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ugh... a little vent

AmySumrall

AmySumrall

aka Joan
Joined
Jul 22, 2009
Messages
728
Maybe a big vent. LOL. So, my husband and I rented this house in October. We signed a one year lease. The owner asked that instead of paying first, last and security, instead we pay first and a security deposit worth almost 2 months rent. We thought it was a little strange but the reason we were given was that it is an older, historic home and if we damage it, repairs would be more costly. Obviously, we will not be damaging anything, so we agreed.

Come to find out, the owner has not paid the mortgage on this property since July (3 months before we began our lease). Now the home is in foreclosure. He will not return any of our emails or letters to him.

We also just saw that they now have the home they live in listed for rent. They are from out of the country and we fear that they are planning to just collect as much rent as they can till their properties forclose and then take off with our deposit.

It get's better... 4 days after we moved in, we were broken into, at night, while we slept. 2 cell phones, my husbands wallet, laptop and a few other items were taken. Not saying the landlord did this, but he did refuse to pay for changing the locks.

Then we discover mold all in the ac and we had to pay to get it cleaned.

To top it off, we have had 3 rats caught in the attic since we have lived here. We have to pay for the pest control, which is fine, but we cant get the landlord to plug up the areas the rats are coming in. it is so gross. Not to mention the flies that come with the rats. I have the pest control people here all the time.

it's not like we are living in the getto, either. Our yearly rent comes to more than 30K! This is just crazy to be dealing with all of this and it is stressing me out!

gah! I dont know what to do at this point to protect ourselves, our deposit, etc. Any legal experts in the house? LOL! I am losing sleep over this ordeal.

Thanks for letting me vent!
 
oh honey...that's a big fat rant that is so worthy of ranting about!!! i'm very sorry this is happening to you. i don't have any advice except to say that you story is much more common these days because of our economy - i'd google renters rights or something like that. i know i heard one story where a sheriff was unwilling to evict renters because of your same story. not sure how long that lasted...but big hug.
 
i'm wondering if you contacted a real estate atty or even your insurance company may have some advice...
 
Oh gosh Amy! That's horrible :( I wish I had some advice for you :( Hope you get something figured out. I would definitely try to contact the sheriff's office or something to see who you can contact for some help.
 
If you have the means, you should contact an attorney. The repairs you needed to make (the AC, pest control, etc.) should be things you can take out of your rent. Problem is, the legal process may take longer than what you have, if he's in foreclosure and having money problems, and there's a decent chance you won't get your attorney's fees back. Sorry amy, that really bites.
 
Thanks, Ladies! I feel better just being able to get it off my chest. he is certainly having financial problems as he had lost his job a few months ago. However, what we pay in rent, more than covers his mortgage, taxes and insurance. In addition, there are two cottages on this property that are currently rented and paying over 600 each. One of them just moved in less than a month ago! Makes me so mad!

We are going to get a lawyer, if only to make things very uncomfortable for him. LOL
 
Oh no!! That totally stinks!! These things can get so messy and frustrating. I think the first thing you should find out is if you can withhold parts of the rent to cover things like plugging the rat holes. I know that is possible in some cases but I don't know about the info in your area.

I wonder if also you can contact his bank and see if you can pay them directly. They would probably be willing to help you, even if it is with advice, since they might actually get some money out of this situation then.

Good luck!!
 
I agree with getting the lawyer. That really bites, Amy, I'm sorry you have to deal with that! I hope you can get some protections in place.
 
DH and I are landlords, so I am familiar with the policies and renters rights, etc because we always have to include them in our leases. In 2009, President Obama signed a new bill so that you CANNOT be evicted if your landlord is foreclosed upon. By law, you are entitled to stay until the end of your lease. You should be able to Google it and get some more info. I know that doesn't help with the maintenance issue but at least it should ease your mind about having a place to live.
 
Thanks. yeah, I am not concerned about having a place to live, more about getting screwed on the deposit. I did call a lawyer. He's 400 an hour. LOL. Hopefully we will only need 15 minutes of his time. Hahah
 
Oh geesh Amy. :( What a loser. I hope you get your deposit back at least! So sorry you have had to go thru this!
 
Amy, if you are awarded a judgment against him for your out of pocket expenses and attorneys fees, you should be able to put liens against ALL of his properties. Depending on how much he owes, etc., if he sells or loses the properties, you may be able to recoupe some of the expenses that way.

And look around. Not all lawyers are THAT outrageously expensive!
 
OMGosh Amy! That is awful. I would keep receipts for all the maintenance you've had to do and pay for and if it ends up that you have to sue this jerk, you can get that all back. Like Julie said, you can put liens on all his rentals until his debt is paid.
 
oh no! That's awful Amy! I'm sorry you are having to deal with such a bad situation. I know a lot of states have mediators that will work with you for free in cases like this.
 
yikes!! that is horrible!! I would be so stressed out too. I don't have any advice other than what everyone else said, just so so sorry!!
 
oh no! I hope you get it figured out I don't really have any advice for you. Sorry :(
 
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