Landlord need advise on security deposit

[dburbs1975]

interesting list.
because we moved into a house with almost all of those items in terrible condition.

1) how old is the unit
2) did you pain the entire thing before you rented it
3) where is the damaged hardwood and how long had it been since it was refinished.
4) How old are the chipped bathroom sinks?

the condition the landlord thinks a home is in may differ from reality.

I wrote a letter to our landlord noting lots of wear and tear when we moved in, I am assured he will try and make us pay for most issues that were there when we moved in.

[rairudy]

Yes, the definition of 'clean' varies from person to person. Too bad you moved into a house in a bad shape. I would never rent a house in that condition to anyone. Despite the mess of the current house and the financial loss, we are fixing everything and the house looks as good as new now.

The house is about 20 years old and I assume the sinks are original to the house. We have other houses older than this one where the original sink is still intact.

The house was fully painted before renting out. New hardwood floors were installed just before these tenants moved in. In fact the house was in such great shape that tenants bid-up the rent well over our asking price.

[aslowdodge]

Originally Posted by eureka1

I strongly recommend you hire a property manager for the next few years. They charge 10% of rent collected and it's DEDUCTABLE. They will do a better job that you- or any owner-will do. (I'm a landlord myself.)

The you must be a very poor landlord. I've been a landlord for over 27 years with multiple properties and a year or 2 that I had property managers they all came in with way lower returns than me. Higher vacancies, poor tenant relations, no sense of urgency, etc. I have friends that are landlords and are very profitable. Keep expenses down , places rented, and on top of everything. If you talk to people who have been in the game most agree they are the best landlords. But that said one has to factor in if it is not better to have lower performance in exchange for more hands off.

That being said I would say not everyone can be a landlord, but it can be learned.

[dburbs1975]

to the OP:
homes built in the 90's sadly were built like crap.

we are renting one with cracked sink, hardwood that is not stuck down to the slab, and very cheaply done plumbing. All of the finishes in the master bath are rusted, this is bizarre in a 20 year old home. The quality had to be the poorest for this to happen.

We have built a home, and renovated three others, we are not sure if California code is such that it allows this kind of crap build, some of the plumbing nuances certainly would not have met code in the midwest, and if you are interested, I will be happy to furnish examples. I am not sure if this has to do with how entire tracts were built up here over landfill/industrial sites or what the issue is.