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Horrible Apartment Woes and such
MetroidZoid
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Oh god I don't know where to start. Okay, first a background:
We've only had one serious problem with the house, which was it leaked last winter over a section of the house where an attachment was built on. That was fixed. But I come home from a 2-day business trip, tired as shit, crawl into the bed and damn cold everything's wet. I turn the lights on, flip up the covers, which have a 4 foot circle of damp in the center of them, down through the down mattress top, soaked through the mattress. I look up and right centered above the bed is a little sag of drywall where oh great, the roof has leaked once more. Now it's not in the same spot as before, but it is in the same room, and when I went up top in fall to clean up leaves I noticed that while the rest of the house is covered in normal gravel-y shingles (asphalt?), it seems that this part was only covered in large tar paper mats, which I was under the impression went under the shingles. So I'm not sure the repair was complete.
Now I've already called the landlord, left a message, waiting for an answer, but I'm at a loss of what to do. See, I'm already assuming that if my mattress is shot (which I hope it isn't, it's propped up against a ladder in front of the heater), that I'm out because I have no renters insurance and I don't know if he can be at fault for the water damage. Secondly, this is not the only problem with the 'apartment', which is really a small house.
1) There's obvious wood damage around the base and sides of the shower, which I took pictures of when I moved in, but it's gotten worse to the point that the dry wall on one side has bent in and cracked a little when inspecting the bathroom floor and wall joints, revealing significant water damage all around. Also it's become obvious (as in, I saw it happening for the first time) that the shower leaks when in use, something I didn't know until I was on the pot when my fiance was using the shower.
2) Combined with the water issues, I have the worst feeling that the house has a mold issue. I already know there's parts such as the back walls, which are painted brick and attract surface moisture, where it will grow occasionally and quickly and needs a good bleach treatment. But there's also been mold in cabinets and behind shoddy wall-replacements (a wood panel screwed in over a cut-out hole in the closet) that have mold behind it too.
3) Cat damage to the carpet. This is up in the air, because the cat is allowed to be there, when I asked about the cat they didn't bring up anything about an extra deposit, but in a couple places on the carpet, he's been able to pull up say a 2 inch square and chew on it a little. The other problems confusing this issue are that there was a verbal agreement that new carpet would be installed. Should've gotten that on paper because it never happened. I should note that on moving day, even though these things weren't fulfilled (they weren't even there, the landlord's mom gave me the key while her dog shat in the back bedroom), I moved in anyways because I was 21 and desperate. And ignorant. Anyways, it didn't take me long to realize that all the already old and stained carpet throughout the house was not professionally installed. There was at least a 10 foot strip in the living room that was only held down by a couple of nails, among other things.
tl,dr: House leaks, water damage, problems galore, etc.
So I'm freaking out what to do. The obvious answer to me is, I'm not getting the $500 deposit back, give up on that and leave. Except we have all of $100 saved because we've been saving and spending for our wedding in 5 months, just to complicate things further. I really have no idea how to further go about the horrible dealings with this place. My mom's coming over today with a camera to take pictures of the damage should we need them in the future. Please help H/A, you're the best advice a freaked out guy can get right now.
We're renting a house on a lot of three for $400. I pay the landlord directly, the other two go through a rental company. We've been there a year and a half, and as of now by Oregon law (I believe) because they never did a second walk-through and contract update (they brought it up, then it never happened, even after I followed up on a contact they never emailed me back) I should be on a month to month. My rent would also normally be $500, but I made a verbal (stupidly) agreement in the beginning to get a lower rent in 'exchange' for 'fixing up' the house, but nothing was put on paper to specify what that entailed. Again, it was not so smart I realize this, I was a new renter looking for whatever I could get. Will not make that mistake again next time I rent.
We've only had one serious problem with the house, which was it leaked last winter over a section of the house where an attachment was built on. That was fixed. But I come home from a 2-day business trip, tired as shit, crawl into the bed and damn cold everything's wet. I turn the lights on, flip up the covers, which have a 4 foot circle of damp in the center of them, down through the down mattress top, soaked through the mattress. I look up and right centered above the bed is a little sag of drywall where oh great, the roof has leaked once more. Now it's not in the same spot as before, but it is in the same room, and when I went up top in fall to clean up leaves I noticed that while the rest of the house is covered in normal gravel-y shingles (asphalt?), it seems that this part was only covered in large tar paper mats, which I was under the impression went under the shingles. So I'm not sure the repair was complete.
Now I've already called the landlord, left a message, waiting for an answer, but I'm at a loss of what to do. See, I'm already assuming that if my mattress is shot (which I hope it isn't, it's propped up against a ladder in front of the heater), that I'm out because I have no renters insurance and I don't know if he can be at fault for the water damage. Secondly, this is not the only problem with the 'apartment', which is really a small house.
