Renting woes, need experiences

In the past, i've had the normal sloppy management, management staff changes 8 times in one lease, lost packages, etc etc etc...

But i've always been lucky in that there hasn't been any REAL issues in my "renting career."

This has changed.

We signed a lease on a house affective 8/1, and it's been a ride since then. SWMBO looked at the place and did all the signing solo, as i was trying frantically to get a car(s) ready for MATG.

Since then....

1) Had to have a contractor come out to fix falling water-damaged drywall in the ceiling of the garage. Two sections. One had mold, and was under the kitchen.

2) A/C not functioning properly. Not super noticeable when it was in the 70s when we signed the lease and the next week or so, but when it's running 24/7 in 90 degree weather and the inside temperature is going UP, it's noticeable. We reported this two weeks ago now, and the contractor has come by twice already, will be coming by (in theory) again today to hopefully finish the job. This unit was manufactured in 4/2014, so it shouldn't be malfunctioning already.

First time he came by, he spent 4 hours diagnosing it, and ended up with the thought that it needed an expansion valve. He didn't have it with him, said it would need to be special ordered. 1.5 weeks more went by with the A/C running probably... 18-20 hours out of the day, he came back yesterday. berkeleyed around with it for 3 hours disassembling it to get to the valve, then realized that he had forgotten two fittings that he needed, and couldn't finish the job. Yay. Now instead of improperly functioning a/c, we have NO A/C.

3) There's evidence of water damage in various parts of the house. The garage ceiling was the most obvious at first. The next one i found is that the vanity in the main bathroom (cheap pressureboard unit)'s drawers are swollen, flaking, and really soft. There's mold starting in one of them. The bottom of the vanity is also damaged. The kitchen floor is heaved/uneven like crazy, suspiciously around where the dishwasher was (didn't come with one, but the hookups are there) and where the fridge currently is. (We had a new one delivered, on the property manager's dime, but there are hookups for a ice maker model)

I'm guessing the pipes burst over the winter. All pipes and such i can see in the crawlspaces are brand new.

So... i need to have someone come in for that.

To the management's credit: They haven't given any sort of pushback with all these requests, and they've sent people out in a timely manner.

Against their credit: This place was NOT ready to be inhabited, and i'm getting really berkeleying sick of it.

My problems/what i need help dealing with: The August electric bill is going to be OBSCENE due to the a/c not working properly, and i really don't feel like i should be the one paying it. What's the best/most effective way to go about letting them know that they'll be footing that bill?

Water damage: SWMBO is very allergic to mold, and as of last night, is breaking out in hives. She's gone through allergy testing in the last year, and the only two environmental things that gave her hives were Ragweeds and Mold. She's only breaking out when she's inside the house, which doesn't give me a good feeling about this.

Do i just call them for another work order, starting with the vanity, and casually say "Oh, and you might want to get someone that can do this AND sweep the place for mold?" Or do i just go full out "This place has mold, we need it taken care of, and my guess is that the entire damn place needs to be gutted, so we need to talk about you guys moving us to another place on your dime."

Haven't had to deal with this before. It would almost be easier if we DID own the damn place. Her dad has worked in HVAC for 20+ years, and i have friends that could help me do the other work fairly easily.

If you've got a medical issue - which you do - then you immediately go to DefCon 4 - "This place has mold, we need it taken care of, and my guess is that the entire damn place needs to be gutted, so we need to talk about you guys moving us to another place on your dime."

The M word will carry quite a bit of weight, as it should.

Is the M word Medical or Mold?

I'm guessing "mold." But it could also be "medical" or "moving."

Or "motherberkeleyers."

Not to jump on you, but this has happened to every person I've known. I love my girlfriend as much as anybody else loves their girlfriend, but that doesn't magically make her Mike Holmes even if she is an intelligent, thoughtful human being.

And for the record, move! You have easy reason to break the lease. They will never get all the mold with that much water damage. If the SO is allergic, it doesn't really matter the reasons you want to stay.

And ymmv, but imo, it doesn't matter how nice slum lords are, they still are slum lords. They got you into the place so they wouldn't have to miss another months worth of rent, your health/comfort be damned.

