Karen G
Moderator
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2004
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- Location
- Henderson, NV
- Resorts Owned
- Once owned these: FirstFairway@Walden X 2; Lawai Beach; ManhattanClub; PuebloBonitoRose; 4 South Africa--now timeshare-free
A former tenant is suing us in small claims court for the return of his security deposit on our house which he rented for two years while his multi-million dollar house was being built in the same country club development where our house is located. This guy is an attorney, by the way, and he moved out of our house about two years ago.
Our house was pretty much trashed by this guy and his family and it cost us about $1200 over and above the security deposit to restore it. He didn’t even show up for the walk-through at the end of the lease nor did he return the house keys or garage door openers and the house was not even cleaned. He claimed that the reason he didn't have the carpets shampooed was that the power was off and he had it turned off, which was against the terms of the lease. We have pictures of all the damages and a detailed description of all the provisions of the lease he violated.
He demanded the return of the security deposit soon after he moved, and claimed the damages were normal wear-and-tear. Some examples of what he considers “normal wear-and-tear” are breaking the handle off the microwave, nailing several holes across the front of the stucco fireplace, knocking a big chunk off the stucco hearth, removing the dining room light fixture & leaving it on the garage floor with globes missing, breaking drawer fronts and cabinet doors, leaving big gouges in one of the walls, leaving stains all over the carpets, drilling a big hole down through a shelf in the great room (without permission), leaving large objects on the front lawn long enough to kill the grass, leaving trash for us to clean up, leaving the refrigerator in a disgusting condition with rotting food and chocolate syrup dripping down the inside, and leaving the oven extremely dirty & it’s a self-cleaning oven!
First he brought a small claims action against our property manager and did not name us in the case, but he filed it in the wrong jurisdiction. The property manager hired an attorney and we think that case was dismissed. The property manager now expects us to pay her attorney fees that amount to over $1200. When she first notified us of the lawsuit she said we’d probably be served and she’d let us know what was going on. Despite our request to be informed along the way, she never told us anything more or let us be involved in any way. She just called to say the matter was settled, the former tenant lost, and here’s the bill for representing us in the case. We’ve asked her for copies of all court documents, correspondence, etc., and she hasn't sent us anything other than her notes for the attorney.
Monday we were served with papers saying that the guy is now suing us—this time he got the jurisdiction right. We called the attorney our property manager used, thinking he must be spooled up on the details and it wouldn’t take much of his time to advise us what to do. His assistant says he can’t represent us as it would be a “conflict of interest.” That makes us question the property manager’s assertion that she and the attorney were representing us.
We’ll find an attorney and present our case in small claims court. But, I’m wondering if any Tugger has had any similar experiences and if anyone has any other advice for us.
Our house was pretty much trashed by this guy and his family and it cost us about $1200 over and above the security deposit to restore it. He didn’t even show up for the walk-through at the end of the lease nor did he return the house keys or garage door openers and the house was not even cleaned. He claimed that the reason he didn't have the carpets shampooed was that the power was off and he had it turned off, which was against the terms of the lease. We have pictures of all the damages and a detailed description of all the provisions of the lease he violated.
He demanded the return of the security deposit soon after he moved, and claimed the damages were normal wear-and-tear. Some examples of what he considers “normal wear-and-tear” are breaking the handle off the microwave, nailing several holes across the front of the stucco fireplace, knocking a big chunk off the stucco hearth, removing the dining room light fixture & leaving it on the garage floor with globes missing, breaking drawer fronts and cabinet doors, leaving big gouges in one of the walls, leaving stains all over the carpets, drilling a big hole down through a shelf in the great room (without permission), leaving large objects on the front lawn long enough to kill the grass, leaving trash for us to clean up, leaving the refrigerator in a disgusting condition with rotting food and chocolate syrup dripping down the inside, and leaving the oven extremely dirty & it’s a self-cleaning oven!
First he brought a small claims action against our property manager and did not name us in the case, but he filed it in the wrong jurisdiction. The property manager hired an attorney and we think that case was dismissed. The property manager now expects us to pay her attorney fees that amount to over $1200. When she first notified us of the lawsuit she said we’d probably be served and she’d let us know what was going on. Despite our request to be informed along the way, she never told us anything more or let us be involved in any way. She just called to say the matter was settled, the former tenant lost, and here’s the bill for representing us in the case. We’ve asked her for copies of all court documents, correspondence, etc., and she hasn't sent us anything other than her notes for the attorney.
Monday we were served with papers saying that the guy is now suing us—this time he got the jurisdiction right. We called the attorney our property manager used, thinking he must be spooled up on the details and it wouldn’t take much of his time to advise us what to do. His assistant says he can’t represent us as it would be a “conflict of interest.” That makes us question the property manager’s assertion that she and the attorney were representing us.
We’ll find an attorney and present our case in small claims court. But, I’m wondering if any Tugger has had any similar experiences and if anyone has any other advice for us.