Hmmm.. ex-landlord wants to show the place tomorrow

[swbsam]

Would a 'f*ck off?' be appropriate or should I just go there and clean over night?

Straight to the cliffs:
1. Our lease expired 2 months ago and he agreed to go month to month, since we were waiting to close (not as a favor to us - property values in that neighborhood plummeted, he'll need to rent out for less now)
2. we paid for this full month
3. we closed on the 18th and moved this weekend
4. Our house is a mess because we felt like we had 13 days to clean up, but now he wants to start showing ASAP

We only care about the mess because we are owed a deposit. There were structural problems that were the result of shitty construction (banister fell off because it wasn't screwed onto studs, etc) that we were going to just fix because we didn't want to argue over a deposit, but coming over tomorrow he'll see these defects and argue over the costs, for sure.

I expressed that it wouldn't be in there best interest to show it tomorrow, and offered clean up thoroughly Friday into Saturday for a Saturday evening showing, but he said he *Must* show it tomorrow...

Edit: I must add, he knew for 3 months that we were buying a home and we offered to show it anytime during this period. This is the first time he asked to show it, and now he's insisting to show it with very little notice and after a weekend he knew we'd be moving/cleaning/etc. If he asked to show say the first few weeks of this month it would have been totally fine, especially since we were still living in the building.

update The landlord stopped by the place last night and, while he was annoyed we didn't tell him early (we were busy closing), admitted that the install wasn't done correctly. I offered to patch up the walls and just screw it on temporarily, which he appreciated. He also said that he didn't see any damage beyond regular wear and tear, but would do a full walk through when we were done cleaning.The wife and I spent over 10 hours (I haven't slept yet, she called out sick because she feels like vomiting because she stayed up late), doing it right and not just a rush job. We steam cleaned the carpets, painted over scuff marks, moved some of the remaining gear, pulled down all wires and filled the patches, prepped wall for the banister (still drying), and basically left the place looking like new... I'm a bit pissed at the whole experience - if they just would have given us a partial heads up we could have hired help for the extra move (vs. many trips in a hatchback) or made sure we spent a little time last weekend cleaning, or at least putting boxes against the wall... Ugh..

 

[SAWYER]

Why would you allow a mess to accumulate?

 

[TechBoyJK]

Originally posted by: swbsam
Would a 'f*ck off?' be appropriate or should I just go there and clean over night?

Straight to the cliffs:
1. Our lease expired 2 months ago and he agreed to go month to month, since we were waiting to close (not as a favor to us - property values in that neighborhood plummeted, he'll need to rent out for less now)
2. we paid for this full month
3. we closed on the 18th and moved this weekend
4. Our house is a mess because we felt like we had 13 days to clean up, but now he wants to start showing ASAP

We only care about the mess because we are owed a deposit. There were structural problems that were the result of shitty construction (banister fell off because it wasn't screwed onto studs, etc) that we were going to just fix because we didn't want to argue over a deposit, but coming over tomorrow he'll see these defects and argue over the costs, for sure.

I expressed that it wouldn't be in there best interest to show it tomorrow, and offered clean up thoroughly Friday into Saturday for a Saturday evening showing, but he said he *Must* show it tomorrow...

If he must show it tomorrow, then he should explain your situation to the prospective tenant.

My step brother lives in a duplex with his wife. His wife's mom own's the duplex. His wife's sister lives on the other side. SHe's moving out soon, and I'm moving in. They showed me the duplex while the sister was still living there, and it was a wreck. I didn't mind, because I knew it wasn't myspace yet.

 

[AcidSun]

Most leases require you to keep the house in showing condition, go back and double check.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: Sawyer
Why would you allow a mess to accumulate?

Have you not ever moved?

