It's only money
The meeting with the landlord to give her the keys was yesterday. My plan was to try to get our deposit back in full to help comp some of the outrageous gas charges through the winter. We cleaned all morning. We Spackled and in some places repaired the walls, even though it was not us who put the holes in them. We cleaned behind and inside the fridge, even though when we moved in, there was mold in there. Basically, the house was in beautiful shape cosmetically when we handed the keys over and requested that our deposit be given back.
We were told that our deposit was forfeit because we had not been there for 9 months. That wasn't my understanding of the contract because when we moved in, she had told us that each month we could get back $100 of our deposit... making what was due to us $600 because we had been there 6 months, and what we were asking for $800 (there were pet deposits etc, but we had decided not to fight over those).
That is when we realised that she has done this before. She said "Well, I don't remember saying that... But I do know what was in the paperwork." Sure enough... she was right. The paperwork says that if you don't stay 9 mos, you don't get any of your deposit back. Period. Another thing she said was "Well, did you put (the repairs) in writing? Because if you take me to court, that is what he will want and if it isn't in writing, you will loose." No, of course, we didn't put our requests for repairs in writing. We thought you took care of your crap!! She had done it before. Without a doubt. She had duped us and probably other families into paying for her outrageous house without fixing anything, and paying for it to be cared for and heated all winter long. The last people didn't leave crap all over the house because they were derelict renters. They left crap all over because they got scammed and they were pissed!
Sigh...
I am not sure how far I want to push this right now. I could easily file a small claim suit against her for the gas bill and the portion of the deposit she said we would 'earn'... but to what end? What would I pay out to have lawyers write me up letters, and how much of my time would I put into getting affidavits from previous landlords, the gas company, etc... and honestly, would I even win? Part of me so wants to 'teach her a lesson' for the horrible way she kept the house, and the fact that we had to live there for a winter with it falling down around our ears and incurring more than $2100 in gas charges alone to heat it. I cried all yesterday afternoon about how horrible some people can be. But the other part of me wants to put it all behind me and say, 'It's only money.'
What would you do?
We were told that our deposit was forfeit because we had not been there for 9 months. That wasn't my understanding of the contract because when we moved in, she had told us that each month we could get back $100 of our deposit... making what was due to us $600 because we had been there 6 months, and what we were asking for $800 (there were pet deposits etc, but we had decided not to fight over those).
That is when we realised that she has done this before. She said "Well, I don't remember saying that... But I do know what was in the paperwork." Sure enough... she was right. The paperwork says that if you don't stay 9 mos, you don't get any of your deposit back. Period. Another thing she said was "Well, did you put (the repairs) in writing? Because if you take me to court, that is what he will want and if it isn't in writing, you will loose." No, of course, we didn't put our requests for repairs in writing. We thought you took care of your crap!! She had done it before. Without a doubt. She had duped us and probably other families into paying for her outrageous house without fixing anything, and paying for it to be cared for and heated all winter long. The last people didn't leave crap all over the house because they were derelict renters. They left crap all over because they got scammed and they were pissed!
Sigh...
I am not sure how far I want to push this right now. I could easily file a small claim suit against her for the gas bill and the portion of the deposit she said we would 'earn'... but to what end? What would I pay out to have lawyers write me up letters, and how much of my time would I put into getting affidavits from previous landlords, the gas company, etc... and honestly, would I even win? Part of me so wants to 'teach her a lesson' for the horrible way she kept the house, and the fact that we had to live there for a winter with it falling down around our ears and incurring more than $2100 in gas charges alone to heat it. I cried all yesterday afternoon about how horrible some people can be. But the other part of me wants to put it all behind me and say, 'It's only money.'
What would you do?
Comments
I would just weight whether it's more important to make a point to discipline her and get the money that is rightfully yours (even if it costs more to do so) or walking and potentially saving yourself much needed money.
Thank God!
Val
Val