THE story

We have officially moved! And yes, we picked a day that was cold, icy, and snowy. And yes, that dang pull-out couch went up another 3 flights of stairs. And yes, my arms are so sore that I have to use both hands to turn the steering wheel of my car. But it was all worth it.

So here's the story - I'll try to keep it abbreviated...

Last August when I moved to Denver I moved into a house I found on Craigslist... One girl was already there (Roommate X) and Kate and I moved in about the same time. We paid all our rent and bills to Roommate X and she paid the rental company. Through some investigative work we recently found out that the rent for the entire house was $1000/mo... I'm paying $500 and Kate is paying $400. Which leaves Roommate X to pay $100/mo for the last 18 months. And having never seen our actual utility bills we have no way of knowing if those were split evenly in three, or if they were just split in half.

To find out the rent was SO horribly uneven was very upsetting, especially given all of the issues with the bathroom, the mold, and the sewage in the basement. And I've been paying 5X the rent of Roommate X? I don't think so ma'am. Did Roommate X do anything illegal? No, Kate and I both signed a lease with her for one year for the agreed amounts. But does that mean that it is right? I think not. Especially when I was told before I moved in that I paid more for the larger room, but everything else was even. Of course, I was upset with myself for not looking into things further before I signed the initial lease. But I can't do anything to change that, now.

So we were left with a decision. Confront her, try to get out, or just ride out our lease. A quick call to the rental agency confirmed that Roommate X was the only name on the lease, and Kate and I were just listed as tenants. So we were under no contractual obligation. Done. We're getting out. So we approached Roommate X about the ordeal and she repeated that it was a "business decision" to charge us more, and everyone saves money wherever they can. Um, true, but not everyone takes advantage of others in this blatant way. Especially others living on student loans in a dungeon to make ends meet.

(Sorry - this isn't turning out to be very abbreviated... but it gets me worked up!) Anyway, we decided to get out. It was a blessing that I didn't have a job at the time and was able to look at places, but the tricky thing is that without a job I don't feel comfortable signing a 12 month lease. So we had to find something that would give us a 3-month lease (just in case), that was nice and in our price range. A bit tricky, but we did it!

This all leads to our move on Monday. We turned our keys at the old place. I felt kind-of bad for leaving Roommate X on such short notice, but that was quickly squelched when I saw the listing back on Craigslist for $25 MORE than Kate and I paid per room. Yup, business decision, indeed.

I hope this is done, but we'll see. There are some loose ends still waiting to be tied up - mainly Roommate X's request/demand that Kate and I pay February rent too (for not giving 30 days notice), and Kate and I's refusal to do so. We've kissed our security deposit goodbye, of course. If I end up on Judge Judy you can say you read it here first :)

BUT good things came out of it, at the time. I was close to campus while I was in school and could walk to and from, which was awesome. I met Travis out for Roommate X's birthday last year, and I met Kate, whom I love and am looking forward to living with. In a bright, sunny, mold- and sewage-free apartment :)

Now if you'd like to come visit, we actually have a presentable place for you to stay. (Phil, Finke, Peanut, and B, sorry you had to deal with the dungeon. You'll just have to come back again!)

Now for further job-searching so I don't have to move that couch again in three months. THAT is true motivation, my friends.