1) There's obvious wood damage around the base and sides of the shower, which I took pictures of when I moved in, but it's gotten worse to the point that the dry wall on one side has bent in and cracked a little when inspecting the bathroom floor and wall joints, revealing significant water damage all around. Also it's become obvious (as in, I saw it happening for the first time) that the shower leaks when in use, something I didn't know until I was on the pot when my fiance was using the shower.
2) Combined with the water issues, I have the worst feeling that the house has a mold issue. I already know there's parts such as the back walls, which are painted brick and attract surface moisture, where it will grow occasionally and quickly and needs a good bleach treatment. But there's also been mold in cabinets and behind shoddy wall-replacements (a wood panel screwed in over a cut-out hole in the closet) that have mold behind it too.
3) Cat damage to the carpet. This is up in the air, because the cat is allowed to be there, when I asked about the cat they didn't bring up anything about an extra deposit, but in a couple places on the carpet, he's been able to pull up say a 2 inch square and chew on it a little. The other problems confusing this issue are that there was a verbal agreement that new carpet would be installed. Should've gotten that on paper because it never happened. I should note that on moving day, even though these things weren't fulfilled (they weren't even there, the landlord's mom gave me the key while her dog shat in the back bedroom), I moved in anyways because I was 21 and desperate. And ignorant. Anyways, it didn't take me long to realize that all the already old and stained carpet throughout the house was not professionally installed. There was at least a 10 foot strip in the living room that was only held down by a couple of nails, among other things.
tl,dr: House leaks, water damage, problems galore, etc.
So I'm freaking out what to do. The obvious answer to me is, I'm not getting the $500 deposit back, give up on that and leave. Except we have all of $100 saved because we've been saving and spending for our wedding in 5 months, just to complicate things further. I really have no idea how to further go about the horrible dealings with this place. My mom's coming over today with a camera to take pictures of the damage should we need them in the future. Please help H/A, you're the best advice a freaked out guy can get right now.
MetroidZoid on
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Besides that, it sounds like you're taking proper steps to make sure you're not held liable.
The only thing in writing is a lease that was basically a copy of what the rental company uses, which states who's responsible for what utilities, etc, and also with a couple of things that 'didn't matter' scratched off. eg, 'renter must install a land phone line', which I said sounded kind of ridiculous and he agreed. It also states something along the lines of 'tenant must not run stove-oil reservoir dry and is responsible for any damage that doing so would occur' which isn't a problem, because it's got at least 25 gallons in it now. It doesn't mention anything about the working-for-a-cheaper-rent, though I doubt if in court they would contest that. It's obvious my rent is and has always been $400/month because every single check is for that amount.
E: I forgot, it also stated that upon moving out, the tenant must pay for a professional carpet cleaning service for the entire house, which I thought was kind of crap but didn't bring it up. On that note, it doesn't specify needing proof of that like any receipts or anything, so my thought then was rent a carpet cleaner, do it myself. The crappy thing about it was that the previous tenant was his son, who lived there rent free. He made the place a disaster just short of FEMA standards, and even upon first 'checking out the place' the landlords wouldn't let me inside they said it was so bad. And it's obvious that no cleaner was rented when he was evicted.
3DS FC: 4699-5714-8940 Playing Pokemon, add me! Ho, SATAN!
You probably should not have allowed the clause that you need to professionally clean the carpet when you move out, but oh well.
You should definitely NOT give up on the deposit. Carpets and paint receive normal wear and tear, and are usually recognized as such. The rest of the issues are not your fault- as long as you notify the landlord within a reasonable amount of time as they come up.
Well from what I've looked at, the most in-depth tenant rights were things like "If denied this, you're entitled to x times the amount of deposit back", but upon my dad's suggestion, I called one of his real estate co-workers who suggested calling the Housing Authority, who apparently also does home appointments. I shall do this today, scheduling an appointment for next week when I have another day off. This also gives me today and the rest of the weekend to extra extra clean the place, not that it's horrible now, there's just a lot of half-unpacked stuff because we're simply short on storage place (there's only ONE closet in this house, we need to rent a storage facility basically).
That's good to hear someone else voicing the 'don't give up on your deposit'. This carpet is far from new; it was not only here for my year 1/2, but for however many (at least 2, probably 3+) years the landlord's son was here. They also had a dog, so even though my cat has made one good sized hole, it's not like a dent in a brand new car so to speak. It's not even great carpet; we're talking office-quality stuff. The guy's cheap to no end: problems are always fixed with a patch. My mom brought up a great point; he wouldn't run this place through a rental company because the company wouldn't allow it: windows so old-fashioned that they don't open completely (they hinge on the bottom and open towards you on a chain), poor insulation, etc. Unfortunately that also means he's probably not apt to put any significant amount of money into this, so what I'm really afraid will happen is we both draw the conclusion "This place isn't fit to live in", but while I would like to see that repaired, his answer is "Well, be out in 30 days". Which is something I'll bring up with the housing authority because that sounds shitty.
