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Did a walk-through on the day of our move with the property manager, who told us she saw no problems. We bought the company-spec-color paint, patched any holes (nail holes, no physical damage other than normal wear-and-tear, but we didn't want to chance it), etc. Even left them the remainder of the gallon of paint (about 90% of it) and let her know that we had no use for it, maybe they will, and she thanked us.
We moved across the country (which they knew we were doing). Upon arriving here, we received a letter about two weeks later that they are withholding over half our security deposit for "Microwave not cleaned, oven not cleaned, refrigerator not cleaned, cabinets not cleaned, countertop not cleaned, toilet not cleaned, bathtub not cleaned, all flooring not cleaned, area of paint on bedroom wall damaged, item glued to skylight".
I'll admit that we totally forgot about the microwave and we did not scrub the shower walls or anything. But the refrigerator was cleaned (we removed the drawers and metal shelves and cleaned them all separately), the oven was run through its self-clean mode, the counters were wiped down. We had no carpet, all hardwood, and we ran a Swiffer across them before leaving. The manager never said anything about any damage in the bedroom during the walk-through. And the "item glued to skylight" was placed there by their own maintenance while they were doing repairs to the building at our request -- a sheet of tint, which was stuck up there with its own sticky back. Our skylight was over 28' in the air; we could not install or remove this.
The management company is not returning our calls or emails. My problem is, I don't know how to fight this at this point. They waited so long to get the letter out that I'm sure they'll say "well it's done now, we can't take pictures", etc... and we're 2,500 miles away, so I'm not flying back to fight over a couple hundred bucks. Do I have any recourse here at all?
Did a walk-through on the day of our move with the property manager, who told us she saw no problems. We bought the company-spec-color paint, patched any holes (nail holes, no physical damage other than normal wear-and-tear, but we didn't want to chance it), etc. Even left them the remainder of the gallon of paint (about 90% of it) and let her know that we had no use for it, maybe they will, and she thanked us.
We moved across the country (which they knew we were doing). Upon arriving here, we received a letter about two weeks later that they are withholding over half our security deposit for "Microwave not cleaned, oven not cleaned, refrigerator not cleaned, cabinets not cleaned, countertop not cleaned, toilet not cleaned, bathtub not cleaned, all flooring not cleaned, area of paint on bedroom wall damaged, item glued to skylight".
I'll admit that we totally forgot about the microwave and we did not scrub the shower walls or anything. But the refrigerator was cleaned (we removed the drawers and metal shelves and cleaned them all separately), the oven was run through its self-clean mode, the counters were wiped down. We had no carpet, all hardwood, and we ran a Swiffer across them before leaving. The manager never said anything about any damage in the bedroom during the walk-through. And the "item glued to skylight" was placed there by their own maintenance while they were doing repairs to the building at our request -- a sheet of tint, which was stuck up there with its own sticky back. Our skylight was over 28' in the air; we could not install or remove this.
The management company is not returning our calls or emails. My problem is, I don't know how to fight this at this point. They waited so long to get the letter out that I'm sure they'll say "well it's done now, we can't take pictures", etc... and we're 2,500 miles away, so I'm not flying back to fight over a couple hundred bucks. Do I have any recourse here at all?
I would protest the "item glued to skylight" part, but otherwise it sounds like you really did leave it dirty. If you don't even know how the self-cleaning mode on an oven works, then you probably weren't very good at cleaning. (Hint: You have to clean the oven yourself after the self-clean)
It probably will cost them a couple hundred bucks to pay someone to clean the place, so that sounds like a fair deal to me.
Yes, we used oven cleaner after the self-clean mode was completed. I just didn't think I needed to get into the details. (Easy-Off, in case you're wondering.) I was previously employed with a national company that cleaned banks after hours; as I mentioned, there are items we overlooked (such as the microwave), but there's no way they can say the counters/cabinets/etc needed to be cleaned.
My issue is more like how do I prove that, or is it even worth trying? Flying across the country to save a $50 charge because my counters weren't cleaned isn't exactly the best financial decision a person can make.
The entire apartment was less than 600 sqft, all hardwood floors, all white walls. There's only so much cleaning it can possibly take.
Ah, sorry about the oven thing then. Usually when I hear someone say "but I used the self-clean on the oven! Why isn't it clean?" they just have no clue.
No problem, I wasn't specific because the post was already getting to be too long for most to care to read.
