That time I went to the courthouse for the first time

These fines will never stop haunting this house. Day after New Years, I received a notice that there was evidence of rats in the house. We exterminated and cleared out the place three months ago of course, but all right, I guess they have to make sure.

This notice was a $300 fine or a summons to the court for a hearing to defend yourself at the downtown Brooklyn courthouse.

At 8:30 in the morning.

So we go. I am of course freaking out that we are two minutes late.

Shit, it’s 8:31 and we are a block away! Quick!

The elevator squeaks down as it rolls through 8:33 and I wonder outloud (panic outloud) if I missed my chance.

We get to the right floor and I practically run up to the guard at 8:34 – my hearing is at 8:30, did I miss it?

He hands me a form to fill out. Please complete this with your notice.

My hearing is at 8:30, I say.

He nods. You’re all right. Just fill out the form and bring it back to me. They will call your name when it’s time to see the judge.

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Same !@#$, Different Door

Last week our contractor told us we had to pick a new door because the door he initially picked out was too big for the size of the entry way. 36 inches instead of 32 inches. Luckily (though annoyingly), he also said he didn’t want to put such a nice door in while so much construction traffic was going on so there was time to pick something. He said he would try to find something comparable.

Yesterday, he sent us a super ugly door that was only comparable in that the window was in the same place. He asked us about it and we said we would find one and send it to him.

It could take a few weeks to order a new one though, just warning you.

I took a breath. But that’s okay right because you’re putting it in later.

Yeah it should be fine.

It was the middle of our call by then and the first part consisted of us having to explain to him that the reason the HUD inspector was coming by on Thursday was not so he could get his first chunk of money back, but also so the inspector could sign off on our extension form.

Oh yeah yeah okay yeah, he said. I can also do a quick timeline for them, since they’re going to ask.

They finally started the siding! Here are some pictures!

I had almost resigned myself to thinking it was never going to start. Our contractor told us the siding guy was coming today, on a Saturday, to start the siding. The picture above is what was under the siding and you can see they started putting on the new siding towards the bottom of the house. Vinyl siding instead of aluminum. Either way, it’s going to get painted over by one of our friends at some point so no matter.

Doors are going in next week and windows are going in the week after. Electrician and plumber visited this week and we should be getting an update from our contractor tomorrow on what’s next.

Thank you 79th Precinct for coming to our rescue with an army of cops! (Even though the squatter wasn’t in the house when you came)

So we called the cops last night at like 10:30pm. Coldest night of the year. Yay.

We didn’t go in to check and see if anyone was there. At this point, we didn’t know what the hell to expect. It was dark, it was late, and fuck if there were a bunch of people ready to fuck us up.

So we called 911 and explained the situation. They said they were sending someone right then.

And then two minutes later, a cop car rolled up!

What are you guys doing out here? She asks.

We called you guys, I said as respectfully as I could without freaking out.

You guys the owners?

Yes! Thank you for coming!

She asked what the backyard looked like, if anyone could jump over a fence. To get away I assume. We told her there was a big, high brick wall back there. She nodded okay.

Then five more cop cars rolled up.

So the squatter didn’t actually leave

I mean, no big surprise. It’s cold as fuck and we didn’t call the cops on him yet.

We went by the house on new years day and actually got a good look at what was in there. Not only was there a mattress, but also a stack of National Geographics paperweighted by the Bible, a bag of groceries, and a stack of blankets and pillows hidden behind an egg crate mattress topper.

This guy is into his comfort.

So this afternoon, my boyfriend walked by again to see if he could catch the guy. Instead, he left a note with the name and location of a local shelter (we called to see if they had room and they said, well, they have room tonight), and a warning that we were going to call the cops and clear all of his stuff out.

Then tonight, we tried to call the cops (79th precinct!) and they said we had to:

1. Call 911.

2. Be at the location.

3. Have a copy of the deed to prove that we are the owners of the house.