Ok so I'm sure some of you remember my thread about me getting arresting for having paraphenelia. That shit has since blown over and it won't ruin my background for teaching, thank God. But now, the apartment complex that evicted my roommate and I have slapped us in the face with... get this... a bill. For four THOUSAND dollars. It's hilarious... they evicted us, gave us five days to leave, and we had to pack up and move on Christmas Eve. OF ALL DAYS! Not only did they ignore the required 30 days to evict a tenant, the use underhanded letter writing techniques. For instance, the bill is dated 12/27/05, but is postmarked on 1/13/06. They also have since sent the bill to a collection agency. The four thousand is divided this way: Jan and Feb rent (we already paid for Jan): 1600 Cleaning/damages (we already gave them a security deposit when we moved in): 500 MISCELLANEOUS: 2000 <---- WTF? Um what the fuck??? I have been advised to get a lawyer and not directly talk to the apartment complex anymore, and to sue them for money that I gave them and also so I don't have to pay these rediculous bills. Anyone have any ideas? It's clear that the property management are trying to take advantage of us because they think we're ignorant young men who will pander to their demands. I think not.
Well, I hope you kept all your rent reciepts, or atleast your cancelled checks. Getting a lawyer is going to be your only way out of this one.
Get receipts, canceled checks, bank statements, etc... and consult your lawyer. 4 grand is rather excessive, and not detailing the other 2 grand is very suspicious. And as a side note, the deposit is just supposed to reduce that bill at the end of your time with them.
I definately agree with all statements made by others. I thought in Arizona the landlord has to give more time (ie 30 days notice) to evict a person from the apartment. If this does apply, the landlord is certainly breaking the law. A lawyer should be able to tell you your rights under state law in dealing with a situation with this landlord trying to financially raping you with these ridicuous charges like these. I sure hope whenever I move; I don't move into that apartment complex.
Get a lawyer quick, and have your lawyer handle communication with them. It sounds like they're breaking laws all over the place thinking they can push you around.
Yeah, you need a lawyer, STAT. I can say for sure that they are breaking the law all over the place. My in-laws run a couple of rentals so I have become familiar with some of the eviction process. It is all over the country that they are required to give 30 days and, even then, you can appeal to the issuing court (as eviction is a legal process, not just a decision made by the land lord) for more time. All of that time is rent free. Get a lawyer ASAP and, once you do, forward all communication to the lawyer from them.
Gather up every last little piece of paperwork that ever dealt with your entrance, bill-paying and residence in that house and find yourself a lawyer. Does your family have any lawyers that are friends? Anyone you know have lawyer parents? I'd buckle down and get ready to sue the apartment complex. Apartment complex operators - I wouldn't so much call them "landlords," as I've actually met some polite, individual landlords in my time - can be a real mess of pricks. Best of luck.
$2000 miscellaneous?!? HAHA ,That's comedy. They fu*ked up pulling that BS, your lawyer should PWN em over that one. They sound crooked as hell. Get em good man, and throw a little revenge in there for them kicking you out on Christmas. That was so low of them. Might see about getting the landlord tested for crack. It's going to be big hassle, but you should definitely win. Good luck with all of it. Might try and get a little more back than ya need for lawyer fees. They like to take chunks of it. Everything should be all good as long you have proof of records. You may not be the only one they've tried to rip off. Might be worth it to hire a detective to do some digging on them.
Get a decent lawyer who'd handle these type of case before and sue them for whole bunch of money. You can probably get P.I. to do some digging and see if you can strengthen your case even more. Good luck.
I told my girlfriend about your situation (she rents out apartments for a living) and she says the $2000 MIGHT be for the cost of eviction, which can be an expensive process when done legally. Seeing as how this whole thing reeks of crookedness, I highly doubt they are doing things by the book, and that whole charge should fall apart in court. She wasn't sure if you could actually charge the evictee the fees, though. Get a lawyer and have him hand them their asses. You must have thrown some hella good parties to be given five days to get out (which is also complete bullshit, unless your state has weird laws). We had something like this happen to us, our rental company told us the heat was paid in our place when we looked at it, and it was even marked that they paid it on the lease. We then got a $600 heating gas bill in the mail from them, saying we needed to pay it. After a good laugh, she tried to get in contact with them for over a week, leaving messages and talking to the lying receptionist. They would not return her calls, and all the while we kept getting notices. Finally, she got through to a real person and demanded some answers. They knew full well they were in the wrong, and pretty much pleaded with her to "come to an agreement". It turns out they screwed up on the wording of the lease, and the guy who showed us the place was an outright liar when he said it was paid heat, but they knew the lease would hold up in court, so they had to bite the bullet and pay the bill. Don't let these pricks push you around. When you can prove they are breaking the law, there's not a damn thing they can do to defend themselves.
