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Our lease ended on 7-31-11, which was Sunday, so we did a walk through Aug 1st. I'd like to note that the landlord is NOT the owner of the property. She (landlord) told me we might be charged for 1 bent window blinds, have carpets professionally cleaned (which I agreed to b/c it was on the lease), and some appliance cleaned + some marks on the wall. Other than that, the apartment was cleaned.
So now I get my security deposit back w/ itemized letter for the charges:
1. Cleaning Service: I scrubbed that place from top to bottom, and like I said, the lady who did the walk through with me said it was clean. I only didn't have enough time to clean fridge, oven, and couple walls had some specks on them (which I tested magic eraser on, and it worked, I just didn't have enough time to clean it myself) Because we were in the hurry, I forgot to take pictures when we moved out, but I do have pictures of poor bathroom conditions when we moved in.
2. Paint: When I asked the "landlord", who did my walk through with me, she told me they charged us 1/3 of the bill for the paint because the life expectancy of the paint is 3 years and we lived 1 year out of 3...but NOWHERE in the lease does it say we have to pay for painting of the place!
My main question about the cleaning, how is it that she has the authority to do the walk through with me after move out, but the actual owner can come in later and say it was dirty, while she said it was clean, and decide to charge us for full clean and not partial as it should've been. Then, how can they charge us for the paint? It's not in the lease that we have to pay for their 3yr paint! So it's not our responsibility!
You can be charged for paint if the reason was beyond "normal wear and year" generally accepted as a few scuffs here and there that are minor.
The cleaning - ovens and ranges & fridges probably take longer to clean proportionally than many other things. It's not like just mopping a floor or running the vacuum.
Was a copy of the actual invoice(s) included with your refund statement? Not sure about laws regarding this but I always include a copy of the bill when deducting charges from a security deposit, and ask our vendors to give detailed description of what they did so that there is no question.
You know that the owner later inspected and told the property manager to charge you for these things? How?
Well that's the thing, she didn't say the paint is for the damages done, she kind of made it sound like they didn't even paint it, that they're keeping that money for the future when they have to paint it.
The cleaning...I've been working in cleaning business for some years now, so I know how long it takes and how much it would cost, considering the condition of the bridge and the oven, it would've taken no longer than an hour and a half to clean both, which wouldn't be $180 they're charging me. And there were no copies, but I am planning on requesting them.
And I know the owner did a walk through later and said the apartment was a MESS because that's what the property manager told me.
You lost me at I tested it but did not have time to clean it.
Yeah, they lost me there too.
OP:: Why were you so busy you couldn't properly clean the apartment? And you claim to be in the cleaning business?
I dont know what your standard of clean is, but it would take longer than 90mins to properly clean an oven and fridge. And since you're in the cleaning business, you know the cleaners themselves are cheap, it's the labor that is costly.
I think $180 is fair..you were too busy to do it, so they had to pay someone to do your work.
OP:: Why were you so busy you couldn't properly clean the apartment? And you claim to be in the cleaning business?
I dont know what your standard of clean is, but it would take longer than 90mins to properly clean an oven and fridge. And since you're in the cleaning business, you know the cleaners themselves are cheap, it's the labor that is costly.
I think $180 is fair..you were too busy to do it, so they had to pay someone to do your work.
I have no idea how business is done in your area... (not directed to Kim)
Here, it is customary for one time cleaning contractors to have a minimum charge and or travel charge.
When you think about it... it only makes sense when dealing with professionals.
I'm very thorough in discussing cleaning issues... tenants are given a typical charges sheet in addition to the condition and inventory... I tell them it will ALWAYS be most cost effective for them to leave the unit clean... professional janitorial services do not come cheap... license, bonded and insured.
For example, if I call someone to dispose of a couch... It costs me $65 and may take 3 days...
At my most recent move-in my tenant asked about the stove the previous tenant had left behind... I told him it would be out of the unit the next day...
He asked if he could have it and I said sure...
Had a chance to see it last week... looked like new and he was very proud of it... it is a gas unit and he really spent 6 hours cleaning it... he also replaced one missing knob and showed me the receipt for $32.00 plus he spent another $20 for cleaning supplies... two cans of oven cleaner, gloves, etc.
Well me and my husband were moving to different state, we have a toddler who needs supervision while we're moving and had no babysitter, so a lot of the move took longer. Plus we're both full time students and with jobs, so yeah, we were short on time...and yes, I was in cleaning business till I started school, I vaccumed the floors, cleaned all walls except for one, steam cleaned + cleaning product cleaned bathrooms by hand, cleaned out all cabinets and kitchen counters, scrubbed floors, dusted blinds, doors, and floor trims...the ONLY thing I didn't clean is INSIDE fridge, oven, and 2 small walls w/ COUPLE crayon marks...the owner said I didn't clean ANYTHING, and at my expense had FULL apartment clean, while my landlord told me it'll be PARTIAL clean. My landlord at the walk through told me everything else was clean! How can the owner come in later and decide it wasn't?
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