Can't Catch A Break

So, today I got a lovely letter in the mail from the apartment complex we just moved out of. Admittedly, I didn't do a great job of cleaning the place after I moved out. If you've ever moved, you know that under the best circumstances (to a new house!) moving is a horrible, arduous task.

Now, take into consideration that I moved out of an apartment under the worst circumstances.

By the time I had to be out, he had already left, taking with him only his personal belongings and 3 pieces of furniture. He left everything else for me to deal with and clean up. (He did help me move some stuff one day.)

So, needless to say, dismantling a life I'd worked really hard to build, was not my favorite thing to do. I was emotionally and physically exhausted. Plus, I didn't ask for enough help. Possibly because I didn't want to drag anyone else through the muck and the mire of the whole mess.... but mostly because I felt the whole mess was his responsibility... why should I burden my friends and family with the mess that he made? It was easier to stew about it and be angry than to humble myself and admit I needed more help. Lesson learned. Moving on now.

My mom did help me clean the bathrooms, the patio, vacuum, etc. I cleaned the kitchen. In the midst of it all, I lost our access card for the complex amenities (-$40) and I totally forgot to clean out the fridge and freezer (-$40). I completely ran out of time to steam clean the carpets. (-$40), so I was expecting to get dinged on our deposit.....

But, this crazy lady a/k/a me,  about had a cow when I got the letter today saying that not only was I not getting my $1200 deposit back, but I still owed the complex an additional $200 for reimbursement of damages and cleaning!

Seems the complex thinks they need to charge me $900 for all new carpet and $250 for new vinyl flooring in the kitchen, in addition to cleaning charges for 2 bathrooms (my mom cleaned those, so I know these hookers are trying to pull a fast one!), the oven and the fridge!

I informed one of the leasing agents of holes in the kitchen vinyl 3 days after we moved in. He said he'd make a note of it.... (what do you want to bet that never happened?) 

I know that apartment like the back of my hand and there were 2 stains on the entire carpet. One in the dining room -  food related and would easily come out with a good steam cleaning. The other, in C's bedroom where the black mold issue they repeatedly ignored finally seeped into the carpet!

Yes, you heard me! Black Mold! 

These hookers better watch out, because they have just unleashed the beast! They clearly have no idea who they are messing with!

Last summer I noticed black mold under my kitchen sink. I cleared everything out only to discover that nothing was wet and that clearly the mold was coming from inside the wall. I called our beloved maintenance guy and he came over and cleaned it up. He told me that I was getting too much water behind my faucet and water leaked down behind it. I looked at him and said, there is no water under the sink. Its not coming from me.  He told me I was wrong.  Fast forward another 5 months and we move some furniture around in C's room only to discover what looks like old coke spilled all along the lower 1/4th of the wall, the baseboards and the carpet. I started to think C had snuck something into her room and spilled it, but then I realized that this putrid wall was the shared wall with the kitchen sink! Gear down, big shifter... mama is ticked.

Thankfully, Oscar, our trusty maintenance guy came over, tore up the wall and discovered a big crack in the main stack kitchen drain. Not only was the leaking moisture from our sink, but also all the drainage of the 2 kitchens in the apartments above us. Nice.

I was just thankful it was being taken care of and we'd be moving out soon, I didn't think much of it. Clearly, I should have.

I suspect the remaining mold stains on the carpet are part of the charges. No way in H-E-double hockey sticks am I paying to clean up their mess from their poorly constructed building! No way. No how!


 Windsor (the property management company) will be getting a visit from me in the near future. They should be scared. I will cause a scene if I have to. We lived in that complex for 18 months and had the following issues:

• black mold in C's room resulting in her need to evacuate the room for 4 days
• ceiling leakage in C's room (was kilz'd and repainted)
• ceiling leakage in utility room (never dealt with) 
• repeated bookkeeping errors (I slid on ice entering the complex and hit a pole.) My insurance company paid for the damages, but I repeatedly got threatening notices that I needed to pay it, even though it was taken care of...
• lack of snow removal in our driveway during the last big storm, resulting in a 2 inch thick sheet of ice where both my kids and I slipped and  I tweaked my knee again. Left message with maintenance... no response.

The pole incident still ticks me off because when I hit the pole, I did more damage to my car than the pole. But, I stopped and went in and reported the damage anyway. Upon inspection, we discovered car parts at the scene that were not from my car and paint marks on the pole that were not the color of my car. Clearly, I was not the only car to have slid in this same spot. I was just the only one who had the decency to report it.

So, needless to say, for a complex with 34 buildings and 1500+ residents, this is no small mom and pop operation.. these are the pros... and this is how they do things? So not cool! They've pissed off the wrong girl. I'll make it known to everyone I know how horrible they are! Nothing like word-of-mouth publicity....


I'm trying really hard not to get stuck in a dark place where doing the right thing gets you screwed... because that's sooooo how I'm feeling these days. Taking the higher road isn't helping my cause here in any way shape or form. Just gets old getting kicked in the teeth repeatedly!

Thanks for letting me vent..... I can't afford not to get back some of this deposit... this is all I have for a new place (once I get a job!) I'll let you know how it goes... and hopefully you'll learn about it on this blog and not on the evening news!