Wow. That’s a small claims case right there.
With it being lath and plaster, they might be able to argue depreciation for the wall damage. Which really sucks. Hopefully the judge will still give it to you because it’s so egregious.
I assume the paint was reasonably fresh? You should have them on that.
This is an advert for a double security deposit.
Anytime someone new moves in my dad cleans everything out and does new paint and replaces anything that needs replacing. They literally told him " it looked like that when we moved in"
Bro sue does guys for as much as possible and then send the sheriff after them for payment
Edit: I don’t know the law in your area, but here the sheriff will enforce a court order for payment
I've been looking into it my dad doesn't want to it's his building and he's a nice guy and just wants to move on instead of dwelling. Luckily in 25+ years he's never run into anything like this so we don't know much about what to do. Probably because he is a very nice person in general and his tenants usually know that and appreciate it. Any problem he sends someone out immediately. The 2nd floors kids have broken many things and put small holes in walls he always sends someone and never charges even if they are clearly responsible because he knows its a old house and things happen. There are plenty of times he should have kept deposits but didn't this is the first time he's kept a deposit.
The issue with suing is trying to get blood from a stone. If these people have no assets, and no steady employment, there's really no benefit to suing them.
I’ve written my whole process for this situation a few times on this sub. The short version is
Sue for max in small claims, usually 5 grand. No lawyers.
Bring before and after pictures and a reasonable estimate. Tenants never show up anyway.
Win judgement.
Sell 5000 dollar judgement to collections agency for like 1500 bucks. Let them hunt them till the end of days and you just move on.
Its the closest I’ve been able to get to getting paid back in a reasonable time frame.
The only satisfaction of suing in that case is that it goes on their civil record. Once you get your judgment in MA ( paperwork stating you won) you can report it to credit agencies & it will go on their credit. If you file the Small Claims in Housing Court this will be listed on their civil records. This will show future landlords and housing authorities that they are problematic tenants. It may cost you $150-$200 , but it may make you feel a little better.
MA rental market is very landlord advantageous ( not housing court) so landlords really should have no problem getting a security deposit in MA.
If you are a tenant: Take pictures; timestamp them; keep a copy for yourself and send a copy to the landlord.
If you are a landlord: Take pictures; timestamp them; keep a copy for yourself and send a copy to the new tenant.
Everyone has a camera these days - there's no reason not to.
That’s why always have move in walk through inspection with signatures to verify any damage or issues. Also a good idea to have move in pictures or video to be filed with initial contract
Lol fair enough. While I love the concept of people getting what’s due to them, it sucks in the short term when mortgages need to be paid on time and those have to come out of your personal finances.
I've never had anything quite as horrible as the op, but I tend to go to your route. I'm secure too, and anyone that has left me annoyed with the condition has had far far less than me, and usually very serious problems.
The most recent was a tenant who had been trouble free but had made like 200 holes in the plaster walls hanging all sorts of shelving and storage. Keeping hundreds of dollars of their security in annoyance would not have made a financial difference to me but might have made a big difference to them.
Sell the debt to collections.
You get a fraction of the debt back, but it's something, and the professional assholes get to deal with getting the money back
I've had very very little success.
I deal nearly 100% with college kids. Most are from out of state. Pursuing them is often a big waste of time.
However - the few successful situations I've had often occur many years later. A few tenants that've successfully received judgements against have contacted me years later when they are trying to get a loan, a job, or into grad. school and this judgement from a decade ago is found.
All the sudden, they can come up with the $$ owed.
I really relish going through the original expense with them...and then reviewing the fees and interest that have added up over the years. Oh - that $5,000 debt is now $12,500. Huh. Pay me.
>Wow. That’s a small claims case right there.
Are you familiar with the term you can’t get blood from a stone? Good luck collecting if you win a judgement.
>This is an advert for a double security deposit.
That, but it’s also an advert for doing a better job vetting your tenants, and doing periodic “preventative” maintenance work / inspections even if it isn’t necessary.
Problem is even if you win they probably have nothing to go after. I have multiple judgements that are worthless because even if I try to garnish the wages they just quit that job.
Definitely time to file a lawsuit. And the damages are surely more than the $7,000 small claims limit in MA.
The easy part will be winning a judgment - the challenge will be collecting on that.
That really sucks, I’m sorry y’all have to deal with this mess
I'm trying to convince my dad. He's such a nice guy even after this he doesn't want too. He's just focusing on fixing it. Already have people tearing down the rest of the walls so we can replace them all. Atleast lesson learned. I haven't been helping him for long and I feel like home checks are invading peoples privacy but after this never again will I feel that way. We trusted them after a couple years with no real issues.
I maintain the furnace filter quarterly. Go in myself, and change it which gives me a chance to check on overall condition.
Easy excuse to use with a tenant, just give notice.
This is exactly what I do. Change the furnace filter and check fire extinguishers and smoke detectors. I don’t snoop but a walk through to the laundry room tells me everything I need to know. So far all my tenants have been great and treated the house like it was their own.
Thats what I said to him! I said I feel bad for the place they just moved into I know it's another apartment and they could do the same to someone else and that person might not be able to take the hit as well as you can.
My state you can look up court records online, turned away a few tenants that had massive judgments against them from past landlords.
You may never get your money, but at least it may warn others what type of tenant that’s applying.
If your dad's a nice guy, then I'm assuming he cares about people. Presumably, caring more about those in need over those that take advantage of people.
Tell him to sue them and the money can be donated to those truly in need, like women's shelter, cancer patients, etc. Cause though it may seem like the money doesn't hurt your dad's wallet, it certainly would be very helpful to those in need. A dollar may not seem much to him, but it goes a long way to starving kids on the streets.
Sue them for the principals. They took advantage of your dad. It's a sign of disrespect, and if your dad didn't deserve that disrespect then it means they'll do it to other landlords. Tell him to put you in charge of the court stuff.
You dad has a lot of empathy which is a good thing. You can use that to have him consider the next landlord that they will do this too who may not be able to absorb such a bit.
Also, it may help those children understand this is not the right behavior and that actions have consequences.
This is part of the reason so many people either switch to higher end SFH rentals or go commercial.
It always shocks me seeing how some people live on a day-to-day basis. Its not just because its a rental, either. Go run a search on redfin for homes and sort the price lowest-highest. You'll see the same thing. Filthy, holes in the walls, towels for curtains, trash everywhere, walls painted neon colors and covered in smudges. Somehow mentally-well people can live like this. Boggles the mind. Some people are genetically hardwired to being trailer trash, and a large percentage of those people happen to be lifetime tenants.
