DISCLAIMER: This story of mine is an attempt to explain my battle with the leasing agency of the apartment complex, where I lived for 7 Years (2006-2013), to get my Security Deposit back. At any point of time, intent is not to defame any one involved in this Saga and/or hurt anyone's sentiments of the entities involved in this tale but is to document the list of events as it happened so it can be useful to any who are/would be facing the issues similar to what I faced with.
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I lived in a decent apartment community at WEBSTER, NY from April 2006 till Jul 2013 and I had moved to my country (India) for Work related reasons after that..My security deposit ($845 + Interest) was not legitimately settled/refunded by the managing agency quoting several reasons. The property had seen 3 different managements in 7 years, during my stay.
While I moved out in Jul 2013, I had given my Friend's address(Who lives in the same apartment complex) for any correspondence including handing over the Settlement Deposit amount. After calling up the Leasing office couple of times, I did get the first set of Settlement report as of 09/14/13. There was a change to the Property Manager in Jul 2013, almost at the same time I moved out.
The list of events as it happened......
The list of events as it happened......
09/14/13 - Received the first set of Settlement Report from the Leasing office. This contained the breakup as below
Damages - $1000
Painting - $625
Deposit forfeit - $858.45
Total Deductions - $2482.95
Amount that I owe - $1624.50
So I called the current Property manager (RG), explained her of all the communications with the Previous manager (SG) reg 60 days notice....I was told to send an email with all these details .
09/27/13 - Sent the email with all the required details for lease termination. There was no response back till 3rd week of Oct 2013.
Called them again on on 10/21/13
10/24/13 - Property manager sends 2nd Set of Settlement report. This report had the deposit forfeit revoked. Breakup as below
Damages - $1000
Painting - $625
Total Deductions - $1625
Amount that I owe - $766.55
I had with me the Move in inspection form from 2006 when I occupied the apartment. which I had left it with my friend who's living at the same apartment complex. I called the Property manager and appraised of the Move in Inspection report from 2006. I had given a copy of this report to the previous manager, but for some reason this report wasn't in the my Tenant's file at the leasing office. Provided the photocopy of this MI report as of 11/06/13.
11/22/13 - After several email/phone call followups, Property manager replies (email) mentioning "Removed all damages. No balance due". I asked for the Final Settlement report.
The actual twist to the story starts from here......
11/28/13 - Property Manager sent the Final settlement report. This report had couple of new charges in it(which weren't in the prev 2 reports ) netting to $210 + 2 charges from the prev reports, netting to $650 - making up the Inspection charges to even with my Security Deposit SO I DON'T GET ANY REFUND. Sent an email asking for the new charges. Property manager replies back mentioning "We had received cleaning bill, order of Supplies from Maintenance, and carpet cleaning bill so those were added".
This wasn't ethical and I knew there were no damages in the apartment I stayed to the likes of what the leasing office listed while I vacated, and I also knew that the apartment was upgraded before the next occupancy. So I asked for the proof of the damages (Photo) + receipts for these new charges. The Leasing office didn't reply back to me at all. I called the property manager couple of times and left the voice message but there wasn't any response.
I was fine for the leasing office to withhold the Inspection charges from my deposit as long as they can provide the Proof of the damage(Photos/Snaps), BUT not the upgrade cost of the apartment that's being passed to the Tenant. And I already knew there were no damages in the apartment when I vacated. Also, all of my communication with the Property manager was in writing (email) so that was a Plus for me.
So, I started researching around in the Web for such similar cases in couple of BLOGS and in one such BLOG I got to know about
1. Monroe County Legal Assistance Center http://www.lawny.org/index.php/monroe-county-legal-assistance-center
Called them and explained of my issues. They referred me to Monroe County Bar association's (MCBA) Lawyer referral Service.
The way this works is - the MCBA would listen to your issue and refer to the corresponding Lawyer in the area. They would charge $40 for this which includes free first 30 minutes of private attorney's time, after which you may have to pay the attorney fee as applicable.
This option was ruled out for me since I believe the attorney fee (Net) would be higher than my actual refunds. It's an option worth exploring, though....
2. The NY State office of the Attorney General (http://www.ag.ny.gov/).
I downloaded the NY Tenant's Rights Guide(TRG) and read it letter by letter, to understand my rights. The TRG had in it the mailing address and Contact no's of various offices of Attorney General, including the one in Rochester NY. I sent an email to AG office from the link http://www.ag.ny.gov/questions-comments-attorney-general-eric-t-schneiderman
1. Monroe County Legal Assistance Center http://www.lawny.org/index.php/monroe-county-legal-assistance-center
Called them and explained of my issues. They referred me to Monroe County Bar association's (MCBA) Lawyer referral Service.
The way this works is - the MCBA would listen to your issue and refer to the corresponding Lawyer in the area. They would charge $40 for this which includes free first 30 minutes of private attorney's time, after which you may have to pay the attorney fee as applicable.
This option was ruled out for me since I believe the attorney fee (Net) would be higher than my actual refunds. It's an option worth exploring, though....