Why you would want to work with them anymore is beyond me.

M is for Mold. Think of it as the asbestos of the twentyteens.

With the mold and the high allergies of the SO, I would just call up the landlord and say this isn't going to work and I want all my expenses back.

Document the heck out of it with pictures if possible. Put it all in writing so they have a record of it and deliver it either in person or via certified mail if they give any kickback. An actual mold test will help in court too if it comes to that.

It sucks but the burden of proof is on you if it goes to legal proceedings.

Call, send a letter, email, etc to the management rep and have them meet you at the house to inspect it with you. It seems they're aware that some issues exist and are willing to work with you. Depending on the company, they may be able to relocate you to another one of their properties. Having this many issues within a month should be a red flag that the property isn't ready. You may want to look up your city/county/state landlord-tenant ordinances/rules/laws too. I remember interning for a non-profit that represented tenants when lead based paint was the big issue but mold was a close second.

HiTempguy wrote: Not to jump on you, but this has happened to every person I've known. I love my girlfriend as much as anybody else loves their girlfriend, but that doesn't magically make her Mike Holmes even if she is an intelligent, thoughtful human being. And for the record, move! You have easy reason to break the lease. They will never get all the mold with that much water damage. If the SO is allergic, it doesn't really matter the reasons you want to stay. And ymmv, but imo, it doesn't matter how nice slum lords are, they still are slum lords. They got you into the place so they wouldn't have to miss another months worth of rent, your health/comfort be damned. Why you would want to work with them anymore is beyond me.

I didn't expect her to be Mike Holmes and i'm not sure where that comment came from in the first place. I'm not putting any blame on her, so....?

The problem with leaving is they have his security deposit. And knowing landlords (I is one, though I run a nice, clean, mold-free property) they'll fight to give it back, most likely. Depending on your laws where you live, if you quit paying rent it can take from 1 to 3 months for them to properly evict you- and they can't legally harass you during that time. Unfortunately, it also means they won't be a good reference for future renting, but with the problems you're dealing with they likely won't be, anyway, just because.

I would tell them that you are moving, demand your security back, and start home hunting. If they push back, it may be time to lawyer up. You're not going to be compensated for moving expenses, which sucks, but you will (hopefully) find a place that doesn't kill one or both of you.

A BIG deposit. $1500 worth.

I have about $4k tied up in this place in the last month including moving costs.

Moving isn't cheap, and i really don't have the time or money to realistically do it again on my dime and effort. I burned my PTO doing it last time, and work schedule doesn't allow for any sort of quick move if i'm doing it myself, otherwise.

I too would recommend employing the other M-word, Move.

It may not be cheap/easy but it can bring a real solution.
Compromise might be to move to another property with same company.

JohnRW1621 wrote: I too would recommend employing the other M-word, Move. It may not be cheap/easy but it can bring a real solution. Compromise might be to move to another property with same company.

Moving to another property with the same company would be probably the easiest option for everyone. They aren't based here, so i'm guessing that the E36 M3 work on the place is most likely the fault of the contractor hired.

Only a theory? Yes, of course.

Why move when it's their problem to fix it and house you until it's safe?

Check the laws for your state. Depending on how handy you want to be, you can deduct repairs from your rent with a good paper trail.

Assuming you're in Indiana:

IC 32-31-8-5 Landlord obligations Sec. 5. A landlord shall do the following: (1) Deliver the rental premises to a tenant in compliance with the rental agreement, and in a safe, clean, and habitable condition. (2) Comply with all health and housing codes applicable to the rental premises. (3) Make all reasonable efforts to keep common areas of a rental premises in a clean and proper condition.

Once you give your landlord notice, they have a reasonable amount of time to fix it. The definition of reasonable is vague.

IC 32-31-8-6 Tenant's cause of action to enforce landlord obligations Sec. 6. . . . (b) A tenant may not bring an action under this chapter unless the following conditions are met: . . . (2) The landlord has been given a reasonable amount of time to make repairs or provide a remedy of the condition described in the tenant's notice. . . .

If you prevail in court, you're entitled to your security deposit and reasonable attorney fees. If you get guff, say you will hire a lawyer and they are responsible for paying him.

