ericvervalin
New Member
I have a few questions and concerns about an apartment I am currently living in. Almost a year ago I moved into a duplex that my mother aquired at a tax sale, kind of suddenly due to the fact that my last landlord didn't want us to have a pet cat. My mother at the time haden't done any work to the house since she bought it and I figured since I was living there we agreed that I would help her with the work, and she would take it off my rent. We never really set a price on anything due to the fact of she didnt know how much she was going to do with it at that point.
The apartment had new carpet in one room upstairs, but other than that it was just as she found it. The work I have done to the two apartments are as follows..
upstairs apartment: Installed a new counter top, ran a new electrical circuit for a pantry and a refrigerator, ran new cable lines, ran new phone lines, installed a new doorbell, ran wire for a few light fixtures, and installed new switches for them all, and installed new mini blinds throughout.
downstairs apartment: Installed a new counter top, rewired EVERY circuit with new wire, recepticals, switches, breakers, light fixtures, washer and dryer outlets, cut and installed new crown molding, cut and installed new oak baseboards, custom fit new shelving in a closet, completely gutted and remodeled a 'mud room' hanging new drywall, mudding, sanding, and painting it, along with new electric to that room as well, various plaster repairs through the house, new phone lines, new cable lines, ran wire to a detached garage, installed the required disconnect, new exterior light fixtures, installed lighting and a garage door opener, repaired the broken garage door which wouldnt operate properly with the opener, and a few other small things that are escaping my memory at the moment.
Now here comes the 'fun' part.... I am an electrician and from time to time, I get laid off, which in the beginning was great because it allowed me the time to fix up the place for her. I was out of work as of the beginning of January, and we agreed that I would continue fixing up the place and my girlfriend and I would pay what we could. In the following months I kept working on the downstairs apartment, and lived in the upstairs. The few times we told her that we had one hundred dollars or so to pay her, she stated that it wasn't enough, and not to worry about it at the time, and to pay attention to our bills. Additionally since we were really only staying in one apartment, she said that she would split the utitilites with us.
Now fast forward to last month. Another tennant of hers that lives in another rental she owns was getting a divorce and wanted to move into the place i live in now. She told us that the new tennant would be moving in, and she needed us to move down as soon as possible. I had previously informed her that even tho I had been rewiring the house, there was a code issue that needed to be resolved by a master electritian and or the electric company before it was completely safe. Specifically a main disconnect on the back side of the house has no dead front cover and the box itself wont stay closed as it is supposed to, if an inspector seen it, he could turn it off until it was fixed. At that time I had a job offer, but she specifically said, that she would like it if I didnt take the job, to help hurry and finish the work so this new tennant could move in. As it is my mother I had no problem with that.
Last week this tennant moved into the upstairs apartment, and we moved into the downstairs, which is mostly finished, with the exception of the bathroom which still needs sanded and painted, the toilet seat is broken, and a few other minor things, including no blinds on any windows including the bathroom. Now my mother has changed moods completely on me, and has stated that if I dont pay her shortly, she is going to rent this apartment out from underneath of us, and force us out, saying that we are technically on a month to month lease, and we haven't payed her in months. Now I'm confused as to what I should do in this situation. Technically this house would fail an electrical inspection due to the disconnect for the house on the exterior of it.
As a side note I have discovered that the money we had been giving her for utitilites, she is claiming to have paid for them all, and claims this money on her taxes as if it came out of her pocket. So technically I would assume that is against the law being that she is 'double dipping'. Maybe I'm wrong. Basically, I've remodeled this entire house, which I know would amount to many thousands of dollars worth of work, all the while living in a place that technically shouldnt be fit to rent to anyone. Being that she bought this place at a tax sale auction, it needed no immediate inspection, and she has never even considered bringing in an inspector in fear of it being condemed until repairs are completed. Now what and or where can I find any information as to working on an apartment and how that should come off my bill? She seems to take pride in the fact that we are in a month to month contract and she can kick us out at anytime. Conviently after %95 of the work is completed, no less. I have probally put at least 30 hours a week into this place since I've been here, for six months or so. She won't work with me on a figure on what I owe her, and I've asked her at least a few times every month to see where we stand, and she had never come up with any figures.
I don't really want to get nasty with her over this but she is now telling me how much money she can get if she gets a new tennant, and threating me constantly on why I'm not working, when she knows exactally why. Technically all I need to do is make one phone call, and the housing authority will either shut this place down, or the electrical inspector will take the meter off the house until the disconnect is fixed.
I think I got the jist of the story here, and it seems as if I am rambling a bit, so I'll leave it up to you all for advice. I am not an attorney, and have no idea how this works, but I can see this ending up in court very soon, and my head is spinning with no idea what avenue to take on this situation. There is an old saying I heard a long time ago about mixing blood and money, and that it never works. I'm just a little pissed to say the least that my own mother would use me to fix up a place and increase the value of her asset here, only to kick me out in the end. Any and all advice would be a great help.
