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I know this forum is inundated with SD questions, but here's my situation:
We rented a house for a year in NM. The LL provided no walk-though or check list upon moving in. We have two kids, and a small dog.
I hired a professional cleaning service to clean when the house was vacant (I was already out of state by then and my husband was in a hotel there.) I had them do everything except windows (they did clean the blinds). The LL charged for $3 hours of cleaning done by herself, at $10 an hour, as well as for touching up a few nicks in the paint (textured paint that came off if I even touched it lightly with a fingernail at times, and DH patched and painted the big nicks.) They charged for a grout cleaning service because I had spilled coffee and the grout was somewhat dirty in the kitchen -- I had cleaned it several times with my own steam cleaner but it didn't touch it.
They charged 1.5 hours to untangle the blind cords in my son's room. They charged $150 for the driveway as my husband's truck leaked something on it and we couldn't clean it up.
I guess my question is, how do you put a dollar figure on a driveway stain? If I hired a professional cleaning service, can they charge me more for cleaning?
I am not going to do anything about it since we live out of state but I am curious. The only other time we rented we got he whole deposit back.
I guess my question is, how do you put a dollar figure on a driveway stain?
In California, the landlord would provide a receipt for a professional service or if they did the work themselves, itemize the number of hours*reasonable cost per hour. Add to that any supplies. I would assume something similar in New Mexico
Quote:
Originally Posted by lawmom
If I hired a professional cleaning service, can they charge me more for cleaning?
yes. It looks like she added $30 for cleaning service (3 hours at $10/hour). That doesn't sound unreasonable for the windows alone. There may have been additional cleaning that your service missed.
Yeah, I guess, and like I said I am not going to contest anything. It just seemed very nit-picky compared to the one other place we rented. The windows -- I had cleaned the inside myself of course several times, and we lived next to the desert. Of course they get dirty outside. Anyway, it's over and done, and thank goodness we're gone.
Put it down to the LL being a nitpicker. For that small amount of money it's (as you know) not worth pursuing in court but that kind of nit pickiness would irk me likewise. Actually, in such an instance I'd demand a proper accounting. You know you're not going to go to court over a petty amount but I'd certainly make some waves to ensure that they know that you WILL sue them if push comes to shove.
Grout cleaning service? Demand a receipt. Unraveling blind cords 1.5 hours? Even a blind person could do it in far less time. Likewise receipt for cleaning up a driveway stain. $150 is way overkill. Commercial de-greasers are available at Home Depot and elsewhere at a reasonable price and the labor time is minimal.
I'd baulk at such deductions just for the heck of it. Cheers!
Yeah, he gave me a receipt for the grout cleaning -- 50 cents a sq foot for 454 sq feet.
I just noticed their charges seem arbitrary -- when the husband spent 1.5 hours "untangling several wood blind cords that were wadded up in a knot", they charged $20 but when the wife cleaned she charged $10 an hour. There were 3 blinds in my 4-year old son's room, and yes, they probably were wadded up (we put them up at the top of the blinds so he wouldn't mess with them, ironically, and that's what "knotted" them up.")
I am too busy dealing with our LL drama here at our new place, but it's frustrating. Having rented out our house before, I've dealt with a place not being pristine -- I sucked it up and cleaned it myself without charging for it. C'est la vie.
Kind a makes you wonder what difference it would have made if you hadn't had the place professionally cleaned, just cleaned it yourself. Sounds like the LL was planning on keeping the deposit anyway.
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