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Hey everyone, I see a few threads about buying a house and house-related maintenance, but what about renting an apartment? To make a long story short, I have lived in a few different complexes over the years and increasingly often upon move out I am charged for bullshit that did not need to be replaced. I am about to move into a new complex next month, and after doing some research I found several people complaining that they were charged thousands of dollars to have the carpet replaced due to urine stains. I do have a small dog (she is an adult and very well trained, not a puppy), so I am concerned that when I move again in a few years I will be charged for the same bullshit. What can I do to mitigate the chances of this happening? What steps should I take to protect myself from any future bullshit that may come up? I also want to open this up to other methods of protecting yourself from lovely landlords or any other apartment-related chat.
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May 31, 2016 00:02
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| # ? Apr 23, 2024 12:30 |
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Take timestamped pictures before you move anything in of everything, especially anything you see that doesn't look perfect, and save them somewhere. When you go to move out, clean and take more timestamped pictures of everything. If they try and keep your security deposit for a BS reason, mail them a certified letter stating that you have detailed before/after photos of everything and possibly even include the relevant photos depending on what they claim. If they do not return your deposit after that, then you will have to sue them to get it back. Also, everyone's dog is way grosser than they seem to think and not everyone wants to live in a place that smells like animals so I wouldn't really assume that your friends just got screwed by a jerk landlord.
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May 31, 2016 00:21
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The time stamped photos is good advice, thank you. Just to clarify, it wasn't friends of mine that got screwed over, just some reviews I read online. Some of them claimed that they didn't even own any pets and still got presented with photos of urine stains under a blacklight, which sounds awfully fishy to me.
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May 31, 2016 00:27
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remigious posted:The time stamped photos is good advice, thank you. Just to clarify, it wasn't friends of mine that got screwed over, just some reviews I read online. Some of them claimed that they didn't even own any pets and still got presented with photos of urine stains under a blacklight, which sounds awfully fishy to me. Have them blacklight with you there before you move in. Like literally when you receive the keys to move in. Since that seems to be one of their tests when someone moves out they should have no problem doing it beforehand. When you move out have them blacklight when you hand the keys back. Document both times.
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May 31, 2016 02:55
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Anecdotal and potentially based off local laws, but all the apartments I've been in have the landlord or their inspector come by a day or two after you move in. Together or beforehand, you enumerate all the existing defects you can find on paper, and then both of you sign it. "Cracked tile, calcium deposit, chipped paint, curtain string snags, drawer hangs when pulled," etc. Never had a problem with carpets since they're all torn out and replaced between renters (bedbug prevention?). If your landlord doesn't do similar, be proactive about it. It might also help to just go in expecting to never see your security deposit again. I've only been dinged once, but it was legit and priced appropriately.
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May 31, 2016 05:35
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It depends on the state you're in to a large extent, Colorado for example has very landlord friendly laws and courts and this sort of behavior is quite prevalent. There are lots of slumlords who do 1 year leases, jack up the rent by an insane amount (20% is quite common) if you want to stay on after that, then of course most people move out and they fabricate some ludicrous amount of damage and 20 hour cleaning bill to take most of your security deposit (one or sometime two months rent), get new tenants in at the old rent rate, rinse and repeat. It's incredibly pervasive around here, especially near colleges. The number of renters who are willing to go to small claims court to get their $2000 deposit back is very low, and the few that do have very little success since the landlord generally holds all the cards. It's like a free 10% on top of whatever the rent is, so lots of scumbags do it. It really sucks but nobody in any legislative body gives a poo poo about 22 year olds so it's unlikely to change. Welcome to adulthood, it really sucks rear end sometimes.
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Jun 1, 2016 15:06
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Pryor on Fire posted:Welcome to adulthood, it really sucks rear end sometimes. Where I live, security deposits are illegal. I think this is kind of an excessive measure but if what you're saying is true, maybe it isn't.
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Jun 1, 2016 17:00
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Funnily enough, I am in Colorado! Not getting a deposit back is one thing, but I've heard horror stories of people getting charged thousands of dollars to replace the carpet. That is what I am wary of.
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Jun 2, 2016 02:30
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We have a whole megathread for this sort of thing: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3411978
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Jun 2, 2016 03:19
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| # ? Apr 23, 2024 12:30 |
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Oh poo poo, sorry about that. Thanks!
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Jun 2, 2016 18:14
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