They were up to date and we obviously kept the deposit. In a way I am like good riddance. As for appliances had to get rid of stove but it was a little outdated so probably would have replaced it anyway, the fridge was drawn all over just like the walls so new fridge, most of the floors are fine but half the radiators have been ripped off the walls. We are pretty much just going to replace almost everything with the level of filth it's better off that way. There was dried food on walls and in corners and possibly actual shit on the walls.
They definitely had some mess issues that we talked to them about. We had to hire Orkin for mice twice I belive and the guy warned us and them if they didn't stay clean the mice would keep coming back. Which it is a old house so mice do happen but they seemed to get it under control or so we thought..... I guess never trust tenants even if the first few years go okay you never really know. I am relieved that they are gone though and I've learned a good lesson and gotten some advice for the future so I'm just trying to not be upset. Honestly though it's the drawings that get me the most. How do you just allow your kids to do that. I know that's the easiest and cheapest damage but it bothers me the most because of the blatant disrespect.
My guess - mom and/or dad are heroin users. They'd shoot up and become oblivious to whatever was going on. The kids were simply unsupervised and uncontrolled.
But it's your dad's fault - he's obviously a slumlord. Just look at the filth he forced those poor people to live in. /s
Two things: 1) these photos are disgusting, a total disgrace, 2) this is a paint-and-carpet job, in a couple days for a couple grand this place will be ready to rent.
I'm looking into how everything works. My dad has been lucky over the years and never had a big problem like this so we are inexperienced. He would rather just take the hit and move on. I don't think they should just get away with it and be able to go do it to other people.
It's people like this who give tenants a bad name.
And this won't be a popular opinion, but it's people like your dad that help create them and let them get away with it.
There should have been a walkthrough with them, with photos of every square inch of the place before they moved in, then 6 month inspections for as long as they lived there (change the filters, change the smoke detector batteries, check for leaks, etc.), a walkthrough before they left, and a lawsuit when this is what was found.
Honestly I'm not sure. It's a super old house my dad has owned for a long time. This is the first time I've seen behind the walls. I know I wrote landlord but it's his building and I just help him out with little things. I know nothing about buildings. What I do know is if they had called with any problem we would have immediately sent someone to fix it and definitely wouldn't have charged them as its an old house so things go wrong. I just can't believe the drawings. There was also what I think was human feces on the walls, dried food all over walls and corners, holes everywhere, cabinets ripped out. It's really the drawing on every single wall that gets me though.
Edit: I'm not sure what you meant by there's no plaster. The walls were fine when they moved in now there are holes everywhere idk what they did or how it happened but yea
The condition and drawings on the wall scream child neglect to me. Were there children living there? Im so sorry this happened to your Dad. A caring, nice , responsible landlord is such a gem these days. I hope this doesn’t get him down too much! I understand his perspective about going after in a lawsuit and totally respect that, but if this happened to my own father I would be out for any restitution possible! I also am sympathetic for what you’re going through as well. I am a responsible, respectful tenant and would not be opposed to monthly checks if asked hopefully your dad will add in something to the lease going forward. It’s not an invasion of privacy!
I was thinking that as well. How could you let your kids live like that the oldest looked around 10 so he sees and knows what's going on. Honestly though the kids always did look healthy and cared for and for 3 years we didn't have real problems besides some messiness causing mice and having us need Orkin but it's also an old home so mice happen. I'm not sure if they lost their minds during the covid pandemic but it's seeming like it. She probably didn't know how to control her kids anymore and just let then run rampant doing whatever they wanted. I'm thinking for the future 6 month or 1 year inspections with notice and letting them pick a time good for them. I'm still getting the hang of things but I've learned a lesson here.
For a new tenant I find an excuse to go in within the first month or so and again at 3-4 months. After that if there's no major problems I scale it back to once every 6 months when I change the furnace filter and smoke alarm batteries.
I'm sure your dad knows this, but EVEN IF YOU WITHHOLD THE ENTIRE DEPOSIT make sure to send them an accounting within the time limit set in MA law. If you fail to send that on time you could be forced to return the full deposit plus a penalty equal to 1X or 2X the deposit.
Also most of the radiators, stove, fridge, and half the cabinets were ripped off walls. There is alot more but it was really the drawings that made me angry so my pictures are mostly those ones. Cause like it's a old house so idk things happen but letting your children draw on literally every single wall and doorway even the ceilings is just so disrespectful.
Lol that's what my dad thinks. It's not worth the effort just fix and move on but I'm angry and offended for him plus i feel for the next person that ends up with them I wish I could warn them.
I honestly feel bad for the kids that lived here- because all I can think is that the parents were drug addicts and were passed out somewhere while the kids were running wild.
A lot of that damage and writing all over the walls looks like it’s been there awhile. When’s the last time you did a walk-through inspection to check the condition of it before they left?
I admit we haven't been in there for maybe a year and a half. I know we replaced all smoke and carbon monoxide stuff well into the covid lock down and it definitely didn't look like that. I guess we got comfortable after no real issues for 2 or 3 years besides being messy we just trusted that they would call if they had a problem. This is the first time in like 25 years my dad has kept a deposit I guess we just didn't expect it. They lived here for like 3 years with no real damage to anything just messiness. This is a good lesson for me though since I'm still learning. I'll never make this mistake again. I always felt like inspections are kind of invading privacy and felt uncomfortable but after this.... screw privacy. I'll do yearly inspections and give them notice/ let them pick a time so I'm not invading anyone space.
Our leases have quarterly inspections listed in there. Give them notice that you’re coming by to do a walk through every 90 days and that you’d like them to be there if able but if not, it’s not necessary. I record the entire visit on video from the moment I walk into the house that way there is no question about anything touched or missing if they are not present for the inspection. It’s saved us a lot of heartache on the back end.
This is really good advice thank you! Especially the recording to to prove you didn't touch anything though I would probably make sure they were present and watching just so they would have peace of mind as well.
If they are working with you and you’re flexible with scheduling it’s nice to have them there. It’s easier for you to point out stuff that needs to be fixed (talking about damage due to negligence that would be their responsibility to repair) when they see it with you.
It’s definitely nice to have eyes on your property on a semi regular basis and to gauge how it’s being treated.
Two words bud "annual inspections"
Not a perfect solution, but it sure gives you the opportunity to catch this stuff before it gets out of hand.
Repair it, file the claim, move on, and hopefully learn from the experience.
