Rent Smack Down

My roommate is in awe of me since last night, an appreciation so great I might be able to avoid washing dishes or sweeping our eternally dirty balcony for a week. I have saved the house.

Two days ago, our Homsi landlord Abu Yallis called to let us know rent was due. Our apartment, beautifully situated in Jerimana on the main street, is paid for tri-monthly out of a curtesy to Abu Yallis and his not wanting to come down to Damascus every month. This is our first payment since the initial. I told him we would need a few days to get the money together, due to the daily limits my bank places on ATM withdrawal.

He said we need to talk about "ziyadeh" (extra) for the summer. No I told him, there is no extra. We agreed to meet last evening to pay.

The night before last the simsar (real estate guy) who had hooked us up with the apartment showed up on our doorstep, ringing the bell at 11:00pm. Who shows up at 11:00pm at a strangers house without at least calling ahead? Furthermore, who goes to a house where they know two women live alone at 11:00pm? To talk business? Dude's Syrian, he knows the rules and he would have never done that to two Syrian girls living alone (while rare, they exist. I met two medical students from Deraa sharing an apartment in Mezzeh). He asks if Abu Yallis has been by about the rent yet, I say no, he asks about renewing the rent contract. No I say. I'm going to sleep.

Abu Yallis comes over yesterday, checks the electricity, remarks that we are very good with not wasting power, since our bill is half of what the previous tenants were paying. Before he came I had been powwowing with my roommate, determined not to pay a cent over the agreed amount. "Let's practice again," I cojole her, "ma byseer! mustaheel!" (no way, imposssible!)

Abu Yallis and I go around for a good 20 minutes cause he says we need to renew the contract, and we have to pay a simsar (a different one) 1000 lira for this. I question him what the money's for, and apparently its because we're foreign. I mention how we're only paying rent, not renewing the contract, but am told they need a record that we're still in the apartment. I cave. The simsar comes over, draws up the contract, and Abu Yallis asks for the money.

54,000 lira right, 18 a month? I say. No, no, no, he shakes his head. There's ziyadeh because of the summer. How is summer more, I ask, since we pay electricity seperate?

"Because its summer. There's a summer rate and a winter rate." 3 months ago, there was no mention of this when we got the place. "I could rent this place out today to a guy ready to pay 25,000 a month 6 months in advance." He doesn't name what he expects this ziadeh to be. he also tells us the Iraqis before us were paying 30,000 a month.

I tell him prices have gone down since a lot of Iraqis are leaving. I seriously doubt he has a man ready to move in today. I tell him that I will pay what we agreed upon three months ago. He tells me its summer: "I could get 25,000. I'm not asking for that, but I have to benefit." He says he told the simsar office that naturally prices would go up in the summer.
"You didn't tell me that."
"That's not my fault. When you go the place I asked if you could pay 6 months in advance, and you said you could. But I only took three. If the price was going to stay the same, why wouldn't I have taken all 6?"
"This place was already a lot more expensive than any other place I saw. I only took it for the balcony. But I can live without one. I would not have taken it if I knew about a 'summer price'".

I finally ask him how much ziyadeh we're talking about here. He repeats about how he could get 25,000, and he's not asking for that, but he's looking to benefit. The simsar, quiet during our debate, has stopped filling out the contract renewal forma and steps in to mediate. "So there's 18 and 25. Let's meet in the middle?"
"What like 22?"
"ok, 22." Simsar says.
"MA BYSEER! I prefer to move!"

The simsar and Abu Yallis tell us we don't really want to move, its tiring and hard, and we're girls, and we'll have to pay 5,000 at least to a new simsar. He tells me to go try to find a cheaper apartment.
"Of course! I'll just get off the main street. We'll save more money paying the simsar 5 once and having a cheaper apartment than paying 22 every month!"

At one point I stormed off to my room next to the salon and started throwing clothes into an open suitcase. Then I remembered that grown-ups do not solve problems by making scenes. I returned and sat next to my silent roommate, smoothing my skirt with propriety.

We went around. The price got lowered to 20. "Mustaheel! No," I said. "We agreed on a price. We'll pay the price, or we'll move. And what does girls have to do with it?"
"You're going to fight over 2000 lira?"
"This apartment is already more expensive than I could get. 18 was expensive. And what will happen after three months?"
"You can leave then if you want, or you can stay."
"So why not leave now and save money? How much is the price going to be next time?"
"It'll stay the summer price."
"MA BYSEER ABADAN! Summer will be over. ma byseer."

There was a long silence. I broke it. "Alright. By when do we have our stuff cleared out?"
There was no answer, and I thought to myself I had called Abu Yallis' bluff. He finally agreed to take the 18, citing pity and the fact that we were girls. Call it what you will Abu Yallis, but we met in the staring contest of life and you blinked.

In the post-game analysis over a game of trex with friends, who were all very proud of me, I was told that he had a right to try to get more money. "If he can get more, why shouldn't he? It's a game." A game that I won.