We did not take pictures after we left, because we did a walk-through with the property manager who told us everything looked good. Of course, this isn't in writing, which was our mistake. (We saved our move-in inspection sheet and went over that, too, with no issues.) I'm guessing this will amount to he-said she-said and we'll be on the losing end of that battle, but still figured maybe there's some recourse I wasn't aware of. If it's a matter of going to court for it, it's not worth my time, and they will go to court over issues without backing down. It's my understanding that at least six people in our 16-unit building, over the course of the year we were there, took them to court for various administrative and building-related issues, and they never failed to show up (and play all kinds of continuance tactics).
Also, it looks like according to VA renter's law, the landlord is supposed to send us an itemized list of deductions and the check for the remainder. We received the list, but no check. From Section 55-248.15:1 of the VRLTA:
The Virginia security deposit, any accrued interest and any deductions, damages and charges shall be itemized by the landlord in a written notice given to the tenant, together with any amount due the tenant within 45 days after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession.
It says "together with" which to me implies that they must send the check with the itemized list. It's only been 34 days, but since we received the list already, is this something I should investigate further?
Did a walk-through on the day of our move with the property manager, who told us she saw no problems. We bought the company-spec-color paint, patched any holes (nail holes, no physical damage other than normal wear-and-tear, but we didn't want to chance it), etc. Even left them the remainder of the gallon of paint (about 90% of it) and let her know that we had no use for it, maybe they will, and she thanked us.
We moved across the country (which they knew we were doing). Upon arriving here, we received a letter about two weeks later that they are withholding over half our security deposit for "Microwave not cleaned, oven not cleaned, refrigerator not cleaned, cabinets not cleaned, countertop not cleaned, toilet not cleaned, bathtub not cleaned, all flooring not cleaned, area of paint on bedroom wall damaged, item glued to skylight".
I'll admit that we totally forgot about the microwave and we did not scrub the shower walls or anything. But the refrigerator was cleaned (we removed the drawers and metal shelves and cleaned them all separately), the oven was run through its self-clean mode, the counters were wiped down. We had no carpet, all hardwood, and we ran a Swiffer across them before leaving. The manager never said anything about any damage in the bedroom during the walk-through. And the "item glued to skylight" was placed there by their own maintenance while they were doing repairs to the building at our request -- a sheet of tint, which was stuck up there with its own sticky back. Our skylight was over 28' in the air; we could not install or remove this.
The management company is not returning our calls or emails. My problem is, I don't know how to fight this at this point. They waited so long to get the letter out that I'm sure they'll say "well it's done now, we can't take pictures", etc... and we're 2,500 miles away, so I'm not flying back to fight over a couple hundred bucks. Do I have any recourse here at all?
didn't you get a copy of your 'signed' move out inspection?
Koale
I'll admit that we totally forgot about the microwave and we did not scrub the shower walls or anything.
Yup, there it is. That's where half of your security deposit is going. What exactly is your argument if you fight this?? "We are getting charged to clean things that we left dirty??"
For your next rental, take a LOT of pictures before you move in, and AFTER you move out. The difference between those two sets of pictures is something that you have to remedy, or pay to take care of.
Well, forgetting to clean the microwave and shower walls doesn't mean we didn't clean the floors, oven, refrigerator, etc. I don't think cleaning a microwave and shower is worth a couple hundred bucks, do you? (And if so, I think I'll start a cleaning business. All those ads for house cleaning on Groupon for $120 or so must be total scams!)
We didn't get a signed move-out inspection, we were told that it'd be mailed to us. We assumed that when the property manager did a walk-through and found no problems, that meant there were no problems. I received an email back today that said "during the walk through it looked like the paint was just scuffed but upon further examination it is damaged." I take that to mean "we know you're not flying back to inspect it, so deal with it"... and I will, because they're right.
If anyone's looking to rent from anyone in southeast VA... avoid Legend Property Group / Monument Construction Group / Capitol Asset Management / whatever other names they decide on next. We dealt with them all over the span of a year, including six different property managers. The buildings are lipstick on a pig renovations and there's obviously something wrong if you're losing an employee every two months.
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(Easy-Off, in case you're wondering.) I was previously employed with a national company that cleaned banks after hours; as I mentioned, there are items we overlooked (such as the microwave), but there's no way they can say the counters/cabinets/etc needed to be cleaned.
well...
