My Time as Eric Galloway's Tenant – Part 5

Putting it all back together and the electrical problem.

Galloway's workers moved all of my possessions to Unit 25 except one, my mattress. The mattress was left in Unit 6 but was now covered in debris. My new unit was now stacked with trash bags piled 3-4 feet high. All I could do was open the door. I piled a few bags even higher so that I could at least look for a few things.

The workers had thrown all of my possessions randomly into trash bags, so finding anything was impossible. I didn't know where to start. In rooms this small, the only way to make things fit is to use every bit of vertical space possible. Unit 6 had had shelving on one full side of the unit the full height of the room. Now everything was in a complete jumble and there was nowhere to put anything away.

I found three pillows, cleared enough room to lay down on them. That is how I slept for about two weeks. I had plunged into a deep depression over the whole ordeal and did not know how to even begin to put everything back in order.

I finally crawled out of my depression, piled some more bags even higher so that I could install the shelving. Once the shelving was up, I started going through the bags. Computer equipment was mixed with shoes, food, dishes. The workers who had put the stuff in bags made no effort to put like with like. It took another 2-3 weeks to finally sort everything out.

Once I got everything in its proper place, something very strange started happening. One by one, all of my electronic equipment started burning out. I started mentioning it to other people in the building and was told by one tenant that the whole top floor had electrical problems. The building's electrical system had not been upgraded in many years. In the not too distant past most people had a refrigerator and perhaps a radio or small TV in these units. Now almost every tenant had those, plus a computer and even though the leases prohibited tenants from having air conditioners, almost everyone did since the all of the units had no cross ventilation and were sweltering without a/c. There was simply not enough juice getting to the top floor, a perpetual brown-out.  Whether Galloway knew of the problem before renting me the unit I can't say. But it is hard for me to believe that he didn't.

Nearly every unit had an air conditioner, computer, refrigerator and TV

In June, Eric Galloway sold the building. The new owner was a very decent guy. When I informed him of the problem with the electrical system, he immediately offered me a unit downstairs which solved the problem. He then upgraded the electrical system and solved the problem building-wide.

One day he stopped by to be sure that everything was OK. I assured him that it was and thanked him for helping and addressing the situation. He then told me that when he was negotiating with Eric Galloway to buy the building, Galloway told him that he only liked owning buildings with challenges. But that this building was too easy for him, that is why he was unloading it. Needless to say, the new owner regretted the day he set eyes on the building.

Next – The wrap up.