 

[BoomerD]

You really can't stop him from showing the place...and while I agree that it's perhaps not in his best interest to let prospective tenants see the place in this condition, (why are you such a pig?) it is his property and has the right to show it as needed. (although he probably has to give 24 hours notice...which it sounds like he's done.
Since you have a damage deposit still pending, it'd be in YOUR best interest to bust a move and get the place cleaned up...and the banister fixed before he shows the place. If this is the usual "banister with metal brackets" common to many apartments, the repair shouldn't be difficult. You MAY need to use anchors to hold it to the drywall, and be sure to spackle any holes.
Depending on how long you lived there, you MAY not be responsible for any painting, (every state is different) so painting over the spackle is not big deal for him. We always filled nail holes from pictures with a decent spackle and let the landlord paint.
As long as it's done right, there should be no deduction from your damage deposit.

 

[Chryso]

If he MUST show it tomorrow he can clean it up.

 

[Rike]

Originally posted by: BoomerD
You really can't stop him from showing the place...and while I agree that it's perhaps not in his best interest to let prospective tenants see the place in this condition, (why are you such a pig?) it is his property and has the right to show it as needed. (although he probably has to give 24 hours notice...which it sounds like he's done.
Since you have a damage deposit still pending, it'd be in YOUR best interest to bust a move and get the place cleaned up...and the banister fixed before he shows the place. If this is the usual "banister with metal brackets" common to many apartments, the repair shouldn't be difficult. You MAY need to use anchors to hold it to the drywall, and be sure to spackle any holes.
Depending on how long you lived there, you MAY not be responsible for any painting, (every state is different) so painting over the spackle is not big deal for him. We always filled nail holes from pictures with a decent spackle and let the landlord paint.
As long as it's done right, there should be no deduction from your damage deposit.

This.

When it comes to deposits, don't give the owner any reason not to give it back to you. The cleaner it is, the less reason they have to stiff you.

 

[swbsam]

Originally posted by: Chryso
If he MUST show it tomorrow he can clean it up.

We moved from an 1800 sq ft place to a 1100, so we're throwing away a lot of clothes, furniture, and old papers/books and minimising, plus all the carpets are muddy because the move took place during a rain storm...

Let's not get into wires. 3 home theater systems and . bleh.. why am I justifying myself to you?

We had the luxury of a lot of space and turned into sorta pack rats. We're talking maybe 8 hours of cleaning, which would have been great for this weekend, but now we have to do it all tonight.


A part of me feels like taking our remaining valuables, leaving the keys on the floor, and wishing him well.. (of course, saying goodbye to our deposit). We're worried that, after we pull an all nighter, he'll just be a dick and screw us out of our deposit anyways.

 

[alkemyst]

not this shit again.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog

Originally posted by: Sawyer
Why would you allow a mess to accumulate?

Have you not ever moved?

Apparently not

 

[BoomerD]

Originally posted by: swbsam

Originally posted by: Chryso
If he MUST show it tomorrow he can clean it up.

We moved from an 1800 sq ft place to a 1100, so we're throwing away a lot of clothes, furniture, and old papers/books and minimising, plus all the carpets are muddy because the move took place during a rain storm...

Let's not get into wires. 3 home theater systems and . bleh.. why am I justifying myself to you?

We had the luxury of a lot of space and turned into sorta pack rats. We're talking maybe 8 hours of cleaning, which would have been great for this weekend, but now we have to do it all tonight.


A part of me feels like taking our remaining valuables, leaving the keys on the floor, and wishing him well.. (of course, saying goodbye to our deposit). We're worried that, after we pull an all nighter, he'll just be a dick and screw us out of our deposit anyways.

While it's possible that you'll get screwed out of your deposit, why not do the best you can? For me, it's an ethical thing...if it were MY apartment, I'd want it cleaned up. How long were you in the apartment/house? Many states require the landlord to have the carpets professionally cleaned when the unit is vacated after a year or two...and the tenant doesn't get charged for that...BUT, if you do the "Rug Doctor" thing first, you can see any damage that you WILL be charged for.