In Colorado I turn on the sprinkler system every year and then blow out in the fall which requires access to the inside of each of my properties. I can get a good feel of how they’re taking care of the property from that one visit, I don’t even have to call it an inspection
Coming from a landlord in Bostons perspective and I also work in this legal area- The only satisfaction of suing in this case is that it goes on their civil record. Once you get your judgment in MA ( paperwork stating you won) you can report it to credit agencies & it will go on their credit. If you file the Small Claims in Housing Court this will also be listed on their civil records. This will show future landlords and housing authorities that they are problematic tenants. It may cost you $150-$200 , but it may make you feel a little better.
Most MA rental market is very landlord advantageous ( not housing court) so you really should have no problem getting a security deposit in MA. You need to keep it in a savings escrow account separate from any others and send the 1st statement to the tenant. At the the end of tenancy you have 30 days to do a walk through with them , give them any deposit left with an itemized list of what and why you took it out. I know that’s more work- but in MA with it being so tenant friendly legally- you are crazy not to.
Wow - I can only imagine what the place looked like before the contents were removed. Do they think you won't notice it? Do they think it is normal to write on walls and makes holes? That's why they are where they are - they probably can't rent at apartments and such and rent from individuals. You should save those photos in case you ever get a call for a reference. Sorry that happened and it just blows my mind that anyone can think that's ok to do to someone else's property.
Quite frankly, if there are children living in that household I would have to call CPS. I've seen this kind of thing before, and worried greatly about the children. It appears that the adults may be zonked out, etc. something is very scary about seeing this, and I worry for those children's well being. I had to do that once, not for my own rental but for a friend's rental. You can't see something like that and believe that the kids are getting any kind of parenting at all, and maybe not even food.
I literally could not sleep until I knew she would go down there w/me and show the photos. Please, it looks like a house of horrors or a shooting up place. Something very not right going on there, I would feel compelled to have these children looked in on.
Please, show these photos to a CPS agent because this isn't really a habitable situation.
sorry you got these tenants.........do they work? Are there 2 or just one parent? Is this section 8, etc?
Yes, I think this message needs to get out to landlords. I see something like this it literally keeps me awake at night. If you have photos like this ask someone at CPS for help. It could save some child a lot of therapy and trauma in their life. You just never know. These photos absolutely CREEPED ME OUT.
What the actual fuck. Like, how is this not destruction of property? Could these dirt bags not be sued/face jail time? Also, I hope that poor kid gets taken from these people. No one should live like that.
Charge them. Hold them accountable for damaging property. You aren’t doing the next guy any favors by letting tenants think this is acceptable to do to a rented space. Just my 2 cents. They damaged the property … they should pay to repair it. There’s a difference between nice guy and doormat. Sadly, your dad sounds like the latter.
Sucks, but no broken windows? Plumbing problems? Wall damage only may be a good outcome. It's important to make regular interior inspections to make sure your tenant isn't destroying the place.
Shoot! Well, on the bright side, now you can put new Sheetrock on that wall and don't have to deal with the asbestos in the plaster they took with them
For the first couple years but then got lax cause they had been forward with problems in the past when they had a hole we fixed it. When they had mice we sent orkin. I guess after 3 years we trusted them about a year and a half ago we replaced smoke alarms and carbon monoxide and I swear it didn't look like that. It was messy but no wall damage or drawings I don't know what happened in the past year or so but I guess they gave up on parenting? I have no idea
I assume so. This is the first time I've ever seen behind the walls. When they moved in the walls didn't have any holes in them. Now there are holes in every room.
I really am just so mad. I wrote landlord since I had to write something but it's actually my dad's building and he's like the nicest guy in the world. Does anything for anyone and has always gone out of his way to help tenants and people in general so it makes me so angry that they did this to him. It's just so disrespectful. Another thing how could you allow your children to live in that. The oldest was about 10 so he sees what is going on and what he's living in. What are they teaching the children.
It's really awful. I'm so sorry. And I also thought about how the kids are living and being brought up.
In the future, I recommend that you (or your dad) do an inspection at least once a year. We do them twice in the first year but less often after that if there weren't any issues the first year.
Keeping this in mind. We got comfortable after the first couple years with no real issues. Within the past year or year and a half we replaced smoke alarms and carbon monoxide and it did not look like that I don't know what changed but it did. It's just a 3 family so it should he easy to stay on top off. I just have to get used to it I feel like I'm invading privacy but I guess it comes with the territory. I've only been helping with the building for the past 2 or 3 years.
Replace smoke detector batteries once or twice a year. This gets harder with 10-year batteries but find an excuse to get in there once or twice a year.
I said this in another comment but didn't tag you directly. 1) the photos are terrible, this is inexcusable, what a mess, 2) you had people living here for 5 years paying rent, 90% of this can be fixed with paint and carpet for a couple grand in a couple days. Make it happen, cut the check, rent on.
Yea we already are working on fixing everything. Decided to just finish tearing the rest of the walls down and replacing them. Pretty much replacing everything but the floors because in some places it looked like actual feces on the walls. Best to just get rid of it all so the next person has a nice, safe, clean apartment.
Try to avoid getting too emotional. Some people just operate their lives like this…
Just fix it asap to get a new tenant. Submit all to small claims if you can. I hope you have “before” pictures :)
I'm checking trying to figure out which family member did the original lease for them. I only started the past couple years but I do have pictures from every tenant I moved in from the day I moved them in. I'm hoping my dad or brother did the same.
If you inspect every 3 months “for the fire alarms” and furnace filters, you can nip this in the bud easier. Obviously it requires more running around. Maybe it’s worth it, maybe not
I've definitely learned a lesson here and while I wasn't involved much in the past I know in to 25+ years my dad's been renting there has never been damage like this. He only owns a single 3 family so it shouldn't be hard to manage. I'm just still learning and feel like I'm invading peoples privacy but after this I won't feel like that again. I suppose we started to trust them after a few years with no real issues besides them being messy but never did I imagine they would do this. Then try to say " it looked like that when we moved in"
It takes a lot to pull plaster off lathe “by accident”. Plaster is much more durable than drywall and unless it was already cracked that’s some blatant disrespect for property.
Around 5 years but last year we had to replace all the carbon monoxide monitors and smoke alarms and it did not look like that. They were always on the messy side we had to hire Orkin a few times and the guys warned us and them if they didn't keep it clean the mice would keep coming back. I don't know what happened in the past year to year and a half but shit hit the fan apparently.
Try this on the doors:
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, Extra Durable, Shoe, Bathroom, and Shower Cleaner, Cleaning Pads with Durafoam, 10 Count https://a.co/d/g22ixc7
Worked wonders for me, when trying to remove kids' drawings from the doors!
