Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Looking For Four New Roommates?

The last 24 hours have not treated the Ford family well. We were already feeling stressed around here because Larry's fellowship ends at the end of June and the job he thought he was going to accept fell through (which, I should note, was no reflection on him, just frustrating hospital politics). I kept telling myself that it would be ok, we would just continue to rent here and a take a couple of months to figure it out if we needed to.

In the midst of all of this, yesterday, my computer stopped working. If you know me, you know that I struggle to function with out a computer and I NEED it to work when I get a spare moment. Ahhh!

Larry walked in on me trying to reboot the computer and realizing that it was not going to happen with a note addressed to me that he found on our porch. It was from our landlord and it was a note terminating our lease. What? I reread it three times in a row thinking I must be misunderstanding it, but I wasn't. She started out saying this was such an exciting time in our lives with Larry finishing fellowship and a new baby and she hoped that we were doing well. Then she wanted to give us an update on the timeline for our home, she was terminating our lease and wants us out in mid-May. She continued to say that we have been monderful tenants and she wishes us best of luck and that we should be sure to leave things and clean as possible to get as much as possible back from our deposit. WHAT????? No explainations whatsoever as to why she is suddenly kicking us out when we have two months left of fellowship and how are we supposed to find a place to live for two months? Any place that I know of with a short-term lease like that would be too shady to live in with kids.

I spent all night on the verge of tears wondering what we are going to do and dreading what moving twice this summer is going to put our little family through. I told myself worse comes to worse, we could live with my parents for two months and Larry could commute two hours a day, but their house in under construction and my sister and her family will be living with them for the summer and my little brother is getting married in June so that plan is not going to work so well.

The landlord didn't answer our calls until this morning (I'm sure she was anticipating how upset we'd be). She says she put her house on the market and it sold way faster than she predicted and she needed a temporary place to stay while she buys her new home and she chose our house (she owns a bunch of rental homes). She showed no remorse at all and kept saying, "I can't believe I'm going to be out of a home!" as if we should pity her when she will be moving in and now we will not have a home and we have two small children. And if she was selling her home and thought this might be a possibility, why didn't she gives us a heads up?

Then the news came back form the Apple store that my harddrive is dead and they do not think they will be able to recover anything. All of my work, all of our music, and most heartbreaking - all of our pictures from the last year: GONE. (At least I blog and can try to download all of photos that I blogged, but I still lost a lot of my favorites).

I feel like staying in bed and avoiding everyone for the rest of the week because I cannot handle any more bad news.

40 comments:

  1. LAME day! I am so sorry.

    I know the house down the street from me is for sale, but they have also been renting it for short term-ers. The last people were in it for 3 months, I think. It might be worth checking out:

    http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1363-Sherman-Ave-Salt-Lake-City-UT-84105/12761276_zpid/

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  2. Here's a better link:

    http://buy.utahrealestate.com/940937

    good luck

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  3. Well, I keep copies of everything I shoot. So I have all of creeds baby and Ollies baby photographs. I'm so sorry you are going through all this!
    Love you.

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  4. Unbelievable. All this with a new baby? I will be on the look out for rentals around my area because I would LOVE to have you guys as neighbors....if only for two short months.

    I am so so so sorry about your computer.

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  5. that sounds absolutely horrible! i will keep you and your family in my thoughts & will send you all the positive vibes i can. i hope things start looking up real soon! (((hugs)))

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  6. I wish you were in Ohio so we could scoop you up and give you love! Everyone loves you and will help you work things out. Just keep kissing the kids until the crummy stuff is over. Miss you!

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  7. I can't believe you have to move with a newborn!
    We have a guest room if you want an extended vacation in Nashville!

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  8. I have been following your blog for a while now - I feel for you!!! Especially since I have been going through some hard times lately too. I have a suggestion - to sort of echo the first post - with the real estate market the way it is, you might be able to rent a vacant house with the promise that you will furnish it (and make it more attractive to buyers) and keep it tidy. Consider contacting a real estate agent and see if they can help you out.

    Anyway, good luck, and remember that you are blessed with a lovely, lovely family!