2. The NY State office of the Attorney General (http://www.ag.ny.gov/).
I downloaded the NY Tenant's Rights Guide(TRG) and read it letter by letter, to understand my rights. The TRG had in it the mailing address and Contact no's of various offices of Attorney General, including the one in Rochester NY. I sent an email to AG office from the link http://www.ag.ny.gov/questions-comments-attorney-general-eric-t-schneiderman
12/06/13 - The AG forwarded my complaint to his team to Rochester, NY office and I got a letter from the Rochester NY office (at my mail forwarding address) on this date. The Letter mentioned that they received the email form AG and will be forwarding it to Consumers Fraud Bureau for further review.And that they will be contacting me if they have any questions or require additional Information. So there was some ray of hope for me.
01/27/14 - The AG office, ROC NY sent another letter asking me to send a list of documents + the filled complaint form.The list of documents include
1. Contracts, agreements.
2. Proof of payment (Check/MO/Cash Memos) of Security Deposit
3. Copy of cancelled Check, receipt, lease & correspondence (email conversations, if any).
4. Any other supporting document (like Move In Inspection form).
1. Contracts, agreements.
2. Proof of payment (Check/MO/Cash Memos) of Security Deposit
3. Copy of cancelled Check, receipt, lease & correspondence (email conversations, if any).
4. Any other supporting document (like Move In Inspection form).
02/11/14 - I had to gather couple of documents, prepare some write-ups, Timelines etc., and finally sent the document to to AG Office as of this date. The list of documents that I had sent along with the complaint form include
1. Copy of most recent lease contract (2012-13).
2. Copy of the 3 Settlement reports.
3. Time-line document mentioning the events as it occurred.
4. Communication email with the Property Manager.
5. Details of the Security Deposit paid .
6. Details of the Rent paid in 2013.
7. Copy of the Move-in Inspection form from 2006.
8. Details of maintenance work done during my tenancy. (Based on the tickets I raised).
1. Copy of most recent lease contract (2012-13).
2. Copy of the 3 Settlement reports.
3. Time-line document mentioning the events as it occurred.
4. Communication email with the Property Manager.
5. Details of the Security Deposit paid .
6. Details of the Rent paid in 2013.
7. Copy of the Move-in Inspection form from 2006.
8. Details of maintenance work done during my tenancy. (Based on the tickets I raised).
03/06/14 - GUESS WHAT.....I GOT MY SECURITY DEPOSIT BACK,PAID IN FULL, SENT TO MY MAIL FORWARDING ADDRESS ...PHEW!!!
Lessons Learnt
1. While moving into the apartment, Insist for documenting all of the pre-existing damages in the Move in Inspection form. Get a copy of that and keep it safe.
2. Any maintenance issues in the apartment that need to be addressed by the leasing agency, Open a ticket (if they have a ticketing system) v/s just calling them. If theresn't a ticketing system with the leasing agency, get a copy of manual records from the leasing office.You can also log them in a spreadsheet for your reference.
3. Anything that you want to communicate with leasing office/manager, use emails as the primary mode of communication (wherever possible). You can always followup thro phone/in person after that.
4. Keep a copy of Lease agreement of every year. If possible, read and understand all the terms and conditions.
5. Keep a record of security deposit/rent paid and details of check/MO/Cash receipts.
6. While moving out, take enough evidence of the state of the apartment you are leaving with - Phots/Videos. While these cannot be main source of proof if you have to legal, they will help a lot to prove your stand.
7. Take well care of your apartment unit while your stay. Most of the time this should help for a clean exit and settlement unless otherwise if the leasing agency is hell bent on not returning your money back (like my case).
Lessons Learnt
1. While moving into the apartment, Insist for documenting all of the pre-existing damages in the Move in Inspection form. Get a copy of that and keep it safe.
2. Any maintenance issues in the apartment that need to be addressed by the leasing agency, Open a ticket (if they have a ticketing system) v/s just calling them. If theresn't a ticketing system with the leasing agency, get a copy of manual records from the leasing office.You can also log them in a spreadsheet for your reference.
3. Anything that you want to communicate with leasing office/manager, use emails as the primary mode of communication (wherever possible). You can always followup thro phone/in person after that.
4. Keep a copy of Lease agreement of every year. If possible, read and understand all the terms and conditions.
5. Keep a record of security deposit/rent paid and details of check/MO/Cash receipts.
6. While moving out, take enough evidence of the state of the apartment you are leaving with - Phots/Videos. While these cannot be main source of proof if you have to legal, they will help a lot to prove your stand.
7. Take well care of your apartment unit while your stay. Most of the time this should help for a clean exit and settlement unless otherwise if the leasing agency is hell bent on not returning your money back (like my case).
Note of Thanks
I would like to Thank the below listed for their kind help/support during the whole saga
1. The AG General and his team for their guidance and Support.
2. My friend who was always there for me, who pushed me and ensured that I did this all in time.
3. The Search engine that is GOOGLE.
4. The Vonage APP using which I could call US Numbers from India.
5. The Leasing office, because of whom I was to take a stand to not give up and explore the options......which otherwise I wouldn't have really cared to do so.
6. Last but not the least, The then ruling party of Republic of India (I.e Congress) because of whom we have Internet connections in India and using which I could do all of these ;-)
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