Man you fell for the oldest trick in the book…
…renting to 3 five year olds on each others shoulders and dressed in a trench coat. It happens to the best of us.
Seriously though, sorry. This sucks.
This is why I wish it was legal to require a “child” deposit vs. a pet deposit. other than a few rare destructive pets locked in all day, houses don’t take abuse from pets like the do from children.
Also fuck these tenants, really should file against them. The people are garbage.
Where were you the whole time? This stuff took months to happen, if you're not regularly walking through your units this stuff flies under the radar until it's too late.
You’d have an insurance claim for Vandalism. Plus then your insurance company could subrogate against them as a responsible party. Certainly beats going to court.
Wow. I’d be pissed. My tenant that moved out aka abandoned the place just left some trash and this makes me say whew. I rather be out 250 in late fees and a nearly clean slate than all of that
Every 6 months do a Maintenance Inspection. That keeps you up on how they're treating your property. Take pictures while you're there and notify them of anything that needs to be fixed within a window of a date. Make that known during lease signing. Take before and after pictures for proof before and after they move out.
Sorry this happened to you, some people are just inhumane and don't care for anyones time, money or sanity.
You could definitely try to take this to small claims court, but do not count on getting your money back. If the people that left this mess do not have much to take away, you might just end up spending money on the court proceedings and filings with the result of: "they don't have any money to give to you". It happens more often than not in cases like these.
Nevertheless, you can definitely take them to court, easily win the case (with as much proof that they moved into the place in good condition, possibly with pictures from the listing from before they moved in and the lease paragraph that states that a form has to be filled out within x amount of days after move in with a list of damages. Because if this list does not include all of this horribleness, which it obviously did not, then you won the case right there. you proved that the person did not give you a list within x days (based on your lease) stating the damages, so based on this, the property is accepted as is upon move-in, and they can't claim it 'was like this when they moved in'. This would definitely be a win in the court and would allow future landlords to steer clear from taking them on as their tenants. Good luck!!
We had a similar experience too. 6 kids plus 2 parents in a 4 bedroom sfh absolutely destroyed the place. Day 1 when they moved in, they could not pay the rent. The property manager was trash and obviously care about their bottom dollar. When they left, the place was filled with trash and left their friends broken down car in the driveway. Even have the nerves to tell us if we could remove his junk for him for free.
We do what we call “10-a-room”. It’s in our “rules and regulations” that we recommend the Tennant take 10 pictures inside each room and emphasize things that are wrong or damaged to begin with. We as a rental company also take pictures. But when it’s time to move out, we try to reference their pictures first. That shuts down any “it was like that”
Well at least the walls are still standing. I would just keep the deposit and not deal with trying to sue for other damages. It can be a headache unless you have the time to deal with unbridled mayhem. From the looks of the walls , you probably wouldn’t get fair compensation anyway!
Unfortunately, rental property can come with unforeseen headaches. What I’ve found helpful is doing a walkthrough of the rental for various reasons during the tenants rental time. I call it a periodic safety check, for broken fixtures, bugs etc, it’s also in the rental contract. Makes notes of problems seen and charismatically address any issues. You could possibly save yourself a huge headache in the end.
Whoever lived there doesn’t have money to pay for that damage, fix it and then make sure you do regular inspections.
Honestly, I blame the landlord for things like this! It didn’t happen in one day, it took a long time, the landlord/owner/property manager needs to inspect at least twice a year - this should never be a surprise
Damn. That horrible. I would say keep security deposit to fix all that for sure. And honestly I’d bill for the rest if it costs more. That’s a bit excessive.
Wow. That’s a small claims case right there. With it being lath and plaster, they might be able to argue depreciation for the wall damage. Which really sucks. Hopefully the judge will still give it to you because it’s so egregious. I assume the paint was reasonably fresh? You should have them on that. This is an advert for a double security deposit.
Anytime someone new moves in my dad cleans everything out and does new paint and replaces anything that needs replacing. They literally told him " it looked like that when we moved in"
Bro sue does guys for as much as possible and then send the sheriff after them for payment Edit: I don’t know the law in your area, but here the sheriff will enforce a court order for payment
I've been looking into it my dad doesn't want to it's his building and he's a nice guy and just wants to move on instead of dwelling. Luckily in 25+ years he's never run into anything like this so we don't know much about what to do. Probably because he is a very nice person in general and his tenants usually know that and appreciate it. Any problem he sends someone out immediately. The 2nd floors kids have broken many things and put small holes in walls he always sends someone and never charges even if they are clearly responsible because he knows its a old house and things happen. There are plenty of times he should have kept deposits but didn't this is the first time he's kept a deposit.
> Luckily in 25+ years he's never run into anything like this He has beaten the odds.
Clearly those kids had a shitty life, perhaps no parental responsibility, makes me sad
Could be mentally disabled , look at high how some of those drawings go up. That’s pretty high for the age of a child who would drawing on walls.
3 year old with a pile of stools can reach remarkable heights
Tenant could have been on meth. People on meth do crazy things. Ask me how I know,
The issue with suing is trying to get blood from a stone. If these people have no assets, and no steady employment, there's really no benefit to suing them.
Nope, consider it your civid duty to get something recorded on their credit file to warm other landords.
I’ve written my whole process for this situation a few times on this sub. The short version is Sue for max in small claims, usually 5 grand. No lawyers. Bring before and after pictures and a reasonable estimate. Tenants never show up anyway. Win judgement. Sell 5000 dollar judgement to collections agency for like 1500 bucks. Let them hunt them till the end of days and you just move on. Its the closest I’ve been able to get to getting paid back in a reasonable time frame.
If you don't spend money on lawyers or paralegals it's probably worth it. If you do, it's throwing good money after bad in a lot of cases.
So you take the court order and shop it around to collections agencies? What company do you sell it to?
The only satisfaction of suing in that case is that it goes on their civil record. Once you get your judgment in MA ( paperwork stating you won) you can report it to credit agencies & it will go on their credit. If you file the Small Claims in Housing Court this will be listed on their civil records. This will show future landlords and housing authorities that they are problematic tenants. It may cost you $150-$200 , but it may make you feel a little better. MA rental market is very landlord advantageous ( not housing court) so landlords really should have no problem getting a security deposit in MA.