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  9. Steph, I'm so sorry. You can totally crash here. The commute would suck, but I'd make you tons of yummy food.

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  10. So sorry.
    I had my Mac hard drive bite the dust a few months ago. The apple store said they couldn't recover it. I got quotes from other companies but they were between $1300-$2500. I found a local (Lehi) company that has a flat $250 price and only charges if they are successful. They were able to recover everything. http://harddriveheroes.net/

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  11. I'm so sorry to hear that! What a horrible, awful, absolutely no-good day for you. I'll be thinking of you and hoping things turn out for the best in the end. Lots of love from a stranger in Boston!

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  12. i have also followed your blog awhile & love it... I am SO sorry to hear of this 24 hour bad news day you've endured! but hopefully the following 72 hours will bring better news! i have had the same thing happen to my mac also and i about died. i know exactly how you feel, on that end of the side of things anyways. i will pray for you & your family.

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  13. we love you steph and will do anything to help.

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  14. I'm another "closet" fan of your blog. I don't think I've ever commented, but I just LOVE all your cute ideas for parties, etc. I'm sooo sorry about your computer, and your house! That really stinks! I would be feeling the same way as you. Does your lease say anything about the owner's right to terminate like that? I'd think she'd need to give you at least 60 days notice, which is how it is written in my lease. Check your lease and find out, you might be able to stay longer than she says. Good luck!

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  15. I'm another "closet" fan of your blog. I don't think I've ever commented, but I just LOVE all your cute ideas for parties, etc. I'm sooo sorry about your computer, and your house! That really stinks! I would be feeling the same way as you. Does your lease say anything about the owner's right to terminate like that? I'd think she'd need to give you at least 60 days notice, which is how it is written in my lease. Check your lease and find out, you might be able to stay longer than she says. Good luck!

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  16. Oh Steph,
    sounds like a day from Hades. I am so sorry. We'd love four new roomies in Ohio! Wish I lived closer. I cannot believe she is kicking you out.

    The computer ordeal makes me sick too. I am so, so sorry.

    I'll be praying for a perfect job AND temporary housing to open up for you guys.

    Love, Heather

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  17. WOW. I am so sorry. Your landlady sounds like a real piece of work. Just a thought --do they rent student housing with short term leases?

    Freaking hospital politics!

    Sending you lots of happy thoughts.

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  18. The worst part about this post is losing the photos--I really hope you are able to find a computer genius who says Apple is wrong and they can be saved.

    On perhaps a more directly helpful note I have some friends who have a rental, they just had to evict some pretty terrible tenants and I know they need someone asap. I'm sure they'd be willing to consider a short term lease for such great tenants. One problem is its in Provo, which isn't ideal for you. If you are interested let me know and I can get you the contact info.

    So sorry to hear about your terrible day, seriously. That's the pits.

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  19. Oh, I'm so sorry to hear about all this. When I have a horrible day though, I try to remember that stuff happens for a reason, and maybe something wonderful will come out of this. Thinking good thoughts for you!

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  20. Nightmare! I am so sorry Steph! Every part of that story is aweful! I will be thinking about you! Em (from London)

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  21. We would welcome you with open arms here in Pittsburgh.... we have plenty of room with an in law suite with kitchen and bathroom in our basement. If you come out here it is yours and it comes with a 52 inch HDTV and wii in the main room lol..... seriously hope things get better soon and our house is always yours.

    lots of love
    The Sharpes

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  22. What a terrible day!! So sorry. Losing the pictures is so sad. I just read about drivesavers.com. They are expensive but some things are worth it. Maybe try the Lehi guys someone else suggested. And if you don't mind sleeping in our basement and walking upstairs to use the bathroom, our house is totally open to you. Kinda lame commute for Larry, but close to your parents :)
    I hope you can get these things resolved. Good luck!

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  23. I am so sorry to hear about your awful day! I thought I lost my hard drive when my son was about 6 months old and I was crushed. Luckily, a small repair shop was able to recover it (keep in mind, Apple may be hoping you just buy a whole new unit - they aren't invested in your personal losses).

