Advice on rental deposit?

Mason3000 · #1 02-05-2009, 02:08 PM

I understand that three months is the expected norm here for renting an apartment or house long term and am aware the deposit is never (To my knowledge) returned. I've always just lived out my deposit in the past but it always gets dicey and uncomfortable. Just wondering if anyone has some tips on how to avoid the issue altogether.

i.e. Adding into the original contract an inventory (That's an no-brainer) with pics to document anything that's not perfect on the way into the place and then having the owner do another inventory 2 months before moving out and agreeing beforehand that if there is no damage from the original move in condition/picture documentation then the two months deposit is to be used as the rent.

I know how to stay and use the deposit as the rent so as not to be screwed but I'd just as soon avoid the moving out/deposit issue altogether if possible. Any tips?

MikeFisher · #2 02-05-2009, 07:05 PM

good question Mason.
3 months of deposit is a lot, yes, i know it is often asked for.
been lucky on mine, 1 month deposit and i pay the month ahead as rent, so at the moment i move i just tell him on 'payday/rentday' "hey bro, in 4 weeks i am moviong, we are done, check your furniture'.
i understand that 3 months is a long time once decided that you want to leave a place. what does your rental contract say about the handling of the deposit in case of finishing the rental contract?
good luck
Mike

BabyBlu · #3 02-05-2009, 07:26 PM

Well, I had paid 3 months plus 1st month, so I am thinking that since I paid the 1st month w/ the deposit that I that eveytime I paid rent, that I was paying for the upcoming month.
When the day came to get my deposit back my landlord said that he was giving me only 2 deposits back..WHAT!?! He said I still owed him one month, according to him everytime I paid rent it was for the month that had passed.
It took alot of yelling, gun waving (not on my part) and the police for him to give me back that 2 months. Of course this was after he inspected the house and declaring it in better shape than how he had left it to me.
So even though my garantee, the lawyer, and myself heard him say it was for 1st month rent, he can change his mind ( I could sue him once I find the receipt in all my unpacked boxes..worth it? NAW)
Everything needs to be written in the contract, how much is the deposit, are you paying rent for the month in advance or the previous month.. every little detail, otherwise you could get screwed...

Bryanell · #4 02-05-2009, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeFisher

good question Mason.
3 months of deposit is a lot, yes, i know it is often asked for.
been lucky on mine, 1 month deposit and i pay the month ahead as rent, so at the moment i move i just tell him on 'payday/rentday' "hey bro, in 4 weeks i am moviong, we are done, check your furniture'.
i understand that 3 months is a long time once decided that you want to leave a place. what does your rental contract say about the handling of the deposit in case of finishing the rental contract?
good luck
Mike

Haven't had too much experience with this myself, only one situation. I was given to understand that, technically, the lessor must open an account in the lessee's name at Banco Agricola and place the deposit in that account. In my case they didn't do that. My lawyer at the time argued (apparently successfully) that this was an illegal act and it made the whole contract unenforceable from the lessor's side. The lessor's lawyer concurred or, at least, didn't fight the issue and refused to represent the lessor after that.

Since the argument worked, I never bothered to check the actual legal position. My current lessor did deposit my deposit at Banco Agricola as a matter of course, without my requesting that.

Maybe it's worth looking into, and perhaps Mr Guzman can clarify this point.

MikeFisher · #5 02-05-2009, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryanell

Haven't had too much experience with this myself, only one situation. I was given to understand that, technically, the lessor must open an account in the lessee's name at Banco Agricola and place the deposit in that account. In my case they didn't do that. My lawyer at the time argued (apparently successfully) that this was an illegal act and it made the whole contract unenforceable from the lessor's side. The lessor's lawyer concurred or, at least, didn't fight the issue and refused to represent the lessor after that.

Since the argument worked, I never bothered to check the actual legal position. My current lessor did deposit my deposit at Banco Agricola as a matter of course, without my requesting that.

Maybe it's worth looking into, and perhaps Mr Guzman can clarify this point.

good point, with that deposit i never checked myself, i just got my contract and the receipt's separately which state on one side "deposit like stated in the rental contract" and the other side just "rent for month xxx" like every new month again

Quote:

Originally Posted by BabyBlu

Well, I had paid 3 months plus 1st month, so I am thinking that since I paid the 1st month w/ the deposit that I that eveytime I paid rent, that I was paying for the upcoming month.
When the day came to get my deposit back my landlord said that he was giving me only 2 deposits back..WHAT!?! He said I still owed him one month, according to him everytime I paid rent it was for the month that had passed.
It took alot of yelling, gun waving (not on my part) and the police for him to give me back that 2 months. Of course this was after he inspected the house and declaring it in better shape than how he had left it to me.
So even though my garantee, the lawyer, and myself heard him say it was for 1st month rent, he can change his mind ( I could sue him once I find the receipt in all my unpacked boxes..worth it? NAW)
Everything needs to be written in the contract, how much is the deposit, are you paying rent for the month in advance or the previous month.. every little detail, otherwise you could get screwed...

BabyBlu,
if i got this right means you paid 3 months rental's worth as a deposit plus the first month ahead?
but finally the landlord scammed you out of 1 month.
and i understand your prob with the receipts, i am myself a mess with that stuff. if it's company related i leave it with my laywer and the rest with my wifey, me myself i would never recover any receipt older than a couple months, ha ha
Mike

BabyBlu · #6 02-05-2009, 09:10 PM

BabyBlu,
if i got this right means you paid 3 months rental's worth as a deposit plus the first month ahead?
but finally the landlord scammed you out of 1 month.
and i understand your prob with the receipts, i am myself a mess with that stuff. if it's company related i leave it with my laywer and the rest with my wifey, me myself i would never recover any receipt older than a couple months, ha ha
Mike[/QUOTE]

Yes, scammed me and made a fool of himself over 11,000 pesos. He now has 2 Haitian girls "watching" the house, but won't give them keys, locks them in at night and lets them out in the morning...what a character!
I always throw receipts away, my boyfiend sees them in the trash and picks them out telling me that I'll never know when I might need it..LOL, I guess he was right!

MikeFisher · #7 02-05-2009, 09:22 PM

at least you have that lil victory over that Dude.
hey, to fix/highlight/delet(?) aso a quote is easy.
you press "quote" first, so it appears in your "reply" box, so then you can i.e. mark a part of it with the mouse which you want to highlight and press above "B" for "Bolt", or delete text, or add text aso.
but a quote should be a quote, not significantly be changed, would not be a real quote anymore.
Mike

donmobay · #8 02-05-2009, 09:45 PM

thats what my landlord is saying now... i am paying for the last month and not the current month... when i moved in it was for the next month.... now im leaving it for the past month tricks tricks tricks... so when i leave he wont pay me all .. how do dom.s do it... they must not be able to trick their own...

BabyBlu · #9 02-05-2009, 09:58 PM

hey donmobay.. When I gave him the $$ he gave me 2 different receipts..one was for the 3 months deposit, and a seperate one for the 1st month rent..If I had been able to get my hand on that 1st month rent one, I would have been all set...So it was in a way my fault for not being prepared. Do you still have the receipt showing the 1st month rent?

MikeFisher · #10 02-05-2009, 10:51 PM

that's right BabyBlu,
if w edo not keep our receipts/proofs for the stuff we can not complain, like i darned myself often enough for not doing so.
Donmobay,
at the moment you show the landlord the receipt of your payment(of course signed by him and not his sis or bro or cousin aso) he will accept the stuff right away the way it is.
that's life
Mike