When Lars came by to clean a few weeks ago, he sheepishly asked if he could have his mail sent here. He said he didn't have his apartment anymore, he had split with 'his girl' and is living at his parent's house. It seemed a little strange that his mail couldn't go to Mom & Dad's but he told me there wouldn't be much, and so feeling sorry for the guy, I agreed.
It's been about 20 days that his mail has been coming here and a conservative estimate would put the volume of mail at 30 pieces.....almost all of them from banks, card companies, the mortgage company, and collection agencies. I wonder if I need to be checking into the rights of tenants in a foreclosure in Denmark. Will I come home someday to find a bailiff's padlock on the door? The Danes put a great amount of importance on addresses. This is a country where your bank automatically sends your account information to the tax authorities every year at tax time. Funny that Oprah didn't point that out when she did her show from Copenhagen last fall. Did she mention the drinking age is 16? But I digress.....
It's been quite a few months since we've started to suspect that Lars was having financial problems. Every time that we mentioned some work that needed to be done around the house, he put us off....saying he had no money. A broke landlord is not the best thing to have when the big burner on the cooktop has only one setting left and thats 'high'. What's he going to say when I tell him the roof is leaking? I guess buckets are cheap enough.
Our biggest immediate concern is the pool, or as it is in its present state, the big cement hole in the back yard. The pool guy has been out to investigate. He claims the leak is fixed though he didn't actually DO anything. Lars dug up part of the patio so he could fix the light that doesn't work,but apparently that wasn't necessary. He wanted the rest of the water out of the pool so he could do the electrical work without toasting his underwear. The water is out...except for a small mosquito breeding pond in the deep end....and if it ever stops raining pool guy might come back to finish. There is some question about who is going to pay for last year's chemicals though. It seems we didn't pay a bill we didn't get. The pool guy couldn't remember how much was owed, just that he wasn't coming back here until he got his money.
Now, we have to refill the pool and how is 'Lars of No Money' going to pay for it, should it come out of the rent? The lease says (and we told him when we took the place) we weren't going to pay to maintain his pool) If only he'd fixed it when we first told him about it! But, we pay for the water so why bother....hmmmm....since his address is here now, I could probably call the kommune and switch it back over to his name. I suppse that means some day our water will be shut off for non-payment.
Yesterday, Lars sent me a text that said he was on his way over to clean the house. He comes once a week and does the floors, the kitchen, the bathroom, and the lawn mowing....um yeah...the light yard work. But, he didn't show up. He didn't answer when I texted him back a few hours later wondering if he was still coming. Something must have happened in the half hour it usually takes him to get here after he texts. I dunno. I don't get him just not showing up. He sent a message he was on his way and Lord knows he seems to need the money. It's hard not to feel sorry for the guy. He's still fairly young and he must feel like his life is in the crapper right now. My gut is telling me that his 'girl' got the 5 years in Denmark she needed to stay here without him, and said "See ya' later."
I'm also going to guess that she wasn't happy with her new digs, considering she had this nice house with a pool to look forward to when she moved here. And it's probably damn near impossible to run a business from a 2 room apartment with 3 people living there. Something had to give.
As Lars problems mount, those of Lena, my housekeeper in Baku, are over. I found out last week that she succumbed to her cancer a couple of months ago. She was 47 years old.
I'll stop whining about my house now and be grateful the Danish government sent me a note in January to tell me it was time to come in for a mammogram. With all this moving around I had been very very bad and missed quite a few years. I really thought about blowing off my summons to Bjipsberg Hospital on the morning of January 19th, but I went. They send you a letter with your results, in Danish of course....most nerve wracking Google translate ever....but all was okay. See you in 2 years (even better).
I was told that Lena remained feisty and fought her cancer hard right up until the end. The last time I saw her she was so angry and it was heartbreaking. I hope she eventually found some peace in her final months. R.I.P. Lena.....
It's been about 20 days that his mail has been coming here and a conservative estimate would put the volume of mail at 30 pieces.....almost all of them from banks, card companies, the mortgage company, and collection agencies. I wonder if I need to be checking into the rights of tenants in a foreclosure in Denmark. Will I come home someday to find a bailiff's padlock on the door? The Danes put a great amount of importance on addresses. This is a country where your bank automatically sends your account information to the tax authorities every year at tax time. Funny that Oprah didn't point that out when she did her show from Copenhagen last fall. Did she mention the drinking age is 16? But I digress.....
It's been quite a few months since we've started to suspect that Lars was having financial problems. Every time that we mentioned some work that needed to be done around the house, he put us off....saying he had no money. A broke landlord is not the best thing to have when the big burner on the cooktop has only one setting left and thats 'high'. What's he going to say when I tell him the roof is leaking? I guess buckets are cheap enough.
Our biggest immediate concern is the pool, or as it is in its present state, the big cement hole in the back yard. The pool guy has been out to investigate. He claims the leak is fixed though he didn't actually DO anything. Lars dug up part of the patio so he could fix the light that doesn't work,but apparently that wasn't necessary. He wanted the rest of the water out of the pool so he could do the electrical work without toasting his underwear. The water is out...except for a small mosquito breeding pond in the deep end....and if it ever stops raining pool guy might come back to finish. There is some question about who is going to pay for last year's chemicals though. It seems we didn't pay a bill we didn't get. The pool guy couldn't remember how much was owed, just that he wasn't coming back here until he got his money.
Now, we have to refill the pool and how is 'Lars of No Money' going to pay for it, should it come out of the rent? The lease says (and we told him when we took the place) we weren't going to pay to maintain his pool) If only he'd fixed it when we first told him about it! But, we pay for the water so why bother....hmmmm....since his address is here now, I could probably call the kommune and switch it back over to his name. I suppse that means some day our water will be shut off for non-payment.
Yesterday, Lars sent me a text that said he was on his way over to clean the house. He comes once a week and does the floors, the kitchen, the bathroom, and the lawn mowing....um yeah...the light yard work. But, he didn't show up. He didn't answer when I texted him back a few hours later wondering if he was still coming. Something must have happened in the half hour it usually takes him to get here after he texts. I dunno. I don't get him just not showing up. He sent a message he was on his way and Lord knows he seems to need the money. It's hard not to feel sorry for the guy. He's still fairly young and he must feel like his life is in the crapper right now. My gut is telling me that his 'girl' got the 5 years in Denmark she needed to stay here without him, and said "See ya' later."
I'm also going to guess that she wasn't happy with her new digs, considering she had this nice house with a pool to look forward to when she moved here. And it's probably damn near impossible to run a business from a 2 room apartment with 3 people living there. Something had to give.
As Lars problems mount, those of Lena, my housekeeper in Baku, are over. I found out last week that she succumbed to her cancer a couple of months ago. She was 47 years old.
I'll stop whining about my house now and be grateful the Danish government sent me a note in January to tell me it was time to come in for a mammogram. With all this moving around I had been very very bad and missed quite a few years. I really thought about blowing off my summons to Bjipsberg Hospital on the morning of January 19th, but I went. They send you a letter with your results, in Danish of course....most nerve wracking Google translate ever....but all was okay. See you in 2 years (even better).
I was told that Lena remained feisty and fought her cancer hard right up until the end. The last time I saw her she was so angry and it was heartbreaking. I hope she eventually found some peace in her final months. R.I.P. Lena.....
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