I wouldn’t say that I’m living illegally in my apartment, oh no. But, I haven’t signed a lease. And, I wonder if my rent is going to go up every month until it’s time to sign a new lease in October. That said, there are things in the apartment that need to be fixed.

While cooking chicken McNuggets last night, the metal hook you pull to open the oven door fell off. There’s a nail which fits into the metal, but it got me as to how to screw it in. Unless, this would be a task worthy of an electric screw-driver? Well, surprise, I don’t have one. In fact, I’m wondering if there are any magnets that can be bought to suffice. Or, hmm, maybe duck tape? I feel like I’ve turned into my grandpa in terms of fixing things. He fixed EVERYTHING with duck tape. So much so, that on his 80th birthday, his children created a card for him purely out duck tape, with paper inserted.

The light switch for the living room has also mysteriously vanished. Well, touché, it was gone long before I took the apartment. And, the paint on some of the walls is showing more crack than a 14 year old girl wearing low-rise jeans for the first time.

Additionally, the front door lock badly sticks and it tends to take about 1-2 minutes just to lock the door on the way out; the lock is so old, it likely needs to be replaced.

The thing is, are these issues worth bringing up with the landlord? Do landlords raise rent based on their tenants’ (valid) complaints?

Or, would investing in “Apartment-fixing”’ for dummies be the more prudent route? It may be time to visit ye olde Brooklyn bookstore. . .

**On the plus side, guess who put together her brand new desk using TOOLS all on her own? Yep, this girl! The feeling of putting together furniture is so empowering – it’s a bit tricky, and doesn’t come easily to klutzes like me, but the rush of stepping back from my now standing desk —- Amazing!

Tags: complaints, Landlord, repairs