It's Personal...

Calibron · Post by **Calibron** » Thu Nov 25, 2010 6:43 am

Nice, Congrats, FBMF. I'll throw my voice in as well and add to the question "What are you going to study?".

Post by **fbmf** » Thu Nov 25, 2010 4:12 pm

Educational Leadership at UT Arlington. I want to be an administrator at the campus level.

Game On,
fbmf

Draco_Argentum · Post by **Draco_Argentum** » Sat Nov 27, 2010 5:47 am

Congratlations on the study news guys.

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Sat Nov 27, 2010 6:08 am

Those are far more noble goals than mine: fixing the VCR to watch some of the cool old movies I used to watch with my siblings.

Today I pulled out a fridge magnet, q-tip, cinnamon stick, and fruit gummy thing from my VCR.

But at least it works now.

JonSetanta · Post by **JonSetanta** » Sat Nov 27, 2010 7:11 am

I went broke. Again. Yay! Negative 2 dollars.

Prak · Post by **Prak** » Sun Nov 28, 2010 7:28 am

New blog post inspired by shower musings.
Why I'm Evil

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Mon Nov 29, 2010 11:55 pm

I am so pissed off, frustrated, and stuck... Ess is a freelancer, and as such gets paid sporadically. We have always managed to pay by the end of the month, through payment arrangements made with the apartment managers.

This month, for whatever reason, the payment arrangement was revoked because one manager didn't like what the other had set up with us. So she wouldn't take our money, handed us an eviction notice to pay within three days, and then locked the office for five because of Thanksgiving.

We haven't been able to get ahead on the rent, which will land us in hot water again next month, and Ess doesn't quite have all the money to pay for this one (they won't take less than the full amount - $760, and since the eviction notice was served, there are more fees that we didn't budget for).

I'm in that weird place where it doesn't seem real - I want to be mad, but I'm so stressed that I'm barely coherent.

We've lived here for nine years with no problems, and now - during the holidays - this is what happens? I'm in shock.

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Tue Nov 30, 2010 12:16 am

Maybe things are different in your state, but I'm pretty sure there's a several month difference between getting an eviction notice and actually being evicted, especially if there are kids involved.

That doesn't mean they couldn't eventually kick you out, but even if they decide to get all stupid about this, I think you guys at least have time to get your ducks in a row.

Good luck!

Count Arioch the 28th · Tue Nov 30, 2010 12:33 am

Robby: A Washington Eviction notice would be called a pay-or-quit elsewhere.

Alright, my advice to Maj: This is only the first step. I won't recomend any course of action because I'm not a lawyer. That being said:

They can't make you leave until a judge tells you to get out. If you have a written contract between the property owner/manager then there isn't anything the other manager can really do. Wait for the summons and go to trial with all your paperwork describing your pay schedule and bring proof that you are up to date on said schedule.

If you have no written proof, they still need to take you to court to force you to leave. You have three days from the time the sheriff orders you out.

If not, that might be rough. I have found it useful to assume your landlord would love nothing more than to steal your kidneys for some sweet, sweet cocaine. That way the dishonest and shady activities every one does seems less jarring. (You have to keep in mind that a landlord is someone who expects to get money without working for it. )

Zinegata · Post by **Zinegata** » Tue Nov 30, 2010 1:41 am

Do you have a written agreement on the previous payment agreement Maj?

Suddenly changing payment terms isn't exactly allowed just because they changed managers.

Moreover, I would quite frankly say that handing you an eviction notice that you will be unable to pay because they closed the office is grounds for suing. Take photos to show that the office was indeed closed for the period you were supposed to pay.

JonSetanta · Post by **JonSetanta** » Tue Nov 30, 2010 1:43 am

Maj wrote: We've lived here for nine years with no problems, and now - during the holidays - this is what happens? I'm in shock.

Time for legal representation. This situation seems unreal. I've never heard of such short notice.

