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This sucks.
I lost my deposit because of some BS cleaning charge they made when I moved out. That was over 20 years ago and still pisses me off to this day.
That said, I know landlords are generally shit on, but I’m a landlord today and have never not returned a deposit, plus interest. I’ve had to replace microwaves, refrigerators, water heaters, repair giant chunks of wallboard ripped out from TV mounts or shelving, repaint entire interiors, replace broken tiles and shower doors, you name it. Tenants are brutal, but we’ve yet to charge a single one. We don’t raise rent. We fix shit right away when it breaks. We’re fucking excellent landlords, if I don’t say so myself. Bought our house with hard work and regular paychecks, so we’re not here to fuck over others for a payday. We know what it’s like.
So…FWIW, and I know some will hate no matter what…but we’re not all bad.
It’s illegal for a landlord to keep a deposit. Advice from a landlord to you renters. Get renter’s insurance. Your landlord cannot arbitrarily lock you out. Take photos of everything moving in, take photos of everything moving out. If the landlord is fucking you over, take those assholes to court - but make sure you’re right and have proof. Fucking hold their feet to the fire.
I had a complex try to screw me over one time.
I pointed out to them that their parent company was trying to get approval from my home town to build a new complex, and that my mother was on City Council.
Of course my mother works never have considered how they treated her son in her decision.
But they couldn't refuse to return my deposit. You know, because of the implication.
Good. I’m glad you got your money back.
it sounds like you're a good landlord, which is a rare find lol, so good on you. If you don't mind me asking, are you still able to make decent income from the property for the time and money you put in? I'm used to hearing landlords say they'd be losing money if they didn't raise rent, put off repairs, charge fees for damages the tenant caused, etc. I guess I assumed that was at least a little bit true.
No…well, depends. Equity? Yes…depending on how you write off the taxes vs income from the rent. Personally, we’ve wiped out years of income from our property. We’ve installed air conditioning (to get away from expensive oil heat), had to replace the water heater, repaint the interior, pay for foundation repair, pay for rain gutter installation…we’ve wiped out 3 years worth of “profit” from the property. So we’re making nothing (other than equity, some of which is coming out of our own pockets) for the immediate future. Yes, we’re “losing” money. We are consciously not being assholes to our tenants, who are good people. We’d rather have stable, reliable, good tenants who are responsible than people we’re fucking over for a few bucks who know exactly what we’re doing and are gonna thrash the place. It’s a two way street. We respect them, and they return the favor.
god, it made me so happy to read that. It sounds like mutually beneficial relationship to both sides involved, thanks for telling me more :)
Anytime.
It’s how it should be. We play the long game, not the short term selfish game.
If you live in California, and its all regular wear and tear, you should take their asses to court. Not sure how it works in other states.
That’s why I strongly recommend photos. Protect yourself. Regular wear and tear is different than what you get charged for. I cannot charge for regular wear and tear. Large holes in the wall from ripping g a TV mount out? Sure. Not holes for hanging a picture.
Pay attention to your contract. We’re pretty lenient as private landowners. A corporate contract is going to try to fuck you over.