After much prodding, we finally got access to the condo a week ago. Delay after delay started to creep in on our available hours to work on the place so we just said we would clean the place and clean out the bit of garbage she was going to leave behind. There is plenty of back story of why someone who doesn't have a job can't get a condo cleaned out in a month, but I choose not to digress.
I was the first to get there and was hoping that I wouldn't find any holes in the walls or anything else my "friends" suggested I might find. She had left the garage door unlocked and unlatched so we didn't need the remote to get in. Why we didn't just get the code, I couldn't figure, but we figured the battery was dead. So I lifted the garage door and started to look for the hidden key. It really wasn't hidden, but oh well, I opened the door and started to explore.
I was greeted with a laundry room with what looked like some water damage under where the washer was. No big deal, that is the first room we want to remodel. Moved quickly past the stairs to the basement, I was waiting for Sean to arrive to take that on. I'll admit, I'm afraid of basements, it may be unreasonable, but that's the least of my issues. Entering the kitchen I got a clear picture of what I was in for, a house that has not been cleaned in a long time. Ok, fine, bring it on, I planned on cleaning anyway. Next was the cabinets full of dishes and some food, sweet, toss food and donate dishes. The rest of the house was sprinkled with crap left behind, stuff on the floor and dirty walls. The master bedroom's window was left a little open, but I figured it was just overlooked when she left, but even better reason not to enter the basement alone.
Soon after Sean arrived with lunch I got him to explore the basement with me. I bravely hide behind him with a can of air fresher, ready to take on anything we would find. I couldn't find anything else to defend us, so I figured I could just blind someone if there was someone down there (I already stated I was unreasonable). The only scary thing in the basement was the mess. It was like it rained packing peanuts at some point and well the thaw never came or a person with a broom.
After eating lunch we got another look at the place and I started working on the clean up and Sean went to re latch the garage. At first it just seemed like it wasn't attaching back to the trolley correctly, we looked and looked and moved things around, but it still wouldn't lift the door. Then it hit us, the chain wasn't moving. We were given a warning that it had been acting a little funny and when the weather got a little colder it was supposed to be worse. Well, it wasn't really cold on this day and it wasn't even trying to move. The cover to the opener was pulled off to find it filled with shredded curls of plastic. Upon closer investigation, Sean found a chewed up gear. This thing had died, not sure when, but it was dead on arrival, our arrival.
So add that to things that needed to be purchased, the state of the condo and the fact we never really wanted this and I was done for the afternoon. Sean returned to work and I went to my parents house to cry. Yes, I needed my mommy and daddy and then some retail therapy.
We purchased a new opener and loaded the truck with a couple other things after Sean got home from work and headed back over. As the sun started to set, we arrived to a garage door that re latched itself. I'm all for a self starter, but not so much in this case. So we tried the front door, which we had found an old key for while going through things at the apartment. We weren't sure if she had the locks changed, but we decided to try it and all it did was spin in the lock.
This really shouldn't be a big deal, but the new washer and dryer were supposed to be delivered the next day and we needed a secure place to put it. Sucking it up, Sean had to call the ex and ask for a key. Although she wasn't able to meet us that night, she agreed to meet him in the morning with the front door key.
The next morning arrived and a text from the ex that she left the key between the screen door and front door, security is a high priority for this women. Sean arrived at the condo at 6 am to find another key that just spinned, probably close to what his head was doing. So he gave up the fight and headed back to the office to reschedule the delivery and call a lock smith. Yep add that to the cost too.
By that evening, we had a front door that locked, a garage door opener that was being put together and I started to clean the kitchen.
Don't worry, this is just where the fun begins, more to follow........
One of our new favorite things that we think everyone should have is our Schlage door lock with the LINK system. Sean had to drill a hole in the door to install it and he was a bit nervous since it was his first time installing a deadbolt. Really a big hole in the wrong place couldn't be covered with our new best friend, Spackle, so it's was good everything went ok. Good think to live by "measure twice, cut once." This is an awesome lock, I don't have to carry a key anymore, don't have to make extra keys for people we want to be able to get in, don't have to worry about locking ourselves out and we use the same system to control other things in the house. Once we get other things set up with the system we will be able to control lights, thermostat and web cameras. Imagine punching in your code, the door unlocks, the house lights up in the rooms you want while the thermostat adjusts to the temperature you are comfortable in. I love technology. You can even give different people different codes that work only when you set them to work. It will be great when we finally get that maid we've been talking about ;).
