fergie's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- rent me Recently, a new management company bought the apartment complex I live in. As anyone who's been through it knows, this process involves a bunch of new money coming in and throwing a few gallons of paint around while alienating their tenants. This is all in the hope that current residents will vacate so the management can charge new renters hundreds of dollars more a month for the same unit. Though most every building in a city as dirty as Los Angeles can use some maintenance, mine is actually very nice and is complete with a "Melrose Place" style courtyard. I've never had a BBQ but I have thrown a few people in the pool. I don't have any complaints about doing some renovation, but the new management has a penchant for putting up signs everywhere that ask us to "excuse the mess" while they build a "better place to live." We're all too aware, by way of the even greater multitude of "for rent" and "open house" signs that litter the front lawn, that the so-called improvements are being made to attract new tenants. These new tenants move in without the rent control that I enjoy, and will pay almost a third more than I do. What I find fascinating is that the construction work stops at current residents doorstop. The apartment next to mine is open for rent, and recently had their balcony painted. As it is a shared balcony, their newly painted wall ends where mine begins. There is a distinct vertical line separating the empty apartment's new, tanish colored wall from my white one, which has not been re-painted in the past 5 or 6 years. They literally did not go one inch over with the new coat of paint onto my balcony. Now there's a checkered effect on the outside of the building. To make further improvements, they've unearthed every inch of dirt that doesn't have cement over it and ripped out every living tree, bush, or shrub in the aforementioned courtyard. This, so they could bring in brand new, though much smaller plants and palm trees that now fit into a more concise if not rather square landscape. There are over 10 signs in the front of the building, each about 3 feet apart from the other, some boasting about the improvements, and others are calls for new tenants to attend the open house. They litter the small area of grass usually reserved for dog waste. Each oversize square shaped sign sits atop a long wooden pole stuck in the ground, making the entrance look like Wyle E. Coyote gave up on the Roadrunner and took up apartment management. I looked closely to check for the Acme logo. With this complete mess hiding any semblance of what the building actually looks like, the smoke and mirror approach, while unnessary, it quite amusing. The best part is that yesterday the landscapers refilled the areas they had ripped up with new compost that must have the higest level of amonia possible, which causes the entire building to smell like a 500 pound cat took a dump in the courtyard after eating a truckload of beans and raw eggs. I'm sure this will be highly appealing to those attending the open house. Thankfully, my apartment is in the back of the building, so once inside the only air that get's in is from the street on the other side. Otherwise I would probably be dead. I witnessed two birds flying overhead take a nose dive and break their necks when I was on my way out to my car, covering my face with my sleeve. These are the joys of renting. Buy a house. Google Search: 12:01 p.m. - Mar. 11, 2003 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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