Working On A Rented Property Ain't Easy

15 July 2010

Back to work and wishing I hadn't bothered. This new job is shaping up to be one big nightmare. Chris the developer has asked us to work on a rental property while the tenants are still there. This is just asking for trouble, as they are making my life hell.

Even though Chris is paying for all this work to be done, they seem to think it is OK for them to make all the choices with regards to the finish. I have had tile samples and paint charts shoved under my nose at every turn and I have had to explain that Chris doesn't want Barbie pink in the bedroom or a wallpaper feature wall in the sitting room. He wants a nice clean fresh finish which will rent easily if this family leave.

They seem to think that this house is their own. I guess this is one of the major drawbacks of renting. You have to put up with the tastes of your landlord. But having someone like me at your beck and call has to be an advantage. Something goes wrong and your landlord takes care of it. I don't get that luxury, even in my own home.

To top it all off, the tenants are insisting that they need to be able to use the bathroom while I put in the new suite. To be fair, this should have been thought of. But what am I to do? Well I am having to reinstall the bath every night, so they can bath their kids, then the next morning I unplumb it and start again.

Next week I will be giving the kitchen a freshen up and I wonder how we will manage working around that one. They will probably expect me to provide them with ready meals and a microwave.

My apprentice Katy is still working hard. I have been a little overwhelmed with the paperwork relating to her apprenticeship for next term though. The college is pretty demanding with regards to their expectations of me. I have forms coming out my ears, giving them details of what she has done and what she has learned.

Katy has told me she is planning on specialising in plumbing this coming year which I can help her with to a certain degree. I am more of an electrical man myself, but between us we should make a good team. Problem is that she might not think a placement with me is the best backup to her college course. Still beggars can't be choosers and getting an apprenticeship these days is nigh on impossible.

Things at home have calmed down after our trip. I managed to get a few bits and pieces done around the house which got me in the good books with the missus. Still too much to do though, which is the usual story.

Claire has sprung on me that she has been looking for a part time job. Now that my son Ethan is going to be starting at a nursery just a couple of mornings a week starting in September and she wants to dip her toes in the world of employment again. I am not too sure about this. I feel that I should be able to provide for the family, she feels like she needs to get out of the house. I guess I have to let her give it a go.

I can see it now though – I'll have to rush home so she can rush off to work. It sounds like divorce material to me. I need my calm home life to make my stressed out work life make sense. I guess I am being a typical man and only thinking of myself....