Housing Woes

Between November and the end of January, all 3 of my neighbors moved out of their houses. No one came in to fill the vacancies. The landlord required the tenants to pay the gate guards and divide their salaries between the number of tenants currently on the property.  Of course, that meant I was the only one paying which was far more than I could afford. At end of January, I had an e-mail disagreement with the landlord about that issue. Subsequently, I was given 4 days to move out of my house. Thankfully, I was able to talk him into letting me stay another month. My lease agreement called for 90 day termination, but there are no landlord-tenant laws here, so I was thankful for the extra 28 days that I did get.
 
Off I went on a search for a new place to live. Rental homes can be a bit hard to find. The houses which are listed with realtors on the internet or otherwise are typically out of my price range. So it’s often by word of mouth, or a local “house finder” who knows the neighborhood well.  It was through one of these house finders that I met Daniel. He seemed quite eager to have a tenant in his newly built unit. On a Monday we discussed what still needed finishing. He assured me that I would be able to move into two completed rooms on the following Friday and that he would have the kitchen installed and other finishing work done within 10 days after that.  On Tuesday, we finalized the lease and he again assured me that I would be able to move in on Friday.   On Wednesday, I gave the signed lease and a check for 3 months’ rent and a deposit (normal here) to his wife. 
 
On Friday morning, 7 men from Flying Mission came with various vehicles and trailers to help me move. We loaded everything up and drove to the new house. Nothing, absolutely nothing, that had been promised had been completed. As we walked through the house, two of the pilots encouraged me not to move in since there was far too much that needed to be completed. My belongings would not be secure since all of the rooms would require workmen to be in them.
On the fly, we made a decision to move my things into a cottage being rented by someone planning on joining FMZ in the near future. I ended up staying there for nearly 6 weeks among all of my boxes. 

Soon, I found another house.  It ended up being even nicer and safer than the one I was planning on moving into and much safer. The great thing is, I’m only paying about $2/month more than I was at the house I’ve lived in for the past 3 years!  And on April 8, the day the new landlord and I had agreed on, the FMZ guys helped me move again.  Most things have been unpacked and I’m starting to feel settled there. 

I’m really hoping I’m done moving house for a very, very long time.