What I'm doing is this:
recording everything in a journal; phone calls, the times there of, subject matter, etc. As well as emails.
And when the 'conversation' actually starts, I'm going to start with the immediate problem of the roof, and then move on to the carpet, nothing that it was going to be replaced, it's old, and is probably contributing to the mold issue. We'll see how it goes from there; it's going to be a struggle to keep my cool, but I'll try my hardest. Can't have this turned against me because of a bad attitude.
3DS FC: 4699-5714-8940 Playing Pokemon, add me! Ho, SATAN!
Duly noted
Like now. Actually I think all the bed-ware will be okay, but this is a good taste of what could happen.
3DS FC: 4699-5714-8940 Playing Pokemon, add me! Ho, SATAN!
I'm not sure why, exactly, you feel the need to move out of what sounds like a really cheap place to live while you're near-broke. Have you been having health issues related to the mold? Is the cat-damaged carpet really affecting your quality of life?
I haven't had health issues, or any that I can tell, but since my fiance has moved in, she's had a chronic nasty dry cough. Hell, it could be any number of issues, but the constant damp mustiness of our house can't be a good contribution to the problem. And I'm fine with the carpet, it's the whole not-wanting-to-pay-for-it when I leave thing that bugs me. Or worse, I don't leave, the landlord just decides that the place is no longer suitable for living, and he's not going to put money into fixing it. Which I partly understand, but that's something that should've been addressed a year and a half ago, and now I'm in a potentially bad spot.
But I'm trying not to jump ahead to various bad conclusions, I still want to hear what the Housing Authority has to say, and I'm still waiting for the landlord to call me back.
Also, apparently I can no longer email the guy, because last time I did (about 6 months ago? Less?) he wrote me back saying "I don't deal with any of our rentals, that's my wife, contact her". Well that's all fine and dandy except you don't give me her email, and damn if you're not with her when you come around to look at the outdoors of the houses, and damn if both your names aren't on the checks. :x
3DS FC: 4699-5714-8940 Playing Pokemon, add me! Ho, SATAN!
My landlord is absentee and kind of a dick to boot. His solution to our pipes breaking was to have the immigrant handyman next door [who doesn't speak English] tape them back together with electrical tape- which is how they've been for 5 months. No flu? Tape plastic over the fireplace. Doors are so warped that the locks don't catch? That's okay, rentals don't usually get robbed.
Yes, he actually said that last one.
Unfortunately we have a lease or else I'd be gone. But you don't have that problem. If the house is making you sick, you should not live there.
You'd be surprised what you can find as far as rentals if you look around. I'd start keeping an eye on CL while you're resolving your problems.
Remember, you [probably] don't have a lease and can leave when you want. Read up on the original lease and your states laws to be sure.
Meanwhile I'm trying to build a plan of how to bring up the carpet and walls, and therefore possible mold issues, to him. My thought now is to contact him after this weekend, when the work *should* be already done, and start a conversation then.
Oddly enough for one who 'doesn't deal with the rentals', I sure end up talking to him about fixing them. Whatever. Hopefully I'll nab me a second job here, enough to pick up enough money for a deposit, and we can be on our merry way.
3DS FC: 4699-5714-8940 Playing Pokemon, add me! Ho, SATAN!
Guy comes out. Great guy, nice, not from the same company that 'fixed' it last time. Gets up on the roof, takes a look, comes back with the news that while the strip that was put in last time is new, the whole roof over the attachment needs replacement and is horribly worn, he could come out next week to fix it. Okay, that's medium-good news right? I ask about tarping it or anything else to stave off damage, and the guy says he could go pick up a tarp now, and he'll call the landlord to see what he wants.
Landlord tells guy who tells me "Oh, well I'll have my brother-in-law come look at it". Great. The same guy who (A) 'fixed' it last time, (B) installed the carpet, (C) painted the house (by literally spraying paint over everything including the ceiling fan fixture, sans ceiling fan). I'm going to gently broach the issue of this guy being license & bonded or not, or wether he works for a company that does. I'm guessing no to both.
Unfortunately this also puts me back to peg one of trying-not-to-get-my-monthly-lease-canned.
Minor-update: They came out Sunday afternoon, worked on it for a few hours, and left, telling my fiance "They'll be back sometime next week". When I came home, the had basically thrown down some more of that broad tar-paper, tarped, left a bucket of roof-patch tar on the roof, and left. I'll make sure to get pictures, and I'm gonna email the guy asking 'How soon till we can move back into the room?'. If he says it's good to go now, if it leaks then I have him on record saying he fixed something, but it was half-assed and didn't work. If he says wait, then I'm gonna pressure him into giving me a time-frame, because I'm paying for a bedroom I can't use.
3DS FC: 4699-5714-8940 Playing Pokemon, add me! Ho, SATAN!