Hydra
05-27-2006, 06:11 PM
I've already spoken with everyone who is involved in law and they say I'm in the clear but I think I wanna get some additional feedback to at least know the entire angles. Any street smart or law based feedback would be much appreciated.
I moved out to cali and have lived with what has got to be one of the worst roommates in existence (no I did not know her, she emailed me in reply to an ad on craigslist I posted). First of all I didn't sign the lease, I didn't even get the chance for two months because apparently my roommate hid the fact that she had another roommate before me who up and left the lease and thrashed shit. In what was my bedroom the phone jack was torn out and there were burns on the carpet. I didn't do any of this shit and had to force an explanation from my roommate and then learn the rest of the details from the landlady later on. Since the person up and left the place there apparently were complications about what to do and thus I couldn't sign lease until it was solved. Until then I was a visitor but the landlady decided to wave the visitor fees cuz she was sympathetic that I got pulled into a sticky situation, lied to, and I came all the way from one side of the country to another. I was allowed to stay and I payed half rent. This was for three months.
What happened during the time was learning how unreliable, irresponsible, and dishonest my roommate was. The only plus side to this was the fact that she was NEVER home, not even to sleep so I basically had a place to myself. However, a lot of shit she did became my problems.
First off, she and I made a verbal agreement that she would handle march's rent by herself because I was outta money due to travel expenses. She said she got it covered. Going into the middle of the month she leaves me a note saying that her paychecks came up short and needed at least, and i repeat this is exactly what she said, AT LEAST THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS from me. I couldn't afford to give her that money at the time cuz again I was starting out and I waited real long for my first paycheck at the time so obviously I said no. Luckily her mother helped out and payed it off, but that was the first time I stared down the possibility of being homeless.
Second of all, she had a mangy stupid cat. Now I love cats and all but seriously, this thing was a goddamn pest. Reminding you all that my roommate was never around guess how the house smelled cuz no one was there to change the thing? I agreed to feed it but changing the litterbox and all that? I agreed to help pay rent and bills, not become a cat sitter. Thing was my roommate never told the landlady that she had a cat so therefore no pet deposit was made for it. The damn thing would always find a way outside and of course eventually my landlady found out. Shortly she found out that the locks were changed to our apartment. Apparently the past roommate had clepto issues and stole stuff from my roommate's sister. Yes I know, why didn't she just ask the landlady to have the locks changed? To this day I still don't know. The fact that the locks were changed this interfered with inspections so that didn't sit well with the landlady. And then there's the fact that the old roommate abandoned and broke shit.
So with these three factors involved these were all enough for grounds for evicting everyone. Reminding you again, I was still not on the lease at the time so though none of it was my fault I was connected to a roommate who was the only person who had her names on anything. I became the landlady's gofer, I had to seek out my roommate who was never around and the only place I could find her was at work. We both worked at the same place at the time. My roommate knew of all this going on and apparently revealed that when it comes to problems, even ones that affect others, she'll run away. Finally the landlady gave us both written notices that if these things weren't fixed we would be kicked out in a week. So I had to rush into work, force my roommate to leave early, and take care of the shit. It took all of only ten minutes to get rid of the cat, change the locks back, and give an understandable explanation as to why she couldn't contact the roommate who ran off (she apparently doesn't live in california anymore, she got knocked up by someone who wasn't her bf, got kicked out by her bf, and then moved to virginia with her mother...drama). But since at least 2/3 of the problem was solved the landlady was cool and left us alone. My roommate didn't even apologize for any of this shit. She just wrote it off as the landlady being a retard and saying it wasn't her fault. Geez, thx a lot...
Later on I learned that the cat we got rid of had fleas. I got bitten by those lil fuckers and I had to tell the landlady. At this point we both pretty much came to the conclusion that my roommate wasn't going to take measures about it after the whole fiasco above so she went ahead and got terminex to spray the place for me while I was out of town. My roommate's response after being told about this: "Oh I didn't know fleas could be that serious..." Fucking brilliant.
I also had to pay the full amount of the utilities at the time. The bills said that my roommate didn't pay the installation fee and there was a period in January that wasn't paid. I came to cali in February, obviously it's not my problem. So I would pay the utilities in full so that she can have a leeway to pay off shit that's her's. These bills btw were not in my name and nor did I share a name on them, they were all under my roommate's name and I paid voluntarily. The utilities weren't that high so it wasn't a big deal, since my roommate is never there and I'm a conservative freak. Since again, she's never there, I would be the one to check the mail and then when bills come I open them and show them to her. The last time it happened all of a sudden she threw a fit saying that I shouldn't open them....strange how the last time she didn't seem to care. So afterwards I wrote a note to her saying that in the end it's all in her name so it's her job to get the bills cuz from then on I'm not touching jack.