    The housing situation is awful, what a crummy thing for your landlord to pull on you. Hang in there, I hope something great comes your way to make up for all of this!

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  24. OH, that is ROTTEN!! I am with you on the housing problem...living w/ my saintly parents for a few months (I have 4 kids!!)

    But my heart is so sad for those pictures. My worst fear. Thank goodness for blogs that save what we put on them. Hang in there, something will open up for you.

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  25. DARN! I'm so sorry to hear this, Steph! I can't believe she would only give you 30 days notice...and the hard drive :( You deserve a day at the spa or something.

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  26. Sorry about the CRAPtastic day. I hope things are looking up and you are able to find things to smile about.

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  27. Hi Steph! I just sent Larry a FB message about this, but in a nutshell, your landlord cannot terminate your lease and force you to vacate in 30 days. Call me if you want any help.
    love,
    erin

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  28. I have a close friend with a darling house on 400 South and 1050ish East. It has lovely exposed brick inside. They are looking for renters and may consider a short term lease. Let me know if you are interested and I can talk to her. Call me 801-915-5961

    Good luck! That sounds so stressful.

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  29. so sorry :( it will work out though...at least she didn't give you a 2 week notice! and good thing for your blog & your sister for all the photos! that would have been horrible to lose everything!

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  30. I am so sorry that you & your family are going through this. I can't believe that lady shows no remorse over kicking your family out. Especially since you have small children. I find that very heartless & selfish. I'm praying the Lord provides you all with a home SOON!!!

    So sorry about your lost pictures. I can't even imagine! If we lived closer to each other my husband could look at your hard drive to see if he could recover everything. My husband is a Hardware Engineer & pretty much a Jack of all trades when it come's to computers. He's excellent at recovering information. I would suggest you could mail it to his work but I know that may make you uncomfortable. But if you did want to try I'm sure he would do it for no charge.

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  31. I'm so sorry about the rough week. All of it is so hard! I hope you feel strengthened and loved, because you are! I hope next week is full of good news :)

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  32. Hey also, i took one of my external harddrives to byu in the bookstore ( it was Dad's suggestion) and had all the memory recovered there. It was so much cheaper than anywhere else i looked and they did a great job. Try that!

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  33. I've been following your blog for a while now (love it!) but this is the first time I'm commenting. I just wanted to say: Oh my goodness -- that is WAY too many bad things in a row. That would be too much for anyone to take in all at once. I am so sorry! Hang in there and I'm sending good thoughts and wishes your way!

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  34. Hi Steph. I'm so sorry to hear about all the tough things you are going through. Sometimes when horrible things happen, they just seem to keep happening. I really hope things work out and you are able to get over this difficult time quickly.

    Anyway, I also wanted to mention, like others did before me, I don't think your landlord can terminate your lease like she did. I asked Tyson about it, and he said at least in Washington State, it is unlawful to break a tenant contract like that. They would have to owe you a lot of money in the end if they did. So if you know anyone who is a lawyer there in Utah, I'd ask them if they know anything about it. I'm guessing Utah has similar laws.

    Good luck! I know things will work out for you and we'll be thinking about you!

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  35. Steph - I am so sorry for your troubles (and so mad at your landlord!). Not sure what help I can offer you from Brooklyn, but let me know if there's anything! Wishing that tomorrow is a much better day and that some solutions for these things present themselves soon. Sending good vibes out into the universe for the Fords.
    Carrie

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  36. :(

    I probably would've crumpled up into a little ball on the floor and cried if all that had happened to me. I can't even imagine.

    Praying things work out...and fast. :)

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  37. I love that you have so many comments to this post, Steph . . . you are very loved and with so many prayers and positive thoughts coming your way . . . it HAS turn around.

    Love you!
    Nikki

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  38. Steph, you are a complete stranger to me yet I am sitting at my desk at work fighting tears after reading this post! i am so sorry for all the bad news all at once. it MOST DEFINITELY will turn around very VERY soon. Please hang in there. I love your blog, you inspire me so much in so many ways...

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  39. I'm so sorry! I have you and your lovely family in my prayers that everything works out for you. It always happens right on time.

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