slopetoad's Profile
Author's Posts
November 4, 2009
Sealing Brick Fireplace
I have two brick fireplaces, and would like to seal them to help protect the brick, but don't want a glossy finish... does anyone have any suggestions as to what i should use?
May 7, 2009
Renovating a wrought iron gate
I recently acquired a wrought iron gate, and it needs to be restored - (sanded down, rustoleumn applied, repainted etc) before I can put it up. Has anyone had a good experience hiring someone to do this kind of work. If so, all recommendations welcome. Thanks.
February 27, 2009
Tenants moving out early
My tenants just informed me that they are moving 4 months shy of the end of their rental agreement. The reason for the move is a new job outside of NYC. They say that they are moving "sometime in March" so have not even given the required 30 days notice. They also say that they cannot pay March's rent and told me to use their security deposit. This is not acceptable to us as the deposit is meant to cover any damage to the apt. and not rent. I find it infuriating that they think that they can set the terms on how we should deal with this, and strongly feel that they must be held accountable for their obligations. Frankly, they have been total jerks about this and other recent issues. We need advice on how best to proceed. What should we do if we cannot get new tenants before the end of the current rental agreement? We know that we can hold them legally liable for the rent that they owe, but don't know how to initiate a claim. Thanks for any and all advice.
February 25, 2009
Renovation Priority?
Spring is almost here and we are hoping to embark on some renovation work on our South Slope frame house. There are numerous projects that need to be done, but we only have the funds to take on one this spring so we are coming to you for some advice on which project to tackle first (i.e. which would be the best investment in today’s economy, or which makes the most sense to add equity to our home.)
The façade. The house originally had a façade typical of Victorian frame houses in the South Slope. Beautiful cornicing, a porch running along the full length of the parlor level, ornate wood working, etc. However, the current façade is a total eyesore. It was redone about 30 years ago with aluminum siding and a concrete porch. We plan to restore the façade to its original glory based on the tax photo from 1938. This would be our first choice, but we think that it may be out of reach given our budget. Any advice from anyone who redid their frame house façade on what kind of ballpark cost we might be talking about? We need to redo the siding, the front door, the front porch & stoop steps, we want to add a cornice, and probably replace the windows.
The cellar. We have a large partially finished cellar which would turn our owner’s duplex into a triplex with a recreation room in the cellar. There is already a half bath installed down there, but the previous owner did not finish the job and so it still needs a good amount of work. We know that we could not turn this into a legal rental so it will just be a family/recreation room, but we don’t yet have kids so not sure if we should tackle this now. We do get water in the cellar when it rains heavily so waterproofing the cellar would also have to be done.
Bathrooms. We have two full baths and one half bath. All were redone fairly recently and in working order, but the style of each is plain awful (and there is no heat in the master bath) so a facelift in each of them is a firm reality at some point.
Any and all suggestions would be appreciated.
February 15, 2009
Renovation inspiration sought
I recently bought a Victorian frame house. It's been treated badly on the inside and out over the years, and I'm about to start bringing it back to its former glory. I have lots of ideas, but am also looking for any recommendations regarding inspiring books, magazines etc that anyone feels are particularly good at pointing them in the right direction.
Author's Comments
I am also in the middle of trying to determine what a fair and reasonable deduction of my former tenant's security deposit should be. They left quite a bit of garbage(including a filthy mattress) in the apt. as well as various debris and personal belongings on the sidewalk in front of our house. Their intention was for passers by to take the stuff, but inevitably some of it sat for over a week and we then had to break it all down and put it into bags for the garbage pick up. Also, they left the fridge, kitchen cabinets and bathrooms in a terrible state. They looked as if they hadn't been cleaned for years. Is it fair to charge them for garbage disposal and cleaning? We were thinkging about $200. We spent about 3 days doing this work to prepare the apt. for new tenants. I realize that any landlord needs to do some cleaning and maintenance after tenants moved out, but feel that this was above what is usual. Lastly, these tenants broke their lease three months early and although we were able to find new tenants quite quickly we had to take a lower rent. Are we justified in deducting the difference in the monthly rent from our previous tenant's deposit for the 3 months that was remaining on their lease? This is our first time dealing with this so are unsure as to what is fair and legally justified.
Posted by: slopetoad at June 3, 2009 11:54 AM in response to Security Deductions
Thanks for the advice everyone. We knew that there would be lots of differing opinions and we are grateful for the advice. It helps us to think a bit more clearly. We inherited these tenants when we bought the house a couple of years ago. We increased the rent when we moved in, but did not ask for an increased security deposit. This was a mistake and we will certainly be asking for one month plus last month from now on. The security is enough to cover a month's rent, but we are still not comfortable with using it for the March rent. This is the main sticking point between us and them. We will certainly return their security deposit to them in full and with the interest that it has earned after they move out as long as there is no damage. We have agreed to release them from the lease as long as new tenants are found. It is a nice apartment so we hope that this will be easy to do. We are understanding of their reason to move. We don't want to force them to stay or to make their lives miserable, but we take their and our obligations to each other very seriously. Hopefully, with the good advice offered here we will be able to come to an amicable resolution.
Posted by: slopetoad at March 1, 2009 11:18 PM in response to Tenants moving out early
Responses to Author's Forum Comments
Wonderful! Hope it works out and all goes smoothly.
