Here's a Friday fun story that details what I had to deal with earlier this week. The lesson of the story is to not be afraid of asking for a discount, the worst they can say is no.

Monday afternoon, my cell phone rings and I notice that it's the bride-to-be. She was in Iowa for the week, so I figured something might be wrong. I was in a meeting, so I stepped out to take the call. The management of the apartment complex where she lives had called to tell her that her hot water heater was leaking and the 2 places below her had flooded.

To make matters worse, the apartment managers said they didn't have a key to get in. (That was not true, they later found it) So, when I arrived, there was a dude trying to break into her place with a sledge hammer and a drill. He succesfully ruined her door, and scared the cat to death.

I get in and turn the water and electricity off to the hot water heater. There is very little water damage to her apartment, only the floor of the storage closet was wet. Then I began hearing horror storires of the ceiling falling in on the beds of her downstairs neighbors.

Since she owns the place, it's her responsiblity to replace the hot water heater. The apartments below are owned by the property management company, so they will hire the folks to come in and make repairs. Her insurance company says that this wasn't a negligent act, so she's not liable for any of the damages.

So - I go to get a new hot water heater -- I couldn't find one that I liked at the first home improvement store, so I go across the road to another one. They had the exact model I wanted, and there was one box marked "damaged". I found a person to help me and asked what it meant that it was damaged. He showed me that it had been dented when moved by the forklift.

I asked if he would give me a discount. He had to check with management, and they gave me $100 off. Not a bad ending to a stressful situation.

Thanks for reading!mortgage calculator