When Your Flatmate Leaves You Flat
My flatmates and I are finishing University, and between us, we decide to sell off everything we won’t need to pay off some damages to our rented flat. We bought everything evenly and have all been responsible for the flat, so it’s nice and easy to work out.
Flatmate #1: “So, how do we do this?”
Flatmate #2: “I want to keep some bits for myself.”
Me: “I’m happy to sell everything. We need the money and we are going to have to sell everything we have to get it. Tell you what: we price everything up, and if we want to keep anything, we ‘pay’ that out of our own pocket.”
Flatmate #1: “Sounds fair.”
Flatmate #2: “Wait, can’t we just all take an item?”
Flatmate #1: “I’m not taking anything.”
Me: “Me, neither.”
Flatmate #2: “Fine, I guess.”
We price everything up and list the stuff we don’t want. [Flatmate #2] clearly tries to lowball all the stuff he wants to keep, but we don’t let him. Eventually, we are left with the stuff to get us by until we leave — kettle, fridge, TV, and mattresses — but we are still short on the cash.
Me: “Hey, has [Flatmate #2] paid for his things yet?”
Flatmate #1: “No, I thought he gave it to you.”
Me: “Typical. Hey, [Flatmate #2]! We need that cash from you!”
Flatmate #2: “What? Can’t we just sell something else?”
Me: “No, we need everything. What are you taking, anyway?”
He has put aside more than we realise, but it’s all tat — stuff from charity shops, stuff we found in skips being too drunk to know what we were doing, etc.
Flatmate #1: “Come on, mate. You’re leaving before us; we need the cash before you go.”
Flatmate #2: “I’ll get it, all right?!”
Weeks later, [Flatmate #2] still hadn’t got us the money. Then, out of the blue, I got a message from him. “Left what I owe on the side. Leaving now.”
“Great,” I thought. “At least he’s done the right thing.”
But then, I got home and the kettle and TV were missing, and the exact amount we had agreed to sell it for were left on the side.
I hope he enjoys his tatty garden chair and old sports gear he will never use.