Thank you for your time.
Eric VerValin
The apartment had new carpet in one room upstairs, but other than that it was just as she found it. The work I have done to the two apartments are as follows..
upstairs apartment: Installed a new counter top, ran a new electrical circuit for a pantry and a refrigerator, ran new cable lines, ran new phone lines, installed a new doorbell, ran wire for a few light fixtures, and installed new switches for them all, and installed new mini blinds throughout.
downstairs apartment: Installed a new counter top, rewired EVERY circuit with new wire, recepticals, switches, breakers, light fixtures, washer and dryer outlets, cut and installed new crown molding, cut and installed new oak baseboards, custom fit new shelving in a closet, completely gutted and remodeled a 'mud room' hanging new drywall, mudding, sanding, and painting it, along with new electric to that room as well, various plaster repairs through the house, new phone lines, new cable lines, ran wire to a detached garage, installed the required disconnect, new exterior light fixtures, installed lighting and a garage door opener, repaired the broken garage door which wouldnt operate properly with the opener, and a few other small things that are escaping my memory at the moment.
Now here comes the 'fun' part.... I am an electrician and from time to time, I get laid off, which in the beginning was great because it allowed me the time to fix up the place for her. I was out of work as of the beginning of January, and we agreed that I would continue fixing up the place and my girlfriend and I would pay what we could. In the following months I kept working on the downstairs apartment, and lived in the upstairs. The few times we told her that we had one hundred dollars or so to pay her, she stated that it wasn't enough, and not to worry about it at the time, and to pay attention to our bills. Additionally since we were really only staying in one apartment, she said that she would split the utitilites with us.
Now fast forward to last month. Another tennant of hers that lives in another rental she owns was getting a divorce and wanted to move into the place i live in now. She told us that the new tennant would be moving in, and she needed us to move down as soon as possible. I had previously informed her that even tho I had been rewiring the house, there was a code issue that needed to be resolved by a master electritian and or the electric company before it was completely safe. Specifically a main disconnect on the back side of the house has no dead front cover and the box itself wont stay closed as it is supposed to, if an inspector seen it, he could turn it off until it was fixed. At that time I had a job offer, but she specifically said, that she would like it if I didnt take the job, to help hurry and finish the work so this new tennant could move in. As it is my mother I had no problem with that.
Last week this tennant moved into the upstairs apartment, and we moved into the downstairs, which is mostly finished, with the exception of the bathroom which still needs sanded and painted, the toilet seat is broken, and a few other minor things, including no blinds on any windows including the bathroom. Now my mother has changed moods completely on me, and has stated that if I dont pay her shortly, she is going to rent this apartment out from underneath of us, and force us out, saying that we are technically on a month to month lease, and we haven't payed her in months. Now I'm confused as to what I should do in this situation. Technically this house would fail an electrical inspection due to the disconnect for the house on the exterior of it.
As a side note I have discovered that the money we had been giving her for utitilites, she is claiming to have paid for them all, and claims this money on her taxes as if it came out of her pocket. So technically I would assume that is against the law being that she is 'double dipping'. Maybe I'm wrong. Basically, I've remodeled this entire house, which I know would amount to many thousands of dollars worth of work, all the while living in a place that technically shouldnt be fit to rent to anyone. Being that she bought this place at a tax sale auction, it needed no immediate inspection, and she has never even considered bringing in an inspector in fear of it being condemed until repairs are completed. Now what and or where can I find any information as to working on an apartment and how that should come off my bill? She seems to take pride in the fact that we are in a month to month contract and she can kick us out at anytime. Conviently after %95 of the work is completed, no less. I have probally put at least 30 hours a week into this place since I've been here, for six months or so. She won't work with me on a figure on what I owe her, and I've asked her at least a few times every month to see where we stand, and she had never come up with any figures.
I don't really want to get nasty with her over this but she is now telling me how much money she can get if she gets a new tennant, and threating me constantly on why I'm not working, when she knows exactally why. Technically all I need to do is make one phone call, and the housing authority will either shut this place down, or the electrical inspector will take the meter off the house until the disconnect is fixed.
I think I got the jist of the story here, and it seems as if I am rambling a bit, so I'll leave it up to you all for advice. I am not an attorney, and have no idea how this works, but I can see this ending up in court very soon, and my head is spinning with no idea what avenue to take on this situation. There is an old saying I heard a long time ago about mixing blood and money, and that it never works. I'm just a little pissed to say the least that my own mother would use me to fix up a place and increase the value of her asset here, only to kick me out in the end. Any and all advice would be a great help.
Thank you for your time.
Eric VerValin
