Wednesday, May 24, 2006

don't fuck w/da riseyp

ME: my stupid tenant in colorado...
ME: she emailed me in late april to give me a heads-up she'd be moving out sometime this summer
ME: which i appreciated
ME: and then she sent me her rent check for May like 8 days late
ME: and the check she sent me had some cross-outs, like she had originally written the check for another purchase, but then decided to start over and send it to me
ME: so i deposited the check
ME: and the bank returned it
IM BUDDY: are you kidding me?
ME: yep
ME: it gets WORSE
IM BUDDY: did she initial the cross outs?
ME: no, i don't think so
ME: not sure
IM BUDDY: oh my
ME: anyway, i left her a vm on her cell saying please send me a new check
ME: three days go by, no response
IM BUDDY: oh my
ME: i wrote her an email saying please send me a new check
ME: (btw she's been 7-10 days late with rent at least 3 or 4 times since she moved in in Jan)
IM BUDDY: did you interview her or get her through an agency
ME: but she had a good credit rating, and has always been super nice and apologetic...
IM BUDDY: oh I see
IM BUDDY: has she paid you yet?
ME: she is just always busy and travels a lot for work
ME: so, she wrote me back saying she's moving out this weekend
ME: and i'm like WTF???
ME: and she insists that her initial email to me was notice
ME: and i said no it wasn't cause there's nothing in it saying what date she plans to move out
ME: she said "sometime in the summer"
IM BUDDY: oh man!
IM BUDDY: not cool
ME: so now she's refusing to send me a replacement check for May
ME: and so here is my dilemma
IM BUDDY: damn
ME: she was SOOOOOO unbelievably rude via email
ME: totally on the defensive
ME: and like borderline evil
ME: it was like Jekyll and Hyde
IM BUDDY: woh
IM BUDDY: maybe she is bipolar
ME: i think she's just stressed, cause she's moving from Colorado to Hawaii, and it appears to have been thrown together somewhat hastily
ME: so my dilemma is that i have last months rent plus a security deposit (worth one more month of rent) which would cover what I think she owes me...
IM BUDDY: yeah, she still owes you rent
IM BUDDY: it's June
ME: anyway, the lease we both signed pretty much protects me way more
IM BUDDY: not only does she owe you May but technically June too
ME: yep
ME: so i'm going to do some due diligence and make sure it's legal for me to keep her deposit
IM BUDDY: it is
ME: one of the complicating factors to consider
IM BUDDY: but you might be short regarding any damage done
ME: is that she supposedly tried to contact me via at my old work email after i left- and the emails never bounced back, so apparently she just assumed I wasn't responding
IM BUDDY: does she have a contact number
IM BUDDY: she can't make up the stuff
ME: well, she moves out in a few days, so i should hear soon as to whether there is damage
ME: i don't think there will be - and i have tried not to escalate any anger via email
IM BUDDY: so if she did try to contact you then she might have ground to stand on, but that doesn't negate a full months rent for May does it?
IM BUDDY: good
ME: well, central to her argument is that her email from late april was official notice
ME: but it's very weak
ME: this is what she wrote:
I also wanted to let you know that I am not going to be able to renew my lease. It looks as though the company I work for may be transferring me to Hawaii at some point this Summer. With that uncertainty, I do not want to commit myself to renewing the lease.

IM BUDDY: do you have any legal buddies you can ask?
ME: there is no mention in there re: moveout date
IM BUDDY: I agree
IM BUDDY: but did she give you a date in the bounce back emails?
ME: i was advised to ask the housing forum on craigslist... lots of landlords from all over the country post there
ME: i asked her to forward me the emails she sent to my old work address, but she hasn't done it, so i think she's lying.
ME: but in the lease, it says 30 days notice must be given via certified mail
ME: so she's screwed.
IM BUDDY: oh my
IM BUDDY: she is
IM BUDDY: but even if she owes you, it's hard for you to collect right?
ME: she won't owe me anything as long as she doesn't leave the place damaged.
ME: so i'm treading lightly
ME: this all went down yesterday.
ME: so i'm biding my time
ME: and need to do a bit more research
ME: just want to make sure i'm not doing anything that could ever be construed as illegal.
ME: she's an idiot
IM BUDDY: good for you
IM BUDDY: boy I'm sorry you have this situation
ME: and if she really did send me emails, then she should have called or written me snail mail to cover her own ass.
IM BUDDY: when I heard you got property I wanted to do it too
ME: yeah, i was SOOOOOO upset about it yesterday.
IM BUDDY: you remind now why I don't
ME: heheh!!
ME: yes, i've learned some really good lessons, thoguh
ME: the hardest one is don't get emotional
IM BUDDY: right
IM BUDDY: good for you
IM BUDDY: calmness will allow you to react logically, which protects you legally
ME: hell yeah
ME: but also - calmness makes sure i don't kill myself
IM BUDDY: well you don't sound so angry
IM BUDDY: but then I can't hear a word you are saying
ME: no, i'm WAY better
IM BUDDY: good
IM BUDDY: don't stress yourself
ME: yesterday i was extremely enraged
IM BUDDY: not like you can change anything by stressing out
ME: nope
IM BUDDY: I can imagine
ME: it was the unfairness #1, and then it was her rudeness
IM BUDDY: boy, she's lucky she doesn't live in SF
IM BUDDY: she might not have lived till today
ME: heh
IM BUDDY: I agree, you felt indignant
ME: my good friend M was a sweetheart w/me yesterday
IM BUDDY: you want vindication
IM BUDDY: awww that's good
IM BUDDY: glad you have good friends
ME: she is the one who lives out there, whose husband was my real estate agent
ME: and they've helped me so much
IM BUDDY: oh that's nice
ME: that's mostly why i bought there.
ME: having them to help me out.
IM BUDDY: well don't worry, I'm sure he'll be ping'ing folks on your behalf
ME: yeah - they already have a couple leads on new tenants
IM BUDDY: great
ME: yup
IM BUDDY: consider this as another rough current to ride
ME: it's a small town
IM BUDDY: it's not so bad considering
ME: yeah, the fact that i'm so much calmer today is a huge deal
IM BUDDY: well if I move out there I will rent from you
IM BUDDY: I won't pull that crap on you
IM BUDDY: you seem calmer
ME: god, no... unfortunately that town is full of ski bums & stoners
IM BUDDY: that's good
IM BUDDY: haha
IM BUDDY: to ski
ME: it's true
IM BUDDY: and to get high
ME: yep
ME: perennial kids
ME: they never grow up
IM BUDDY: weird mentality
ME: yep
ME: spoiled
IM BUDDY: must be nice

1 Comments:

At Thu May 25, 09:31:00 AM PDT, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mer and I were considering rental property at one point as my parents made a bunch of money doing that when I was little.

I asked my mom about it, and she said, "Yes. That's how we financed our own house and sent you to college. But in the process, I lost all faith in humanity."

Keep the deposit, I say.

 

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