All Forum Posts by: Jamie Scharbrough

I hate credit cards. I also hate this game the credit card companies force you to play if you want to rent or buy a house or anything. 

I'd say as long as everything else checks out, and you like the tenant, rent to them. I'm not a big fan of credit score proving worthiness. 

I actually dealt with a similar situation when my landlord wanted to sell. In this case however, we had just moved in not two months prior, and because the potential buyer was REI, he knew this. So we explained that the house was still a mess, sorry about that, but we'd try to get the living room and kitchen tidy for them to look at.

They were very, very understanding. We didn't ask for any extra compensation, because the REI guy made it very clear we did not have to leave and that he was actually interested in keeping us beyond our lease if it looked like we were good tenants. He actually turned out to be a really nice guy and if we don't buy a house in the next 18 months, we'll probably just stay, as long as he wants to renew.

In your case however, I would definitely talk to the landlord and explain that this is above and beyond. I'd be very upset if I was asked to leave my home for most weekend hours, for three weekends in a row! That's my only time off, and you want me to NOT spend it hanging out in my pjs and playing video games? Yeah, I'd be mad. I earned the right to be a super lazy girl on weekends and now I have to get out and go somewhere. For three weekends in a row. That's annoying and aggravating.

The fact is, according to the laws in SF, what the listing agent wants IS above and beyond reasonable accommodation by the tenant. Yes he/she should keep the place clean, but I don't think there's anything wrong with asking for financial compensation for this. I don't understand how this makes the tenant "a tool". The landlord is asking them to go above and beyond the rental laws and agreements in their area; the tenant is entitled to some kind of compensation. 

As a renter I'll say this: having a w/d made things a lot easier. HOWEVER. When we moved, we found out our house didn't have hookups. What I did was look around for wash/fold/dry places instead. We gave our washer and dryer to a friend on loan for the year and instead I have my laundry done for me at 99 cents per pound. Laundry is done every two weeks, and I don't pay more than 30 bucks a month. 

It also eliminated my laziness, where nothing would ever be folded/sorted/hung up. They do it for me. 

That worked great for me. But that's not feasible for everyone, and I suspect most people want a washer/dryer in the house. 

Also, I think the first pictures on that Pinterest page look really awful. The lighter wood with the darker cabinets looks cheap and tacky. The white cabinets with the dark wood looked nice though. So if you're going to do this, make sure the wood contrasts or compliments the cabinets nicely. 

Oh my God that's disgusting. You definitely have a case. Just follow the advice of the other posters on what to say to the judge and bring your documents. Good luck!

I'm not sure I'd only go by facebook. For instance, we don't have a dog, but if you could see my FB pictures (you can't, but if you could) you'd see me playing with dogs in a house that could be mistaken for my previous one. It's not, and those dogs are my parents', but just going by my facebook, there's pretty strong evidence that LOOKS like I own a dog. 

I'd take other posters' advice here and confirm for sure that the potential tenant actually owns said dog. FB can be misleading. 

 Are you sure you didn't renovate my house @Dawn Anastasi? It looks almost exactly like mine! LOL.

 So I live in NC, not MD, but I can tell you this is garbage. The house I'm currently renting was empty for TWO years until my landlord's company bought it, renovated it, and rented it. They're in the process of flipping it actually, but the guy buying is very nice, is happy to have tenants already living there, and is willing to address any concerns we have immediately, as is our present landlord. 

Once our landlord's handyman accidentally turned off the wrong water tap outside (the other side of our duplex is empty) and our water didn't work. I called our landlord and boom, five minutes later our water was back on. THAT is how you handle issues from your tenant. 

Your landlord's argument that the house was vacant and therefore they didn't know is crap (both literally and figuratively). If they'd just renovated, they should have seen how bad the sewer blockage was! 

I'd advise you to get anything your landlord says in writing, or at least write down everything he says over the phone, in case the judge needs or asks for it. 

Raw sewage on the floor (ugh that sounds disgusting, I'm trying not to think about it) makes a home unlivable immediately. That alone should put the judge on your side. I'd definitely take the advice of the other posters and present your documents and speech to the judge and just let them make the call. Hopefully they should be fair. 

Have you taken pictures of the damage? 

Looks like I can't edit my post, but it turns out the front door isn't messed up; it just looked like it was from a certain angle. My husband sent the photo to the landlord, who confirmed that the door was okay. I'm glad there wasn't an issue.