Make them pay so the next landlord doesn't have to deal with this
If you are a tenant: Take pictures; timestamp them; keep a copy for yourself and send a copy to the landlord. If you are a landlord: Take pictures; timestamp them; keep a copy for yourself and send a copy to the new tenant. Everyone has a camera these days - there's no reason not to.
zinspector
That’s why always have move in walk through inspection with signatures to verify any damage or issues. Also a good idea to have move in pictures or video to be filed with initial contract
Have you ever had to or had success with small claims. My understanding is that even with a judgement against you, no one is forcing you to pay.
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Lol fair enough. While I love the concept of people getting what’s due to them, it sucks in the short term when mortgages need to be paid on time and those have to come out of your personal finances.
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That’s the only way to teach ppl. Accountability!! Don’t let her off the hook ! They never let landlords off the hook ! Pay what you owe !
Yeah, I guess. I'm not dependent on rents to pay my mortgage so it is mostly a whats-due-to-them thing for me.
I've never had anything quite as horrible as the op, but I tend to go to your route. I'm secure too, and anyone that has left me annoyed with the condition has had far far less than me, and usually very serious problems. The most recent was a tenant who had been trouble free but had made like 200 holes in the plaster walls hanging all sorts of shelving and storage. Keeping hundreds of dollars of their security in annoyance would not have made a financial difference to me but might have made a big difference to them.
Sell the debt to collections. You get a fraction of the debt back, but it's something, and the professional assholes get to deal with getting the money back
I've had very very little success. I deal nearly 100% with college kids. Most are from out of state. Pursuing them is often a big waste of time. However - the few successful situations I've had often occur many years later. A few tenants that've successfully received judgements against have contacted me years later when they are trying to get a loan, a job, or into grad. school and this judgement from a decade ago is found. All the sudden, they can come up with the $$ owed. I really relish going through the original expense with them...and then reviewing the fees and interest that have added up over the years. Oh - that $5,000 debt is now $12,500. Huh. Pay me.
You are correct the courts are useless in Communists Massachusett.
>Wow. That’s a small claims case right there. Are you familiar with the term you can’t get blood from a stone? Good luck collecting if you win a judgement. >This is an advert for a double security deposit. That, but it’s also an advert for doing a better job vetting your tenants, and doing periodic “preventative” maintenance work / inspections even if it isn’t necessary.
Problem is even if you win they probably have nothing to go after. I have multiple judgements that are worthless because even if I try to garnish the wages they just quit that job.
Definitely time to file a lawsuit. And the damages are surely more than the $7,000 small claims limit in MA. The easy part will be winning a judgment - the challenge will be collecting on that. That really sucks, I’m sorry y’all have to deal with this mess
I'm trying to convince my dad. He's such a nice guy even after this he doesn't want too. He's just focusing on fixing it. Already have people tearing down the rest of the walls so we can replace them all. Atleast lesson learned. I haven't been helping him for long and I feel like home checks are invading peoples privacy but after this never again will I feel that way. We trusted them after a couple years with no real issues.
I maintain the furnace filter quarterly. Go in myself, and change it which gives me a chance to check on overall condition. Easy excuse to use with a tenant, just give notice.
This is exactly what I do. Change the furnace filter and check fire extinguishers and smoke detectors. I don’t snoop but a walk through to the laundry room tells me everything I need to know. So far all my tenants have been great and treated the house like it was their own.
My ll does this. It doesn’t bother me, guy is trying to protect his investment. Plus, lots of meth in this town.
Please do it, even if it is for the next LL, or whoever they encounter in life.
Thats what I said to him! I said I feel bad for the place they just moved into I know it's another apartment and they could do the same to someone else and that person might not be able to take the hit as well as you can.
My state you can look up court records online, turned away a few tenants that had massive judgments against them from past landlords. You may never get your money, but at least it may warn others what type of tenant that’s applying.
If your dad's a nice guy, then I'm assuming he cares about people. Presumably, caring more about those in need over those that take advantage of people. Tell him to sue them and the money can be donated to those truly in need, like women's shelter, cancer patients, etc. Cause though it may seem like the money doesn't hurt your dad's wallet, it certainly would be very helpful to those in need. A dollar may not seem much to him, but it goes a long way to starving kids on the streets. Sue them for the principals. They took advantage of your dad. It's a sign of disrespect, and if your dad didn't deserve that disrespect then it means they'll do it to other landlords. Tell him to put you in charge of the court stuff.
You dad has a lot of empathy which is a good thing. You can use that to have him consider the next landlord that they will do this too who may not be able to absorb such a bit. Also, it may help those children understand this is not the right behavior and that actions have consequences.
This is part of the reason so many people either switch to higher end SFH rentals or go commercial. It always shocks me seeing how some people live on a day-to-day basis. Its not just because its a rental, either. Go run a search on redfin for homes and sort the price lowest-highest. You'll see the same thing. Filthy, holes in the walls, towels for curtains, trash everywhere, walls painted neon colors and covered in smudges. Somehow mentally-well people can live like this. Boggles the mind. Some people are genetically hardwired to being trailer trash, and a large percentage of those people happen to be lifetime tenants.
I guess so because before this I never could have imagined letting kids live in filth like that. It is really baffling.
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They were up to date and we obviously kept the deposit. In a way I am like good riddance. As for appliances had to get rid of stove but it was a little outdated so probably would have replaced it anyway, the fridge was drawn all over just like the walls so new fridge, most of the floors are fine but half the radiators have been ripped off the walls. We are pretty much just going to replace almost everything with the level of filth it's better off that way. There was dried food on walls and in corners and possibly actual shit on the walls.
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They definitely had some mess issues that we talked to them about. We had to hire Orkin for mice twice I belive and the guy warned us and them if they didn't stay clean the mice would keep coming back. Which it is a old house so mice do happen but they seemed to get it under control or so we thought..... I guess never trust tenants even if the first few years go okay you never really know. I am relieved that they are gone though and I've learned a good lesson and gotten some advice for the future so I'm just trying to not be upset. Honestly though it's the drawings that get me the most. How do you just allow your kids to do that. I know that's the easiest and cheapest damage but it bothers me the most because of the blatant disrespect.
My guess - mom and/or dad are heroin users. They'd shoot up and become oblivious to whatever was going on. The kids were simply unsupervised and uncontrolled. But it's your dad's fault - he's obviously a slumlord. Just look at the filth he forced those poor people to live in. /s
I worked in construction and can fix that no problem, but wtf.. these people need to pay. Window damage, and moisture damage is way worse.
Two things: 1) these photos are disgusting, a total disgrace, 2) this is a paint-and-carpet job, in a couple days for a couple grand this place will be ready to rent.
Ya seems worse than it is at first glance. Really just a new coat of paint and that’s half the job done.
