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Good afternoon everyone-I recently moved out of a rental condo, after a 2 year lease. Some history on the unit, built in 2002, the home had the original carpeting and paint colors. The owner/landlord moved out, leaving nail holes in the walls, a couple areas of slight damage to the carpet, including discoloration from her rug in the main living area, and I did do a move-in walk thru with her friend (who was acting as her agent, as she had moved out of state). I commented on the carpeting, wall holes, etc on the walk thru and agreed that I loved the colors and wouldn't repaint anything.
Fast forward 2 years and now she's decided to sell instead of rent. I vacated the property and delivered the keys and opener to her realtor, and the same day emailed her confirmation of that as well as my new forwarding address. 10 days later, she emailed me, ranting about cat urine smell and how she had to deep clean, repaint, and replace all the carpeting. She also claims I painted to walls in the home, and went on about how the color was so dark, she had to have 3-4 coats to cover it. I haven't received anything in the mail, there was no itemization in the email, and nor was there a price break down. The only mention of cost was how the repairs cost her over $6000 and "needless to say, you aren't getting any deposit back". Do I wait till 30 days post move out, and then send a certified letter requesting my deposit back (as I didn't receive an itemized list of charges against my deposit and wasn't able to dispute the charges?) With carpeting 12 years old, most places I've researched talk about depreciation and standard life, at the most, being 10 years...so even with the pet odors, wouldn't she have had to replace the carpet? What should my next move be? Thanks in advance!!
Sounds like she is just out for your cash, sorry I'm not really the one to give you any info. my opinion is to wait until after the deadline then sue, if Michigan has a deadline.
I'm guessing you didn't take any photos before you moved in or when you moved out?
Your best bet, in my opinion, is to write her back (send it return receipt certified mail) disputing her claims and quietly and concisely pointing out essentially what you've said in this post about the condition of the place when you moved in and of course that you absolutely did not repaint any walls in the unit.
If you had a cat you might have a problem there. Even disregarding the age of the carpet, urine can soak into the floor and it's very hard to completely remove the odor.
Leave your dispute at that and finish up telling her simply that you're looking forward to receiving your security deposit back.
I'm assuming that you've already checked your state landlord tenant laws (linked in the first "sticky" on this forum) and that she does indeed have 30 days to return your security deposit less any itemized deductions.
If she fails to respond within the 30 days and/or fails to send you the required documentation then you can go ahead and file in small claims court for the return of your entire security deposit under the guidelines laid out in your state laws (in some states you can claim double and triple the SD for non-compliance).
Anyway, my suggestion is that you start off with the dispute letter and keep it as simple as I've indicated. Good luck!
I did have a cat yes, and I have no problem paying for the replacement and odor abatement needed in the areas I had issues. I had a professional cleaner come in as well as had carpet cleaners come in to clean and deodorize...I know sometimes that just brings the smells up and with her having lived there with dogs, really don't feel like I should have to get hit for replacing all the 12 year old carpeting when she would have had to do it anyways, in prep for listing it. I do have move in and move out pictures, as well as an itemized walk thru list where I documented the damage and stains that were present when I moved in. If I'm paying for the areas I've damaged, with 12 years of depreciation, how is that figured? Do I wait till her 30 days is up to send my dispute letter, to insure she doesn't follow up her email with a certified letter? Thanks again!
I did have a cat yes, and I have no problem paying for the replacement and odor abatement needed in the areas I had issues. I had a professional cleaner come in as well as had carpet cleaners come in to clean and deodorize...I know sometimes that just brings the smells up and with her having lived there with dogs, really don't feel like I should have to get hit for replacing all the 12 year old carpeting when she would have had to do it anyways, in prep for listing it. I do have move in and move out pictures, as well as an itemized walk thru list where I documented the damage and stains that were present when I moved in. If I'm paying for the areas I've damaged, with 12 years of depreciation, how is that figured? Do I wait till her 30 days is up to send my dispute letter, to insure she doesn't follow up her email with a certified letter? Thanks again!
That's great that you have photographs - the potential battle is down to a small skirmish! The fact that she had dogs is also a plus. I wouldn't even think twice about the carpet. If it goes to court there is no way that a judge will allow her to charge you anything for 12 year old carpet and your photographs and (excellent) documentation will - in my opinion - easily win you your case. Make sure to keep your professional cleaning bills safely in case you need them (I have a feeling you might as this woman sounds decidedly "off").
As said, I recommend that you send her a dispute letter now although now that you have so much documentation I'm changing it up just a little. Tell her you have dated photographs of the unit taken before you moved in; dated photographs taken when you moved out; receipts for the professional cleaning of both the unit and the carpeting which was performed as you moved out; that you did not paint any walls, and that you are not responsible for replacing 12 year old carpeting. Advise her that in accordance with state law she has 30 days from your quitting the premises to return your security deposit. You expect to receive same in timely fashion, otherwise will have no alternative but to immediately take the matter further.
Do NOT send her any copies of your documentation, just the letter and leave it at that. The onus is on her to provide you with receipts.
Then, as said before, if she doesn't return your security deposit by the date mandated don't even bother to contact her, just file your claim. Hopefully good sense will prevail and you won't have to take the final step but it would be best not to engage in any protracted discussion with her.
Sorry you have to go through this - I've rowed that boat a few times and it's an unnecessary nuisance. Good luck.
I agree with everything STT has said above.... EXCEPT ( if I understood her right) wait ... I would wait until the 30 days or whatever required for her to provide itemization has passed. Then she no longer is entitled to any damages and she must return the deposit.
I agree with everything STT has said above.... EXCEPT ( if I understood her right) wait ... I would wait until the 30 days or whatever required for her to provide itemization has passed. Then she no longer is entitled to any damages and she must return the deposit.
My reasoning for sending the letter now is to hopefully avoid the hassle of going to court. If the LL doesn't respond to the letter by returning the security deposit then court can't be avoided. The case seems to be pretty much cut and dried but it seems way more sensible to let the LL know that the amount is disputed and give her the opportunity to simply cough up. It's worked for me in the past and saved me the time involved trekking down to the courthouse to file the papers, waiting for the Marshall to serve the papers and then waiting for a court date which can take months, not to mention the time involved in having to appear ... OldCold, that is WAY more effort than a simple letter!
I agree with STTR completely. Rather let her know now that you plan on disputing if she withholds the deposit, so she has the opportunity to return it and avoid court to begin with. No sense in trying to stick it to the landlord when it will only end up costing you time in court as well.
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