Zinegata · Post by **Zinegata** » Tue Nov 30, 2010 2:04 am

Some more help Maj:

http://apartments.about.com/od/landlord ... iction.htm

"Self-Help" Eviction is illegal in Washington State. Actions which attempt to get rid of a tenant without going to the authorities is against the law. Serving a three-day payment notice when the landlords goes on a five day vacation certainly qualifies.

Next, she served you a three-day notice, which I think is this:

http://washingtonlandlordtenant.info/th ... vacate.pdf

One of the rules of a three-day notice is that you may only ask to pay the RENT. You may not ask to pay the other fees too. Asking for other fees in a 3-day notice is also against the law (you need to give tenants a 10-day notice if you want them to pay all fees).

Other stuff you could use for your defense are here:

http://washingtonlandlordtenant.info/la ... -defenses/

If they didn't serve both you and Ess a copy of the eviction form, it's invalid too.

(Don't go to the lawyer in that site though, as he represents landlords).

Good luck.

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Tue Nov 30, 2010 10:46 am

Zinegata wrote:Do you have a written agreement on the previous payment agreement Maj?

The payment arrangements through February were written down and placed in our file so the other manager would be on the same page. They have gone missing, and I - like an idiot - didn't get a copy.

Thanks for the help, guys. I'm just a wreck because the first is... Tomorrow.

Zinegata · Post by **Zinegata** » Tue Nov 30, 2010 12:56 pm

Well, document or no document, the above rules remain valid. So that 3-day notice is technically null and void until she gets you a proper one.

I would also call the first manager (if he's no longer associated with your landlord) and ask if he'd be willing to make a statement on your behalf. Your manager can't just "lose" legal documents.

RobbyPants · Post by **RobbyPants** » Tue Nov 30, 2010 1:12 pm

Count Arioch the 28th wrote:Robby: A Washington Eviction notice would be called a pay-or-quit elsewhere.

Yeah, but isn't there still some amount of time that transpires between that and the sheriff telling you to leave?

Maybe Michigan is just more lenient than other states. I've heard horror stories about people getting stuck with deadbeats for months, and of course, not being able to rent the unit out during that time on top of that.

Maj wrote:
Zinegata wrote:Do you have a written agreement on the previous payment agreement Maj?
The payment arrangements through February were written down and placed in our file so the other manager would be on the same page. They have gone missing, and I - like an idiot - didn't get a copy.

Thanks for the help, guys. I'm just a wreck because the first is... Tomorrow.

Oh, that just sucks.

The Vigilante · Post by **The Vigilante** » Tue Nov 30, 2010 5:44 pm

Count Arioch the 28th wrote:You have to keep in mind that a landlord is someone who expects to get money without working for it.

Do you realize how stupid that statement is ? Do you think the landlord shat his way into having enough money to buy his rental property ?

EDIT : I just want to make it clear that I sympathize 100% with Maj here, it's not like you just got into the building and started making trouble for the owner. The manager is clearly being a dick.

I also want to specify to Count that there is a difference between "expecting to get money" and "being in a legal contract that specifies you get money for renting the property". I know you have a beef with the "have's" of this world, but not everybody is out to fuck the poor.

Maj · Post by **Maj** » Tue Nov 30, 2010 7:12 pm

Juton wrote:Do you realize how stupid that statement is ? Do you think the landlord shat his way into having enough money to buy his rental property ?

Actually, the landlord here does not own the property. The property owner is in another state.

Count Arioch the 28th · Wed Dec 01, 2010 12:10 am

I feel that your rant against me was unwarranted, Vigilante. You do not have access to my entire life story and therefore you cannot judge my opinions.

And every landlord I have ever had was ripped me off to varying degrees. Everyone I know has had landlords rip them off every time they rented. This is a pattern. Everyone I know that didn't know housing law to the letter and had documented copies of everything official got screwed royally with no recourse. Because every landlord that I or anyone in my close circle of friends/family has turned out to be a dirtbag and will try to steal if they think you're either too stupid or too broken down to fight it.

