Today's letter to Her, for documenation purposes. I'm also sending myself a copy via USPS that will be filed, unopened, in case I need it later.

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From: Scout
To: Landlady

Dear Landlady, 16 September 2008

Thank you for stopping by on September 11th and for discussing my concerns about my apartment and the building. .

I am writing to make sure I understand your responses to my concerns. I know we both value clear, concise communication, and this is my attempt to uphold that standard.

Here are the items we discussed:

1. The leak under the kitchen sink – you fixed this right away. Thank you.

2. The stove knob for the front right burner – The knob has not worked for several years, and I am the third tenant to inherit this repair. You indicated that you will be selling your Burien house to the county, and when that occurs, you will swap out the stove from that house with the one currently in my apartment. There was no timeline established for this repair.

3. The downstairs toilet – I indicated that this toilet doesn’t fill reliably. You said that the FlowMaster was defective and that you would “try to get the plumber out next week”. “Next week” would then be sometime between September 15th and 19th. I look forward to seeing the plumber this week.

4. Yard maintenance. When I pointed out that the front yard is overgrown and is not readily usable as a space for the tenants, you assured me that it had been recently mowed. The yard appears to need not only a mowing, but weeding and trimming back of overgrown shrubs so that tenants can have access to the path leading to common areas (laundry and storage). You did not say when the yard would be tended again.

5. Insulation. I reminded you that this will be the third winter I have lived in a unit without any insulation in the floor below. My concern is that my heating bill doubles in the winter, regardless of my using gas or electric heat. You responded that the county had not yet signed off on the permit required to install insulation in the ceiling of the apartment below me. You said I was “welcome to call [Our] County Permitting” to see if I could somehow influence the expedient inspection of the property. You offered no other remedy, and no timeline for completion of the insulation.

If I have misunderstood your responses to the above concerns, please feel free to call or come by so that we can mutually understand how the above concerns will be remedied.

Thank you again for stopping by and inquiring about the state of my apartment.

Sincerely,


Scout.