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Old 02-04-2010, 05:53 AM
 
27,206 posts, read 46,641,661 times
Reputation: 15661

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I just had a tenant moving out..., the way he left the place

It could have been worse though...

This guy lost his job and claimed he doesn't have much funding right now, and that is his excuse for not having cleaned the house in the year he lived there....now he is complaing that cleaning that is done by a professional company is too expensive since only the appliance needed to be cleaned....

How and if they ever looked in the mirrors is a question for me, because we couldn't see our self's in it...the same for the sinks, bath tub, shower, etc...too dirty to touch.

The stove was twice for 4 hours on self cleaning and it didn't help one bit.

Many window screens were broken (strange...they are on the outside and the windows never have been cleaned...probably because they tried to safe money by having the windows open on a daily base and their little child who they can't control, went through the screen and even the frames were bended)....the bridge between the glass and screen were gone (to make the glass look like 4 smaller squares)

The carpet had s many stains, probably dye and candy, food, that never had been cleaned and one stain looked like some one actedlike a dog and did it on the carpet....now the tenant said we could just cut that stain out and replace that part with the carpet that is left in the garage...

He started to paint the house from the inside since nothing was "normal wear and tear" (kids coloring on the walls) , but felt it was too much and quit...so the doors all need to be painted since he let his kids use it as a drawing board...

We also knew that the cops were called several times due to domestic disturbance and maybe that had something to do with the patched up holes in the walls that were patched but not textured...

The entire carpet was loose and according to the pro's, they probably had wiring put under the carpet so their child could get to it, but it cause the carpet to be completely loose....

This is just a few thigs, and this guy really thinks he get's his security deposit back... So far I'm $ 1,000.- above what his security deposit was and luckily he paid last month's rent, after I told him I would go to court to get it, and then he paid...5 days late....

Do tenants (not the good ones) really think that Landlord's like to keep their security deposit? I rather had given him back the whole amount and not having to arrange all these companies to come out and fix stuff and go to 5 stores to see if I can items ordered....
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Old 02-04-2010, 07:26 AM
 
Location: Savannah GA/Lk Hopatcong NJ
13,384 posts, read 28,660,475 times
Reputation: 12025
Gross!!!! If you have good housekeeping habits the final clean on move out day is not that big a deal.

When kids bought house and moved out of apt my dil and & I did the clean up...spot shampooed carpet where movers had dirtied it...took us about 4 hours to go over everything...defrost the refrig...etc

They got every dime of their security back.
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Old 02-04-2010, 08:31 AM
 
Location: Houston, TX!
50 posts, read 153,906 times
Reputation: 33
I honestly think it depends on the tenants relationship with you, as a landlord. If you have had a good rental relationship the tenant will assume that as long as they clean it up that they will be getting their security deposit back, however, if the rental history/relationship has been stressful full of problems the tenant will probably assume that they will not be getting their deposit back, once that assumptions made they could care less about the state that they leave YOUR building in... remember its not theirs. they dont care who cleans their garbage up.
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Old 02-04-2010, 09:08 AM
 
27,206 posts, read 46,641,661 times
Reputation: 15661
Quote:
Originally Posted by jbaker0217 View Post
I honestly think it depends on the tenants relationship with you, as a landlord. If you have had a good rental relationship the tenant will assume that as long as they clean it up that they will be getting their security deposit back, however, if the rental history/relationship has been stressful full of problems the tenant will probably assume that they will not be getting their deposit back, once that assumptions made they could care less about the state that they leave YOUR building in... remember its not theirs. they dont care who cleans their garbage up.

That could be true in some cases, but not in this case. The tenant paid $ 150.- to have the carpets cleaned on the day they moved out and he wouldn't have done that if he decided to leave the security deposit at all. In his mind having the carpets professional cleaned is enough. He just left a note on the door so the guy could go in to clean it but we were there just before the guy came and made a picture of it and noticed the front door was left open as well as all sliding doors (strickly forbidden as per our lease contract)

The tenant, his wife and 1 of his children came 30 min. later while we already started to work on the yard with 3 people. He stated "ohhh I didn't have time and just deduct that, I knew I had to do it..."

Later he stated he didn't have time to clean everything , and didn't finish painting and we could deduct it from the security deposit...

He never mentioned the missing items, broken items, etc...

He told me he would email me his new address for the remainder of his security deposit.

He clearly thought that we would make the master bedroom, like a patch work carpet since he stated that we could cut out all the stains and fill it in with the carpet that was in the garage ....

This is clearly an issue of knowing and understanding that if you rent a nice place you have to maintain it well and make sure when you move it is like it was before, minus normal wear and tear...

The property is in a resort style living and everybody wnats to live there. The property has never been empty for more than 5 days and I do background checks....

The paid me largely in late fees since I charge high late fees and don't fall for sob stories....I guess some LL rather say a tenant is a good tenant so they get rid of them than being honest...., understandable....but sis it the right thing to do...
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Old 02-04-2010, 09:16 AM
 
Location: Up in the air
19,112 posts, read 30,580,565 times
Reputation: 16395
I've had a lot of people like that live with me. Whenever a roommate moved out, we would do a walkthrough of the entire house to make sure they didn't leave anything there (furniture, dishes, food etc.) plus a look at their room to make sure it was clean. I had a roommate leave their bed and dresser in their room and then get pissed off when I asked them to take it with them. He said 'Well, I'M not gonna use it, why should I take it?' Um....maybe because it's NOT MINE and I don't want to pay the dump fees to haul it off?


