NoStarsInLA
Junior Member
Arizona I'm so sorry this is so long, and thank you SO MUCH to those of you who dedicate your time to hearing me out!
Alright.. so.. here's my story (with as much background and detail as I could think of when writing):
My husband, my 5-month-pregnant self, and my 1yr old, moved into a house July 1st of 2007. We first were showed the house by a realtor that worked for a company I'll call "Z". We were told that the house was owned by a woman who lives in California (I'll call her "T") and from what we understood, she had hired the company to show the house for her since she lived out of state. My husband and I liked the house, but we had 2 issues- 1) there was no fridge/washer/dryer (deal breaker for us), and 2) the entire inside of the house- except the bathrooms and part of the kitchen- were painted with white flat paint. Considering I had a 1 yr old son and knew I would have another small child whilst living there, I KNEW flat paint was a bad idea! At this point the realtor told us that The home owner would be willing to put the previously mentioned appliances in for us (no strings attached.. I'm thinking "T" was willing to do this because from what we understood, the house had been vacant for quite some time.. 1-2 years or more.. so i think she was willing to do what she had to if it meant that the house would be generating her some income. Oh, also I feel I should mention that the house had no previous tenants). She also told us that she was "pretty sure" that "T" would understand that flat paint+ small children= normal wear-and-tear. So.. What we didn't realize at the time was that we were supposed to do a preliminary (?) walk-through when we moved in, so that we could document everything that might be wrong with the house.. we figured that wasn't necessary since the house was new. It was never discussed.. the realtor just came in and did it herself.
Anyway.. So.. We lived in that house for just over 3 years. In the course of that time, there were several times that we were late paying our rent. (Oh.. btw.. any time we communicated with "T", or when she would communicate with us, it was typically via text messaging). She would also tell us that we "still" owed her late fees from previous months paying late (late fees WERE indeed in our lease, however, from what I've read up about, as far as I can tell, she would have had to give us written notice to enforce that?). We would be anywhere from 1-14 or so days late (basically, we would pay her whenever we got the money.. which wasn't always on the 1st because my husband's work was slow, but we never actually MISSED a payment. Also, we weren't late the entire time we lived there.. just the latter portion). The last thing I feel I should mention about this portion specifically, is that we signed a 1 year lease for July 2007- June 2008, and then renewed it for July 2008- June 2009.. at which point we weren't sure what we were going to do.. because of our bills becoming harder and harder to pay.. we weren't sure how much longer we could afford the $850 rent. "T" went ahead and agreed to let us go month to month. Nobody ever signed anything at that point.. so everything was based on a verbal agreement between her and my husband.
So.. let's see.. what next? oh.. I guess one other bit of random information.. We had a few things we found wrong with the house, or that broke while we were living there (we had found that in a closet- which contained 4 wire shelves, one side of the shelving had never actually been secured to the wall.. Also, the doorbell stopped working.). She told us if we paid for those things to be fixed, she would just take it out of our rent. Honestly though, we just never had the money.
OK.. So.. On July 31st of 2010, we gave her our 30 days notice.. because we knew we wouldn't be able to afford rent for 1 more month (after paying Aug.). We did this via text message (since that was the way we had always communicated with "T" prior). She apparently didn't mind us giving it to her that way, because she replied with something like "OK then. TY for the notice. I will come out there towards the end of the month and we can schedule your walkthrough around that time". Well, some things happened (not gonna make excuses..) but we didn't end up starting to pack until halfway through the month.
"T" texted us on.. either the 27th or 28th, to say she was coming on the 30th for an unofficial preliminary walkthrough (Never gave us a reason), and she didn't seem to care that it fell within our 30 days. When she came, she brought along the woman who ran the "Z" company, and.. was also a relative of "T"s. I was not present for this first walkthrough, but I was on the phone listening in. They weren't too happy about the chaotic state of the house.
Anyway, what ended up happening is that we did not have anywhere near all of our stuff out by the end of the 30 days.. what would happen is that we would contact either "T" or "Z" and ask for another day or 2... which was given (and not once during any of those convos were never told that if we stayed we would be charged or anything like that). Then, finally on the 5th of September, "T" told us that she refused to give us any more time, and that we had to leave THAT DAY at 4pm, because that's when the locksmith was coming. So 4pm rolled around and although we had moved some of our stuff out, we still hadnt had the chance to clean ANYTHING, there was a lot of trash, and we did still have some stuff that we werent able to pack. So "T", "Z" and another woman (relative of theirs?) showed up, as well as the locksmith. The locks were changed, and then the woman went walking through the house. during this time, I was so upset (I brought my daughter home there, and its the only house my son had any memory of.. and "T" was just being so rude!) I decided to sit in my truck with my little sister (who had come over to help) and wait until my husband and the woman came out. I never exchanged a single word with them.
