honeyisfunny wrote:Gareth Hardwick - how funny is this?

about as funny as AIDS.

i'd love to kick our ex-landlady in the cunt right now

R.F.F. wrote:You can buy your own real estate at anytime and not have to deal with landlords.

R.F.F. wrote:My mortgage company doesn't care that my tenant can't pay his rent that month or that I had to use the mortgage money to fix the front door that my drunk tenant broke when he couldn't find his key.

And you can rent anytime you want and not have to deal with mortgage companies...you'd just have to deal with shady fucking landlords trying to fuck you out of your money.

wes9 wrote:you'd just have to deal with shady fucking landlords trying to fuck you out of your money.

Harharharharaaahahaaahaaahaaahaaaahhhhh!

Meh.

i have no advice, i seem to get ripped off everytime i move from somewhere. the worst was almost 4 years ago.

in my last flat in brighton, the saniflow on my toilet broke. at first, unbeknownst t ome, shit was leaking into the flat below. when they EVENTUALLY came around to fix it they accidentally cut through too many wires leaving me with NO electricity save for 1 plug socket. this means i was paying £325 pcm rent for no shower, no cooker, no hot water, no heat, no toilet. not to mention the cooker hadn't been cleaned after i asked for that to be done before i moved in.

after many frustrated calls to the agents, i had to write a letter stating that i refused to pay rent for an unsanitary, uninhabitable flat. they, in turn threatened to take me to court-somwthing which i could not afford to take the risk in doing. they also charged me interest for all days following a 14day period of not paying rent. i had to do a runner to london after that.

i know where their offices are and one day i will glue their locks and smear my own shit all over their windows.

fantasmatical thorr wrote:i know where their offices are and one day i will glue their locks and smear my own shit all over their windows.

Wes-
True enough I can rent and not have to deal with a mortgage company. I choose to be a landlord. So as someone who has been on in your landlord's position countless times I'll explain why I think you are getting the cold shoulder and why you probably deserve it.
1)"

Can you inspect my apartment since I'm leaving tomorrow morning and won't be around?" Her response "Oh, I can't...I'm too busy...I might tomorrow." Fifteen minutes later she shows up to show my apartment to someone else- without notifying me! (which I assume is illegal)

She was busy. She had a prospective renter coming to look at an apartment. It's rather unfair of you to expect her to drop everything to look at your apartment the minute you want her to. Also, what she did was perfectly legal, because you allowed her to show the apartment.

2)

I exploded and said "Why don't you look at my apartment now since you are here?" "Oh, I can't...I'm just a woman, I have to have my husband do this type of stuff, he's the man you know." "But you are the building manager, and your name is on the building in front!" "Oh no, I'm just a woman...that's not true"

So this woman shows up at your door with someone who might want to rent your apartment and you ask her to do a walk through with you. Of course she said she couldn't do it, she was with someone else. She clearly said that her husband does that sort of thing. Who are you to judge what she does or doesn't know how to do? Also, I would never do an inspection until after someone was entirely moved out of the apartment- boxes can cover stains in carpet, holes in walls, and other damage. Also, why did you "explode" at her? doesn't that seem a little bit over the top? I wouldn't want to talk to you either after you yelled at me in front of a possible renter. Maybe this woman is now scared of you.

3)

Saturday when I called to tell her I was leaving and asking her to inspect the apartment she hung up on me. All subsequent phone calls to her have ended in hang-ups immediately after me saying my name. I am so fucking pissed. I have mailed a letter threatening her with my non-existent lawyer. Any other recommendations? I've also been calling her at 3 AM and blasting Throbbing Gristle into the phone but I don't think that's going to help either. I'm assuming since I left the state she thinks she can get away with this. This is $700 I really, really need right now

I don't think that hanging up on you at this point is the correct way to act, but I can easily understand why this person doesn't want to deal with you. I assume this is a small time landlord that probably doesn't have a boat load of cash sitting around. Maybe your fake lawyer letter scared her into contacting her lawyer. I can't blame her. The 3:00AM phone calls just prove your overall level of maturity- are you kidding me? Also, you've been gone from your place for about 2 week- she has 45 days to get the money back to you- if there are no damages- so settle down a little bit. Maybe if you had treated her better she would have mailed the check to you sooner.
By your own account you have treated this woman poorly and now you expect special treatment from her.

R.F.F. wrote:True enough I can rent and not have to deal with a mortgage company. I choose to be a landlord. So as someone who has been on in your landlord's position countless times I'll explain why I think you are getting the cold shoulder and why you probably deserve it.
1)"

Can you inspect my apartment since I'm leaving tomorrow morning and won't be around?" Her response "Oh, I can't...I'm too busy...I might tomorrow." Fifteen minutes later she shows up to show my apartment to someone else- without notifying me! (which I assume is illegal)

She was busy. She had a prospective renter coming to look at an apartment. It's rather unfair of you to expect her to drop everything to look at your apartment the minute you want her to.

