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Moving Excitement = Down the Drain

bbymks5

bbymks5

Where oh where can it be?!?
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
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I wasn't excited about moving, then we found the perfect house (minus the fact we cannot keep our cats) but that excitement has quickly vanished again, in the matter an email, and I have only myself to blame because I KNOW better...I let anxiety and the lack time get the better of my common sense and judgement.

I KNEW I should have asked about the carpets the DAY we went and looked at the house...but I didn't. I should have asked again, prior to signing anything and prior to paying our deposit...but again, clouded judgement.

The carpet is absolutely disgusting!! You can see EXACTLY where every piece of furniture was in the living room and master...I can measure and tell you how big their couch and chaise lounge was and what size bed the had and how it was positioned against the wall. There are two bald spots in the master, the master carpet isn't even tacked down nor is it tacked down in the master closet, and there's a huge chunk missing in the closet behind the door in the closet. The living room has 4 hard/crunchy stains; room 1 has 7 various blue marker stains and hard/crunchy stains; room 2 the carpet needs tacked down by the closet.

I emailed the property manager both pics and what all was wrong; his reply "I'll make sure you're not charged when you move out." I'm sitting her in total shock wide-eyed like a deer about to plowed over. No offer to have the issues taken care of or cleaned! My husband emailed the owner of the house who lives in CA to see how he's going to handle the situation; who even knows if he knows the condition of the carpet?? How does one go about vacuuming carpet that isn't even secured down?!!? Nobody even bothered to run a vacuum over the carpet before showing the house. I know the carpet has never seen a shampooer in it's lifetime either.

We were told the couple who just moved out only lived there for a short while, the wife owned a cleaning company and they moved to Romania (yeah okay - I can tell you a professional cleaner did not live there, because the water isn't on and is not scheduled to be on until the 14th, I had to run to the store to get a Swiffer to clean the tiles and the pads were BLACK, told hubby, I don't have enough pads are cleaning solution in the world to use in on the floor as I had already used 3 on just the entry and half the kitchen and entire bottle of cleaning solution it came with; it'll have to wait until I can use my steam mop and water cleaning one); the family that lived there was a single mom and her children (evidence is left all over the second bathroom, there's a nice picture in PEN on the cupboard door, pink something on one of the drawers and another cupboard, the stains in bedroom) and who knows about the ones before these last two. I'm either going to have to suck it and buy a shampooer or pay even more in addition to the $275.00 that I'll be paying to have the currents house and stairs shampooed.

NEVER had I EVER in all of my years of renting, had carpet as disgusting as this. I am floored!!! Pun maybe intended, because if I can't make lift of this situation I'm going to lose my mind. I'm beyond not being amused!

Sorry to vent - but seriously, I needed this. Bright side, we all woke up, we're healthy for aside from aches and pains and the girls are happy.
 
Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. It is so yucky and under handed though, the agent must have known. I do trust that the owner comes through for you. Great that you're all healthy and happy though.
 
The property manager has to know...he's the one who showed us the house. I'm just in total shock, even when renting in apartments the carpets were NEVER like this. If I had the money, I would seriously rip it all up, tile the living room and recarpet the bedrooms...but it's not my house, so not really our monkey...but I was so hoping we could make this new house a long-term rental like the one we've currently been renting for six years. Our other issues in the same email weren't even mentioned; the window screen is missing to the street facing room, the screen door to the patio is torn, it's fire code to have the auto closing hinges on the door leading into the house from the garage.

If this is how the PM handles concerns we will be leaving after our first year is over and crossing our fingers nothing major comes up or we may be bailing on our first lease ever.

Eyeore said:
Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. It is so yucky and under handed though, the agent must have known. I do trust that the owner comes through for you. Great that you're all healthy and happy though.
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Ew, you got me at "crunchy stains". Is there any way you can get your deposit back? Misrepresentation or something like that? If not, hopefully the owner will come through and take care of things.
 
Do they still have 5 On Your Side? If they don't come thru you may want to consider trying that??????? Oh, yuck!! So sorry you are having to deal with all of this.
 
We just paid the deposit so it's doubtful...I wish I had asked about the carpets the day we went and saw the house while the property manager was there.

