All Forum Posts by: Ernie Benavidez

I ended up paying a professional to clean up the place. While I continued to clean out the garage and move my stuff. I then hired a junk removal person and kept receipts. I took pictures of everything. When I was done, there was nothing to complain about except wear and tear. Which was paint peeling in several areas of the house and nail holes. They wanted me to paint and fill in holes which in no way was I going to do. The landlord ended up giving me my full deposit back plus my $400 cleaning fee. If this had gone any different I would have challenged it in small claims. 

Look, I get being a landlord is a business but as a tenant I’d expect to be treated fairly. Wear and tear is part of it. Three years of being in the same place with the restroom having no ventilation is going to cause moisture to accumulate and peel paint.

Thank you to everyone for the advice. I’m now in my new place and working to continue saving money.

-Ernie

Thank you

So I was in a month to month duplex house. I was there over 3 years. The landlord asked us to move out because they want their home back for use and gave us the normal 60day notice. It’s been about 45days since. The landlord is telling me my cleaning fee ($400)is non-refundable, even though I’m still in the process of cleaning the place. Is this illegal? Thank you guys!

I aspire to be a landlord soon!

-Ernie

Hello BiggerPockets, I’d like to introduce myself and greet the forum. I’m a beginner investor looking to gain a wealth of knowledge and hopefully a mentor. I’m currently reading the BiggerPockets book, “Rental Property Investing.” Ive read Rich Dad Poor Dad a few years back along with the Richest Man in Babylon. I currently use Zillow and Realtor.com to look at properties on the market. Although, I don’t have a criteria as for what I’m exactly looking for. I’m trying to grasp a feel for what’s out there. Thanks for welcoming me and I look forward to the new experiences.