My suggestion is to find a way to stay in your current unit, ask the landlord to speed things along, and threaten to hire a lawyer, which he will be responsible for paying, if repairs cannot be made in a reasonable amount of time. He is responsible for the security deposit, your fees, and any damages or injunctive relief (like your electric bill). I'm sure he'll play ball.

kylini wrote: Check the laws for your state. Depending on how handy you want to be, you can deduct repairs from your rent with a good paper trail.

Just beat me to it.

I have rentals. I know the local laws are very strongly in favour of the tenant, but they still must be followed in order to work.

Find out what your local laws, and options are, and use them to your advantage.

Cool, thanks!

Maybe HOPEFULLY it can be repaired in a timely fashion... We DO like the place, it's a good size, good location, but i'm just worried the whole place needs to be gutted.

Let's say they do play ball with the mold issue and do manage to go ahead with fixing all the water damage quickly somehow.

What do i do about the electric bill issue? I'm not joking when i say i'm going to guess the bill is going to be north of $400, and when Citizen's Gas looked back at history at this property, that's a good $200-$250 over average for this month.

I never quite understood how you could own an investment property yet neglect to actually invest in it. I think folks just get this grand idea of "i'm gonna rent this house and never touch it and make a good income on it and if anyone tries to fight me about issues I'll just evict them or try to sell it out from under them." Then they realize they can't sell the place its horrible condition, so they get another tenant and start the process over again.

Personally, I'd have no issues if my landlord came to me and said "hey I'd like to update the basement, would you mind if I did construction during the day while you're at work?"

I'd be ok if the basement was just unfinished and concrete floors/walls, just as long as it was dry. Mine leaks like crazy.

PHeller wrote: I never quite understood how you could own an investment property yet neglect to actually invest in it. I think folks just get this grand idea of "i'm gonna rent this house and never touch it and make a good income on it and if anyone tries to fight me about issues I'll just evict them or try to sell it out from under them." Then they realize they can't sell the place its horrible condition, so they get another tenant and start the process over again. Personally, I'd have no issues if my landlord came to me and said "hey I'd like to update the basement, would you mind if I did construction during the day while you're at work?" I'd be ok if the basement was just unfinished and concrete floors/walls, just as long as it was dry. Mine leaks like crazy.

I'm guessing they did actually invest in it, but a contractor screwed them.

This is a company that owns thousands of properties. I'm guessing they're not in the business of actively neglecting anything.

That all said... this house was a bank-owned repo prior to them acquiring it, which probably explains the burst pipe theory.

Swank Force One wrote: Cool, thanks! Maybe HOPEFULLY it can be repaired in a timely fashion... We DO like the place, it's a good size, good location, but i'm just worried the whole place needs to be gutted.

I've dealt with mold and there's no need to gut the place. Anything that's saturated with mold will have to come out but that's at most the bottom foot or so of drywall immediately around the leak areas. Then they can fog the place - which can happen with your furniture and all in it - and the fog kills the mold and spores. Then repair the walls and replace the vanity, etc. It's a lot of work but it's a far cry from gutting the place.

Hrm, that would be pretty awesome.

How many contractor visits before i tell them "Yeah so... i'm gonna need a month off from paying rent just because this is a huge pain in my ass."

The days they come over kills any ideas i had of getting E36 M3 done outside of work that i need to do, since i don't like leaving SWMBO alone with the contractors. Today's visit will mark day #4 in the last 2.5 weeks, and sounds like i'm being guaranteed at least 2-3 more days in short order.

If that's rude and American, then i'll stand down. Last place gave me a 2 car garage for 3 months for free, then the remainder of the lease at a discount because they moved me out of my 1 car twice, though.

Swank Force One wrote: That all said... this house was a bank-owned repo prior to them acquiring it, which probably explains the stolen pipe theory.

FTFY

We recently bought a house (the one we're living in) and it came with a second home on the property, kindof like a guest quarters. A pipe had burst in it (we got the property on short sale) and the rear house was infested with mold. I hired a company to come in, and they removed all porous building material that showed live mold, painted the frame members of the house with a mold-killing and inhibitive paint, and then fumigated the place with a biocide to kill anything else that was living in there. They still left a mess to remodel (which we're working on) but I used to not be able to spend more than 5 minutes inside the building before suffocating from the mold. Now I could live in there.

