Money or Morals?

04 March 2011

Been another manic week. The middle flat needs to be finished by this weekend so the new tenants can move in. That is all well and good and I expect to have it all ready by Friday, but I have to admit that I am not really happy about the choice of tenants.

Chris has made a commercial decision which doesn't sit well with me at all. He has decided that two young students are appropriate tenants for the flat without thinking about poor old Eva who is living upstairs.

I had a visit from the two lads this week as they wanted to do some measuring up for their “massive TV”. Seriously...that was what they said! They were aiming to go out a buy the biggest they could get and needed to check the wall size. OK fair enough – they are young blokes, probably away from home for the first time, but honestly I couldn't think of two worse tenants for this place.

I had a word to Chris and mentioned that Eva upstairs was there first and that he should be thinking about her needs when he decides which tenants to get in. He pointed out that these two kids have their parents paying for everything and that has meant that it was risk free. He also pointed out that Eva was tied into a 12 month contract and if she didn't like it there wasn't much she could do.

I was amazed. He said it as though he was proud of the great deal he had managed to get and that it was just the way of the world. That really didn't do much for how I felt about working for him to be honest. I got home and spoke to Claire about it and she suggested I give it until the end of the third ground floor flat to see how the two boys behave. She thought I might be making something out of nothing.

The funny thing is that as a self employed person my aim was to get away from the idea of having a boss. Unfortunately, it feels more and more like I am working for a person who sees me as an employee. It is always a case of put up or shut up. So I am rethinking my position. I still get regular calls from clients wanting me to do work for them, so if I decided to break my contract with Chris, life would go on. But it would feel like a failure.

Anyway, getting back to the middle flat. The glass wall behind the bath worked out well. I was a little surprised when it arrived, as it was still painted on one side, but in a neutral colour. I quickly realised that the point of that was to hide the adhesive blobs on the back. So all my wall painting was a wasted effort. But it looks great and is very practical and smart. I think I will invest in some more for the downstairs flat too.

The kitchen and bathroom are both just about finished and I have the final bits and bobs to finish off in the next day or two. Just door furniture, the bath panel, kitchen cabinet plinths and some touch ups of sealant and paint here and there.

Next week Claire will be making a start on the garden. She has a great plan all worked out and Chris is happy with the budget for it. That will be interesting! Get ready for some marital spats!