Posted by: mopar at March 2, 2009 3:01 PM in response to Tenants moving out early
Sloaptoad,
I know I'm coming to this late, but I think the 30 days business is a red herring. You have 30 days. They're saying they'll be gone by the end of March. If they leave earlier you aren't going to pro-rate their rent, are you? No. So you have 30 days and honestly, you have a better deal than 30 days if they're gone before the month is out, because you have time to clean the place up and show it.
The question is whether the deposit should be used as the last month's rent or not.
Yesterday we got the pleasure of overhearing our landlord bickering with a departing tenant about the return of his deposit. Landlord wanted proof that all the utility bills were paid up, which is absurd. Later in the day I could hear him mumbling about the condition the apartment had been left in--condition that is pretty hard to gauge since he went in with his paint cans on Wednesday even though the tenants had every right to stay there through Saturday. So he was really griping about the state of things halfway through their move, which is lame.
My note to self in listening to them? Insist that he use our deposit to cover the last month's rent. Because people find all kinds of ways to drag their feet.
Meanwhile, while first, last and deposit sounds nice, if you're using an agent keep in mind that that means someone has to come up with a *lot* of cash to move in.
Posted by: serpentor at March 2, 2009 3:33 PM in response to Tenants moving out early
CookieCutterBrownstone -
A security deposit only has to be held in an interest bearing account if it is for a rent regulated apartment or part of a building with 6 or more units. Otherwise, it is up to the landlord what he/she wants to do with it. The only stipulation is that it can not be combined with any of the owner's own funds. So unless your apartments fit the above criteria then you probably did not miss out on any interest.
Posted by: WrathOfGates at March 2, 2009 10:37 PM in response to Tenants moving out early
Thanks everyone! It's a 6 unit building and no one else has reported any issues with any critters at all.
Posted by: cameljoe at June 3, 2009 12:22 PM in response to Security Deductions
Cameljoe & Slopetoad,
Seems to me that the way to go about it is to document the problems promptly and send the tenants a letter explaining that you'll be withholding their deposit until you can assess the cost of the damage they caused.
Yes: if the apartment isn't broom swept (which means trash out, shelves and fridge empty) you can charge them for cleaning. However, you should make sure you're checking in with your own reality. My downstairs neighbors moved out recently and the LL was standing around telling their friends (who were helping pack the van) to "take everything! take everything!). This was on the 30th. Not the 1st. And he started cleaning before they were gone. And then he argued about the deposit. Which was not realistic of him.
Also: Slopetoad, it depends on the circumstances of their move and whether you gave them permission to break the lease. Verbal permission won't hold up in court (or maybe it will. I'm no lawyer) but you would be a jerk to say "yes break your lease" and then turn around and try to charge them for the difference in rent just because you were wrong about how hard it would be to find a tenant. If however they just announced they were moving and left, that is a different story.
Posted by: serpentor at June 3, 2009 12:48 PM in response to Security Deductions
IMO if a tenant leaves an apartment in anything less than a pristine state, they've written off their security deposit and don't care. I've always left rental apartments as clean as (or cleaner than) when I moved in. It is as well to document everything. If they lived there two years or longer, I suspect Housing Court would say that painting is normal maintenance, that said, my leases always said the walls had to be the same color as when I moved in.
I'd keep their security deposit until you receive a letter asking for it back, then deduct as much as you can reasonably justify, including labor to clean the place.
Posted by: bohuma at June 3, 2009 12:52 PM in response to Security Deductions
Slopetoad, the law says you may deduct the cost of cleaning and debris removal -- if you actually hire someone and have receipts, not if you do the work yourself. I don't know about the rent question.
Posted by: mopar at June 3, 2009 1:28 PM in response to Security Deductions
Bohuma,
You say, "IMO if a tenant leaves an apartment in anything less than a pristine state, they've written off their security deposit and don't care. I've always left rental apartments as clean as (or cleaner than) when I moved in."
But, according to NYC Tenant Rights, "A landlord may use the
security deposit...only as reimbursement for the reasonable
cost of repairs beyond normal wear and tear, if the tenant
damages the apartment."
The key words here are "beyond normal wear and tear."
Sorry, Bohuma, but "pristine" condition doesn't allow for normal wear and tear. It is rather unreasonable for you to withhold payment of the security deposit if the apartment is in reasonably good condition.
That said, the original poster is well within his/her rights to withold in this circumstance. The condition described is in no way reasonable.
Posted by: 60designers at June 3, 2009 1:42 PM in response to Security Deductions
Wow... you all are so nice! The law totally protects the landlord!
I had a landlord who kept my entire deposit even though I had completely cleaned the apartment and didn't leave a thing. I ended up brining him to small claims court where he told a completely fabricated story about the apartment having, "holes in the walls and trash all over the place". Anyway, the judge split the difference. Then the landlord didn't pay and I had to have the sheriff collect my $600. It was crazy.
As a landlord, I wouldn't worry too much.
Leah
Posted by: lmk2101 at June 3, 2009 5:33 PM in response to Security Deductions
Vinca, there are many creative ways for someone to openly and notoriously harbor a cat in their apartment for 3 months. A LL would be crazy to try to remove the pet if the tenant had any street smarts regarding this issue. See Tenant.net below for suggestions for proving 90 "harboring" of a cat.
http://tenant.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=25480
Posted by: mod squad at June 4, 2009 8:21 AM in response to Security Deductions
Yes, many of the bricks are turning to dust. We just had the fireplaces repointed as the mortar was also crumbling so now just need to seals the bricks to keep them intact as well. Thanks for the tip Arkady!
Posted by: slopetoad at November 5, 2009 2:53 PM in response to Sealing Brick Fireplace