As for wires...you are responsible for that...and any holes in the wall, damage elsewhere.
your profile shows NY,NY...I don't know the local real estate/rental laws there, but you can find a lot of good info here:

http://www.housingnyc.com/html...es/attygenguide.html#6

http://www.megalaw.com/ny/top/nylandlord.php

 

[skyking]

I'm with boomer on this one. Get some more boxes, vacuum the center of a room and put all the crap into boxes and close them, stack them in the middle. clean around the edges, yank the wires and spackle holes, toss some screws in bannister.
It all has to get done anyway.

 

[swbsam]

Originally posted by: skyking
I'm with boomer on this one. Get some more boxes, vacuum the center of a room and put all the crap into boxes and close them, stack them in the middle. clean around the edges, yank the wires and spackle holes, toss some screws in bannister.
It all has to get done anyway.

Thanks guy for the sound reasoning. We're just exhausted as it is and looked forward to pacing ourselves a little, but we could look at this as an opportunity to get stuff done and have the weekend free.

I've just seen more then a few cases of NYC landlords screwing people over deposits (which is why so many people use their deposits as their final months rent) that I'm being a bit too defensive on the matter.

 

[skyking]

Originally posted by: swbsam

Originally posted by: skyking
I'm with boomer on this one. Get some more boxes, vacuum the center of a room and put all the crap into boxes and close them, stack them in the middle. clean around the edges, yank the wires and spackle holes, toss some screws in bannister.
It all has to get done anyway.

Thanks guy for the sound reasoning. We're just exhausted as it is and looked forward to pacing ourselves a little, but we could look at this as an opportunity to get stuff done and have the weekend free.

I've just seen more then a few cases of NYC landlords screwing people over deposits (which is why so many people use their deposits as their final months rent) that I'm being a bit too defensive on the matter.

No problem Sleep is optional anyway

 

[notposting]

Originally posted by: swbsam

Originally posted by: skyking
I'm with boomer on this one. Get some more boxes, vacuum the center of a room and put all the crap into boxes and close them, stack them in the middle. clean around the edges, yank the wires and spackle holes, toss some screws in bannister.
It all has to get done anyway.

Thanks guy for the sound reasoning. We're just exhausted as it is and looked forward to pacing ourselves a little, but we could look at this as an opportunity to get stuff done and have the weekend free.

I've just seen more then a few cases of NYC landlords screwing people over deposits (which is why so many people use their deposits as their final months rent) that I'm being a bit too defensive on the matter.

Definitely don't do your final cleaning or anything--gather up all the wires, box up as much stuff as you can, fix the bannister. Maybe wipe the counters, run the vacuum, etc. Real basic but not done.

Don't forget to take pictures after you are done with all your *final* cleaning to cover your butt.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: swbsam

Originally posted by: skyking
I'm with boomer on this one. Get some more boxes, vacuum the center of a room and put all the crap into boxes and close them, stack them in the middle. clean around the edges, yank the wires and spackle holes, toss some screws in bannister.
It all has to get done anyway.

Thanks guy for the sound reasoning. We're just exhausted as it is and looked forward to pacing ourselves a little, but we could look at this as an opportunity to get stuff done and have the weekend free.

I've just seen more then a few cases of NYC landlords screwing people over deposits (which is why so many people use their deposits as their final months rent) that I'm being a bit too defensive on the matter.

a security never counts as a last month's rent. If your landlord didn't insist on first, last and security by doing that to them you are fucking them. Usually deadbeats like that leave the place trashed and then the landlord has to decide whether to pursue it.

A major complex can just but a collection on your credit report.

When I was renting I kept my places clean knowing at anytime the OWNER of the unit may like to take a look. By cooperating I pretty much knew they weren't sneaking in when I wasn't expecting it. Hell, in some I even took care of my common area a bit.

People think without them the landlord has nothing, but in reality without the landlord's those idiots would be living in a box.

 

[Candymancan21]

A security deposite can be held if you dont clean the place up. Thats what its for, were renting our basement to someone and we got First/Last and Deposite. When he is done renting the last month he doesnt have to pay for because that was pupose of the First/last month thing when he started. However if the place is trashed and he doesnt clean it up by the time he has to go he wont be getting his Security Deposit. If you did pay for this month June then you still have 7 days left on your rent. Im not sure what your contracts says but if he wants to show the house im pretty its his right to show it anytime he wants. He gave you a 24 hour notice didnt he ?

