All Forum Posts by: Todd Williams

@Jonathan R McLaughlin - Thank you, it's only 6 months old and looks perfect since I use waterproof protectors on everything I use.

@Theresa Harris - I wrote in the lease 14 days, but CO is actually a 30 day state. Would I have to abide by the 14 days I had in the lease? Obviously updating my lease (See: Paying for one) extensively after this mess.

@Nathan Gesner - Writing it out was for my own therapy as well, thank you.

@Account Closed - Thanks for the laugh!

Fun post #2, the covid train never sleeps. I didn't want to overload a single topic so here's the other part.

Really, this has to do about civil vs criminal and moving forward. Also had some questions regarding moving my property and damaging it in the process. A lot learned about using eviction aggressively when needed.

The facts:

• Tenant wanted to leave, gives me '30 day' notice, then says they are leaving in 4 days, then moves out.
• Tenant wanted security deposit before they move out.
• Tenant has been model up to this point, communicating, handling turnover, cleaning, pays on time, etc.
• Police were called prior to my arrival by other tenant and they were told to put my property back.
  
• I show up on property unannounced and some of my property tenant knows is mine is still moved next to the door with their moving boxes.
• Tenant says to my face they were going to take my stuff in case I didn't give them their deposit back?!
• TENANT LOADS SOME OF MY PROPERTY INTO THEIR MOVING VAN IN VIEW OF THE CAMERAS THEY KNOW ARE ON?! (Found out after they left)
• A few items of mine and other tenant are missing, maybe $250 or so that we know of currently.
• One tenant asked the other tenants to move my mattress downstairs and the other 2 tenants moved and ripped the seams in multiple places and stored it slumped on it's side (who's at fault here?).
• I have not confronted them about stealing.

So I have their April rent, they were on month to month since they were going to move out anyway. There's a deposit of lets say $525.

• Can I deduct mattress damage since they moved it without my permission and it was damaged? Split responsibility? It's basically new and $2,000.
• It seems I can document missing items and deduct them from the deposit in Colorado? I'm going to mail them a SODA via certified mail.
• A smoke detector was unplugged and I was not notified, tenant was only one cooking. Is this a safety issue I can charge for? I've replaced and tested the new alarm already.
• Their old lease doesn't include verbiage about early termination fees or costs, the new one has a $300 lease break fee... but I don't know if they signed it. Lesson learned, will use eSigning remotely and send eviction if I don't get it signed quickly. Am I covered here?
• Should I pursue any criminal things (deposit should cover lease break and theft amounts... that I can see so far), or just let it go? They are in another state (TX). I don't want retaliation, but I do want others to be aware of what happened if they rent again.

Hope you enjoyed the drama and thanks for any answers or advice you can give!

3 people. One left and broke lease. Two paid in full on time, but then another broke the lease and left.

Would I still need to send eviction notice if they have vacated the premises 14 days ago and said they are moving? This was one of my concerns moving forward. Thank you for your tile suggestion I will look into it.

@Jerry Rien It seems 75%+ tenants in my area have pets. Unfortunately this was an ESA animal, but considering they left it and did not know how often they needed to change the litter I have my doubts about it being needed (even if they did provide documentation). Moving forward it will be NO PETS! They did move out of state, back to their parents house and I have that address and phone number. It does get colder in the basements here and I personally very much like the carpet down there. Carpet feels like home to me.

@Lynn M. Yes, it's been the 15 days, thank you for that point. I did so much reading and research to make sure I was mostly in the clear and also in regards to Kilz, subfloors, ozone, etc. Your point on courts is well noted. I am only leasing to a single person at this time and want to make sure they have a smooth and safe transition to another place close to the hospital. Don't know if that has any merit in small claims court. This has been a blessing because the nightmare mess tenant is out and so is the other tenant who also went crazy because of covid (Different topic for later).

@Nathan G. The man himself! Yes, I am very much about the total replacement, the carpet cleaner estimate I was able to get faster and he had a giant blacklight that showed even more damage than my little one did. I do feel like anyone who would rent to this person needs to know that they simply do not know how to clean and live like an adult at nearly 30 years old. It is clear their parents have babied them. It is unfathomable to me that someone could have lived in that room.

As far as actions go then: I will send the itemized deposit slip via certified mail and ask for an amount to be paid in 30 days as suggested. Thanks everyone again for your prompt responses. I'll have a fun part two thread where the other tenant stole moving out on camera and knew that was happening!

Whew this has been an interesting week. Not too long ago I was trying to fill a room in a home, this caused said tenant to demand a negative coronavirus test (impossible). The new move in had agreed to self-quarantine, we had masks, gloves, wipes, and would also be given a private mini-fridge. In the end they moved out with 0 day notice before the other new tenant arrived and left 90% of their belongings. I have now restricted the rental to just one person for the foreseeable future.

INFO: 4 months left on the lease and almost all of one floor turned out to be sprayed and urine contaminated. I've gotten a carpet cleaning quote with no guarantees for over $600 and a carpet replacement quote of the main affected areas for $2200+ (I will depreciate this to 50% due to age). This doesn't include the disposal/trash fees of all of their left behind stuff either.

What do I do here? I have “Tenants are responsible for any damage caused by pets” in my lease, and also "Tenant will be liable for the balance of the rent for the remainder of the term." I'm not out to gouge the person since I know everyone is going through hard times, but I do want appropriate damage to be covered (and I had to fly out in this whole mess and stick my nose in cat pee). I have plenty of pictures and text message history and used a blacklight to see the stains.

Send certified mail with the deposit itemization + demand for compensation? Then try to settle out of court for half? Is there income loss because I cannot rent out the 2 rooms until it is fixed? I don't even care about the lost rent income, I know people need to be with family, but I do need my carpet replaced (and maybe subfloor)?

Many thanks in advance for any direction.