You can say I've had a long streak of bad luck or whatever, but telling me I'm being "stupid" because I "have a beef with the haves" is condescending and insulting to a very high degree. I am only going by my life experiences. If you are fortunate to never have a bad landlord, kudos to you. I'm not a good judge of character.

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Wed Dec 01, 2010 12:36 am

Count. You are wrong, and you are being stupid. You are subject to confirmation bias. Your crop of Landlords, and everyone you know's Landlords (which you are probably including Maj in, but not me, even though I've had nothing but good Land Lords, which is why I don't fucking complain) has not been that bad. You are deceiving yourself. Undoubtedly you have run into some, maybe even several bad Landlords, also undoubtedly, you know people who had good Land Lords, and didn't complain about them, because they were good.

Even if, for whatever reason, every landlord you've encountered was a dick, it's a sample size of like seven, to account for the millions of land lords.

That's exactly like me saying that every Jew I've met was a cheap kite, so all Jews are cheap kites.

If all you have is your personal anecdotes for a sample size that isn't representative to any degree of accuracy, then you have nothing.

Count Arioch the 28th · Wed Dec 01, 2010 1:42 am

Well, if all but the 7 landlords but the ones I've had are decent people, then the 30 or so minutes I spend a month making sure everything is properly documented will go to waste. I'll find some way to deal with it. I'm not going to stop doing it, and I'm not going to stop recommending that everyone also do so.

You can scream anything you want towards me (and in fact, you do it so often for so little provocation towards everyone that your ranting has utterly lost its impact), but I feel that even you will agree in the importance of making sure the person you are entering a contract with keeps their end of the deal. What motivates me in doing so is my business, as I'm not answerable to you.

Zinegata · Post by **Zinegata** » Wed Dec 01, 2010 1:53 am

Yes, yes. Call someone who has, in fact, been screwed over by his landlords many times over (and thrown out into the street) an idiot for saying "It's best to assume the worst out of your landlord rather than the best".

*sarcrasm* People here are real classy.

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Wed Dec 01, 2010 2:27 am

Count Arioch the 28th wrote:Well, if all but the 7 landlords but the ones I've had are decent people, then the 30 or so minutes I spend a month making sure everything is properly documented will go to waste. I'll find some way to deal with it. I'm not going to stop doing it, and I'm not going to stop recommending that everyone also do so.

You can scream anything you want towards me (and in fact, you do it so often for so little provocation towards everyone that your ranting has utterly lost its impact), but I feel that even you will agree in the importance of making sure the person you are entering a contract with keeps their end of the deal. What motivates me in doing so is my business, as I'm not answerable to you.

Count, when someone tells you that you are being stupid, it does not mean they are screaming at you. It just means you are wrong. I did not tell you to stop making sure your paperwork is in order, nor did anyone else, Vigilante and I both just pointed out that the statement "You have to keep in mind that Landlords are people who expect to get payed for doing nothing." is a false generalization that serves no useful purpose.

Yes yes, you hate me, Wah Wahm Bulance. No one cares.

The statement "All people with Count in their internet alias are whiny bitches who take everything as a personal attack" is not true even though in my personal experience, it has been true, because there is no reason to believe that this is a trait shared by all people with Count in their alias.

Likewise, there is no reason to believe that screwing people who have the ability to make their life miserable is a trait that is common to all Landlords.

Calibron · Post by **Calibron** » Wed Dec 01, 2010 3:25 am

It is a stereotype deeply rooted in the western psyche; that didn't happen for no reason.

Come to think of it, your ranting has completely lost its impact, you're pretty much like a less interesting and likable Phonelobster now.

Zinegata · Post by **Zinegata** » Wed Dec 01, 2010 3:30 am

It's less that Kaelik's ranting has lost its impact, and more that it has become more and more completely nonsensical.

What he's ranting about against Count has very little to do with what Count actually said, and almost nothing to do with the point Count was trying to get across.

Calibron · Post by **Calibron** » Wed Dec 01, 2010 3:38 am

I think it's more of a combination; what you said is true, but I think part of it is that we've all just gotten used to that being his typical way of communicating.