Once a quarter me and my boyfriend deep clean our rental (on top of monthly carpet shampooing and other small cleanups) as if we were moving out. I just don't get people who leave a rental dirty...it would make me feel so guilty!
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Old 02-04-2010, 09:40 AM
 
Location: Savannah GA/Lk Hopatcong NJ
13,384 posts, read 28,660,475 times
Reputation: 12025
Quote:
Originally Posted by jbaker0217 View Post
I honestly think it depends on the tenants relationship with you, as a landlord. If you have had a good rental relationship the tenant will assume that as long as they clean it up that they will be getting their security deposit back, however, if the rental history/relationship has been stressful full of problems the tenant will probably assume that they will not be getting their deposit back, once that assumptions made they could care less about the state that they leave YOUR building in... remember its not theirs. they dont care who cleans their garbage up.
Legally in most states a bad relationship with the land lord is not cause for a security deposit to be with held. Here in NJ if an apartment is left in good clean shape deposit must be refunded within 30 days.

If landlord deducts for any damages, or clean ups, it needs to be detailed as to what the deductions from deposit are for. If this isn't done land lord can be held liable for up to two times the security deposit. Considering the average deposit in NJ is about $1500.00 that adds up to a chunk of change.

Some people are just plain out & out slobs and that is why they leave places a mess..I see that sometimes on vacation..rooms looking like a tornado has gone through them and the attitude of the checking out guest is I paid x amount of dollars let the maid deal with it....just gross slobs
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Old 02-04-2010, 09:54 AM
 
Location: Bradenton, Florida
27,232 posts, read 46,578,960 times
Reputation: 11083
Depends on your tenant. I've FIXED UP places where I only rented--because I have to live there, and the landlord doesn't.
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Old 02-04-2010, 10:03 AM
 
Location: Boise, ID
8,046 posts, read 28,418,388 times
Reputation: 9470
I started to type an advice post, then I noticed it was you, bentlebee. I'm guessing you already know how to handle this and are just looking for commiseration.

We've had multiple times where we told a tenant that the cleaning was unacceptable, and was going to cost more than their deposit, and given them the option to clean further if they could get in that day to do it. Usually after round 2, the cleaning is "marginal". Some people just have no idea what "clean" means. We've had some people tell us that a place is absolutely "move-in ready" clean and we won't have to do a thing, and then we walk in and are afraid to touch anything, and our shoes stick to the floor. One of these people owned her own cleaning company!!!

Whether you feel it is worth your time and expense to go after someone who appears to have no job and no money is your call, but sometimes it is worth it just so they don't get away with it. If you have pictures, this might be one of those cases, just to give this guy a reality check.
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Old 02-04-2010, 10:34 AM
 
27,206 posts, read 46,641,661 times
Reputation: 15661
I can't even imagine why a LL wants to keep the security deposit when a tenant is doing the right thing and keep the LL from doing all this ridiculous work...

I just finished printing my phone records for the last couple of days so I have proof how much I had to call and how many companies I had to visit or call to get everything done on time.

On top of that if you just keep it you risk the chance of being sued and I don't want to pay for court costs for doing "not the right thing" which will only result in more time wasted and money down the drain.

I have so many emails, pictures, receipts, comapnies that can witness what wasn't done and what has been destroyed/damaged....so now I'm prepared to sue him!
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Old 02-04-2010, 10:45 AM
 
27,206 posts, read 46,641,661 times
Reputation: 15661
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lacerta View Post
I started to type an advice post, then I noticed it was you, bentlebee. I'm guessing you already know how to handle this and are just looking for commiseration.

We've had multiple times where we told a tenant that the cleaning was unacceptable, and was going to cost more than their deposit, and given them the option to clean further if they could get in that day to do it. Usually after round 2, the cleaning is "marginal". Some people just have no idea what "clean" means. We've had some people tell us that a place is absolutely "move-in ready" clean and we won't have to do a thing, and then we walk in and are afraid to touch anything, and our shoes stick to the floor. One of these people owned her own cleaning company!!!

Whether you feel it is worth your time and expense to go after someone who appears to have no job and no money is your call, but sometimes it is worth it just so they don't get away with it. If you have pictures, this might be one of those cases, just to give this guy a reality check.
You are so right...time for a reality check for this tenant. His fiancee was on the lease as well and has a job and he will have one sooner or later. I guess he was fired due to having a suspended license and having to drive everyday as part of his job...

I emailed them 30 days prior of moving out with a check list what to do to obtain their security deposit back in full. I also had it by certified mail since it was also official notice that their lease was expiring at the end of the month.

15 days before moving out I sent a friendly reminder to let me know if he was going to do touch up's for the paint or that he wanted me to get my painter prepared to do it and he asked me how much would be deducted since I had been in the house with the new tenant and we both noticed (and he admitted that it wasn't wear and tear but his kids being kids and drawing on the walls with colors...)

I have sent one more email to ask if he needed any help and if he run into issues do to him moving, he just needed to let me know and we could help out...he stated everything was going fine and thanked me...

Now he is emailing me all the time to see how much deposit he can get back...I haven't told him yet how much but so far I'm $ 1200 over what his deposit was....

I already have a collecting agency so I can just add his judgment when I get it and I'm very confident to get the judgment, since he in an email admitted not having cleaned and breaking stuff. he also asked me not to use official companies so the prices for the repairs would be lower....
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