Greedy Angry Landlord

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tico

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Dear Forum,

I hope this post isn't too long though I wanted to provide the relevant context. Since I'm not a legal professional it is hard to determine what is legally relevant and what isn't. Anyway thanks in advance for reading.

My roommate and I have been renting from a friend (well soon to be former friend) for a little over 3 years. Initially this was a very good setup since it was very convenient for us and the landlord was desperate for someone to occupy his condo since he was carrying two mortgages (hint: if you get the impression that your potential landlord is short on money then proceed with caution). The landlord asked only for nominal rent and a flexible term lease with no security deposit since, in his words, he "trusted us".

Around the same time, the landlord was busy with personal business and told us to move in and we would later conduct a move in inspection, which, by the terms of the lease, was to be signed by both parties. This never happened. So while we don't have a copy neither does he. We did make our own list of what was wrong and the landlord verbally apologized for the condition of a piece of carpet. We logged these comments in a word document over time with the approximate dates.

Anyway things were going well until the last few months when we started getting collection calls intended for the landlord (or someone in his family) thus we started getting the sense that his finances weren't in order.

We had a dispute over an appliance repair bill with the landlord claiming that
our negligence had produced the problem when in reality it could have been caused by any number of problems. Additionally he demanded (Actually screamed) that we sign a new 12 month lease ! Sensing financial desperation at the root of this we turned in our notice to leave.

He didn't like this at all so we got a note from him saying that we would be responsible for ALL repairs and painting (he seems to think that normal wear and tear is negligence). On the advice of a local legal professional, we responded to the note by citing the sections of the lease that refer to "ordinary wear and tear" hoping that he would understand that concept. I'm open to paying for true damages though there really aren't any (maybe a couple of minor ones) .

Our goal is just to make sure he doesn't hit us with a laundry list of things that shouldn't be considered as being damages. As mentioned previously he didn't ask for a deposit. This combined with his apparent financial problems, seems to have made us a target for getting more money.

Sorry for the long post but the context is helpful. Here are the questions I have:


1) If this shows up in court, what would be the more salient points a judge
would want to hear in order to make a decision ? I don't want to plague
anyone with the drama - just the essentials.

2) What if the landlord starts claiming pre-existing problems as being our
negligence ? (We will take more pictures of course before we leave). As mentioned previously he didn't provide us an opportunity for a check in and there is no common record of the move in condition (though we have actually kept the place immaculate).

3) During the early stages of our lease , almost all of our communications were verbal and this worked well up until a few months ago. Now, we are communicating via postal mail or email since verbal communication has all but broken down. How would a judge view this or influence his/her opinion of things.

5) What types of things should we be prepared to say or do at the walk
through ? I don't want to argue with him nor do I wish to quote or interpret the lease for him as he probably wouldn't be receptive anyhow. What if he becomes combative ? I can see this happening as a way to get us to walk out so he can claim we walked out
on the walk-through.

6) Most of the landlord's letters are primitively written with a bitter tone. Do I need to respond to each note ? If I don't does this make it look like I'm not
putting up a defense ?
 
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1) If this shows up in court, what would be the more salient points a judge
would want to hear in order to make a decision ? I don't want to plague
anyone with the drama - just the essentials. The judge will look at the evidence objectively. This is a great opportunity for that move in inspection little list you have and present it as evidence.
2) What if the landlord starts claiming pre-existing problems as being our
negligence ? (We will take more pictures of course before we leave). As mentioned previously he didn't provide us an opportunity for a check in and there is no common record of the move in condition (though we have actually kept the place immaculate).Your testimony will provide the magistrate with the evidence that he needs to consider to determine what was pre-existing and what was caused by you and your roommate (again, that move in inspection will be key!)

3) During the early stages of our lease , almost all of our communications were verbal and this worked well up until a few months ago. Now, we are communicating via postal mail or email since verbal communication has all but broken down. How would a judge view this or influence his/her opinion of things. That we don't know - we are not in the judge's head to see what he will be weighing during the testimony!

5) What types of things should we be prepared to say or do at the walk
through ? I don't want to argue with him nor do I wish to quote or interpret the lease for him as he probably wouldn't be receptive anyhow. What if he becomes combative ? I can see this happening as a way to get us to walk out so he can claim we walked out
on the walk-through. Have an independent witness with you at the time of the walk-through and respond to all questions. If your landlord refuses to discuss clauses on the lease agreement, let that be part of the court process.

6) Most of the landlord's letters are primitively written with a bitter tone. Do I need to respond to each note ? If I don't does this make it look like I'm not
putting up a defense ? Respond to the letters in a professional manner.

Good Luck to you!
 
Thanks for your speedy reply. i wish to emphasize that the move in inventory
list was compiled by my roomate and I independently of the landlord. In fact
we had to do this since he didn't want to show up at the move-inspection. He
verbally acknolwedged a number of problems in the apartment and we noted them
in our log though that was the extent of it. So will our move in log and pictures
still be recognized by the magistrate ? Thanks

Oh which is a better form of correspondence for these matters ? Postal mail or emai.
The landlord uses email though I've been using delivery-verified postal
mail.
 
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Any evidence is better than no evidence. Good Luck!
 
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