Repairing the Unsellable Condo

Having finally gotten the tenants out of the Unsellable Condo, I have attempted to start the cleanup and repair. On Wednesday, my local contractor/handyman came back from his extended July 4th vacation and we toured the condo together. This morning, I received his estimate for the repairs. He broke the cost down for me as follows:

Living & Laundry Rooms:
1. Replace 60-inch laundry room louvered doors
2. Repair large patch on wall by front door
3. Repair living room closet shelf
4. Install rods at missing areas for mini-blinds.
Cost: $425

Guest Bedroom:
1. Repair holes in drywall where needed
2. Paint walls and closet
3. Replace cover plate on electric outlet
4. Replace damaged shelves in closet
Cost: $550

Hall Bathroom:
1. Remove peeling wallpaper
2. Sand and paint walls
3. Remove and discard damaged tile around shower
4. Provide and install new white ceramic tile
5. Replace damaged towel rack
Cost: $1,175

Master Bedroom & Bath:
1. Repair damaged blinds
2. Repair ceiling fan
3. Remove and discard damaged tile around shower
4. Provide and install white ceramic tile
5. Replace damaged towel rack
Cost: $800

In other words, $2,950 to repair the damage the tenants did to the unit in only six months (of which they only paid rent for four). Add to that the over $800 I had to pay a plumber to stop the massively leaking shower, and the repair bill exceeds the rents collected.

And even that's just the repair portion, not the cleaning. They left massive stains on the carpet, including what looks like mustard and ketchup and some unidentifiable pink spots in different rooms. I had the cleaning girl who keeps the house up for me start shampooing the carpet today ($200) to see if the stains will even come out or if I need to replace the carpet as well, but less than an hour into the job, the electricity went out. I had forgotten to change the utilities over to my name (my bad), so she had to quit for the day while I try to get new service established. It also means that the contractor will have to wait until the power's back on.

So today probably wasn't the best day to meet over lunch with the head of the Zen Center to discuss increasing my donations to the zendo. The need for the increase is legitimate, and his proposal was fair, but I was in less than a charitable mood after getting the contractor's costs and paying for the carpet cleaning. I told him I'll think about it, and left, probably leaving him wondering how I got to be so grumpy.

The perfection of charity, in Sanskrit, is dana paramita. It is one of the six marks or characteristic features that distinguish a bodhisattva. My frustration with these mounting costs reminds me of how far I am from being a bodhisattva.