So we come to the present. My landlady tells me early this month that it's ok to sign the lease. I'm like cool. So I go to meet her and then she tells me that she had something to tell me before continuing, my roommate decided to break the original lease and move out. So there I was, left hanging not even having a backup plan cuz I figured we only had til the end of summer and during the time I was gradually doing my best to find a backup anyhow. Our stuff had to be out by the end of the month. Took me weeks but finally I found a new place and set shit up with them. It's going to be a single, all mine, no more roommate drama. It's going to be fucking expensive but I've been meaning to find a second job anyhow cuz I'm getting rather sick of the one I have. I got my shit out of there last week and now Im just couch crashing with friends until move in day which is the coming friday.
Things seem to be good right? Last night I get a call from the roommate (or should I say EX-roommate at this point) accusing me of some burns on the carpet in the room I had. She said that I should pay for it and if not then we both can get sued by the landlady. So there I was for the next ten minutes worrying sick...then I decided to ask around my friends. They told me that it was odd that I could get sued since I wasn't on the lease...it's all in her name so if anyone is going to get sued (which after a while I thought didn't make any sense cuz that's what security deposits are for and that's her security deposit, not mine) it would be her. In the end they asked me:
Friends: "Who called you to tell you this shit?"
Me: "The roommate."
Friends: "Landlady didn't call you about any of this?"
Me: "Nope."
Friends: "Then your roomie's trying to dick you over for money, fuck her then. Until your landlady actually calls you about it then don't sweat it."
After multiple discussions and consulting friends who were in school for law I thought about it some more....yeah it didn't make any sense and does seem that the ex-roommate is trying to dick me over for money. The fact that she's dishonest and unreliable doesn't seem to even support what she was trying to tell me. And yeah, I didn't hear from the landlady at all.
So today I continued playing the waiting game in calling the ex-roommate's bluff. The landlady did call and leave messages but it was emphasis on getting the keys back. She briefly said something about the carpet issue, all she said was: "I believe you and her talked about it." But that was it, her tone of voice towards that was similar to that of someone talking about seeing a bird fly by. She was more concerned about the keys which I will return to her...just not in person cuz at this point in time I really don't know what to expect. Fuck that. I updated my friends on the situation and they told me again that it's no big deal, landlady said nothing about possibly suing me, no one knows my new address and I dont believe I have to give that out, plus I can give her back the keys by mail without a return address. The way I figure it seeing how those two handled the past roommate who did more serious shit than I did and finally letting it go I don't see why they would try to put me under fire.
So that's it, sorry that took long and what not. If you stopped reading and gave this thread the finger then that's understandable. For those who actually read it and wanna give feedback then go ahead.
I moved out to cali and have lived with what has got to be one of the worst roommates in existence (no I did not know her, she emailed me in reply to an ad on craigslist I posted). First of all I didn't sign the lease, I didn't even get the chance for two months because apparently my roommate hid the fact that she had another roommate before me who up and left the lease and thrashed shit. In what was my bedroom the phone jack was torn out and there were burns on the carpet. I didn't do any of this shit and had to force an explanation from my roommate and then learn the rest of the details from the landlady later on. Since the person up and left the place there apparently were complications about what to do and thus I couldn't sign lease until it was solved. Until then I was a visitor but the landlady decided to wave the visitor fees cuz she was sympathetic that I got pulled into a sticky situation, lied to, and I came all the way from one side of the country to another. I was allowed to stay and I payed half rent. This was for three months.
What happened during the time was learning how unreliable, irresponsible, and dishonest my roommate was. The only plus side to this was the fact that she was NEVER home, not even to sleep so I basically had a place to myself. However, a lot of shit she did became my problems.
First off, she and I made a verbal agreement that she would handle march's rent by herself because I was outta money due to travel expenses. She said she got it covered. Going into the middle of the month she leaves me a note saying that her paychecks came up short and needed at least, and i repeat this is exactly what she said, AT LEAST THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS from me. I couldn't afford to give her that money at the time cuz again I was starting out and I waited real long for my first paycheck at the time so obviously I said no. Luckily her mother helped out and payed it off, but that was the first time I stared down the possibility of being homeless.
Second of all, she had a mangy stupid cat. Now I love cats and all but seriously, this thing was a goddamn pest. Reminding you all that my roommate was never around guess how the house smelled cuz no one was there to change the thing? I agreed to feed it but changing the litterbox and all that? I agreed to help pay rent and bills, not become a cat sitter. Thing was my roommate never told the landlady that she had a cat so therefore no pet deposit was made for it. The damn thing would always find a way outside and of course eventually my landlady found out. Shortly she found out that the locks were changed to our apartment. Apparently the past roommate had clepto issues and stole stuff from my roommate's sister. Yes I know, why didn't she just ask the landlady to have the locks changed? To this day I still don't know. The fact that the locks were changed this interfered with inspections so that didn't sit well with the landlady. And then there's the fact that the old roommate abandoned and broke shit.
