apartment scam?

[dreamwolf]

Refute everything. Everything you are telling us tell them.

[astrangerwithcandy]

Had this happen to me. Saw two lawyers both said I was beat because of the way they worded the lease.

[thebiglebowski]

Have you been pre-qualified already? Ask your mortgage agent. You are paying them to help you and they are on your side. If they find something at underwriting it might be way worse, cause they will consider the entire mortgage package to be suspect.

 

This says that a bill going to collections can knock 100 points off your score:

 

http://www.ehow.com/info_7887650_having-collections-affect-credit-score.html

 

Knocking your score down 100 points could either take your interest rate up a half a point all the way to make you not be able to qualify for a mortgage (depending on your score at the moment). Depending on how much you borrow, that half a point could cost you tens of thousands of dollars.

 

Sounds to me like you need to maybe make a quick lawyer threat or try and negotiate them to just take the $500 or something, but if they don't give, pay up. Find out what the quickest they could possibly go to collections legally and don't let it linger past that. Dude might be a GIANT douche, but risking it going to collections just before you buy a house is biting off your nose to spite your face (or however that saying goes).

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

quick google found this, but you should fight this.  request a copy of the actual bill they are quoting the $840 from.  

 

NY STATE TENANT RIGHTS

 

http://www.ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/pdfs/publications/Tenant_Rights_2011.pdf

 

 

this entire process should go through the small claims court in your district, and you should do this now before he sends it to claims because once you've put this into small claims he cant send the debt to a collector.  

 

http://subboard.com/legal/resources/packets/pdf/08landlord-tenant_rights.pdf

[thebiglebowski]

If taking it to small claims prevents him from going to collections, that sounds like a good route.

 

Still, talk to your mortgage agent and let them know what is going on. Or talk to a family friend or friend-of-friend in the lending business and ask for advice if you want to do so first. I am guessing that they will still count the $850 in litigation as "debt" in your debt to income ratio. If you are good in that regard, then I don't see how a claim could hurt your ability to buy a house.

[steventangent]

Had this happen to me. Saw two lawyers both said I was beat because of the way they worded the lease.

It's important to note that it's different everywhere. In Michigan, you can only keep a security deposit for unpaid rent, unpaid utilities, and damages. A non-refundable cleaning fee can be required, but it is separate from the deposit, and a landlord has a limited amount of time before they have to refund your deposit or you can demand more.

In Michigan, this would all come down to whether they can prove the damages before "normal wear and tear" in small claims court.

So it would really depend on the specific laws in each state or even sometimes locally.

[konk]

What about the $10 per month extra? Shouldn't that be going towards this as well?

[controlthebleeding]

ask for a sample of the pad and carpet that was reportedly damaged. also carpets have like a 4 or 6 year max before replacement is needed (depending on state), so ask also when the carpet was initially put in and a record of how much it cost, because if it's been like the time lotted then they shouldn't be charging for damage. no matter what.  also ask for the records of who lived there before and if they had pets. taking them to small claims should probably be done soon. as said, it keeps them from sending to collections. 

 

hope this helps.

 

we had an apt co. do this to us, only they tried twice to fuck us. the claimed water damage to the whole carpet floor and substructure due to a leaking water heater that caused a small portion of the ceiling underneath to collapse. then we took them copies of all the requests we sent to them regarding the leak (4 in total) before the major damage occurred. then they claimed they didn't cash the deposit check, and we had to bring a record from the bank that said it was. luckily we got our full deposit back and left with a big fuck you! 

[astrangerwithcandy]

It's important to note that it's different everywhere. In Michigan, you can only keep a security deposit for unpaid rent, unpaid utilities, and damages. A non-refundable cleaning fee can be required, but it is separate from the deposit, and a landlord has a limited amount of time before they have to refund your deposit or you can demand more.

In Michigan, this would all come down to whether they can prove the damages before "normal wear and tear" in small claims court.

So it would really depend on the specific laws in each state or even sometimes locally.

True, I should have specified my problem happened in PA.

[rooks]

PA real estate law is very much on the side of renters as opposed to landlords. Do what the guy 2 posts above me said if you have to!  If there really was no damage, and your pets didn't piss on the carpet, I'd fight it.

[littlebistro]

So, what we're going to do is:

1. Question where the extra $240 from our added $10 a month for having a pet went.

2. Ask how they know the pad under the carpet is damaged. If they used a black light, tell them we weren't able to do that upon moving in.

3. Ask them to prove no pets lived there before us.

Ask for a sample of the carpet and pad that was damaged from "pet urine."

4. Ask for proof of the cost of the carpet and when it was installed.

If they don't back down from the additional $340 they're demanding, we'll take them to small claims.

Thanks for the help folks.

