July was a really busy month! Aside from trying to squeeze in every bit of travel we possibly could, we had to say good-bye to friends and church family and to sell or get rid of everything in our home. It was more difficult than the usual move because I couldn't just box things up for the move. We literally had to clear out our entire place. I listed as many things on the local version of Craigslist to sell, but of course you can only get about 25% of the original cost of most items. But I was happy to get something back. It just required a lot of work to list the items and arrange times to pick up. The whole selling part, with negotiations and people flaking, is pretty hard too. We also ended up giving away quite a few items. Most of the kitchen things, like the dishes and utensils, and the bedding and clothing got donated. So I didn't take a photo of all of our things accumulated for the year, but it was interesting to see all of the things that we did use over the year (and sell at the end of the year).
What are the necessities (and some of the useful, but not required items) needed to establish a home? Aside from the large furniture pieces that I showed in a post at the beginning of our year, here they are!
A note on the TV and printer... we were lucky to have those up until just the last couple of days. We definitely needed the printer all the way until the end, and we appreciated some form of entertainment when our house was nearly empty.
We did sell all of these items below. There is a story to a couple of the items that was interesting. I had listed all of the remaining bathroom accessories in one post (there were a couple of shower racks and 2 toilet paper holders). A lady said she wanted them, but then started asking about the price for individual items. I had hoped to sell them together, because I was only asking about £8 for the items (which was a good deal, considering the large over-the-shower rack cost £20 alone and the toilet roll holders were £6 each originally). I gave a price for the items individually. She also asked if I could deliver. I wasn't opposed to delivery if it was easy to get to. It so happened that she was about 25 minutes away from where we lived, but she lived right around the corner from our church. So I said I could bring them by after church on Sunday. It turns out she only wanted one toilet paper holder, which I had said she could have for just £1. Anyway, by Sunday we hadn't sold the other bathroom items, so we decided to just give the lady all of the items. She was really grateful to get those items delivered to her for £1! Not a bad deal. She did give us £2 when we handed her all of the items.
My second story was about one of the dressers. It was our remaining dresser, and we had someone finally buy it and pick it up on the Saturday before we left. It was the largest dresser (on the bottom row below) - good condition and sturdy. I had to lower the price to £15 for it to sell, which was ridiculously cheap for a nice dresser. Anyway, a lady came and picked it up, and we helped her load it in her car. On Monday, shortly after we had got on the train to head out of Durham (we weren't coming back this time), I got a message from the lady complaining about the quality of the dresser. She was upset that we hadn't pointed out that one side was "cut off". I had no idea what she was talking about, but when she sent a photo, there was one of the sides on the top that had been cut and it didn't match the other side. Neither Alex nor I had even noticed it, despite it being in the boys room all year and helping haul it out. This lady was asking for some money back, because she bought and delivered it for a friend. When the friend saw it, she didn't like the way it looked and only gave her £5 of the £15. We obviously weren't obligated to give money back, but we did decide to have mercy and send £5 to her in the mail (luckily we still had a £5 bill in our possession - we were trying to get rid of our British pounds)... We did have a brief chat about her "friend" that wouldn't pay, and even despite the favor of going to pick it up and deliver it to her. The lady told me she would never do that again! I think she should have at least kept the dresser for herself, but instead let her friend still have the dresser for £5.
We couldn't sell the bike, so that went to a friend on our last morning. I guess we should have kept the lawn trimmer until the very end, because our rental agency didn't give us our deposit back. One of their reasons was for the back yard being untidy. We did trim the grass 2 weeks before we left (right before we sold the trimmer), but with the rain in the last few days, that made the grass grow quickly. It still wasn't in bad shape, but apparently not suitable for our rental agency's standards.
The videos acquired in the UK don't work in the US, so we had to get rid of all those. We figured it was worth it to be able to watch them for the year though.
These were the only things we shipped (the bags below), which were mostly Legos and toys, with a few clothing items, paper work, and sentimental items. We had to pack really light for our travels back, because we didn't want to haul a lot of bags to Denmark and Norway (nor could we without paying additional charges). Earlier in the year, when Alex had to travel back to the states twice, he took a couple of large suitcases full of Legos and toys back and left them with family. We didn't fly back with any of the large suitcases that we had on arrival. We were down to just 3 carry-on sized suitcases total and a backpack each. We left all the coats, mittens, hats, warm clothes, and rain boots (we don't need them in CA anyway), along with most of the clothes. We had been wearing the same few clothes over and over anyway. I left most of my shoes as well. I arrived with a pair of dress shoes, flip flops, tennis shoes, ankle boots, running shoes, and waterproof running shoes (6 pairs of shoes). While I was there, I bought a good pair of walking shoes and a pair of tall boots. When I left, I wore the waterproof pair of running shoes and packed the flip flops and dress shoes. I only returned with 3 of the 8 pairs of shoes from the year.