To do the two floors, about 1200 square feet total, was slightly over $5,000.

In reply to PHeller:

Totally agree. When the last tenants in our rental house moved out they left an ungodly mess. We spent about 4k fixing the place up, and our standards were, "good enough so that we'd want to live there". My opinion is, if you show you care about the place, chances are better the tenants will care about it, too. Granted, the previous tenants left a mess, but they also stayed 6 years, and things fell apart with them relationship-wise at the end, which I'm sure contributed to the problems with the house and rent.

HiTempguy wrote: Not to jump on you, but this has happened to every person I've known. I love my girlfriend as much as anybody else loves their girlfriend, but that doesn't magically make her Mike Holmes even if she is an intelligent, thoughtful human being. And for the record, move! You have easy reason to break the lease. They will never get all the mold with that much water damage. If the SO is allergic, it doesn't really matter the reasons you want to stay. And ymmv, but imo, it doesn't matter how nice slum lords are, they still are slum lords. They got you into the place so they wouldn't have to miss another months worth of rent, your health/comfort be damned. Why you would want to work with them anymore is beyond me.

I think Ben's girl is not an idiot (since you know I've actually met her and Ben) and you're making assumptions based on whatever the hell you've got going on in your head and personal life.

Sounds like the land lords got hosed by a E36 M3ty contractor, the HVAC guy is a moron who is milking a sweet gig and/or the newb the firm sent out because its a cake job. Just be patient, document everything and talk to the land lord in a patient, calm manner to explain what you're unhappy about and it should get solved in a reasonable time. Basically the landlord needs to light a fire under their property management/contractor folks to fix this properly and they will be disappointed to hear about the problems, but will be glad to know about them since it would reflect poorly on their organization.

If they throw a fit and start laying in accusations, etc. then you'll need to lawyer up and plan to have another place to stay on your own dime while you arrange to get out of the place asap.

turboswede wrote:

HiTempguy wrote: Not to jump on you, but this has happened to every person I've known. I love my girlfriend as much as anybody else loves their girlfriend, but that doesn't magically make her Mike Holmes even if she is an intelligent, thoughtful human being. And for the record, move! You have easy reason to break the lease. They will never get all the mold with that much water damage. If the SO is allergic, it doesn't really matter the reasons you want to stay. And ymmv, but imo, it doesn't matter how nice slum lords are, they still are slum lords. They got you into the place so they wouldn't have to miss another months worth of rent, your health/comfort be damned. Why you would want to work with them anymore is beyond me.

I think Ben's girl is not an idiot (since you know I've actually met her and Ben) and you're making assumptions based on whatever the hell you've got going on in your head and personal life.

Nope, no assumptions on my part beyond the simple fact I wouldn't trust most of my friends to view a place for me as they only have a surface understanding of what makes a place livable.

That applies to males or females. I just doubt "Ben's" girlfriend is a tradesperson, and therefore would not have found that stuff. In short, next time cover your bases. At the end of the day, its not myself out money.

Its an internet forum. Enjoy the discussion for what it is worth.

Swank Force One wrote:

PHeller wrote: I never quite understood how you could own an investment property yet neglect to actually invest in it. I think folks just get this grand idea of "i'm gonna rent this house and never touch it and make a good income on it and if anyone tries to fight me about issues I'll just evict them or try to sell it out from under them." Then they realize they can't sell the place its horrible condition, so they get another tenant and start the process over again. Personally, I'd have no issues if my landlord came to me and said "hey I'd like to update the basement, would you mind if I did construction during the day while you're at work?" I'd be ok if the basement was just unfinished and concrete floors/walls, just as long as it was dry. Mine leaks like crazy.

I'm guessing they did actually invest in it, but a contractor screwed them. This is a company that owns thousands of properties. I'm guessing they're not in the business of actively neglecting anything. That all said... this house was a bank-owned repo prior to them acquiring it, which probably explains the burst pipe theory.

That's sweet, I love those types of houses