread the lease and learn exactly our responsibility. Contractually, our landlord is responsible for all appliances as well as for general maintenance of the house. I have no idea what the manager was talking about when he discouraged me from calling.
But that he gave me bad advice a few months ago did not keep said landlord from lecturing me this afternoon. The washing machine stopped working Tuesday night last week, with a pool of water on the floor around it. I called the landlord first thing Wednesday morning. She finally made it out for a peek this afternoon - Monday. She lectured me for not explaining more clearly; for not calling earlier; for not attempting to solve it myself; for not cleaning it up on my own; for not installing something to stop the problem. She explained to me how the fuse box works; how the shower head works; how I ought to think for myself.
I owned my own house for 6 years in St. Louis, as well as managing rental property that I also owned down the street. We still own the rental property in St. Louis, and rely on managers (aka my parents) to keep it in good condition. I have become fairly savvy about property maintenance.
We rented the last 3.5 years in China - 4 different properties and 4 different leases. We had problems with bugs. We had problems with washing machines. We had mold. And each time, I hated working with the landlord, largely because they all seemed to believe me an idiot. Fair enough - I did not speak their local language. Americans are guilty of the same thinking far too often. But knowing that the landlord looked down on me drove me nuts.
Sadly, none of those problems were unique to China. In the few months we've lived in this house in Virginia, we have had bugs, mold, and a faulty washing machine. The washing machine seemed worthy of a call to the landlord, as the lease has a specific clause making all appliances her responsibility. Using Midwestern English, she talked down to me the whole time. Apparently it has little to do with language issues - maybe landlords just think tenants are idiots.
So now I know that I am supposed to notify her immediately of any problems. I also hope not to have anymore problems, because contact with her is no fun.
But more generally, I am reminded that my life abroad was not as foreign as I thought. I enjoyed complaining about the bad service I got in China, and how difficult it could be to communicate simple problems. Clearly, bad service is global and communication can be difficult within the same language. Our next move will make the United States government our landlord, or at least our property manager. As I ought not complain about that landlord in this forum, I had best set bad landlords as my standard, and see myself pleasantly surprised at how well I am treated in Venezuela.
No comments:
Post a Comment