Big Badger House (aka Noisy Lodger) HE'S GONE!

Head-Out-Of-Sand

Badger Lady - I've just come across your post and you've made me stay up way beyond my bedtime catching up with it all!!!

Wow you've had some fun with your house!

I have lodgers in my place as well,

Lodger 3: AKA Occasional drunk who has all but moved out to live with crazy girlfriend (seriously, bunny boiler) but still pays me rent so that he has his little pied-a-terre away from Crazytown when needed - suits me, sir!

Lodger 4: AKA The Babyfaced Moron. Total PITA, Tim Nice But Dim, he has been here for about a year now but I have got to the point where even the way he opens a door winds me up...there's no going back from that point!!!

I'm in the process of putting together a formal written warning to Lodger 4 because of his incredibly annoying habit of leaving the bathroom floor completely soaking wet every morning after showering (I honestly don't know how he manages to get it to wet, seriously, he must open the shower cubicle, aim the hose out of the door and shower in the middle of the bathroom!) which I have explained to him repeatedly is damaging the laminate on my bathroom floor. It's been 6 requests now, and I've given up hope of him ever complying with this, so am getting it down in writing so he can't quibble about me using his deposit to replace the floor when I finally have enough of him and kick his sorry a$$ out!!

Lodger 3 has been mainly problem free, the odd bad drunken weeknight but very rarely. In terms of cleanliness, respecting my property etc no issues. Lodger 4 has been a pain since he moved in though. I've never had so many "reminders" posted up around my house - BF jokes that I'm slowly turning into Monica from Friends!! Some of the notes I've had to put up since he moved in (no word of a lie...)

"Please clean out the grill tray after you've used it! "
"Wash me! " (On one side of new washing up bowl I bought to store L4's dirty dishes in as they were giving me nightmares)
"Can whoever used these dishes 2 weeks ago please wash them before my head explodes?!" (This one seemed to do the trick...)
"HOOS's Butter!"
"HOOS's Butter - Please do not steal"
"(on inside of lid) Free Butter is not included in your tenancy agreement - please stop stealing my f****g food."
"Please do not put the heating on all day if you are wearing shorts and t-shirt"
"Please do not leave the house unlocked when you go out" (This was then followed by instructions on how to lock the back door...seriously...L4 claimed it was too hard for him to lock...I have a bad arm and can manage it! Have since told him that if he can't lock it then he can just not keep anything out the back!)

I would point out that all of this stuff has been said in person first, and several times, but there are only so many times I can tell a 24 year old with a supposedly responsible job to STOP STEALING MY STUFF!!! And leaving my house unlocked!! We live in a high risk burglary area !!!!!!!!! All this stuff is covered by his tenancy agreement as well, so it's not like he's never been made aware of these things!

However, I have had worse lodgers, Lodger 1 was ok but a bit of a weirdo, she eventually moved out to live with friends, after which I found out she'd been stalking my mate's fiance for a year!! Poor friend was too worried about creating problems to tell me! But, weird as she was, she paid up on time every month and caused me very few annoyances.

Then we had the malevolent force that was Lodger 2...moved in one month...she went on and on about how lovely and beautiful my house is (I think it is, but she was a bit OTT)...I suggested that we get together for a bottle of wine and a takeaway to get to know each other better...she agreed enthusiastically but kept cancelling on me...then she had her entire family stay over for a weekend with no prior arrangement, which included her dad kipping on my sofa, and one member of the family attempting to get into my room at about 3am in the morning...thank goodness for slidy locks!

Things started getting really weird where she would be leaving bags of rotting rubbish, including food, out in the communal hallway, having screaming rows with her boyfriend at all hours with her bedroom door open...broke my shower (had to be her, handle was snapped clean off and there was only her in that could have done it).

Before the shower thing, I had been asking her all the time if everything was ok, if she was settling in ok, if she needed anything etc. Then out of the blue, when her third month's rent was due (and shortly after she knacked my shower up and never said anything), she emailed me at work saying that she was stopping her rent immediately and demanding her deposit back and a partial refund of rent paid!!! Fruit loop.