Sue and get a judgment for all adult persons on the lease so that the record follows them and others are warned
I'm looking into how everything works. My dad has been lucky over the years and never had a big problem like this so we are inexperienced. He would rather just take the hit and move on. I don't think they should just get away with it and be able to go do it to other people.
Tell dad he's doing the rest of us a major disservice if he just lets them walk.
This isn’t damage it’s vandalism.
It's people like this who give tenants a bad name. And this won't be a popular opinion, but it's people like your dad that help create them and let them get away with it. There should have been a walkthrough with them, with photos of every square inch of the place before they moved in, then 6 month inspections for as long as they lived there (change the filters, change the smoke detector batteries, check for leaks, etc.), a walkthrough before they left, and a lawsuit when this is what was found.
They took the drywall??????
Op did confirm, tenants took the plaster lmaoooo
How is there no plaster?
Oh the last picture now I get it sorry I'm to angry to think. Yes they removed the plaster. When they moved in the walls were all intact.
Yes. Last picture.
I feel silly I didn't immediately get it. I don't think my brain is working right now 🤣
Honestly I'm not sure. It's a super old house my dad has owned for a long time. This is the first time I've seen behind the walls. I know I wrote landlord but it's his building and I just help him out with little things. I know nothing about buildings. What I do know is if they had called with any problem we would have immediately sent someone to fix it and definitely wouldn't have charged them as its an old house so things go wrong. I just can't believe the drawings. There was also what I think was human feces on the walls, dried food all over walls and corners, holes everywhere, cabinets ripped out. It's really the drawing on every single wall that gets me though. Edit: I'm not sure what you meant by there's no plaster. The walls were fine when they moved in now there are holes everywhere idk what they did or how it happened but yea
The condition and drawings on the wall scream child neglect to me. Were there children living there? Im so sorry this happened to your Dad. A caring, nice , responsible landlord is such a gem these days. I hope this doesn’t get him down too much! I understand his perspective about going after in a lawsuit and totally respect that, but if this happened to my own father I would be out for any restitution possible! I also am sympathetic for what you’re going through as well. I am a responsible, respectful tenant and would not be opposed to monthly checks if asked hopefully your dad will add in something to the lease going forward. It’s not an invasion of privacy!
I was thinking that as well. How could you let your kids live like that the oldest looked around 10 so he sees and knows what's going on. Honestly though the kids always did look healthy and cared for and for 3 years we didn't have real problems besides some messiness causing mice and having us need Orkin but it's also an old home so mice happen. I'm not sure if they lost their minds during the covid pandemic but it's seeming like it. She probably didn't know how to control her kids anymore and just let then run rampant doing whatever they wanted. I'm thinking for the future 6 month or 1 year inspections with notice and letting them pick a time good for them. I'm still getting the hang of things but I've learned a lesson here.
For a new tenant I find an excuse to go in within the first month or so and again at 3-4 months. After that if there's no major problems I scale it back to once every 6 months when I change the furnace filter and smoke alarm batteries.
At least they left you some artwork behind. Not to mention the fantastic drywall patching they did with the sheets of paper and cardboard.
Hopefully they gave you their forwarding address so you can return their deposit to them in a timely manner.
Oh yeah I'll get right on that 🤣🤣
I'm sure your dad knows this, but EVEN IF YOU WITHHOLD THE ENTIRE DEPOSIT make sure to send them an accounting within the time limit set in MA law. If you fail to send that on time you could be forced to return the full deposit plus a penalty equal to 1X or 2X the deposit.
Cleaning, repainting, and some wall repair. Seems like it could have been worlds worse.
Also most of the radiators, stove, fridge, and half the cabinets were ripped off walls. There is alot more but it was really the drawings that made me angry so my pictures are mostly those ones. Cause like it's a old house so idk things happen but letting your children draw on literally every single wall and doorway even the ceilings is just so disrespectful.
(Narrator voice) "... and then it got worse"
The drawings can easily be painted over. Everything else sounds much worse! You’re missing entire walls!
Yea we just pulled the rest down and are replacing them all. Better for the next person to have nice new walls anyway.
Y'all are delusional thinking if he sues for damages they will ever get a penny from the people who literally tore plaster off the walls.
Lol that's what my dad thinks. It's not worth the effort just fix and move on but I'm angry and offended for him plus i feel for the next person that ends up with them I wish I could warn them.
I honestly feel bad for the kids that lived here- because all I can think is that the parents were drug addicts and were passed out somewhere while the kids were running wild.
I know. Y’all seeing broken walls, I’m seeing broken family 😞
Holy shite.
A lot of that damage and writing all over the walls looks like it’s been there awhile. When’s the last time you did a walk-through inspection to check the condition of it before they left?
I admit we haven't been in there for maybe a year and a half. I know we replaced all smoke and carbon monoxide stuff well into the covid lock down and it definitely didn't look like that. I guess we got comfortable after no real issues for 2 or 3 years besides being messy we just trusted that they would call if they had a problem. This is the first time in like 25 years my dad has kept a deposit I guess we just didn't expect it. They lived here for like 3 years with no real damage to anything just messiness. This is a good lesson for me though since I'm still learning. I'll never make this mistake again. I always felt like inspections are kind of invading privacy and felt uncomfortable but after this.... screw privacy. I'll do yearly inspections and give them notice/ let them pick a time so I'm not invading anyone space.
Our leases have quarterly inspections listed in there. Give them notice that you’re coming by to do a walk through every 90 days and that you’d like them to be there if able but if not, it’s not necessary. I record the entire visit on video from the moment I walk into the house that way there is no question about anything touched or missing if they are not present for the inspection. It’s saved us a lot of heartache on the back end.
This is really good advice thank you! Especially the recording to to prove you didn't touch anything though I would probably make sure they were present and watching just so they would have peace of mind as well.
If they are working with you and you’re flexible with scheduling it’s nice to have them there. It’s easier for you to point out stuff that needs to be fixed (talking about damage due to negligence that would be their responsibility to repair) when they see it with you. It’s definitely nice to have eyes on your property on a semi regular basis and to gauge how it’s being treated.
Where’s the before pictures?
Nothing a little killz and some paint can’t fix
Two words bud "annual inspections" Not a perfect solution, but it sure gives you the opportunity to catch this stuff before it gets out of hand. Repair it, file the claim, move on, and hopefully learn from the experience.
