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Old 04-28-2016, 05:35 PM
 
16 posts, read 16,893 times
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Okay thanks to everyone for the advice...a few things though

-I do have it in writing that she would pro-rate the rent and send it back.

-Lawyer told me that its up to the courts to decide whether they would be responsible for your your attorney fees if I win, if the court decides not to then I would be stuck with $750 just for the lawyer.

- I do have photos of the apartment before I moved in and after I moved out. I have texts of me asking them to fix stuff and the guy would ignore me and the lady would say "I thought he fixed that"

- I am talking to the carpet company that cleaned the place when it flooded to prove there were two floods, also get their pictures and documents even though I do have my own. The third flood I have texts with them about it.

- I dont plan to sue for stress, I was just explaining that I wanted to take them for everything I could because they are scum bags.
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Old 04-28-2016, 05:42 PM
 
16 posts, read 16,893 times
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Just curious....has anyone ever sued for double the rent and won?
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Old 04-28-2016, 05:58 PM
 
3,461 posts, read 4,675,083 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EAH2244 View Post
Just curious....has anyone ever sued for double the rent and won?
Of course they have. But it doesn't mean everyone, everywhere for every situation will always win double, if they even win at all. It all depends on your state statutes, the situation, the circumstances, the judge, and a plethora of other variables.
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Old 04-28-2016, 06:53 PM
 
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Okay I get that in the history of court, yes someone has won....thats not what I was asking. I was asking if anyone has had a negative experience doing this, as in they went to court, they sued for double, and the outcome. I realize not every case is the same, just think it would be helpful to have perspective from someone who actually went to court.

Right now I feel I have a good case, both lawyers told me I do. I just dont know if I should sue for the $800.00 or double it and do $1,200.00. Would love to hear from someone who has done this, good or bad outcome.
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Old 04-28-2016, 07:03 PM
 
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I read through forums and people are so vague, like "not worth it" or "totally worth it", okay but why? Then the people who are seeking advice before they go to small claims rarely come back and explain the outcome.
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Old 04-28-2016, 07:29 PM
 
Location: Ohio
5,624 posts, read 6,819,405 times
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You can ask for double and get less but you cant ask for less and usually get more.

So go in and ask for $500 but get $100 OR ask for $100 and you cant get $600 instead.

I posted on here about when we moved out of our apartment. I could have sued for the $75 window he claims he fixed and didnt. ( i could still drive by and prove he hasnt and nothing was wrong with it) BUT for $75 it wasnt worth it.

ETA: Its also " not worth it" because IF you ever need an apartment reference, you want the landlord to say " yeah he left because the lease was up but left it clean" VS " Yeah he left and sued me for $1000, id never rent to him again".
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Old 04-28-2016, 08:05 PM
 
3,461 posts, read 4,675,083 times
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Okay, I could understand that if that is what you actually asked, but you didn't.

How did you get this....
Quote:
Originally Posted by EAH2244 View Post
..thats not what I was asking. I was asking if anyone has had a negative experience doing this, as in they went to court, they sued for double, and the outcome.
Out of this?
Quote:
Originally Posted by EAH2244 View Post
Just curious....has anyone ever sued for double the rent and won?
...is beyond me. And that is the 2nd time you have told me "that is not what I asked or was looking for" so there is definitely a communication breakdown here with you not clearly stating what you are looking for and/or being way too vague. You initially typed a whole wall of text for which you have since stated was only for a simple one line question. So I don't understand why you even typed everything else in your OP. It appeared to me that you wanted people to read that whole thing and give you advice and/or opinions.

Quote:
Originally Posted by EAH2244 View Post
Right now I feel I have a good case, both lawyers told me I do. I just dont know if I should sue for the $800.00 or double it and do $1,200.00. Would love to hear from someone who has done this, good or bad outcome.
And last I knew, $800 doubled = $1600.

Quote:
Originally Posted by EAH2244 View Post
I read through forums and people are so vague, like "not worth it" or "totally worth it", okay but why? Then the people who are seeking advice before they go to small claims rarely come back and explain the outcome.
You are on an international forum asking for free advice so your expectations are much too high. No one here is an attorney nor can they give out any legal advice. We can point you in the right directions with links to state statutes, etc, which I have, however anything else is just people giving their own personal opinions. Many may be right and many may be wrong. Although I disagree with the poster who told you small claims is not worth it, the poster DID give you their reasons why. Small claims may be worth it in some cases and others it may not be worth it. So, it is up to you to take away what you want from anything anyone posts on a free forum.

But the bottom line is, based on many things that I have gleaned from all of your posts combined and your vague and ambiguous questions, my personal recommendation would be for you to definitely go the attorney route to make sure you get good, sound, legal and paid for advice......just sayin'.

