New to Maui; Random questions about sea creatures, food, karaoke and so on... (2014, rental)

[trinity1111]

Well, finally threw in the towel and retained an attorney well versed with Hawaii Landlord Tenant Law, and very familiar with Maui Slumlords who Rent-skim.

[OpenD]

Be sure to ask him about paying rent into an escrow bank account in case the deal goes sideways. In many states when a landlord refuses to perform needed repairs, or goes south on their mortgage payments, the tenant can pay rent into an escrow bank account they set up rather than send it to the landlord which legally protects them against charges they you didn't pay rent. But I don't know about Hawai'i...

[trinity1111]

This is interesting, if nothing else. I think collecting on it would be difficult, but I'm posting this for any other tenants that come upon this problem and forum...........and a warning to 'Rent-skimming' Landlords, lol..........

"Covenant of quiet enjoyment"

"After signing a lease, the landlord is legally bound to deliver the rental for the entire lease term. In legalese, this duty is known as the "covenant of quiet enjoyment." A landlord who defaults on a mortgage, which sets in motion the loss of the lease, violates this covenant, and the tenant can sue for the damages it causes.
Small claims court is a perfect place to bring such a lawsuit. The tenant can sue the original landlord for moving and apartment-searching costs, application fees, and the difference, if any, between the new rent for a comparable rental and the rent under the old lease. Though the former owner is probably not flush with money, the awards in these cases won't be very much, and the court judgment and award will stay on the books for many years. "

[trinity1111]

My Landlord is counter suing alleging, and I quote: "Tenant moved appliances without consent causing damages to the underneath and the foundation of the house..."

What type of contractor or building Inspector do I need to do an inspection on house to counter this claim? Basically she is alleging that by my moving of the washer/ dryer somehow threw off the foundation of house.

As ridiculous as this sounds I do need to counter this claim with an official inspection She is backing her story up using her stoner boyfriend who is a general contractor in the state of Hawaii ( no conflict of interest there, lol).

Any idea who to call?

[Sherwoody]

Is Molokai Joe still around?

[Jungjohann]

Originally Posted by trinity1111

My Landlord is counter suing alleging, and I quote: "Tenant moved appliances without consent causing damages to the underneath and the foundation of the house..."

What type of contractor or building Inspector do I need to do an inspection on house to counter this claim? Basically she is alleging that by my moving of the washer/ dryer somehow threw off the foundation of house.

As ridiculous as this sounds I do need to counter this claim with an official inspection She is backing her story up using her stoner boyfriend who is a general contractor in the state of Hawaii ( no conflict of interest there, lol).

Any idea who to call?

Man, if moving appliances around inside the house caused damage to the substructure, you must have been moving them with a D8. The very charge that she's making is so preposterous that it wouldn't stand up in court to begin with.

Aloha

[MitchTempo]

The real estate attorney you used should be able to recommend some, but you'll want one who is ASHI certified which most are.

Inspection is going to run you around $500ish.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by trinity1111

My Landlord is counter suing alleging, and I quote: "Tenant moved appliances without consent causing damages to the underneath and the foundation of the house..."

Let's back up a second. If you've been counter sued then we are missing information as you can't file suit with that high level statement. To offer advice we need more of the detail.

[trinity1111]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

Let's back up a second. If you've been counter sued then we are missing information as you can't file suit with that high level statement. To offer advice we need more of the detail.

My lawsuit for recovery of "Last Month's Rent" as per HRS 521.44b for $2250.00 fell in the 'under $5000.00 limit' for small claims court..she can counter-sue for up to $25,000.

Apparently she's having her general contractor boyfriend coming to access the 'damages to the foundation'.

[trinity1111]

Originally Posted by Jungjohann

Man, if moving appliances around inside the house caused damage to the substructure, you must have been moving them with a D8. The very charge that she's making is so preposterous that it wouldn't stand up in court to begin with.

Aloha

This seems preposterous, I would like to laugh it off. However this women has been up to this point, highly skilled at playing these legal games.
However, I did find a misdemeanor conviction in Maui of 'Falsifying a legal statement not under oath', carring a $300 fine.
Her other tenants/prior tenants on the properties are terrified of her and will not confront her on repair issues or security deposit issues. She harasses and terrorizes her tenants, many of whom just leave, and she keeps all the security deposits for damages.
I've already filled a MPD report on Harassment. Denied a TRO though.

Filing a Defemation of Character lawsuit as she posted on Craigslist, Facebook, Twitter, and Maui Bad Tenant a false story on how she evicted us and how there was damage to her property.

MPD called her she denied everything of course and immediately pulled everything off the internet. I had already printed them and are entering them as exhibits in the Lawsuit.

She went so far as to target us by name address and my 17 old daughter's car by description and mapping our house on Craigslist, Facebook, Twitter, .
She rallied the support of the 'community' to 'F' us up Hawaiian style.

I was surprised that MPD wont press charges of Harassment, nor did the judge issue a TRO. They simply said that I 'didn't have to turn on the computer and look at it'. No kidding.

We're looking into Cyber bullying as a Federal offense. I think Maui isn't tooup on Internet Crime...
We're looking into filing a report with the FBI. They take cyberbullying and social media stalking more seriously,.This is over state lines, she resides on beachfront Malibu, I believe crossing state lines makes it federal.(or an ocean! lol)