She cited stuff like "Shower is broken - you have not fixed it", "You let someone else stay in my room" (I most certainly did not!) "You have denied me space in the fridge and freezer" (I actually threw most of my freezer stuff away to make space for this girl's stuff, she had more freezer & fridge space than I did!!) and other such nonsense. She backed it up with a load of pseudo-legal BS in an attempt to threaten me into giving her money she wasn't owed...her BF and sis were both sols so she obviously learned some legalese from them!

Fortunately I had a tenancy agreement with her and just kept referring her back to it every time she tried to goad me into a row. I stuck to my guns, did everything by the book and after one month's notice got the locks changed (after which she tried to gain entry illegally at 6am!!! Scary girl!) I won in the end, she was threatening me with court and everything, and getting her sister to email me from her law firm to intimidate me, but I just went with the thinking, how's she going to sue me when the only evidence is a tenancy agreement in my favour and emails from her confirming that she has wilfully broken the agreement and attempted to extort money from me! So I basically went along the lines of "put up or shut up" and she eventually went away. Nutter.

Poor lodger 3 was subject to the most rigorous lodger background checks known to man after that!!

Glad I stuck to my guns with her but it cost me a lot of sleepless nights and I lost about a stone in weight with the stress. (Hang on, I could do with losing about that much now...oh, lodger 2....come back, all is forgiven!)

So just thought I would share with you Badger Lady, you are not alone in your Lodger trials and tribulations! Personally I think I am now way too old and grumpy (bad, seeing as I'm only 26!) to houseshare, done it for 8+ years now and it's just getting tiring! As soon as the debts are gone, the lodgers are following! (Except maybe Lodger 3...his stories of crazy bunny boiler girlfriend are always amusing...)

Good luck with your new work pattern & keeping the current lodgers in line! :j

Head-Out-Of-Sand

WOW didn't realise that post was so long, sorry!

Badger_Lady

Thanks HOOS!

Actually, I was planning to come on here and update this morning anyway... week last Sunday, I went to bed early with NiceSoFarLodger's music still going. I had every faith he'd quieten down at a reasonable time, so drifted off to sleep...

Woke up at 23:55 to hear boom-boom-boom and two male voices shouting and laughing over the top :eek: I sent a text message saying "dude it's nearly midnight" but he wasn't looking at his phone, so I went and knocked on the door. He said "I've turned it down, is that OK?", and I just replied with "It's midnight on a school night - I shouldn't be able to hear anything!"

When I saw him on the Monday, he was very apologetic - said he'd been drunk for the first time in weeks. I've said so many times before, have a party whenever you like in the basement - not in the bedroom that terraces onto other people's bedrooms! Anyway, he knew he'd been unreasonable so I didn't worry further.

Until last night.

Similar thing - a mate of his arrived at 21:00 (remember PotentialLodger3?), and the music was still going at 21:30 when I went to bed. I thought that surely he'd learned his lesson this time so ignored it. I woke up at 23:50 (was having a nice dream about being a sleepy chicken at the time ) and things seemed louder than ever so I sent a text saying "dude midnight approaches again - just woke me up". The music was dutifully turned down until I couldn't hear it any more. End of, right?

I woke up again at 01:40 to someone banging and crashing around in the bathroom (which is upstairs and the only thing I normally ever hear is the flush)... and music!!! Plinky-plonky-sleepy music which I wouldn't have noticed if his door was closed, but music in the early hours of a Tuesday morning nonetheless.

Serious words have to happen.

On a sidenote, relations between NiceSoFarLodger and MauritusLodger have been tense of late - the main issue seems to be the fact that MauritiusLodger never flushes the toilet after a wee (fine if you're saving water in a family home, but not amongst strangers). He's actually pulled him up on it 7 times now! Thing is, I have also noticed an abnormal amount of "urine buildup" on the back of the toilet bowl - sorry I know that's minging but I had to share!

Can't see myself ever kicking either of these guys out... although I did have a vivid dream the other day that MauritiusLodger packed and left, seeking out different parts of the UK...

essexgal

Badger_Lady wrote: »

NiceSoFarLodger's music still going.