Now, keep in mind, we have two trucks in the driveway, COMPLETELY FILLED TO THE MAX with stuff. There was no way anything else would fit in either of them on that trip, and that was obvious. Yet "T" kept pointing things out around the house demanding that my husband take this or that. Oh, and apparently my husband had mentioned the deposit in passing, and "Z" let out a little burst-laugh.. and told him that half our deposit would be lost just from those few extra days we stayed. (BTW, we paid a $150 non-refundable cleaning deposit, and $850 refundable deposit). She also questioned my husband about our forwarding address.. and he told her the truth- he didn't have it memorized. (btw.. they not only took back our-now useless- housekeys, but also our mailbox key).
So.. they left- shutting the newly changed locks- doors behind them.. and we left to unpack the trucks into our storage unit. (it was all stuff that wasn't going to the place we were going to be living).
We know of a few things that we needed to fix in the house. There was a hole in a door, and a hole in a wall, as well as some damage to a window sill. I know those things would come out of our deposit.. no arguements there. We also still had all of our food still iun the fridge when we left (so it's now been sitting there for 20 days without power).. but she had said she was planning on replacing all of the appliances anyhow. She had told my husband that we had to repaint the house (because of the smudges and whatnot that comes with flat paint!) and clean all of the carpets.. or even maybe replace them. She also told us we had to replace the front door, because there were several small dents on the outside of it (dents.. that.. well, first of all some were there when we moved in.. but we didn't care.. and some that were made by people knocking hard on our door because the doorbell was broken!).
I have attempted to both call and text "T" several times since then.. both to tell her that we still have items in the house (some of which could be heat sensative, and are in a non cooled, powerless house) (and also some of which belonged to my my ex fiance (who passed away days prior to our wedding- making these items completely priceless and irriplaceable!), and also to ask her about our deposit. I told her that I was aware of some things (previously mentioned) that needed fixing, and that I would like an itemized list as to what she's spending the deposit on. I also told her that I would give her our new address if she would contact me.. and I have yet to hear anything back from her.
I had talked to our old neighbor who lives across the street from the house, and she said nobody had been there. No cleaning crew, no repair workers.. nothing.
So.. (Sorry all of that was so incredibly long!)
I'm wondering where to go from here. I had tried to read up on it myself, but honestly The rules/laws of the Landlord and Tenant act thing for my state was just.. confusing. I don't know what I need to to.. I'm wondering exactly what I'm entitled to as far as my deposit is concerned, as well as wether or not I'm entitled to get anything else. I'd also really like to know what can be done about my stuff that was still in the house (that some of which could be damaged, ruined, or stolen by now!)
I really need help!
What should I do?
TY SO, SO MUCH to anyone who read this entire thing. You have no idea how much my husband and I appreciate it! ~Cassandra
(again, this all happened in Arizona)
Alright.. so.. here's my story (with as much background and detail as I could think of when writing):
My husband, my 5-month-pregnant self, and my 1yr old, moved into a house July 1st of 2007. We first were showed the house by a realtor that worked for a company I'll call "Z". We were told that the house was owned by a woman who lives in California (I'll call her "T") and from what we understood, she had hired the company to show the house for her since she lived out of state. My husband and I liked the house, but we had 2 issues- 1) there was no fridge/washer/dryer (deal breaker for us), and 2) the entire inside of the house- except the bathrooms and part of the kitchen- were painted with white flat paint. Considering I had a 1 yr old son and knew I would have another small child whilst living there, I KNEW flat paint was a bad idea! At this point the realtor told us that The home owner would be willing to put the previously mentioned appliances in for us (no strings attached.. I'm thinking "T" was willing to do this because from what we understood, the house had been vacant for quite some time.. 1-2 years or more.. so i think she was willing to do what she had to if it meant that the house would be generating her some income. Oh, also I feel I should mention that the house had no previous tenants). She also told us that she was "pretty sure" that "T" would understand that flat paint+ small children= normal wear-and-tear. So.. What we didn't realize at the time was that we were supposed to do a preliminary (?) walk-through when we moved in, so that we could document everything that might be wrong with the house.. we figured that wasn't necessary since the house was new. It was never discussed.. the realtor just came in and did it herself.
Anyway.. So.. We lived in that house for just over 3 years. In the course of that time, there were several times that we were late paying our rent. (Oh.. btw.. any time we communicated with "T", or when she would communicate with us, it was typically via text messaging). She would also tell us that we "still" owed her late fees from previous months paying late (late fees WERE indeed in our lease, however, from what I've read up about, as far as I can tell, she would have had to give us written notice to enforce that?). We would be anywhere from 1-14 or so days late (basically, we would pay her whenever we got the money.. which wasn't always on the 1st because my husband's work was slow, but we never actually MISSED a payment. Also, we weren't late the entire time we lived there.. just the latter portion). The last thing I feel I should mention about this portion specifically, is that we signed a 1 year lease for July 2007- June 2008, and then renewed it for July 2008- June 2009.. at which point we weren't sure what we were going to do.. because of our bills becoming harder and harder to pay.. we weren't sure how much longer we could afford the $850 rent. "T" went ahead and agreed to let us go month to month. Nobody ever signed anything at that point.. so everything was based on a verbal agreement between her and my husband.