HeatherB said:
Ew, you got me at "crunchy stains". Is there any way you can get your deposit back? Misrepresentation or something like that? If not, hopefully the owner will come through and take care of things.
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I know there's 3 on Your Side...but I seriously have nobody to be mad at but myself for not asking before moving forward...I already feel like "that idiot" grrrr

Jan said:
Do they still have 5 On Your Side? If they don't come thru you may want to consider trying that??????? Oh, yuck!! So sorry you are having to deal with all of this.
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I'm sorry you're dealing with this. The good thing is, you can document what the carpets look like AND keep all emails/other correspondence you get from property manager and the owner. Keep that email that says you won't be charged!
The house we rented in Houston: we specifically asked that the carpets be cleaned. Guess what? We get there and carpets haven't been touched, but landlord tells us they've been cleaned. So we show him the pics we took when we toured the home... and he says "huh. Maybe we missed this house." Then he rented a machine to clean them. These had been thru a freaking hurricane that flooded the house (Ike, in case you're familiar with that damage), so you bet your bottom dollar I wanted them cleaned not just cuz other people had loved there.
OK I can't keep talking about bad landlords. They were horrible. All I can say is: KEEP EVERYTHING. Also, tell them the carpets are a health hazard and you're worried about your children. You assumed they'd be cleaned, as a home very well should be when people move out. Perhaps there's something in your contract? IDK. But take photos and EMAIL THEM TODAY with a CC (don't blind CC--let them know you're emailing them back to yourself and your dh and the owner so landlord feels fire under their butt). You want there to be no question whatsoever as to the fact all those stains were not made by you. I still have emails from our last rental and we bought a home 2 years ago lol. You have to protect yourself because you don't want to live with someone else's disgusting mess and then be charged for it when you leave.
 
Can you tell the property manager you will have the carpets cleaned and deduct the cost from your rent. There is no way they should have rented it dirty!
 
Check your local laws, some allow the contract to be dissolved within a certain number of days if things are not as promised. On the other hand, if you did not say anything the PM may have assumed you were okay renting it "as is".

You may also be able to get out of the lease if items that are not up to code are not repaired in a timely fashion. The local housing authority really frowns on things that violate code.
 
Ugh. I hate shady and bad rentals. Unfortunately, my experience has always been the property management companies are the worst for getting things done! After all, it's not their property, they just collect a fee. So they don't care if it's decent, as long as it's rented. Typically I find owner rented properties are more cared about, because it is their retirement or whatever on the line. Hopefully letting the owner know that the PM is not taking care of things will help them out too! We had a horrible experience in our last rental, similar to yours. We signed the lease in the office, but hadn't handed over the money yet. We couldn't figure out why they didn't want us to go to the unit. Finally the guy said "It's not quite ready, they are finishing cleaning up". Um, sure. If you call: a) in the middle of painting the apartment b) no lightbulbs anywhere c) a fridge with food still, sitting in the middle of the living room d) dirty trash everywhere e) dirty carpets and f) dirty bathrooms "finishing up". Luckily, because the money was on our side, while we lost a day, the apartment was taken care of when we returned the next day to move in. Except it smelled like paint, the dishwasher flooded, and we couldn't use the shower/sink for another day. Ugh. And of course, since I had photos of the disgusting mess when we signed the lease, and they had none to prove anything had been cleaned up, they didn't charge us for anything when we moved out! It was super easy to leave it better than we got it.

Depending on what the owner writes back, maybe another email stating that you are looking for a long term rental, and were hoping to do at least 5 years, but with the state of the carpet, and xyz, that would not be a possibility. I mean, they may come back and ask for a 2 year lease if they change the carpet, but that might be worth it? Or, at least you will know that while you didn't want to move again, you are still looking for a place.

Hopefully something works out for you! Sorry you are in this mess :happyhug
 
In our first apartment years ago, even before we were married, we lived in an old 6-flat building, 3 on one side, 3 on the other. We were on the 2nd floor. I would notice crumbs on the sofa and got upset with DH (before he was DH) and asked him to kindly be more careful when he was eating pretzels or whatever crunchy stuff on the sofa. He claimed he didn't do it. Then we both looked up and saw beams poking thru the ceiling. Yikes! We contacted the landlord immediately. Instead of doing any structural repair, he put up a false ceiling.

I could tell you stories, the hot water heater was tagged by the gas company because it was leaking. Thankfully no explosion, but the landlord finally replaced that.

The people on the 3rd floor above us, at one time, was a single mom and kids. One Saturday, water was just pouring down the ceiling in our bathroom. John went upstairs to knock on the door and was answered by a little boy who was stark naked. John asked to speak to his "mommy", but the little boy told us that she was busy with her friend. Hmmmm...

And then there was once that we noticed swarms of police cars in the front of the building. Apparently our upstairs neighbor (by that time it may have been someone else), had been shooting a pistol off the back porch. Yep, we lived in a dream apartment, not. I can't believe we stayed there almost 3 years.

