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PM manages sister's SFH in Orlando and owns a pool/landscape business as primary income. Difficulties with pm forced us to move on 6/30/17 after our lease was up...all notifications were properly made. We received a letter of claim indicating he was keeping $500 of the security deposit for "services provided" during the lease agreement. Per his claim letter these are:
4/28/17 Remove bad pool pump motor, reinstall new motor $150
The pool motor burned out, by his own admission, because a 1 hp had been installed a few years ago, long before we lived there. We had a professional service maintain the pool the entire term of our lease. PM demanded we pay for a new 1.5 hp motor and said he would install for free. We were told pay for it or move. We finally agreed as we didn't want the hassle and cost of moving. After it was installed we had our pool maintenance service look at it and found the motor was not grounded.
6/1/16-2/1/17 Property maintenance, Fertilize lawn, Spray weed control and insect control outside $150
We had employed his service during this period before switching to new providers. We paid the agreed upon fee every month on time. These charges were never discussed let alone agreed to and we were not informed of them until we had turned over the keys...5 months after we switched providers.
7/1/17-7/2/17 Trim palms and hedges around pool, clean up yard $150
We had trimmed the hedges and palms shortly before vacating. The lease did not specify this be done or give any requirements. The lawn had been mowed 2 days prior. A salient point is PM took picture inside and out and posted on trulia.com within hours of receiving the keys. He listed the property as "immaculate" in the posting.
7/2/17-7/7/17 Touch up paint thru-out house, Secure patio doors with burglar bar, Repair front window frame design $150
Only one bedroom had a slight scuff above the baseboard where a previous tenant had a bed. We only used that room to store boxes. We had filled all nail holes from our pictures as well as previous tenants and photos, his and ours, show the walls in excellent condition.
The patio doors never had burglar bars during our lease or before. There was a thin plastic self adhesive clip which had lost the ability to stick due to age which was left on the sill. These can be purchased for around $2
The decorative design in the double pane thermal window slipped due to age and elements. Photos show both panes are undamaged and the only way to repair is to replace the whole unit. We have photos of the window, taken from the street on July 20th that show no repair had been made yet we were charged.
7/8/17 Replace fridge water filter, water leaks $100
One of our photos of the fridge taken on 6/30 happens to show the filter indicator light was green. Not once during our time in the house did we experience a leak. That would have been a noticeable safety hazard as the floors were all tile.
We sent a demand letter within the required time by certified mail but the return receipt has not been received. Tracking indicates it has been available for pickup since 7/24.
We will take this matter to small claims court but are wondering if we should hire an attorney because Fl courts award attorney fees to the prevailing party and are sure there would be problems collecting a judgement. We will only communicate in writing (which he refuses to do) because of a history of being yelled and cussed at as well as the inevitable "he-said-she-said problems. In addition to retrieving the balance of our deposit, we hope to expose his conduct to protect future renters. How strong do you think our case is and where can we report such conduct?
Sounds like you may have a decent case for some of it if not all of it and need legal advice so I won't be commenting on the issues themselves. What I will do is correct a few things that you seem to misunderstand.
1) Repairs don't need to be done in order to claim damages. Damage was done and it needs to be paid for weather or not it is fixed. Eventually it will need to be repaired and he cannot charge the proceeding tenants for the cost to repair so it needs to be charged to the appropriate tenant.
2) Listing photos and comments mean nothing without time stamps, same goes for your photos. The comments themselves really mean nothing so don't rely very much on that for your defense. I've got 6+ year old listing photos on some of my units because the pictures were done professionally so there is no need to update them.
3) They allow attorney fees by law but do they actually award them? Here they are allowed and most leases state they are allowed but judges rarely give them to tenants and almost always give them to landlords. Before you go spending money on lawyers to fight this figure that out.
4) This isn't about his conduct and warning people about him. There is no place to report him so do yourself a favor and be less indignant, a judge won't appreciate the attitude in court.
5) DO NOT open that demand letter when you get it back. It is delivered 5 days after you sent it so get it back and leave it sealed. Don't talk to him over the phone or through texts and go file the day after your demand expires. After the process server completes the service then and only then should you have one phone conversation with him.
Offer a settlement and hold firm to it, if he declines then say you will see him in court. If he accepts have a settlement agreement written up, signed by him and notarized, and recorded with the court in the dismissal of the case. If he doesn't honor the terms of the settlement then you are fighting over a new thing and all of the deposit issues don't matter anymore, make sure the settlement states something like LL agrees that you do not owe anything in damages for the property.
AZ Manager I appreciate your reply and your comment about sounding indignant was taken to heart.
Our lease clearly states that we are responsible for damage beyond normal wear and tear. Had we damaged anything we would have immediately repaired without question. Both panes of the window and the seal are intact. Research shows the slippage of the bars in these types of windows occurs due to a faulty product or elements over time. I will include printouts of this as we prepare.
True, pictures without timestamps mean nothing. That's why I purchased a newspaper dated June 30 to include with my photos as date verification. The front page had a very distinctive photo and layout. This newspaper, which was left on the kitchen counter, appears in a few of his photos posted on trulia. Also, my photos and his match up exactly with flowers I planted near the pool. Your point is extremely valid and I'll make sure to be prepared.
Thanks for your counsel on the demand letter and attempting to settle. I will also verify what the courts typically do regarding attorney fees.
Last edited by TLynn55; 08-02-2017 at 05:41 PM..
Reason: Correct spelling
Very well, what do we owe and why? There are obviously more details involved and I'd appreciate anyone playing devil's advocate to prepare.
No one here can tell you exactly what you owe and what you don't. They would be guessing at best. Most of it is going to depend on your state. the judge you go in front of and how well prepared both sides are. You sound very thorough so I suggest that you just take all the evidence and documentation that you have and let the judge sort it all out, ask what questions they need to and then see what happens. You just never know. Good luck!
It appears that the pool pump and the lawn maintenance was during your tenancy. Wouldn't the pool pump be a responsibility of the owner? Unless you damaged it intentionally (which you didn't) how would you be responsible and why wouldn't that been charged to you when it happened? How is he charging for lawn maintenance when you were already paying him monthly for the service?
The window and refrigerator leak also sound like an owner's responsibility. It doesn't sound as though YOU damaged them. It seems like just the house needing maintenance. If there was no security bar on the door during your tenancy, you should not have to pay for one to be installed.
I think most of what he is charging for is questionable.
Very well, what do we owe and why? There are obviously more details involved and I'd appreciate anyone playing devil's advocate to prepare.
The two things that come to mind are the painting and the yard work.
Most of the time we don't realize how dirty walls get. I'm preparing for a move out, I just moved my couch out, and noticed discoloration above the couch, oil from my hands where I touch the wall rounding the corner at the top of my stairs, and I'm sure there's more to come.
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