Construction

Isaak O

February 24, 2012 - 12:00 PM

One of the problems of renting a house is the lack of control that you have over it. The rental agency and the owner of the property have the ultimate say in any aesthetic modifications of the property. This is nothing that I reflect on much in my two years as a house renter in Eugene until recently, when the rental agency contacted me to let me know that they would be doing some yard work at my house.

Yard work quickly turned into the construction of a new sidewalk, which turned into the construction of a new retaining wall, which turned into the construction of a picket fence. Most of this was supposed to take place while I was away in Portland over winter break, but much to my surprise it continued a full month after I returned. This was with little word or notice from the rental agency, so I was not pleased.

The only reason that I am not still fuming is that the owner of the house was kind enough to provide us with a lovely gift basket in exchange for our troubles. At least $40 of gourmet cheese, plus two boxes of candy, caramel popcorn, and other high quality junk food was delivered to us personally by the owner. I'm a sucker for a good apology, and how could I refuse with such a formidable bribe?