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Rental Apartment Still Getting Work

October 3rd, 2013 at 09:30 pm

Husband & I spent ANOTHER 2 hrs at the vacant rental property today. After a $350 Home Depot run to get supplies, We mudded walls and sanded. I deep cleaned the bathrooms and again went over the rooms I deep cleaned yesterday. Tomorrow we will paint two bedrooms and hang the window treatments. That should complete everything.

Except for all the stuff husband wants to replace.

Refinishing a cast iron claw foot tub is harder than I thought. The handyman coming over tomorrow is coming to remove it and send it out for re-finishing. Altogether it will be $300 to pick up and refinish the tub. They cant just fix it while it is in the apartment.

Which means that the other cast iron tub would need to be removed and put back if that was to get fixed. And it is attached to the wall, so I don't see it moving as easily as a claw foot tub. The ugly plastic insert is winning.

And the cast iron sink would need to be removed and put back as well. I might be able to talk husband into saving that. It would depend on removing it and how the plumbing looks regarding reattachment.

My question is regarding refunding the deposit of $1200. Some of the $350 we purchased today is not going to be taken out of the deposit. I wont charge them for paint, new security light (It's LED and husband HAD to get it) or light bulbs, or paint brushes. I WILL charge them for the mudd, plastic gloves, cleaning detergents, new toilet lid...

I dont charge for our time spent working/cleaning the apartment. I cant because I'm not a professional. I could charge them if I hired a cleaning service. But I've done that in the past and I'm never even halfway happy with the outcome. So even though I have to clean for free- the finished product looks so much better. Cleaning crews are only if I cant do it myself.

I will not charge them to refinish the claw foot tub. It's getting work from normal wear and tear. It just wont come clean anymore.

But what about the sink? It is stained purple and blue from the girls hair dye. We are replacing the sink (or refinishing it if I have my way) BECAUSE of the hair dye. I think that is a fair charge towards the deposit. The hair dye is also in the cast iron tub (not a lot), on the bathroom door (not a lot), and in the shower head (A LOT). All the dye is permanent, not even straight bleach got it out of anything. So I wont charge her to replace all those items, though we will be replacing the tub (if husband has his way). But that is more due to the general grossness of it not coming clean due to age, than purple stains in the corner.

No more calls to see the apartment yet. The pictures look great and I'm listing it several times a day. So if there is a group of 3-5 people out there looking for an apartment, they will be calling me.



Husbands mudd job:



5 Responses to “Rental Apartment Still Getting Work”

  1. PatientSaver Says:
    1380841072

    i would absolutely charge her for supplies needed to get rid of the dye stains. She should have cleaned it up right away, but instead they left it, so what would they expect? You're being more than reasonable

  2. TashaC. Says:
    1380841679

    The dye stains are permanent. no getting them out. I am charging her for the supplies bought to try and get them out. But I was uncertain about charging her to replace entire fixtures that the stains are on, and decided only to charge for the sink with large patches of hair dye. The other items are getting replaced due to age rather than small amounts of hair dye. Wish she had just gone to a salon.

  3. rob62521 Says:
    1380844130

    I would say you are being more than fair. Some folks just do not take care of things, theirs or anyone else's.

  4. LuckyRobin Says:
    1380857200

    Honestly I would charge them for replacing the stuff they got hair dye on it as well as the stuff to try to clean off the hair dye. It may be a tough lesson for them, but it is one they need to learn now if they are going to continue renting. You have to take care of other people's stuff. Did you take photos as evidence?

  5. Kiki Says:
    1380861153

    My previous leases always included a cleaning fee if I didn't follow their cleaning check list AND I would have been charged to exchange a damaged fixture. One landlord took pictures on the say I moved in and had me sign and date them to prove the "quality" I was moving into. They actually helped me when I moved out to get every penny of my deposit back.

    One room mate was charged for a 3" square of carpet that was damaged in her closet and had to be repaired. It was $80!

    So, yes you should be able to write a cleaning fee into the lease for future renters and yes she should pay for the damage. It was a good thing you had pictures of the fireplace. Might want pictures dated on the day before a mover moves in for the future.

    The place is gorgeous!

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