It was so strange to see our house go from full to completely empty in a couple of weeks. The only large items that had to be picked up were our sofa, recliner, and refrigerator. We had arranged for pick up of the recliner to a donation store, but didn't realize they would also have to take the sofa. We had someone flake on the sofa, which was supposed to be picked up on Sunday (which we had held for a few days for them.) Despite them assuring us they could pick it up, they didn't let us know until Sunday evening that they couldn't pick it up. We were headed out the next day and all items had to be out by the morning. It was too late to find a buyer by then - there goes that £50. To give an idea of our expenses though - we got about £750 back from selling items, which was roughly about ¼ to ⅓ of what we paid for them. It cost us about £2500-3000 to furnish our place for the year, but since we got back £750, we spent £1750-2250 on household things for the year. Not too bad.
The refrigerator worked out well too. We were able to use it until the day before we left. We had a friend that wanted it (and didn't need it right away), so we were able to send that off on the last day. The person that picked up the fridge also took all of our remaining things, like our air mattresses, pillows, sheets, sleeping bags, and any random things that hadn't sold. Our neighbor took the rest of the cleaning things we were using that day (like a mini vacuum, broom, and mop). We were so grateful it all worked out the way it did.
What didn't work out was getting our deposit back from our rental agency... I'll get to that in a minute.
Let me describe our experience on our last day. We had to deliver the bike and some things early that morning to friends (Alex and a couple of the kids got to go and say good-bye to them. I didn't get to go, because we had too much cleaning left to do.) Alex sold and dropped off the car. The furniture store came to pick up the sofa and recliner. The refrigerator and all remaining things went at 12:30. We had everything cleared out and cleaned by Monday afternoon. It took a lot longer with the cleaning than we expected. By the time things were sufficiently clean, it was 2:30. Our train was at 3:05, so we had to rush out of there. We didn't have time to touch up any areas, take photos, or have a last moment of reflection in our place. (And there wasn't a move out inspection either - that was a mistake on our part...)
We had only about 35 minutes before our train left, with no car, and still having to catch a bus to drop off our rental keys and get to the train station. We stood there wondering how we were going to make it. At that moment, our neighbor walked outside, and we thought we should ask for help. He agreed to take all of our stuff, along with whoever would fit in his car to the train station. I went with the 3 youngest and all of our things with him. Alex, Nathan, and Jared caught a bus into the city center, where they parted. Nathan and Jared had been from the bus station to the train station enough times to know where to go, so they ran to the train station. (I definitely needed their help getting all of our bags into the platform. I sat with our pile of stuff until they got there.) Alex ran the other direction to the rental agency and dropped off the keys. He had to run 1 ½ miles from the rental agency to the train station, which included a big hill. He made it in 13 minutes, leaving 3 minutes to spare before our train left. Whew!
Now, the rest of the rental deposit story... We were just rushing to get everything clean and out. It had rained hard all weekend, so the yard was muddy and we were tracking in dirt as we walked in and out. We picked up any items in the yard, put the clothesline away, and swept the back porch. We didn't have any time to pick weeds or any means to trim the grass again. I don't know if the kids left sticks lying around when they were playing out there while we were cleaning inside. We cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms, wiped down walls/windows/trim, vacuumed, swept and mopped the floors. We did our best to clean everything up, but it wasn't spotless. By most any standards, it was sufficiently clean for move-out. It wasn't required to be professionally cleaned (it wasn't pristine), it was empty, and we feel like we left it in nearly the same state on arrival. However, we didn't think about cleaning the oven and we didn't have time for final touch-ups. Apparently we missed some dirt in the entryway, dirt on the outside of the front door, and a cobweb in one of the rooms.
We had asked our rental agency (Harrington's) about a move-out inspection, but they told us that wasn't necessary. So we didn't do one, due to our limited time, which we should have made time for. They did a walk through the next day without us, supposedly taking pictures and doing a move out inspection. They never sent us a copy of that report, but when we inquired about our deposit about a week or so later, we were informed that we weren't getting our deposit back because the place had been left untidy. When asked for the reasons, they sent a few pictures they had taken. They never did send the move out inspection to us. They also provided no photos of the yard.
We pushed back and expressed our disagreement over them keeping the deposit. They wouldn't provide any further details, aside from their claim that the place wasn't in the same state it was on arrival (which apparently had been professionally cleaned). I had to push back on that idea, because if it was professionally cleaned, then I was confused why I had to clean crumbs out of the drawers in the kitchen and scrub down the bathrooms when we arrived. And there was no indication or mention that it had been professionally cleaned (or that we were required to have leave it in the pristine condition they claimed existed on arrival). A few days after our request for our deposit, they just sent us a copy of the invoice for the work they had done. They claimed the place required 10 ½ hours of professional cleaning and yardwork and £230 for painting. They said the yard required 3 quantities of weed spray and a fee for waste removal. What I am wondering is if they used a massive amount of weed spray, what kinds of things required waste removal? (It sounds like there weren't weeds removed, just sprayed.) We'll never know the reasons, because they never provided any further discussion. And don't you think the outside of the front door would naturally have some dirt on it (considering it was raining off and on when we left)?
