weren't vs wasn't vs hadn't been

bluejester12 said:

"For two years we lived next to Apartment 2A without seeing its occupant, and I probably would never have if it weren't for the nymphs."

Correct?

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"Weren't" is subjunctive. There's no reason to use subjunctive here, unless the "nymphs" never actually existed. If the latter were the case, then I'm not certain which of the two—"hadn't been" (pluperfect subjunctive) or weren't (past subjunctive)—should be used.

I reckon this style of writing would drive you mad faster than it would your readers.

And I would have gotten away with it, if it hadn't been for those darn kids!