Just moved in and washing machine doesn't work... (Sunnyvale, Santa Clara: rentals, condo)

[dburbs1975]

just moved in to a three bed 1990's home, the landlord is the original owner. All of the finishes are original, and has not been painted for years, likely. The floors need a scrub down as my kids' feet turned black after walking without shoes the first day we moved in. The builder grade cabinets are sticky near the stove - will need to grease cut those.

noted that the dryer duct was not connected and the landlord said we should just attach it ourselves. we are doing our first load of laundry - washer does not drain or spin.

hmm... wondering if we are at the start of a bad landlord situation.

[mstnghu2]

My wife and I just moved into a new rental home after living 5 years in our other rental home about 2 miles away.

Our current house was not left in the most "pristine" condition and we did a lot of heavy cleaning after moving in. I don't think you have much of a leg to stand on in regard to cleanliness.

As far as the washer/dryer are concerned, if the place was advertised with them being included, they need to work. That's the landlord's responsibility. If the landlord is dragging his/her feet, get it fixed on your own and deduct the expenses from your rent and provide receipts.

It's possible that this could be the beginning of a bad landlord/tenant relationship, but not necessarily. My wife and I had quite a few significant complaints after moving into our current rental home. When we brought them to our landlord's attention, the issues were resolved quickly. So far, everything has gone well and we're adjusting well to our new home. Try to be as peaceful and amicable as possible and you most likely will resolve your issues.

[zitsky]

I'm a landlord and would want to hear complaints from my tenants. So far, it's been pretty minor, but I did replace the sewer line a few years ago. I was happy to do it because I knew it was a problem before the tenants moved in.

[dburbs1975]

he gave us a service # and it is fixed. he asked us to pay, send the receipt, and take it off of next month's rent. I think it'll be ok.

the most difficult issue I have, that I would not have anticipated, is that there is glued-down oak floors in the living areas that appear to be recent - maybe 5-8 years old. The job was shoddily done and the glue oozed up into the bevel between the floor boards. These are still sticky and dirt stuck to the old glue/mastic. I have spent 4 hours today with warm soapy water, and a credit card wrapped in a microfiber cloth cleaning out the joints so that the floor looks clean. There was also dirt built up around the floor trim, and it just needed a major scrub down. I'm only half done. My husband washed the walls down which were also just dirty and grey.

The place was very superficially cleaned before we moved in, and definitely not painted, though the prior tenant stayed for 5 years. These homes sell for about 1.3 million. I would think it would be worth maintaining, but what do I know. I am just glad for an affordable place in a great neighborhood with great schools, I guess, and will put up with the scrubbing.

[spicydreamt]

Originally Posted by dburbs1975

These homes sell for about 1.3 million. I would think it would be worth maintaining, but what do I know.

You'll find a surprising number of $M houses in "original" 50s condition, un-upgraded and un-maintained, regardless of their market value. It's easy to understand why. Proposition 13 "property tax shield" in the late 70s made it such that if you owned a house at the time and didn't earn much or at all, moving forward you'd be a fool to sell. Fast forward 35 years: parents of baby boomers dying in houses they haven't had sufficient income to maintain for 40 years, their children inheriting the place at original appraisal value, finding it easy to rent it out with little maintenance even during recessions.
That $1.3M only materializes if you sell, but if you've lived in the same house for your entire life, why would you sell - to go where? or you may reverse-mortgage or HELOC to finance upgrades, but do you really want to go through remodeling hassles if you're 80?
During our house hunting 8 y ago, we saw some truly disgusting places in the hearts of nice Sunnyvale and Santa Clara neighborhoods. Two in which the owner had just died.
Worth remembering in any case that the $1.3M value is almost all in the land, not in the house - even when you buy a condo.

[CSD610]

Originally Posted by dburbs1975

he gave us a service # and it is fixed. he asked us to pay, send the receipt, and take it off of next month's rent. I think it'll be ok.

the most difficult issue I have, that I would not have anticipated, is that there is glued-down oak floors in the living areas that appear to be recent - maybe 5-8 years old. The job was shoddily done and the glue oozed up into the bevel between the floor boards. These are still sticky and dirt stuck to the old glue/mastic. I have spent 4 hours today with warm soapy water, and a credit card wrapped in a microfiber cloth cleaning out the joints so that the floor looks clean. There was also dirt built up around the floor trim, and it just needed a major scrub down. I'm only half done. My husband washed the walls down which were also just dirty and grey.

The place was very superficially cleaned before we moved in, and definitely not painted, though the prior tenant stayed for 5 years. These homes sell for about 1.3 million. I would think it would be worth maintaining, but what do I know. I am just glad for an affordable place in a great neighborhood with great schools, I guess, and will put up with the scrubbing.

I feel for you and would not wish the scrubbing on anyone.
Unfortunately some landlords do not hire professionals to come in and clean.
We have had really good luck with our rentals and found a few minor issues like the one time we moved the stove and fridge and no one had cleaned behind and under those in a few years from the looks of it.

After that we always go through before you move in and do a good under everything cleaning just for our own peace of mind.

Good luck with your cleaning, washer and dryer and I hope you enjoy your new to you home.

[dburbs1975]

we love the area, and the scrubbing revealed decent quality floors in the living/dining areas. the kitchen floor is original 1990's hardwood and is lifting from the slab in some places, ugh. having lived in a home with a basement where the floors were nailed to the subfloor, I have never seen hardwood flooring lift like this, but I guess it makes sense when it is glued to a slab.

the construction quality does leave something to be desired, though. Something to know ahead of time for when we plan to buy down the road. I think we'd end up in a multifamily though, not a single family. It just seem that is the most practical way to go here.

[dburbs1975]

There are major system issues here. The landlord typically drags his feet, even though the issues that we are having can cause severe damage if not addressed over time. The backyard neighbor commented to us that there was a rodent issue for the weeks that nobody lived in the home - we cleaned up the backyard. The neighbor next door brought over cookies and asked how the house was, mentioned that the previous tennants had complained of the place being in poor repair, we said nothing. They also told us that there was a lot of activity - repairs - done in the time it was not rented. Upon closer inspection, there are some new floors. Unfortunately, the craftsmanship is of such poor quality, that it is difficult to tell it is new. A nice paint job would have hidden many issues, "would have" being the operative.

Still a nice neighborhood.

Not sure if anything better exists here.

[dburbs1975]

mstnghu2
"If the landlord is dragging his/her feet, get it fixed on your own and deduct the expenses from your rent and provide receipts"

our lease clearly state that we are not allowed to do any repairs to the property. I am not sure if we can even do what you are suggesting, given this. But I would sure like to address the problems, I won't go into details, we are not being picky tenants.

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by dburbs1975

There are major system issues here. The landlord typically drags his feet, even though the issues that we are having can cause severe damage if not addressed over time. The backyard neighbor commented to us that there was a rodent issue for the weeks that nobody lived in the home - we cleaned up the backyard. The neighbor next door brought over cookies and asked how the house was, mentioned that the previous tennants had complained of the place being in poor repair, we said nothing. They also told us that there was a lot of activity - repairs - done in the time it was not rented. Upon closer inspection, there are some new floors. Unfortunately, the craftsmanship is of such poor quality, that it is difficult to tell it is new. A nice paint job would have hidden many issues, "would have" being the operative.

Still a nice neighborhood.

Not sure if anything better exists here.

Did you rent sight unseen?

How do you have all these issues and not notice things, for example needing a paint job for starters.

Sounds like the house was vacant for awhile, which means you can walk around and see everything as it is.

If for some reason you rented sight unseen, than that's on you.