Another thing you could do is go sit in small claims court for a day and see if any rental cases come up and see how they pan out. Your odds are just as good there as they are here to give you what you are looking/asking for. But for the most part you are comparing apples and oranges asking if others have been successful in suing because every situation, court, state, judge, etc., is different.
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Old 04-29-2016, 05:54 PM
 
16 posts, read 16,893 times
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$400 rent x 2 is $800.00
$400 for the over payment = $1,200.00

You do realize I am not personally emailing you right? I dont know why you keep responding with just a bunch of negative **** about me...are you my old landlords? lol
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Old 04-29-2016, 06:06 PM
 
13,108 posts, read 20,833,266 times
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Part of your answer is in the words of the law. Does it say you can sue, or does it say you can receive, or does it say ....... The exact words of the law tells you if you nee to sue, request, or will automatically be given. Since you have spoke to attorneys already, they are the ones you need to be addressing all these concerns. They will know best how the local court operates, what is required and what to expect from judges.
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Old 04-30-2016, 03:39 PM
 
27,206 posts, read 46,623,994 times
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You did very well with your long post and you come across as sincere. Go to court and ask for every dime. Make sure to be prepared. Bring the txt and/or email and all pictures.
Quote:
Originally Posted by EAH2244 View Post
My landlord kept my full $500 deposit and an over payment that I made (I paid a full months rent $400 dollars on the 1st but moved out on the 7th). I talked to her about not giving 30 days and she said it was fine and she also sent me a text stating that she would pro rate it and send it back. this during the same call that she was asking me to put my keys in the mailbox.


Once I moved out she then ignored all my calls for three straight weeks, until I finally threatened to sue her. She then responded that I didn't give her 30 days notice, and I told her that had I known that she was going to lie about returning my overpaid rent, I would not have turned my keys in and just finished out the month with the apartment.

She also stated that she had to replace the carpet in the living room because it smelled of cat urine...and yes the carpet did have an animal smell, but it was like that when I moved in.

The apartment then flooded two months after I moved in and the carpet cleaning guys said it smelled like animal urine. Also, they had to replace the carpet in the bedroom due to another flood (it flooded three times), so I had the new carpet in the bedroom for a year and there was no animal smell but the old dirty carpet in the living room (that is literally a piece of carpet with no pad)... somehow my animals caused that AND I apparently owe them $500 for new carpet when the stuff they had in there when I moved in was already very old.

Doesnt make sense to me.


Also I do not live far from my old apartment so I went over there looked in the windows and the carpet they got was used. Who pays $500 for used carpet? So I got a lawyer and he sent them a demand letter. They responded that I didn't give them 30 days and that my reasons for moving, I never complained about them before...but I DID complain about them repeatedly for a year and a half, I just wasnt a ***** about it because I am a non-confrontational person.

When I told her I was moving out I did not give a reason, but I was sick of them saying they would fix stuff and then not do it so I figured why start an argument? I just wanted out.



Okay so the lawyer I had told me to go to small claims court, since its only $800.

I wanted a second opinion so I called another lawyer today, and he said that because they did not send me a list of what they were deducting and they didn't do a walk through within 30 days, that I can sue for double my deposit.

He also said that because she sent it, in writing, that she would indeed pro rate my rent, that I shouldn't have any issues getting the full months rent back.



I am so nervous about going to court, I am very shy and sort of freeze up in those situations. So I need some advice.

What are peoples experience with small claims court?

Are the judges fair?

Also, should I sue them for double my deposit plus the $300 over payment? I don't want the judge to look at me like I am just greedy and looking for a hand out, because I am not at all.

I tried to settle this with them and only wanted $500, but now I kind of want to make them pay for the stress they have put me through. Not only that but these people do this to every tenant, they don't repair or clean anything and then when you move out they claim it was your fault.

I have heard this from a couple other tenants after they moved out. When I moved in the place was filthy, and I had to clean the carpets three times.


I found needles in the cabinets..The cabinets also did not have their doors attached.


The vent in the bathroom didn't work so they shoved a grocery bag in it.


The shower wall was caving in and falling apart, the paint on the walls was not trimmed like someone just stopped brushing at how tall they were.



Holes in the doors,


drawings on the walls,


...and the list can go on and on.

I painted the place, I cleaned it and feel that I left it in better shape then when I moved in.
There is also a retaining wall that goes around my unit that is caving inwards badly threatening to hit the wall.

I took pics of when i first moved in and then when I moved out and it caved in a lot in just a year and a half.
I was always worried it was going to come through the wall to my bedroom/living room.

They claimed they would fix it, but just like everything else they didnt. Last year my air conditioning unit broke in July, it was spitting water and making the loudest noise, I texted and called both of them till October then just gave up.


I have been through hell with these people, its been my worst experience renting and I really want them to finally get what every tenant threatens but never follows through.

Maybe they will quit screwing every tenant they have. I just want to be absolutely prepared.
If I lost the case it would be really embarrassing....the lady landlord of the duo sent some really nasty texts about how Ill never win the case, her ex husband the other one said I was "naive" and said Id never win...
he also threatened to counter sue me for $1,000 when I didnt accept their original offer of $300.



I hope I dont hold the record on the longest post ever...believe it or not I have more and more stories haha. I just need an outside persons opinion on what I should do. My friends and family are clearly going to take my side and tell me to sue for a lot.
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