Its not your house, so i personally would clean it up as fast as i could. If that requires renting a $50 storage Unit and some boxes to put things in so be it. I would be pissed if my Renter left my place in a wreck. Luckily i dont have a renter like that he's in the navy and he never bothers us, TV is never loud. Dog doesnt bark, and he always pays ontime.

 

[Leros]

Originally posted by: AcidSun
Most leases require you to keep the house in showing condition, go back and double check.

I know my lease says this.

 

[EMPshockwave82]

24 hours is pretty common as far as sufficient notice..... I would expect you to have it clean (at least presentable) if I give you 24 hours notice.

 

[morrisbj]

Originally posted by: Chryso
If he MUST show it tomorrow he can clean it up.

If only it worked that way. Unfortunately it is the tenant's responsibility to keep the space in showing condition. He could grab anything of value and abandon the rest, but he'd lose the deposit. That could happen anyway. Most landlords seem to go out of their way to come up with ways to keep it.

 

[EMPshockwave82]

Originally posted by: Chryso
If he MUST show it tomorrow he can clean it up.

This is terribly wrong in every lease agreement that I have signed. They own the property but you are responsible for keeping it clean or they have the right to charge you for cleaning fees to protect their investment from becoming infested with vermin.

 

[swbsam]

update The landlord stopped by the place last night and, while he was annoyed we didn't tell him early (we were busy closing), admitted that the install wasn't done correctly. I offered to patch up the walls and just screw it on temporarily, which he appreciated. He also said that he didn't see any damage beyond regular wear and tear, but would do a full walk through when we were done cleaning.The wife and I spent over 10 hours (I haven't slept yet, she called out sick because she feels like vomiting because she stayed up late), doing it right and not just a rush job. We steam cleaned the carpets, painted over scuff marks, moved some of the remaining gear, pulled down all wires and filled the patches, prepped wall for the banister (still drying), and basically left the place looking like new... I'm a bit pissed at the whole experience - if they just would have given us a partial heads up we could have hired help for the extra move (vs. many trips in a hatchback) or made sure we spent a little time last weekend cleaning, or at least putting boxes against the wall... Ugh..

 

[alkemyst]

deadbeat...you should have took the time to call instead of posting this bullshit. Talk about being inconsiderate. You should have know it was in the best interest of your landlord to start showing the property as soon as you notified them esp. in light of your brag and moan that values have plummeted.

Hope you take better care of your home but seeing you couldn't even pay for a moving van I doubt it.

fucking meant to rents.

 

[swbsam]

Originally posted by: alkemyst
deadbeat...you should have took the time to call instead of posting this bullshit. Talk about being inconsiderate. You should have know it was in the best interest of your landlord to start showing the property as soon as you notified them esp. in light of your brag and moan that values have plummeted.

Hope you take better care of your home but seeing you couldn't even pay for a moving van I doubt it.

fucking meant to rents.

To call about what? How the fuck am i a deadbeat? I notified him 3 months ago that I plan on closing, called him the same hour I had a date for closing, have always paid rent early, have never pestered him for silly repair (my neighbor calls him all the time because she clogs her own toilets with tampons and blames the plumbing).. And now basically painted his whole apartment, steam cleaned it for him, and even fixed a banister HE admitted was poorly installed.

We paid for a moving van - 3 men and a 26' truck, last week. They moved all of our furniture and most of our clothes/bedding/etc. We had small items and electronics, that I didn't feel comfortable letting them move (slr cameras, hdv camcorders, delicate lighting gear, av equipment, game systems, her shoes and delicate dishes, speakers). They all added up to quite a bit of time moving since i had to do it in one sitting vs. a little everyday...

Wait, just shut up - you don't know me at all, stop assuming things..