(no subject)

[sanpaku_backup]

S, Jo, and my mother- and sister-in-law stayed at the vacation condo we rented a few days after I left, so I wasn't able to be a fascist about cleaning stuff up, and now the condo owners skimmed $100 off the deposit for "extra cleaning of the fridge, floor, etc."

#1, that is a pretty fucking expensive cleaning woman. #2, no one said anything about cleaning the floors (there were no cleaning supplies) and indeed no one even mentioned that we could be docked from the deposit for "extra cleaning" until after we left. #3, I guarantee you that whatever was left in the fridge did not take hours to clean. #4, we were there for five days with a broken oven -- I even had fantasies that they might kick US back some money for the inconvenience, which we had to make numerous calls about and so on.

If you were reading this six years ago, I went through something similar with the landlord from our house in Baltimore... hemming and hawing and hm, we had to take this and this and this. So I am pretty fucking angry right now. Even for $100, it's the principle of the thing. I know some of you have had suggestions about how to set this up with small claims court. Help me out here.

That's the real reason I don't like the idea of renting out my house -- because inherent in the condition of being a landlord is being a parasitic bastard. Don't tell me I'm overgeneralizing, either.

Comments

[saltbox.livejournal.com]

That's the real reason I don't like the idea of renting out my house -- because inherent in the condition of being a landlord is being a parasitic bastard. Don't tell me I'm overgeneralizing, either.

Hey! I rent out my old room to a grad student! I've rented it at the same cost of the mortgage for the last few years, even though prices have risen in the area and she keeps sending me emails saying "are you sure you don't want me to pay more?" It just makes me happier knowing that someone who appreciates the old house gets to live there in my old neighborhood.

[sanpaku.livejournal.com]

In that case you are not a landlord. You are like a benevolent services agency. (Hey, didn't I say not to tell me I'm overgeneralizing?)

In all seriousness, even the landlords I've dealt with who seem to be the nicest people suddenly become cagey and irrational when it comes to this sort of shit. It's like they know it's wrong but they also know the money is too easy to pass up. Back in 2001 I wrote a lot about leaving our house in Baltimore and how I had to call up the former landlady many months after the deposit and try to extract from her why she hadn't sent us anything. It's just... trust no one. I think flw below says it best.

[saltbox.livejournal.com]

All I'm saying is just because you rent a place out doesn't mean you have to be an asshole about it! But I'm lucky, I realize, because I make enough (and have few enough dependants) that I don't have to worry about profiting off rental income. Also, I kind of want to do some karmic payback for my grad school landlords, who only raised the rent once ($20) in the whole five years I lived there (and even then, apologizing that this was the only way to get their kids off their backs), despite the neighborhood becoming listed as one of the "hippest upcoming neighborhoods in America."

[sanpaku.livejournal.com]

Okay, Ms. Landlady, riddle me this: how much do you have to pay in taxes on the rental income? Is it taxed just like rental income? Doesn't that more or less undo the mortgage deduction for you? I'm just trying to figure out if this is a good idea if we should move....

[sanpaku.livejournal.com]

Dammit, that should have read "regular income."

[saltbox.livejournal.com]

You got me there! I'm taking it at a loss (in terms of taxes). I could factor taxes in and charge that (and I think I'd still be charging less on the market than many other people in the area), but good relations are worth it to me. Plus I figure we'll make a profit once we sell (the area is still in high demand), so I don't mind a temporary loss in the meantime. Plus I really like R---! (The girl who lives there.)

[msmidge.livejournal.com]

I think you would have to sue them in the small claims court where they live, so start by looking that up and seeing what the procedure is. You could start by sending a letter stating that they need to return your money as well as giving you $100 (or whatever) extra for the broken oven, by X date, for X reasons. That would go into your supporting documents whenever you do file in small claims court. Just don't make any admissions about having left the house dirty at all, or say anything that they could use against you (duh). Good luck.

[sanpaku.livejournal.com]

That's a good point about admitting things. In my less rage-filled moments I think I should just send a letter explaining patiently why they are unfair, because I am not going to win in court, since we didn't obsessively document how the place was left. If I filed in Maine they would have to come out there to fight it, though, so that might be pleasant enough payback. Grr.

[flw.livejournal.com]

"Lordship" is a business that makes people into beasts.

There are two kinds of people as far as landlords are concerned:

1) People who punch holes in walls and leave half-eaten pizza boxes in a pile in the closet and don't pay the rent for months at a time, and who they will never see a dime out of anyway.

2) Good people who leave ketchup in the refrigerator and will pay $100 without making much of a fuss.

So, see, don't be too mad at the Landlord, they just go after money where they think they can get it. And you look like a good target. Your other choice is to obsessively photograph everything before and after... bleah bleah bleah... Basically you are paying for all the crackheads that preceeded you at that place or any other.

And landlords are universally scum... they make a good living by doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. They do NOTHING.

And everyone has fantasies about becoming a "good landlord" and then they rent the place out to a jackass who punches holes in the walls and urinates on the carpet and then disappears after failing to apy the rent for four months... etc...

but you know this...

[sanpaku.livejournal.com]

Right on all counts.

[flw.livejournal.com]

I remember that crack house you lived in. All that damage, year after year, and finally they get a decent tenant. Some people, the landlords say, "I'm never gonna get a nickel out of that crackhead..." so they don't bother suing them. They wait until a decent person comes along and sue them because they want vengeance for all the wrong that's been done to them. And they destroy your credit rating... so the next place you rent, you break all the windows and shit in the laundry tub before you leave. And the landlord does nothing... so you learn.

The world is one big sado-masochistic party.

[cellio]

Gah.

If the lease (or whatever document was involved) didn't specify conditions for the deposit, you should (in a certified letter) point this out and tell them they owe you $100 by such-and-such date. (Look to the lease for guidance on times; whatever their deadline is for notices or payments would be a good lead to follow.)

I think small-claims court has to be in the local jurisdiction, but you could ask at your local courthouse to be sure.

[sanpaku.livejournal.com]

It didn't say anything about the deposit, which was probably a stupidity on my part. I dunno. I have to decide about whether I'm really going to take the trouble to fight it before I send a letter threatening them to do so, it seems.

Cheer Yourself Up

[flw.livejournal.com]

Cheer yourself up with a show that I GUARANTEE you will be AMAZING:

The Dodos w Jennifer Gentle
September 3.
As220 (?)
Providence

Srsly!

Re: Cheer Yourself Up

[sanpaku.livejournal.com]

Roger that. Which one am I supposed to see?

Re: Cheer Yourself Up

[flw.livejournal.com]

The Dodos.

They are amazing.

Re: Cheer Yourself Up

[sanpaku.livejournal.com]

Dammit, I wasn't sure when they were on and came in for the second-to-last song. What is up with shows that start on time and end before 11 pm? But I get you mean. Hard to believe it's just the one guy doing all that guitar work.

Re: Cheer Yourself Up

[flw.livejournal.com]

And the drummer is amazing too.