Advice for renters...

...never rent in a building where a unit is occupied by a long-term friend of the landlord. You'll always get the sharp end of the stick.

So the saga of the backyard continues.

When we were looking for apartments, we specifically looked at 3-flats vs. building complexes since we like the feel of a flat and we wanted a yard for Annie (our 3-year old shepard-and-god-knows-what-else). We found this place, the right price, it was a duplex, and it fit all of our criteria except central a/c. A few window units and some creative space solutions in the kitchen solved most of our issues.

We didn't hide anything from our landlord. We explained we wanted the yard for our dog - for playing and for well, you know. We also explained we had a motorcycle and a Shell that would need to be kept in the back yard (for security reasons). The place has no garage, and the shell was in the yard of our old place. The landlord told us the garden in the yard was one tenant's (We'll call her Lucy) pride and joy, and gave us the impression we might be seen as interlopers. When we brought this concern to her, she said no, we'd misunderstood and of course Annie was allowed in the yard (supervised - which is fine since we don't leave her unattended anyway) and that we'll find a spot for the shell. She said Lucy might not be happy, but we'll just "tell her" what's the deal.

Still uneasy, but knowing I have the landlord's ok, we moved ahead. Then we find out that Lucy was never informed (according to her - she may have fibbed) about the shell or Annie being allowed in the yard.

Great.

Turns out she's afraid of dogs. You'd think her friend of 20 years and our new landlord would have been aware of this, but she was too proud to tell any of her friends of her fear. Kind of an important detail if your friend is listing a place as dog-friendly, don'tcha think? So we've been walking Annie more than ever, something we're not used to since our old yard was basically a giant dog run, and our old landlord's and neighbors were total dog lovers. We let her out when Lucy isn't sitting out there. I know, it would be nice to let them get to know each other - but Annie can been intimidating to dog lovers, not to mention the canine-phobic. She's just very defensive around strangers. Come fall & winter when there's no more garden to tend, it's fair game and we'll be out there all the time. But for now, it's actually good for all of us to go walking. And now that Annie seems to be getting over her fear of noises, we may just be able to play in the park more.

So that's the status of the dog situation.

The shell is a different story. We compromised with her and put it in the alley, where she usually parks her car. She said she would rather have to park on the street than "look at that thing". Understandable, as it's just an ugly silver tent. We were a little concerned about security - it doesn't lock, and really you're only one bolt-cutter away from the bike being stolen. We want to be neighborly, so we try it. The first night we took the bike out, we found neighborhood kids using the empty shell as a tent to do god-knows-what when we got back. We threw them out and told their parents. John was really close to hitting one really cocky kid - but it totally wasn't worth it. If they had messed with the bike, I'd say fair game. "Don't mess with another man's vehicle".

Since then, we've noticed several times the zipper being messed with, the metal rod that locks down being messed with. We put padlocks on the parts where they'd fit, but the thing really doesn't have a secure lock. It's meant for storage and weather protection.

Well finally today, I noticed the metal bar, which goes around the perimeter of the base and locks into place, was bent up between the locking pegs about a good 4-5 inches. Someone really yanked on that thing - which means they weren't just curious. Someone was trying to break in. We still have to figure out how to bend a 1/4" steel bar back into place, but until then, John has moved it into the space in the yard where we originally intended to put it.

Lucy wasn't home, but I was not leaving it out there another night in the alley. That bar wasn't bent yesterday. If someone put that much effort into it, they'd be back.

We left her a note, saying we know it's ugly, but we can't afford to have anything stolen or wrecked by vandals. The bluebook value on the bike is less than $1,000, since it's a 1983 Shadow. That wouldn't come close to replacing the bike.

So we'll see what she says tomorrow. Frankly, I don't care if it's ugly. I understand "her" yard is her pride and joy, but we're renters on the property too. Friend of the landlord or not, she doesn't own the yard.

Why can't people just leave what doesn't belong to them alone?