1. A grace period until Thanksgiving.
2. A $500 monthly maximum for any deductions.
3. That we would pay full December rent and be reimbursed at the end of the month.

I tried not to yell too much. I wasn't angry at Tim2. I was angry at Priscilla. So I called her back and told her that we'd talked it over and that the prior agreement wasn't good enough. I agreed to the Thanksgiving grace period, but told her that there would be no limit on deductions. If she wants us to be paying $1300 a month she needs to guarantee that the house is worth $1300 a month. If her contractors meet their deadlines that should be the case by Thanksgiving.

Of course they won't meet their deadlines. They never have in the past. Also, I expect that they in fact will do damage to the house, reducing its value even further. Once they cut off the gas I'm moving in with Duane and Ellen. Ellen said I could.

I also have no faith that if we pay full rent that we will ever see a reimbursement. I worked it out with Priscilla that if the house gets fixed then we will pay for that increase in value, but we will not loan her money on the hope that the contractors will, in a sudden change of heart, stop jerking off and actually start fixing the place up.

For whatever reason she didn't try to haggle with me. Perhaps it's because I didn't ask her what we should do, I told her what we were going to do in a tone of voice bearing an uncanny resemblance to unheated leftover pizza. Perhaps it's because she's scared of me because I know more landlord-tenant law than she does. Perhaps her statements about how this was going to be a real financial hardship for her were intended as bargaining and I didn't realize because I was thinking about how to slip in the comment, "Yes, I realize this will be a financial hardship for you, especially after that two-week vacation to Orlando earlier this month."

Also, last night I had a dream where I met The Decemberists. Colin had gained a lot of weight and was starting to go bald.
posted by weiss @ 3:08 PM