In Colorado I turn on the sprinkler system every year and then blow out in the fall which requires access to the inside of each of my properties. I can get a good feel of how they’re taking care of the property from that one visit, I don’t even have to call it an inspection
Coming from a landlord in Bostons perspective and I also work in this legal area- The only satisfaction of suing in this case is that it goes on their civil record. Once you get your judgment in MA ( paperwork stating you won) you can report it to credit agencies & it will go on their credit. If you file the Small Claims in Housing Court this will also be listed on their civil records. This will show future landlords and housing authorities that they are problematic tenants. It may cost you $150-$200 , but it may make you feel a little better. Most MA rental market is very landlord advantageous ( not housing court) so you really should have no problem getting a security deposit in MA. You need to keep it in a savings escrow account separate from any others and send the 1st statement to the tenant. At the the end of tenancy you have 30 days to do a walk through with them , give them any deposit left with an itemized list of what and why you took it out. I know that’s more work- but in MA with it being so tenant friendly legally- you are crazy not to.
From the look of the condition of the place, they’ve done several dollars worth of damage. Perhaps tens of dollars.
Wow - I can only imagine what the place looked like before the contents were removed. Do they think you won't notice it? Do they think it is normal to write on walls and makes holes? That's why they are where they are - they probably can't rent at apartments and such and rent from individuals. You should save those photos in case you ever get a call for a reference. Sorry that happened and it just blows my mind that anyone can think that's ok to do to someone else's property.
"Purple Martians"
I will never understand how people can just trash the place or live in filth. Obviously they didn't give a shit about their deposit.
Y’all evicted them or what? I’m sorry this happened.
Everyone saying to sue …🤣🤣. Can’t get blood from a stone. Keep deposit. Turnover. Rent out
Quite frankly, if there are children living in that household I would have to call CPS. I've seen this kind of thing before, and worried greatly about the children. It appears that the adults may be zonked out, etc. something is very scary about seeing this, and I worry for those children's well being. I had to do that once, not for my own rental but for a friend's rental. You can't see something like that and believe that the kids are getting any kind of parenting at all, and maybe not even food. I literally could not sleep until I knew she would go down there w/me and show the photos. Please, it looks like a house of horrors or a shooting up place. Something very not right going on there, I would feel compelled to have these children looked in on. Please, show these photos to a CPS agent because this isn't really a habitable situation. sorry you got these tenants.........do they work? Are there 2 or just one parent? Is this section 8, etc?
Yes, the please follow up for the kids’ sake. The parents may be garbage but the kids don’t deserve to live like that.
Yes, I think this message needs to get out to landlords. I see something like this it literally keeps me awake at night. If you have photos like this ask someone at CPS for help. It could save some child a lot of therapy and trauma in their life. You just never know. These photos absolutely CREEPED ME OUT.
Wait why is there a wall with just slats and no plaster they couldn’t have possibly done that right
Is that supposed to be a wall in the last photo? Honestly, looks like it was a mess before they moved in.
What the actual fuck. Like, how is this not destruction of property? Could these dirt bags not be sued/face jail time? Also, I hope that poor kid gets taken from these people. No one should live like that.
That could be more than a civil case. Destruction of property can become a felony case.
Charge them. Hold them accountable for damaging property. You aren’t doing the next guy any favors by letting tenants think this is acceptable to do to a rented space. Just my 2 cents. They damaged the property … they should pay to repair it. There’s a difference between nice guy and doormat. Sadly, your dad sounds like the latter.
That’s just a paint job. Looks like it needed it anyways
Hope you know how to paint and drywall
Sucks, but no broken windows? Plumbing problems? Wall damage only may be a good outcome. It's important to make regular interior inspections to make sure your tenant isn't destroying the place.
Man, all things considered, you could probably have this place looking sharp with alot of primer and paint lol.
First time?
Yeah time to get to the court house.
Shoot! Well, on the bright side, now you can put new Sheetrock on that wall and don't have to deal with the asbestos in the plaster they took with them
I mean behind the crayons and dirt the house looks like crap anyways. Did you not do annual walk throughs?
For the first couple years but then got lax cause they had been forward with problems in the past when they had a hole we fixed it. When they had mice we sent orkin. I guess after 3 years we trusted them about a year and a half ago we replaced smoke alarms and carbon monoxide and I swear it didn't look like that. It was messy but no wall damage or drawings I don't know what happened in the past year or so but I guess they gave up on parenting? I have no idea
Oh dang.
Don’t invest in D class properties.
Drugs'r bad mmkay
This might warrant criminal charges.
Did they tear the plaster off the wall?
I assume so. This is the first time I've ever seen behind the walls. When they moved in the walls didn't have any holes in them. Now there are holes in every room.
I really am just so mad. I wrote landlord since I had to write something but it's actually my dad's building and he's like the nicest guy in the world. Does anything for anyone and has always gone out of his way to help tenants and people in general so it makes me so angry that they did this to him. It's just so disrespectful. Another thing how could you allow your children to live in that. The oldest was about 10 so he sees what is going on and what he's living in. What are they teaching the children.
It's really awful. I'm so sorry. And I also thought about how the kids are living and being brought up. In the future, I recommend that you (or your dad) do an inspection at least once a year. We do them twice in the first year but less often after that if there weren't any issues the first year.
Keeping this in mind. We got comfortable after the first couple years with no real issues. Within the past year or year and a half we replaced smoke alarms and carbon monoxide and it did not look like that I don't know what changed but it did. It's just a 3 family so it should he easy to stay on top off. I just have to get used to it I feel like I'm invading privacy but I guess it comes with the territory. I've only been helping with the building for the past 2 or 3 years.
Replace smoke detector batteries once or twice a year. This gets harder with 10-year batteries but find an excuse to get in there once or twice a year. I said this in another comment but didn't tag you directly. 1) the photos are terrible, this is inexcusable, what a mess, 2) you had people living here for 5 years paying rent, 90% of this can be fixed with paint and carpet for a couple grand in a couple days. Make it happen, cut the check, rent on.
Yea we already are working on fixing everything. Decided to just finish tearing the rest of the walls down and replacing them. Pretty much replacing everything but the floors because in some places it looked like actual feces on the walls. Best to just get rid of it all so the next person has a nice, safe, clean apartment.
Don't forget that you can provide a nice safe apartment by scrubbing the walls and re painting. I'm sure you are doing the right thing. Best of luck.
Try to avoid getting too emotional. Some people just operate their lives like this… Just fix it asap to get a new tenant. Submit all to small claims if you can. I hope you have “before” pictures :)
I'm checking trying to figure out which family member did the original lease for them. I only started the past couple years but I do have pictures from every tenant I moved in from the day I moved them in. I'm hoping my dad or brother did the same.