The only things that I conceded on were the oven, which we had forgotten to clean (although it wasn't very dirty), and a little bit for paint touch up. I acknowledge that we left some areas on the hallway wall splotchy where Savannah had colored on. We tried to wipe it off, but doing so rubbed the paint off. The rental agency admitted that the type of paint they used cannot be wiped clean. They used that in all areas of the place, even the more heavy traffic areas of the kitchen and hallway. (Why would you use a paint that can't be wiped down in a rental place??) Not knowing about the paint beforehand, we did try to wipe down the walls, which left some areas that needed touch up. However, they came back and claimed that the hallway, living room, and walls in 3 of the bedrooms needed to be painted.
They sent the invoice for work they had already done prior to any information about our deposit being withheld. They offered just £208 of our £700 deposit. Well, if I hadn't put any effort into cleaning and left the place trashed out, I wouldn't have complained. But it wasn't acceptable the amount they were offering to a place that was clean and tidy. I wasn't sure what to do, but got some advice from local friends there about disputing a deposit. And that's what we ended up doing - filing a formal dispute. Apparently, often when the idea of entering a formal dispute is brought up, the rental agency will often negotiate and it can be resolved before you have to file a dispute. This agency wasn't willing to work with us. So, I filed a formal dispute, spending several hours putting together our case, complete with pictures and the scanned tenancy agreement and whatever evidence I had to support our case. The disadvantage for us was the agency wouldn't provide us the move out inspection, so it was tough to make a case without the photos to show what the place looked like when we left. Also, the way the dispute resolution works is the tenant sends in their case to a 3rd party (who will look at both sides and make a decision). The rental agency then gets to see what you sent in and respond. We never see what the rental agency sends in or get to respond to any of their case. Then a decision is made, which is final, and both sides have to accept whatever that decision is.
It took about 3 months for the process. Our tenancy ended on July 31st and we finally got most of our deposit on November 1st. We conceded £50 for painting before the dispute, they initially gave back £208, so the disputed amount was £442. They got 30% of their painting costs and 50% of their cleaning charges. I still did not agree with what they got for cleaning, but it might have evened out on the yard. They got nothing for their supposed yardwork, because they didn't provide any evidence. They must not have taken any pictures... I'm sure there may have been some weeds and maybe a couple of sticks lying around, so they probably could have gotten some percentage if they had the evidence. I guess the yard work makes up for the cleaning. We ended up getting £559 of the £700, so I'm glad we got that amount. It is unfortunate that it's a bit of a win-win for the rental agency - they tried to keep £493. They either try to withhold that, hoping the tenant won't dispute it, or they go to dispute resolution and will likely get something back. They still got £141, which is better than nothing.
It was a very frustrating process. We had other frustrating things throughout the year as well with this agency. The place wasn't ready to move in when we had agreed (complete with last minute notice and trying to cover up the fact they hadn't started painting the place during the 3 weeks they had to do that. They didn't bother to tell us that either - just said a "maintenance issue" came up). So we had to pay for motels and luggage storage. When there was a leak in the wall, they came to "fix" it, but instead of finding the source of the problem, they just painted over the wet spot. They brought potential buyers throughout the time we were there, instead of the last 2 months as stated in our tenancy agreement. They also gave less than 24 hours notice a few times, until we complained, and then they gave JUST barely 24 hours notice before a showing. We had showings in January three weekends in a row. For one of those, we told them it wouldn't work because the kids were going to be there by themselves. They said it was okay if the kids were there when they did the showing. Ummm... bringing strangers in to look at our place while our kids are there and we are not...No. We had to change our plans that weekend, because they held to their right to show the place at any time with sufficient notice. And then when our dryer stopped working during the last few months, we called about maintenance on it. They said the washer and dryer weren't included in the inventory for the place. They had been left by one of the previous tenants, and thus not part of the property, so it wasn't their responsibility to fix it. Okay... they could have mentioned that when we moved in and included it as a perk for the place. I guess the next tenant will be disappointed when they discover the dryer doesn't work (because it probably wasn't removed from the property, and we didn't feel like that was our responsibility to dispose of it.)
Anyway, we shouldn't have been surprised they withheld our deposit after the other things that had happened, but we didn't expect to have to deal with that challenge. But it's done now - life goes on.
Moving is full of all kinds of challenges.
