Daniel asks…
Apartment Move Out Rip-off – How to respnd?
I recently moved out of state from Denver to Seattle. After a month of move out, previous apartment guys have sent us a notice to pay $1250 for damages. When we left the apartment, we cleaned it up except couple of stains on the carpet and few pin holes. We stayed in the apartment for 2 years. Now we are being charged for carpet replacement ($550) which was already old when we moved in and many misc. charges like floor replacement etc. When we were there, they started changing floors for all newly vacated apartments but why we are being charged for their plan of work. Should the normal wear-&-tear happen when you live for 2 years? There are numerous complain about the apartment in the past (checked apartmentratings.com) about move-out fines. We are going crazy, didn’t face this situation in the past (in last 4 apartments we lived, in fact we got the deposit back). How should we handle this situation? Should we talk to lawyers or consumer forums. Any help or idea would be appreciated.
admin answers:
As far as the carpet goes, you’re not being ripped off. Wear and tear does NOT include stains on carpet. Always remember the standard of “in as good or better condition than when you moved in, less normal wear and tear”. If there were no ‘pin holes’ in the walls when you moved in and you left pin holes, the landlord can charge you to repair these.
You do not state what the remainder of the charges cover, but if they fall under the above standard, you are responsible to pay for them.
Apparently this landlord sticks to the letter of the law. Some are more lenient than others are, but that does not mean that this particular landlord must be as lenient as have your previous landlords been.
Good luck!
Sharon asks…
Father’s visitation rights?
I have spoken to my son father on numerous occasions about keeping his place clean. We lived together in 2009 and I had to constantly ask him not to leave food and dirty dishes in his vehicle. Inside our old townhome he would leave food and dirty clothes everywhere. There was an occaison where he left dirty dishes in his truck for two weeks and he finally cleaned it…..but there was a moldy piece or garlic bread that fell on the kitchen floor and it attracted an army of ants. His old apartment carpets had holes in the walls and dirty stained carpets…..there was also food in the crevices of the kitchen floor. He has not paid a dime of child support, he owes over 4k in back owed child support and I also pay for my son medical insurance, and the medical bills that blue cross doesn’t cover. He owes over 1k in medical expenses. He lives in Seattle and I live in Atlanta. He has not traveled to Georgia one time to see our son. I recently visited Seattle so he could spend time with our son. Once again the car was dirty and his townhouse was an absolute squalor. There were dirty dishes in the sink, dirty laundry everywhere, the carpets were filthy, every trash can was full, the bathroom bath tubs had dirt rings, hair and soap scum. In the state Georgia a father’s name can not be added to the birth certificate if he’s not married to the mother. He said he would be supportive….but he has not done anything for our son. I am not comfortable at this point with our baby boy leaving Georgia to spend time with his father. If he was involved in our son’s life and if he kept his house clean then I would be comfortable with our son flying to Seattle. At this point his visitation should be in the state of Georgia until he can show more consistency with being involved and keeping his place clean. What paperwork do I need to file to ensure visitation happens only in Georgia state? Should I contact the family courts or social services?
admin answers:
Contact your lawyer, and have him/her deal with it.
Richard asks…
Help …. I need advise what to do with my 2 loving cats.?
I have lived in a house for 6 yrs with my son and my 2 cats but they sold our rented house and my son and I must relocate and our cats pee on the floors and carpets and will not change.I have bought 2 litter boxes and in 6 litter boxes they have only been used maybe 7 in 2 yrs and i have to scrub and sniff daily to clean the pee before the smell comes’ and now our new place will not take animals .We have no choice and i need to find a farm that will take my angels in seattle wa.I called this pet lady who gets and fixes feral cats and she said i had to put my babies down’ as no where will take them.I am just sick with sadness and worry.What do you think my options would be’ and please be nice as they are like family to me and my 12 yr old son..
Thanks in advance.
admin answers:
Try calling/emailing Pasado’s Safe Haven
http://www.pasadosafehaven.org/
There are options – keep looking and sooner or later you will find something.
Donna asks…
How Can I Get Out of Housing Contract I Signed with 6 Other Roommates?
Hi, I moved into a house in Seattle in September of ’08. I did not do a thorough check of the house because I was not present, and so a few of my roommates went through the house with the landlord. My room and the place is really old and crappy and I need help on getting out of the contract without paying large fees.
Basically I am pissed about the house and the landlord. Here are my complaints, the landlord said there would be a coax cable jack in my room, but is not one. Also, when we moved in he said he would clean up the fireplace and repaint the living room. The fireplace has a bunch of garbage and papers in there. It’s been nearly 2 months now and he hasn’t done one of those.
Isn’t there a way I can get out of my housing contract because of the landlord’s trust and maintenance issues?
Also, my room is located in the basement, it was originally the garage and remodeled into bedrooms. The bad thing is there are cracks on the ground corner due to faulty carpeting and installation.
How can I get out?
I need help please.
And in those cracks, there are spiders that creep out and I am very scared of spiders.
admin answers:
I think the only people that can release you out of the contract without any fees are the other six. I say this because it doesn’t sound like you rented a dorm. It’s a house. The landlord just wants his rent.
Read the document, but there’s a primary leaseholder; again, to make sure SOMEONE pays the rent. As I said above, the easy way out is to get the others to amend that contract down to six instead of seven people. The reason why I say there’s a primary leaseholder is because the property is not a boarding house and it is not a dorm. All spaces are available to every occupant, so nobody has a contracted right to any particular space in the house. In other words, your room is your room because the place was divvied up that way.
In another situation, a person moves out and is replaced by a newcomer. That new person must be written into a new contract; and that’s what you need, a new contract for six, not seven. Talk to your roommates; maybe be prepared to give them a little dough on the side; then just step out the back, Jack. Problem solved.
Another solution is to get somebody to take your place. I know, the crappy reconfigured garage. But you’d be surprised who’s looking for housing. Often, when you’re young, you put up with so much crap that later in life you get post traumatic stress disorder after you realize how much you have put up with.
Powered by Yahoo! Answers