I gave her 40 DAYS NOTICE! There were TWO days that the apartment was completely empty and cleaned and she had no time? This is a 60 year old woman that has no other job and does nothing but watch TV all day.

R.F.F. wrote:Also, what she did was perfectly legal, because you allowed her to show the apartment.

Huh? So you are saying it's only illegal if I said "no, you can't come in?" From here: http://www.renters-rights.com/html/chicago.html

"Does the landlord have a right to enter the unit?

Yes, in the event of an emergency or where repairs require entry. Entry by the landlord for any other reason require the landlord to give written notice 2 days in advance."

R.F.F. wrote:

2) I exploded and said "Why don't you look at my apartment now since you are here?" "Oh, I can't...I'm just a woman, I have to have my husband do this type of stuff, he's the man you know." "But you are the building manager, and your name is on the building in front!" "Oh no, I'm just a woman...that's not true"

So this woman shows up at your door with someone who might want to rent your apartment and you ask her to do a walk through with you. Of course she said she couldn't do it, she was with someone else. She clearly said that her husband does that sort of thing. Who are you to judge what she does or doesn't know how to do? Also, I would never do an inspection until after someone was entirely moved out of the apartment- boxes can cover stains in carpet, holes in walls, and other damage. Also, why did you "explode" at her? doesn't that seem a little bit over the top? I wouldn't want to talk to you either after you yelled at me in front of a possible renter. Maybe this woman is now scared of you.

Holy shit! I had asked her PREVIOUSLY THAT DAY to check the apartment out at ANY TIME over the next two days and she said she "was busy cooking, she might be able to do it some other time." The apartment was completely empty. She is the manager of the building so to use her husband as an excuse is just that, an excuse. She has dealt with everything herself for the past 18 months. You really can't see why I'm angry? When the manager refuses to acknowledge that she is the manager and lies to my face repeatedly?

R.F.F. wrote:

Saturday when I called to tell her I was leaving and asking her to inspect the apartment she hung up on me. All subsequent phone calls to her have ended in hang-ups immediately after me saying my name. I am so fucking pissed. I have mailed a letter threatening her with my non-existent lawyer. Any other recommendations? I've also been calling her at 3 AM and blasting Throbbing Gristle into the phone but I don't think that's going to help either. I'm assuming since I left the state she thinks she can get away with this. This is $700 I really, really need right now

I don't think that hanging up on you at this point is the correct way to act, but I can easily understand why this person doesn't want to deal with you. I assume this is a small time landlord that probably doesn't have a boat load of cash sitting around. Maybe your fake lawyer letter scared her into contacting her lawyer. I can't blame her. The 3:00AM phone calls just prove your overall level of maturity- are you kidding me? Also, you've been gone from your place for about 2 week- she has 45 days to get the money back to you- if there are no damages- so settle down a little bit. Maybe if you had treated her better she would have mailed the check to you sooner.
By your own account you have treated this woman poorly and now you expect special treatment from her.

I love it...how should I have treated her when she refuses to even look at my apartment, when it is empty, until I have left the state? And hangs up on me at requests to do so? Just kind of vaguely hope she feels like sending a check to me?

wes9 wrote:I gave her 40 DAYS NOTICE! There were TWO days that the apartment was completely empty and cleaned and she had no time? This is a 60 year old woman that has no other job and does nothing but watch TV all day.

dude, Simon & Simon ain't gonna watch itself.

Wes9 wrote:

R.F.F. wrote:
Also, what she did was perfectly legal, because you allowed her to show the apartment.


Huh? So you are saying it's only illegal if I said "no, you can't come in?" From here: http://www.renters-rights.com/html/chicago.html

"Does the landlord have a right to enter the unit?

Yes, in the event of an emergency or where repairs require entry. Entry by the landlord for any other reason require the landlord to give written notice 2 days in advance."

When she knocked on your door and you answered it and you let her in it is no longer illegal. If you didn't want her in the apartment all you had to say was no. It's not against the law for her to knock on your door and ask to come inside. I wouldn't just show up at someone's home without warning. It's rude but not illegal.

Wes9- I think the lesson here is that people don't always work on your schedule. I don't think that it's unreasonable to think that her husband conducts the apartment inspections. In your own words you were rude to this woman and treated her poorly. I'm sorry that you need your $700 yesterday, but the system doesn't necessarily work like that and your actions aren't helping the situation. If this person was a decent landlord for the time that you lived there, there is no reason to think that she is trying to keep your $700 without justification. You would probably better your situation by apologizing to her for being an ass. Again you;
1) exploded at her in front of another person
2) crank called her at 3:00AM
3) Sent her a letter from an imaginary lawyer

You helped to create this problem. Maybe your landlord is a creep that is trying to keep your $700 (it wouldn't be the first time a landlord acted poorly), but I don't know that. All I know is that based on your own words is that you brought at least part of this on yourself.

RFF:

You might be right and you might be wrong, but really, how shitty is it to rub salt in Wes9's still fresh wounds? Politeness is free, douchebag.