Not that this is going to make the situation better now, but maybe one day you can look back at this and have some great stories to tell. It'll make you stronger, that I can vouch for. Take care. Good luck with your cleaning. I hope it goes well for you.

Looking thru this thread, there are lots of great ideas. But I agree with @BevG check with the local housing authority. You may get some satisfaction.
 
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I am so sorry you are having to deal with this. A few things, tell the PM that you were planning to make this your long term rental but that you really need to have these things fix and make the list again (put the carpet at the top of the list). Giving him a list of what is the priority and NEEDS to be fixed for you to stay one more year. Second, is there a law about the state and safety of the house before you can move in? Here in IL and in Puerto Rico the house needs to pass an inspection before it can be rented. Check about that before you move! Lastly, if you brake contract will you only loose your deposit. I know it may be a lot of money but maybe it's better than moving and then moving again in a few months when you can't stand it anymore. Or maybe before you spend all that money and realize it's going to look the same after the professional shampoo.
 
Ugh. I'm so sorry that you're dealing with this. I sure hope that either the manager or the owner will do right by you guys and get that place cleaned up so you can be happy with your move.
 
If you have a friend who is a lawyer, you could have them draw up a letter to send to PM and Owner. Might get their attention.

And STOP blaming yourself. We still live in a world where we should be able to expect people to do the right thing.
 
Sorry to hear! This is an educational thread for me though. I only rented from 1995 to 2000 and we've been in this house since then. Both my husband and I have decided in the last few years that we wish we hadn't bought so much house and property and we're looking forward to downsizing someday. So I've been kind of fantasizing about all the wonderful things about apartments and townhouses, like walking into town and not having to mow lawn, not thinking about downsides like these.

From your description of the state of the carpet and the reluctance of the people who should fix it, I think I might be inclined to let the deposit go like Dalis suggests and look for a better place. Good luck!
 
All I can say is ugh . . . and send ((HUGS)) while you are getting this resolved. We have been homeowners for so many years and I prefer hard floors with area rugs to having full carpet. In fact, we are replacing our carpet in the den/office as soon as we get our income tax return, so only the bedrooms will have wall-to-wall carpet - and replacing those will be for another time.
 
That is horrible. Hope you can find a fix/solution/compromise? Maybe the homeowners do not know so it good you are trying to communicate w/them directly. I would start there and then check laws if a solution is not forthcoming. I think in CA there were laws that you couldn't be deceptive and try to hide big faults like that when selling a home - not sure how it relates to rentals or how it works in your state ... but worth looking into. hugs - moving is so stressful as it is - so this is just downright wrong. Sorry - and vent all you want/need hun!
 
Ugh. I feel your pain. BTDT.

When we moved into our last rental, the PM company promised us that the carpet would be replaced within a year. We became friends with the people on the other side of the duplex, and they told them the same thing. We waited... and waited... and waited. We were stuck financially with no way to move someplace else, and every time we asked for something to be repaired, they hemmed and hawed and refused to give us contact info for the homeowner (who we were told lived in California). There was a hornet's nest outside & even after we told them that my husband is allergic they refused to remove it & said that it was our problem.

Anyways, we lived there for 3y10m... and the carpet was never replaced. They finally started working on our neighbors and told us that they would just wait until we moved to replace ours. We had to put DH's dog down around the same time and she had started to tear up the carpeting on the stairs the last few months of her life as part of her dementia. It wasn't totally destroyed but there were a few bald patches. Since we had it in writing that they promised to change out the carpets, we didn't worry abt it much... until they tried to take most of our deposit because of 'ruined carpets.'

Oh heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeck no.

We got the deposit money back but it was a long arduous process because we had moved 1100 miles away so we couldn't take them to small claims court.
 
The PM allowed us to call in a company of our choice to have the carpets cleaned; the company we chose has done our current carpets in the past so I knew I could trust their opinion.

You could smell the nastiness of the carpet as soon as the cleaning process started!!! The guy said the carpet really should be replaced, told I him you've got that right!! I told them I wished we had the money to just recarpet and pad the house ourselves and call it a lesson learned.

When we went to the house the next day, which was the Saturday that just passed, it totally reeked of nasty carpet and wet dogs!! The stains didn't budge, so I picked up a HUGE area rug for the living room that is 7'7" x 10'6" from one of the FB swap pages to hide them.

Other than the carpet we love the house!! The AC guys came yesterday to replace the blower and a couple other things and clean the coils so we're hopefully good to go for the summer.
 
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