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Old 06-03-2015, 11:22 AM
 
Location: Texas Hill Country
23,626 posts, read 13,831,510 times
Reputation: 18827

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With three cats who don't get along with each other, the writing was soon on the wall (actually, in destroyed carpet down to the deck) that it was hopeless to expect the deposit back......so I didn't bother about it.

A and B.

A: To me, deposits are that safety cushion, that buffer one burns through, and then jettisons. I haven't seen that money for years, so why worry about it now? As said above, given the destructiveness of pets, I have just learned not to expect it back.

B: I told my complex that I was going to be moving down to the deadline, that cleaning was not something that I expected to get done, that I didn't expect to see my deposit back, and if all the money that was in it (property plus 4X pet deposits) wasn't enough, send me the bill.......and they essentially agree with that though they couldn't give me a figure till after I was out of the apartment and gone.

Finally, had Operation JETTISON occurred, not only would cleaning not have happened, but there would have been tons of stuff for them to clean out first with a shovel. Fortunately, it did not, but with me, with deposits being a write off, I'll clean if possible.....but it is not something I really worry about in the task that has to be done.
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Old 06-03-2015, 01:07 PM
 
Location: Denver CO
24,204 posts, read 19,109,319 times
Reputation: 38266
Even though I lived in several rentals, I only had one time when I lived on my own in a rental and left it vacant when I moved out, otherwise there were always roommates who stayed afterwards so I didn't have to worry about a formal move out. For that one place, I left it broom clean and wiped down the counters, sinks, etc. I didn't deep clean but go my security deposit back anyway, along with a thank you note for leaving it in such good condition. I still wonder how the other tenants left things! lol!

Generally, I'd say an individual landlord is likely to be pickier/more likely to hold a deposit than a large management company that has a cleaning service on standby and probably uses them every time, no matter how you leave it, just so they don't have to worry about any complaints from new tenants.
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Old 06-03-2015, 04:55 PM
 
2,441 posts, read 2,597,754 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TamaraSavannah View Post

A: To me, deposits are that safety cushion, that buffer one burns through, and then jettisons. I haven't seen that money for years, so why worry about it now? As said above, given the destructiveness of pets, I have just learned not to expect it back.
You may nothave seen it for years, but usually you're about to hand over a similar amount for deposit on the next place. And you'll miss out on the interest it made.
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Old 06-05-2015, 08:02 PM
 
1,314 posts, read 1,418,778 times
Reputation: 3420
Quote:
Originally Posted by TamaraSavannah View Post
With three cats who don't get along with each other, the writing was soon on the wall (actually, in destroyed carpet down to the deck) that it was hopeless to expect the deposit back......so I didn't bother about it.

To me, deposits are that safety cushion, that buffer one burns through, and then jettisons. I haven't seen that money for years, so why worry about it now? As said above, given the destructiveness of pets, I have just learned not to expect it back.
This is EXACTLY WHY it's so hard to find a place to rent if you have pets. This is deplorable attitude.

I have pets and a long list of recommendations from landlords who took a chance letting me rent from them and ended up happy because the places were in such good condition when I left.

If your pets are that destructive, you have a real problem. Chances are your security deposit doesn't even come close to covering that kind of damage (ruined carpets down to subfloor? Really?). I'm a landlord now and I quiz pet owners HARD to make sure they don't have your attitude towards other people's property.
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Old 06-07-2015, 03:37 PM
 
Location: South Florida
1,007 posts, read 1,122,228 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mizzile View Post
This is EXACTLY WHY it's so hard to find a place to rent if you have pets. This is deplorable attitude.

I have pets and a long list of recommendations from landlords who took a chance letting me rent from them and ended up happy because the places were in such good condition when I left.

If your pets are that destructive, you have a real problem. Chances are your security deposit doesn't even come close to covering that kind of damage (ruined carpets down to subfloor? Really?). I'm a landlord now and I quiz pet owners HARD to make sure they don't have your attitude towards other people's property.
^^^ Completely agree!

I just moved out of my condo where I lived for 3 years with 2 cats. I cleaned well and removed all the cat hair. I had a couple of scratches on one wall and the kitchen cabinets from the cats. I sanded it and touched it up with paint. They told me I will get charged for carpet cleaning no matter what, but I still ran the vacuum to get up the cat hair. Hopefully I will get the rest of my deposit minus the carpet cleaning back. I guess we'll see.

I think it's important to make a good impression as a cat-owner. Even though I bought a house, there may be someone else who wants this condo that has cats. If I had left a mess, the landlord would probably decide not to rent to people with cats.
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Old 06-08-2015, 12:34 PM
 
Location: Central NY
5,946 posts, read 5,096,542 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fiona13 View Post
^^^ Completely agree!

I just moved out of my condo where I lived for 3 years with 2 cats. I cleaned well and removed all the cat hair. I had a couple of scratches on one wall and the kitchen cabinets from the cats. I sanded it and touched it up with paint. They told me I will get charged for carpet cleaning no matter what, but I still ran the vacuum to get up the cat hair. Hopefully I will get the rest of my deposit minus the carpet cleaning back. I guess we'll see.

I think it's important to make a good impression as a cat-owner. Even though I bought a house, there may be someone else who wants this condo that has cats. If I had left a mess, the landlord would probably decide not to rent to people with cats.
You make a lot of very good points.

I talked to an apartment manager one time about having pets in apartments and why the need for deposit and pet rent. She told me some weird stories. One was about how people use a cardboard box as a litter box. And never really cleaned it.

The smell would have gotten to me.

But people do live in deplorable conditions given the times I've read when children have been removed from the home due to this.
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Old 06-08-2015, 01:12 PM
 
Location: Living on the Coast in Oxnard CA
16,289 posts, read 32,261,209 times
Reputation: 21891
We bought out home back in 2010 so hopefully this never is an issue again.

When we were living in our last place we found out from former renters that the building owner always hires a cleaning company and takes that out of the deposit and it does not matter if we clean or not. We cleaned lightly and did not expect the deposit back again.

The place before that they kept the deposit because we did not take the stove apart to clean it. No return of deposit there either.

The way I see it the deposit is a cost of living in the apartment. Try to stay as long as you can because many places you will have items that they will not charge you for. They are prorated during your time there. For one place I think it was 5 years on the paint. and 10 years on the carpet. If you had stayed at least 5 years and the carpet was still looking good, then chances are you would get the deposit back again. Always check with the management to see what items are prorated, what is the lifespan of each item. Realize that the longer you stay in a place the better for you. I know people that have been in the same apartment for 20 plus years now. If they ever leave the deposit will be going with them.
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