Serious Problems with the Rental House (real estate, broker, lawyer)

[Sash001]

Hi All,

First of all i want to say sorry for dont writing in perfect english, because i am german.

I have serious Problems with the house i am currently renting in summerville.
It is 4 yrs old.

when i moved in, everything looked good. not perfect, but ok.

the longer i lived in there, the more problems i found.
(i need to say that the tenants that were in before i moved in had 3 or 4 dogs)

i dont want to bother you with all the minor things that are bad in this house.

but the major things are:
a few days after i moved in, i recognized that there are dead crawlers and worms and even a dead dried out frog in some corners of the house. the crawlers probably came out from under the carpet or so.

i did let the company who manages this house know whats in here and they sent me the pest control to my house to spray everything.

we didnt have problems the couple days after it. but we found crawlers and worms again. we talked to the company about it and nothing happened.

the worst thing is that since its colder outside we found 4 or 5 toxic centipedes (red and black). one of them was in my bed last night and bit me!

i am happy that it bit me and not my 16 month old daughter.

WE ARE DISGUSTED!!!

The other thing is, that there doesnt come heat in the master bedroom. we gave the company notice about both major problems and the lot of minor problems but nothing happened till now.

today i talked to two people (one of them is a german realtor) and they told me, that i have the right to move out of this property, because to live in a rental property with all the insects is not reasonable.

but i wanted to be nice and asked the company to move in a different house and keep be their customer, because of the reasons.
they said: NO! U HAVE TO STAY THERE! U SIGNED A 12MONTH CONTRACT.

the problem is that i didnt give them written notice about that. i only went to their office and we talked about it 2 weeks ago when i paid my rent. they promised me to fix everything but they did nothing.

my wife is my witness in this case. is this enough?
the german realtor said, that i should go to the "board of realtors" and tell them the whole story.

you should have heard how the property manager lady talked to us.
things like "do what you want u will not win", "you will pay, no chance for you HAHA" and some personal verbal offence.

what should i do?
i dont want to live there anymore?

what is the worst thing that can happen when i move out without their permission?

PLEASE HELP!

[RadiatorSprings]

I would think you need to put in writing what you need fixed. There needs to be a paper trail. Make sure you keep copies, make sure you send everything certified.

Generally, in a contract, if there is breach of contract, the party in breach has a specified time to remedy the breach, that is why it is so important that you put everything that is wrong with your house in writing.

I'm sure a lot of bugs is in violation of something, I just don't know what. Most companies do not think a person will research the law, but in this case you are going to have to do everything you can. Look below and call this number to start, it says it's free.

I think there is also a real estate forum you can post on too to get better suggestions. Good luck.

Under this link:
http://www.ciu.edu/studentlife/servi...nts_rights.pdf
it says:
[SIZE=4][SIZE=4][SIZE=4][LEFT]ASK-A-LAWYER[/LEFT]
[/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][SIZE=3][SIZE=3][LEFT]For free answers to legal questions over
the phone, call the volunteers at
Ask-A-Lawyer from Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday
from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and
every Friday from 9 a.m. until noon.[/LEFT]
Call 1-888-321-3644.
[/SIZE][/SIZE]

[AcadianIrish]

Originally Posted by RadiatorSprings

I would think you need to put in writing what you need fixed. There needs to be a paper trail. Make sure you keep copies, make sure you send everything certified.

Generally, in a contract, if there is breach of contract, the party in breach has a specified time to remedy the breach, that is why it is so important that you put everything that is wrong with your house in writing.

I'm sure a lot of bugs is in violation of something, I just don't know what. Most companies do not think a person will research the law, but in this case you are going to have to do everything you can. Look below and call this number to start, it says it's free.

I think there is also a real estate forum you can post on too to get better suggestions. Good luck.

Under this link:
http://www.ciu.edu/studentlife/servi...nts_rights.pdf
it says:
[SIZE=4][SIZE=4][SIZE=4][LEFT]ASK-A-LAWYER[/LEFT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=4][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][SIZE=3][SIZE=3][LEFT]For free answers to legal questions over[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]the phone, call the volunteers at[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Ask-A-Lawyer from Monday, Tuesday,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Wednesday and Thursday[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]every Friday from 9 a.m. until noon.[/LEFT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]Call 1-888-321-3644.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE][/SIZE]

Good answer!

Poster....don't let the landlord try to intimidate you! Know your rights....and the most important thing you need to do....is GET it in writing!! Call the board that realtor advised you about....they are there to help you!!! Good luck!

[creekgirl4life]

Put the issues in writing to the property management company. I believe they have 14 days to resolve the problem and if they do not you can have the repairs completed yourself and present them with a bill. You should also direct your letter to the Broker or Property Manager in Charge. It may also be helpful for you to speak with a local magistrate about the issues. If the rental company sent out a pest control company there will be a dated record and it could be a matter of getting them to come out again. The heat must also be in working order.

[beachme]

Do put everything in writing, but I don't see how the board of Realtors will help you. I might be wrong. Instead write a letter/file a complaint to the LLR.

South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation

Also write a letter to the better business bureau.

[c99]

Here's another website that may have some helpful information for your circumstances:

Local Tenant Rights, Laws, and Protections: South Carolina

[cape_fisherman]

If the house is unsafe you have to notify your realtor or the owner. If nothing is done to rectify the situation then its the law you can move out. You have to read your rental agreement. Call the housing bureau and ask someone what you need to do.