Oh no.......here we go again :rotfl: :rotfl:

Now exhibiting alpha lodger behaviour......:eek:


Seriously, you'd think he'd know better - maybe suggest banning 'noisy guests' after 10 on a week night..... - or suggest he goes round theirs instead. Failing that, you could always 'trip' the circuit that the music's plugged into...;)

Hi to HOOS - sounds like a sequel.......:T

essexgal

poppysarah

I love these stories. I could share the horrors of living with ex-husband but it'd traumatise you all too much...

Tea3

Am I the only one who gets excited when I see a shiney new email in my inbox saying "Reply to post 'Big Badger House (aka Noisy Lodger) HE'S GONE" ? Always hope theres nothing real bad like the previous hassles for Badger_Ladys sanity, but also get a warm glow inside as its like the next book out in a series.

Badger_Lady - you have a great way of puttng things and seriously should consider writing a book - so many of my fav authors use this way of writing and its great to find a real-life on-going version - will get cuppa and malteasers ready for next installment

Head-Out-Of-Sand

Tea3 wrote: »

Badger_Lady - you have a great way of puttng things and seriously should consider writing a book

I agree, I see a sideline as an author here! "Adventures of Badger Lady!"

Oh no, so another housemate is playing up? You sound so much more patient than I am! My problem is that because I have to try my best to keep the peace cause I don't want a bad atmosphere, I end up in my room rocking back and forth and muttering gollum-style about filthy little hobbitses and their wicked habits, referring to my Aldi UHT milk as the preshussssss....

I just get so frustrated that people just don't know how to behave!!! He he. Lodger 4 is quite noisy in my place, my bedroom is above the living room, which has a wooden floor and plastered walls, so any noise just bounces right on up. After having politely explained this and requested some consideration several times, I still have to put up with people being really loud and inconsiderate up to 4am in the morning sometimes Lodger 4's best mate has no "inside voice", and thinks it's acceptable to deliver every sentence in the style of a classical Shakespearean actor. I actually got so frustrated last time he was round I cried a little, cause there was nowhere I could go in my house where I could not hear his voice (OK, I may have been PMSsing a *little* at that point...) plus he's a bit of a t*t so anything he has to say is usually quite annoying anyway.

Bring on the debt-free date, please!!

I think you need to have a little tete-a-tete with Lodger 2, he's obviously lost sight of what you find acceptable and is taking advantage of your good nature - if you don't bring this up with him in a serious, grown-up talk way (and I know, I hate having to be the "mother" as well...there's a reason I don't have kids yet, I have no maternal instinct!!) he's gonna just keep pushing the boundaries and taking the michael.

We should have some kind of "Resident Landlord Support Group" or something! RL Anonymous maybe

jamtart6

HOOS - You should start your own thread! that sounds awful!

B_L - I do agree with the other poster, NiceSoFar seems to be exhibiting alpha-lodger qualities. hmm! Howz tha kitty? X

Badger_Lady

Aww, kitty's fine - he's loving having Mummy home most of the week now! No disappearing acts since the last one... and he's back to scoffing his Whiskas like the old days I did buy him a covered litter tray (£9.99) so that he can use it without the usual smells etc, but he hasn't been in there once - think he's scared of getting trapped inside :rotfl:

You guys make a good point - the last time NiceSoFarLodger played up was when Lodger3 was resident, wasn't it? Similar thing - playing music quite late in his room...

HOOS I'd be delighted if he was in the living room with his mates until 4am! I can sleep through any noise - but I'm on alert if I think the neighbours will be disturbed. My room is in the middle of three storeys, but I happen to know that both my immediate neighbours sleep on the top floor and are therefore saved from basement-party-noise, which means I can relax! There's never a good excuse for partying in your bedroom on a weekday :mad:

Head-Out-Of-Sand

jamtart6 wrote: »

HOOS - You should start your own thread! that sounds awful!

B_L - I do agree with the other poster, NiceSoFar seems to be exhibiting alpha-lodger qualities. hmm! Howz tha kitty? X

Thanks JT - I'm kinda hoping that I'm nearing the end of this particular era...fingers crossed I should be able to boot one lodger out by December as if all goes to plan I will only have my OD left by then, and could manage to pay this off with one lodger

My plan is to get a rescue kitty when I am eventually home alone, but hopefully no crazy kittynapping neighbours!! Crazy ppl, who do they think they are?!