So with these three factors involved these were all enough for grounds for evicting everyone. Reminding you again, I was still not on the lease at the time so though none of it was my fault I was connected to a roommate who was the only person who had her names on anything. I became the landlady's gofer, I had to seek out my roommate who was never around and the only place I could find her was at work. We both worked at the same place at the time. My roommate knew of all this going on and apparently revealed that when it comes to problems, even ones that affect others, she'll run away. Finally the landlady gave us both written notices that if these things weren't fixed we would be kicked out in a week. So I had to rush into work, force my roommate to leave early, and take care of the shit. It took all of only ten minutes to get rid of the cat, change the locks back, and give an understandable explanation as to why she couldn't contact the roommate who ran off (she apparently doesn't live in california anymore, she got knocked up by someone who wasn't her bf, got kicked out by her bf, and then moved to virginia with her mother...drama). But since at least 2/3 of the problem was solved the landlady was cool and left us alone. My roommate didn't even apologize for any of this shit. She just wrote it off as the landlady being a retard and saying it wasn't her fault. Geez, thx a lot...
Later on I learned that the cat we got rid of had fleas. I got bitten by those lil fuckers and I had to tell the landlady. At this point we both pretty much came to the conclusion that my roommate wasn't going to take measures about it after the whole fiasco above so she went ahead and got terminex to spray the place for me while I was out of town. My roommate's response after being told about this: "Oh I didn't know fleas could be that serious..." Fucking brilliant.
I also had to pay the full amount of the utilities at the time. The bills said that my roommate didn't pay the installation fee and there was a period in January that wasn't paid. I came to cali in February, obviously it's not my problem. So I would pay the utilities in full so that she can have a leeway to pay off shit that's her's. These bills btw were not in my name and nor did I share a name on them, they were all under my roommate's name and I paid voluntarily. The utilities weren't that high so it wasn't a big deal, since my roommate is never there and I'm a conservative freak. Since again, she's never there, I would be the one to check the mail and then when bills come I open them and show them to her. The last time it happened all of a sudden she threw a fit saying that I shouldn't open them....strange how the last time she didn't seem to care. So afterwards I wrote a note to her saying that in the end it's all in her name so it's her job to get the bills cuz from then on I'm not touching jack.
So we come to the present. My landlady tells me early this month that it's ok to sign the lease. I'm like cool. So I go to meet her and then she tells me that she had something to tell me before continuing, my roommate decided to break the original lease and move out. So there I was, left hanging not even having a backup plan cuz I figured we only had til the end of summer and during the time I was gradually doing my best to find a backup anyhow. Our stuff had to be out by the end of the month. Took me weeks but finally I found a new place and set shit up with them. It's going to be a single, all mine, no more roommate drama. It's going to be fucking expensive but I've been meaning to find a second job anyhow cuz I'm getting rather sick of the one I have. I got my shit out of there last week and now Im just couch crashing with friends until move in day which is the coming friday.
Things seem to be good right? Last night I get a call from the roommate (or should I say EX-roommate at this point) accusing me of some burns on the carpet in the room I had. She said that I should pay for it and if not then we both can get sued by the landlady. So there I was for the next ten minutes worrying sick...then I decided to ask around my friends. They told me that it was odd that I could get sued since I wasn't on the lease...it's all in her name so if anyone is going to get sued (which after a while I thought didn't make any sense cuz that's what security deposits are for and that's her security deposit, not mine) it would be her. In the end they asked me:
Friends: "Who called you to tell you this shit?"
Me: "The roommate."
Friends: "Landlady didn't call you about any of this?"
Me: "Nope."
Friends: "Then your roomie's trying to dick you over for money, fuck her then. Until your landlady actually calls you about it then don't sweat it."
After multiple discussions and consulting friends who were in school for law I thought about it some more....yeah it didn't make any sense and does seem that the ex-roommate is trying to dick me over for money. The fact that she's dishonest and unreliable doesn't seem to even support what she was trying to tell me. And yeah, I didn't hear from the landlady at all.
So today I continued playing the waiting game in calling the ex-roommate's bluff. The landlady did call and leave messages but it was emphasis on getting the keys back. She briefly said something about the carpet issue, all she said was: "I believe you and her talked about it." But that was it, her tone of voice towards that was similar to that of someone talking about seeing a bird fly by. She was more concerned about the keys which I will return to her...just not in person cuz at this point in time I really don't know what to expect. Fuck that. I updated my friends on the situation and they told me again that it's no big deal, landlady said nothing about possibly suing me, no one knows my new address and I dont believe I have to give that out, plus I can give her back the keys by mail without a return address. The way I figure it seeing how those two handled the past roommate who did more serious shit than I did and finally letting it go I don't see why they would try to put me under fire.
So that's it, sorry that took long and what not. If you stopped reading and gave this thread the finger then that's understandable. For those who actually read it and wanna give feedback then go ahead.