Moving out day: A surprising thing happened.

IraHayes · Post by **IraHayes** » Sat Dec 16, 2023 12:26 pm

Well as I sit here everything bar the proverbial kitchen sink is packed and everything is stacked ready for the moving company, who will be here in an hour.

I have just said goodbye to my old landlady and met the new tenant who will be moving in a few days after I vacate.

So, here's what was surprising.
We agreed, via telegram, that I would pay my water and electric on the day of moving out and my deposit would cover my last months rent, All typical and normal so far.
So I have the final meter readings, that I took while she was here, and I was about to ABA transfer the final utilities bill to her and her daughter (the translator) said to wait.
Anyway she took the utilities from my deposit and sent me the remainder.
She basically gave me 2 weeks stay for free and refunded my deposit minus the utilities.

We joked that if my new place doesn't work out (unlikely but you never know) then I would be coming back and moving into the vacant upstairs apartment lol.

yongchi · Post by **yongchi** » Sat Dec 16, 2023 1:46 pm

IraHayes wrote: ↑Sat Dec 16, 2023 12:26 pm Well as I sit here everything bar the proverbial kitchen sink is packed and everything is stacked ready for the moving company, who will be here in an hour.

I have just said goodbye to my old landlady and met the new tenant who will be moving in a few days after I vacate.

So, here's what was surprising.
We agreed, via telegram, that I would pay my water and electric on the day of moving out and my deposit would cover my last months rent, All typical and normal so far.
So I have the final meter readings, that I took while she was here, and I was about to ABA transfer the final utilities bill to her and her daughter (the translator) said to wait.
Anyway she took the utilities from my deposit and sent me the remainder.
She basically gave me 2 weeks stay for free and refunded my deposit minus the utilities.

We joked that if my new place doesn't work out (unlikely but you never know) then I would be coming back and moving into the vacant upstairs apartment lol.

Sounds like a very good landlady. Always good to keep a long-term view when it comes to business relationships (and others), IMO.
I have never understood why some landlords/landladies (keep deposit just because they can) and some tenants (leave the place looking like a dump just because they can) don't mind destroying it without thinking twice.

Fridaywithmateo · Post by **Fridaywithmateo** » Sat Dec 16, 2023 2:07 pm

Funny landlord experience recently. I guess some owners put pressure on their staff to make money through extra charges. When I first moved into my former apartment every little stain on the linen would set off the alarm and the super would come down and tell me the stains cannot be removed and the sheets would need to be replaced for a charge. Well, it got so bad I said just stop doing my bedding and I'll wash them myself ... solved by using this miracle product called bleach.

Their next trick was holy bedding.

I have no friggin' idea how high quality bedding gets holes, tears and rips all of a sudden, but they did and I got a bill for a few hundred bucks for the bedding damage allegedly caused by me. My wife went out and found exact replacements for under $50. And she was like a general talking to them, because she knew the score. I had to calm her down and we all sat down and worked it all out in the end.

And yes, I think it is very good to keep everything on a positive vibe when leaving one place and getting into another ... I've done it many times ... most recent is like number 77. Never lost a deposit because I always give it a Marine Corps-style field day prior to turning in my key. White glove type stuff.

Post by **Freightdog** » Sat Dec 16, 2023 3:54 pm

Sadly, all but one of my moves have happened when the landlord started taking liberties.

Most recent, over the electricity charge. In my absence, she started ramping up the cost, claiming that EDC had increased the charges, and that we were using more. Same with the water. The reality being very much the opposite, as demonstrated by my spreadsheet. When I was in town, she made herself scarce to ensure the ‘difference of opinion’ never got resolved, and then resorted to putting pressure on the other half when I was away.

Their loss. In two years, several of their other tenants have caused quite a lot of problems which, had they gone unchecked, would have cost them dearly. One particular arsehole kept leaving the water running, all night, all day, flooding their bathroom, which cascaded down into our kitchen, then further down into the landlord’s kitchen. These things being caught by me.
Now, they’ll have no one taking care.
As a consequence, I always consider the deposit to be the last months’ rent. I don’t expect it to be refunded, and won’t tolerate the bullying that some seem to employ.

RedBull · Post by **RedBull** » Sat Dec 16, 2023 6:12 pm

After a year or 2 I decided to move as well. Never had any problems with the landlord, friendly guy. Anyway, I would move out 2 weeks after the start of a new electric bill, so I agreed upon deducting half of my average monthly bill from my deposit. Fair enough.

2 weeks later he suddenly contacted me and sent me an electric bill that was more than what I would normally spend in a whole month. I explained it was a bit weird, but whatever, I sent him the outstanding money since I wasn't in the mood for an argument.

A few days later I receive the electric bill from my new landlord so I had to go to the ABA app, change my id# etc. To my surprise the old landlord hadn't paid the bill yet, so I could still see the actual bill from that previous lqndlord.

Turned out to be less than what he deducted from the deposit, and on top of that he made me pay more than double of that amount.

He sent me the invoice before I paid it, his name was on it, so it must have been correct, right?
So I had a closer look at the previous invoices and suddenly the id# was different.

I contacted him and he apologized for mixing up my bill with one of his other properties.
For the first time, in 2 years, after sending it for more than 24 times he made a mistake.

Apparently that can happen to the best, and most friendly landlords in the world, especially when you just move out...

TL:DR
Never be surprised by getting screwed over.