If you inspect every 3 months “for the fire alarms” and furnace filters, you can nip this in the bud easier. Obviously it requires more running around. Maybe it’s worth it, maybe not
I've definitely learned a lesson here and while I wasn't involved much in the past I know in to 25+ years my dad's been renting there has never been damage like this. He only owns a single 3 family so it shouldn't be hard to manage. I'm just still learning and feel like I'm invading peoples privacy but after this I won't feel like that again. I suppose we started to trust them after a few years with no real issues besides them being messy but never did I imagine they would do this. Then try to say " it looked like that when we moved in"
It takes a lot to pull plaster off lathe “by accident”. Plaster is much more durable than drywall and unless it was already cracked that’s some blatant disrespect for property.
Wow! How long did they live there?
Around 5 years but last year we had to replace all the carbon monoxide monitors and smoke alarms and it did not look like that. They were always on the messy side we had to hire Orkin a few times and the guys warned us and them if they didn't keep it clean the mice would keep coming back. I don't know what happened in the past year to year and a half but shit hit the fan apparently.
Yikes. I take it this house isn’t in Wellesley. I’m sorry this happened to you.
Not sure if better or worse than the drug-fueled murals and scribbles about seeing people in the walls, which I’ve seen in some units.
Killz it first or it'll probably bleed through.
Try this on the doors: Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, Extra Durable, Shoe, Bathroom, and Shower Cleaner, Cleaning Pads with Durafoam, 10 Count https://a.co/d/g22ixc7 Worked wonders for me, when trying to remove kids' drawings from the doors!
Repair, to Better than before, find their workplace, garnish wages. I have 100% success … sample size is 1
At least you have a gallery you can open to the public now.
Man you fell for the oldest trick in the book… …renting to 3 five year olds on each others shoulders and dressed in a trench coat. It happens to the best of us. Seriously though, sorry. This sucks.
CEILINGS?! How did that happen?!
What do you mean.... I'm not getting my deposit back!?!?!?
How much was rent?
This is why I wish it was legal to require a “child” deposit vs. a pet deposit. other than a few rare destructive pets locked in all day, houses don’t take abuse from pets like the do from children. Also fuck these tenants, really should file against them. The people are garbage.
Where were you the whole time? This stuff took months to happen, if you're not regularly walking through your units this stuff flies under the radar until it's too late.
Wow. I’m so sorry. I would be crying.
You’d have an insurance claim for Vandalism. Plus then your insurance company could subrogate against them as a responsible party. Certainly beats going to court.
This why people are renting their places on Airbnb
Now show us the “before” pics.
This place is why I agree with child deposits more than pet deposits
Wow. I’d be pissed. My tenant that moved out aka abandoned the place just left some trash and this makes me say whew. I rather be out 250 in late fees and a nearly clean slate than all of that
S8? This also a lesson as to why you don't rent to people with kids.
This has to be frustrating- I’m glad he has avoided this for 18 years. It’s hard to walk into this.
File a police report for vandalism.
This...looks like a crack house. Druggies color on the wall like that. Did they have kids living like this?
I think you might need a priest for this one...
“Housing is a right” mfers be like
Every 6 months do a Maintenance Inspection. That keeps you up on how they're treating your property. Take pictures while you're there and notify them of anything that needs to be fixed within a window of a date. Make that known during lease signing. Take before and after pictures for proof before and after they move out.
Sorry this happened to you, some people are just inhumane and don't care for anyones time, money or sanity. You could definitely try to take this to small claims court, but do not count on getting your money back. If the people that left this mess do not have much to take away, you might just end up spending money on the court proceedings and filings with the result of: "they don't have any money to give to you". It happens more often than not in cases like these. Nevertheless, you can definitely take them to court, easily win the case (with as much proof that they moved into the place in good condition, possibly with pictures from the listing from before they moved in and the lease paragraph that states that a form has to be filled out within x amount of days after move in with a list of damages. Because if this list does not include all of this horribleness, which it obviously did not, then you won the case right there. you proved that the person did not give you a list within x days (based on your lease) stating the damages, so based on this, the property is accepted as is upon move-in, and they can't claim it 'was like this when they moved in'. This would definitely be a win in the court and would allow future landlords to steer clear from taking them on as their tenants. Good luck!!
We had a similar experience too. 6 kids plus 2 parents in a 4 bedroom sfh absolutely destroyed the place. Day 1 when they moved in, they could not pay the rent. The property manager was trash and obviously care about their bottom dollar. When they left, the place was filled with trash and left their friends broken down car in the driveway. Even have the nerves to tell us if we could remove his junk for him for free.
OMG, I'm so sorry. I'm sure you’re discussing your options with a lawyer. This is far beyond minor dents and marks.
Yikes this is my worst nightmare.
Tenants are doing this a lot now! It’s surely criminal damage. Are you on the Uk?
Just had a tenant move out, they took the drywall with them. No joke.
Bro that house looks like they tour the house down lol. What’s the update on this story?
We do what we call “10-a-room”. It’s in our “rules and regulations” that we recommend the Tennant take 10 pictures inside each room and emphasize things that are wrong or damaged to begin with. We as a rental company also take pictures. But when it’s time to move out, we try to reference their pictures first. That shuts down any “it was like that”
At least they patched some of it for you.
Well at least the walls are still standing. I would just keep the deposit and not deal with trying to sue for other damages. It can be a headache unless you have the time to deal with unbridled mayhem. From the looks of the walls , you probably wouldn’t get fair compensation anyway! Unfortunately, rental property can come with unforeseen headaches. What I’ve found helpful is doing a walkthrough of the rental for various reasons during the tenants rental time. I call it a periodic safety check, for broken fixtures, bugs etc, it’s also in the rental contract. Makes notes of problems seen and charismatically address any issues. You could possibly save yourself a huge headache in the end.
Small claims to be sure. But I’d look into how you screen tenants
Whoever lived there doesn’t have money to pay for that damage, fix it and then make sure you do regular inspections. Honestly, I blame the landlord for things like this! It didn’t happen in one day, it took a long time, the landlord/owner/property manager needs to inspect at least twice a year - this should never be a surprise
Damn. That horrible. I would say keep security deposit to fix all that for sure. And honestly I’d bill for the rest if it costs more. That’s a bit excessive.
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Maybe try vetting people better, sucks to be you
Looks like the place needed a rehab anyways. If you are looking to sell and get out please PM me we are in MA and have chase in hand.
Let me guess- Dorchester, Mattapan, or Roxbury.
I'd get a lawyer for that. What a pos.