So.. let's see.. what next? oh.. I guess one other bit of random information.. We had a few things we found wrong with the house, or that broke while we were living there (we had found that in a closet- which contained 4 wire shelves, one side of the shelving had never actually been secured to the wall.. Also, the doorbell stopped working.). She told us if we paid for those things to be fixed, she would just take it out of our rent. Honestly though, we just never had the money.
OK.. So.. On July 31st of 2010, we gave her our 30 days notice.. because we knew we wouldn't be able to afford rent for 1 more month (after paying Aug.). We did this via text message (since that was the way we had always communicated with "T" prior). She apparently didn't mind us giving it to her that way, because she replied with something like "OK then. TY for the notice. I will come out there towards the end of the month and we can schedule your walkthrough around that time". Well, some things happened (not gonna make excuses..) but we didn't end up starting to pack until halfway through the month.
"T" texted us on.. either the 27th or 28th, to say she was coming on the 30th for an unofficial preliminary walkthrough (Never gave us a reason), and she didn't seem to care that it fell within our 30 days. When she came, she brought along the woman who ran the "Z" company, and.. was also a relative of "T"s. I was not present for this first walkthrough, but I was on the phone listening in. They weren't too happy about the chaotic state of the house.
Anyway, what ended up happening is that we did not have anywhere near all of our stuff out by the end of the 30 days.. what would happen is that we would contact either "T" or "Z" and ask for another day or 2... which was given (and not once during any of those convos were never told that if we stayed we would be charged or anything like that). Then, finally on the 5th of September, "T" told us that she refused to give us any more time, and that we had to leave THAT DAY at 4pm, because that's when the locksmith was coming. So 4pm rolled around and although we had moved some of our stuff out, we still hadnt had the chance to clean ANYTHING, there was a lot of trash, and we did still have some stuff that we werent able to pack. So "T", "Z" and another woman (relative of theirs?) showed up, as well as the locksmith. The locks were changed, and then the woman went walking through the house. during this time, I was so upset (I brought my daughter home there, and its the only house my son had any memory of.. and "T" was just being so rude!) I decided to sit in my truck with my little sister (who had come over to help) and wait until my husband and the woman came out. I never exchanged a single word with them.
Now, keep in mind, we have two trucks in the driveway, COMPLETELY FILLED TO THE MAX with stuff. There was no way anything else would fit in either of them on that trip, and that was obvious. Yet "T" kept pointing things out around the house demanding that my husband take this or that. Oh, and apparently my husband had mentioned the deposit in passing, and "Z" let out a little burst-laugh.. and told him that half our deposit would be lost just from those few extra days we stayed. (BTW, we paid a $150 non-refundable cleaning deposit, and $850 refundable deposit). She also questioned my husband about our forwarding address.. and he told her the truth- he didn't have it memorized. (btw.. they not only took back our-now useless- housekeys, but also our mailbox key).
So.. they left- shutting the newly changed locks- doors behind them.. and we left to unpack the trucks into our storage unit. (it was all stuff that wasn't going to the place we were going to be living).
We know of a few things that we needed to fix in the house. There was a hole in a door, and a hole in a wall, as well as some damage to a window sill. I know those things would come out of our deposit.. no arguements there. We also still had all of our food still iun the fridge when we left (so it's now been sitting there for 20 days without power).. but she had said she was planning on replacing all of the appliances anyhow. She had told my husband that we had to repaint the house (because of the smudges and whatnot that comes with flat paint!) and clean all of the carpets.. or even maybe replace them. She also told us we had to replace the front door, because there were several small dents on the outside of it (dents.. that.. well, first of all some were there when we moved in.. but we didn't care.. and some that were made by people knocking hard on our door because the doorbell was broken!).
I have attempted to both call and text "T" several times since then.. both to tell her that we still have items in the house (some of which could be heat sensative, and are in a non cooled, powerless house) (and also some of which belonged to my my ex fiance (who passed away days prior to our wedding- making these items completely priceless and irriplaceable!), and also to ask her about our deposit. I told her that I was aware of some things (previously mentioned) that needed fixing, and that I would like an itemized list as to what she's spending the deposit on. I also told her that I would give her our new address if she would contact me.. and I have yet to hear anything back from her.
I had talked to our old neighbor who lives across the street from the house, and she said nobody had been there. No cleaning crew, no repair workers.. nothing.
So.. (Sorry all of that was so incredibly long!)
I'm wondering where to go from here. I had tried to read up on it myself, but honestly The rules/laws of the Landlord and Tenant act thing for my state was just.. confusing. I don't know what I need to to.. I'm wondering exactly what I'm entitled to as far as my deposit is concerned, as well as wether or not I'm entitled to get anything else. I'd also really like to know what can be done about my stuff that was still in the house (that some of which could be damaged, ruined, or stolen by now!)
I really need help!
What should I do?
TY SO, SO MUCH to anyone who read this entire thing. You have no idea how much my husband and I appreciate it! ~Cassandra
(again, this all happened in Arizona)