Homeowner Woes

Who knew when I bought a "stress-free, low maintenance" condo last spring that I would be dealing with grout, plumbing, and heat issues a year later? The quirk of owning a condo is that your issues may have stemmed from someone else's issues. You can sometimes piggyback onto the remedy with little effort on your part, but sometimes you have to pull teeth to get things fixed. I'm beginning to think that the sole ownership of a single family home might've been a better option for me. If I'm the only one accountable, I'll get shit done. If not, there's so much grey area that it takes forever to get something done. For instance, the plumbing. My bathtub stopped draining altogether last Wednesday. At the same time, the people doing maintenance to a unit below me got in trouble for doing plumbing work without a permit. I didn't make accusations, but I told them what was going on in my unit and that I had planned to hire a plumber. They were quick to tell me that they'd take care of it. Ok, free vs plumber costs, I'm going to let them take care of it for free. Turns out that the access room for my pipes is padlocked shut. It takes yet another day to find out if it's ok to cut the lock and another day to actually cut the lock. I'm pestering the maintenance guys today by calling and checking on the status. I better get home to a tub that drains!
Let's lighten the mood a bit shall we? Ariane and I are going to see Belle and Sebastian and the New Pornographers on Sunday. YAY!