[konk]

They'll probably settle with 500 if you let them keep it.

[littlebistro]

Honestly, that's what we're hoping for.

[steventangent]

Call them up, and in your most menacing voice, say "DAME EL DINERO, O VOY A CHINGAR TU MADRE EN EL CULO."

[steventangent]

and then, you know, hope they speak enough Spanish to know you aren't chingaring around.

[Satan]

Call them up, and in your most menacing voice, say "DAME EL DINERO, O VOY A CHINGAR TU MADRE EN EL CULO."

 

 

iiiiiiinteresting turn of events...

[thebiglebowski]

So, what we're going to do is:

1. Question where the extra $240 from our added $10 a month for having a pet went.

2. Ask how they know the pad under the carpet is damaged. If they used a black light, tell them we weren't able to do that upon moving in.

3. Ask them to prove no pets lived there before us.

Ask for a sample of the carpet and pad that was damaged from "pet urine."

4. Ask for proof of the cost of the carpet and when it was installed.

If they don't back down from the additional $340 they're demanding, we'll take them to small claims.

Thanks for the help folks.

On 2, when an animal pees on carpet it stains the pad. Even if the carpet looks clean, the pad may not. No black light required.

On 3, I don't think they need to provide you a sample if they took pics. If they give you neither, then they aren't fulfilling their obligation for proof. I would never even think to ask for a sample of (supposedly) ruined carpet.

Good luck. Let us know.

[littlebistro]

Ok, so my wife called today to speak with the manager. These were the responses she got.

In regards to what the extra $10 a month for having a pet was for: "just because"

As for stains on the carpet they said there were stains in the living room, dining room and hallway. The only dirt "stains" In those areas was from foot traffic. The hallway rug was damaged upon moving in and was documented. There were pulls in the carpet where the sections met that got caught in the vacuum and pulled. I'm sure you've seen the results.

They said they would email my wife pictures of the damage and we have yet to receive it. They also said we need to let them know what we're going to do by Friday, the 9th. The original letter said we have 14 days from the 2nd of August,

Regardless of the outcome we get from them we are not paying the charges. They can take us to small claims court if they'd like, but I feel like we'd win.

[yocaseycasey]

This has been a crazy read. Keep us posted!

[TriCHERatops]

Little late here

We had the same thing happen to us when we moved out of our apt. We paid a 300 deposit an after we moved out we received a bill for 450. They said our deposit was forfeited because we didn't give 30 days.

If your landlord wasn't there at the time you handed over the keys with a document he/she would have you sign, kind of like a walk through, then you should have no problem fighting it.

Also many landlords scam people out of extra money because like someone above said, they would be too scared to effect there credit.

Landlords have maintenance crews. They pay them to work on their properties. It just a way for them to get there money back paying them to do whatever plus some.

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

one time I got charged $300 for a cigarette burn in a railing, only to find that the railing was never replaced after we paid it.

[thebiglebowski]

Ok, so my wife called today to speak with the manager. These were the responses she got.

In regards to what the extra $10 a month for having a pet was for: "just because"

As for stains on the carpet they said there were stains in the living room, dining room and hallway. The only dirt "stains" In those areas was from foot traffic. The hallway rug was damaged upon moving in and was documented. There were pulls in the carpet where the sections met that got caught in the vacuum and pulled. I'm sure you've seen the results.

They said they would email my wife pictures of the damage and we have yet to receive it. They also said we need to let them know what we're going to do by Friday, the 9th. The original letter said we have 14 days from the 2nd of August,

Regardless of the outcome we get from them we are not paying the charges. They can take us to small claims court if they'd like, but I feel like we'd win.

 

This has never happened to me and I have no knowledge of the law. Others have answered better.

 

But from what I read, going to collections could FUCK you when you go through the mortgage process. Just be confident that at that deadline, they take you to small claims, not collections. I am not sure if an apartment going to collections is the same as say a credit card. Does the collection agency report to a credit company? I'm sure the landlord doesn't. Do they have to go to small claims before collections? Should you pre-emptively go to small claims to prevent them from going to collections?

 

I don't know the answers to these. You should be confident you do, though. A 100 point hit to your score is not something to mess around with just before you make one of the couple biggest purchases of your life.

[abovetheearth]

Haven't received the email pics of the damage?

That's because they haven't created it yet.

The damage, that is.

[littlebistro]

From what I understand is we can't take them because we owe them money, not the other way around.

Also, we can dispute through collections when it comes time. We're checking with our credit advisor to see what they think we should do.

[thebiglebowski]

Cool, as long as you are cool with it.

Search through the document mike provided for the word "small" and read the related sections that mention small claims. It wasnt a lot. I thought there was explicit language that said you could go to small claims when you believe the landlord has unjustly kept the deposit.