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badstarSo for those of you playing along at home, here's the brief summary of issues with the house. The list may seem to be in a weird tense...it's from the initial draft of the letter that I'm writing out for the sake of documentation to give to the property manager when he comes to see us today.
I had the roommates grab some pictures of the basement floor last night for documentation...just in case.
So the hope is that they start right on getting stuff taken care of today. Especially the basement because that's a health issue.
Does anyone know what the legalities might be if they don't get these issues fixed? (I'm looking into getting the inspection history of the house, and finding out which of these issues must be resolved for the house to be considered legally rentable) Seriously considering putting rent for September into escrow if they don't hop to real quick. We're so wanting to try and get out of the lease if these issues continue, but it took over two months to find this place and are afraid that the same thign would happen again. What about asking if they have a comparable three-bedroom place elsewhere in the city that we could move into? Anyone else ever have similar issues like this?
Also, has anyone in Baltimore ever heard of Disch Realty? Have any experience with them?
Unfortunatelythe property manager is supposed to be showing up between 1030 and 11 this morning...I don't know how much sleep I'm going to get today *grumble* Hopefully he'll just show up, see what's wrong and get to getting it fixed.
Problems with the house:
1. There is a loose stair tread- when proceeding upstairs, it is on the last step before the stairs begin to turn.
2. Door key locks frequently will not lock or unlock, we have frequently have to try several times before succeeding in locking or unlocking a door. Doors cannot be unlocked from the inside without keys.
3. The refrigerator and freezer both smell like mold. We were told that a new refrigerator was being brought in before we moved into the house, but it seems that there was an attempt to clean this one out. We are very reluctant to put food in the refrigerator and have already experienced pitchers of water picking up the taste.
4. The doorknob to the bedroom at the right side of the stairs sticks if closed.
5. The breaker box in the basement is unlabeled.
6. I called on Monday 8/6 to report water on the basement floor. On Friday 8/10, a plumber showed up and informed us that the water was from the water heater which had overflowed and that he could not fix it. The plumbersaid that the downstairs toilet was not refilling quickly enough after flushing and tried to fix it but was not able to. Afterhe left, the downstairs toilet would not flush, and the upstairs shower drips constantly. These issues did not exist before the plumber showed up. We have since resolved the non-flushing toilet but not the shower.
7. On Tuesday 8/14, the BGE technician that came to turn on the gas informed me that it looked like sewage in the basement, that there is an open sewer line, and that there is feces on the floor. Because of the sewage and feces on the floor, and because we were informed by the plumber that there was a problem with the water heater, he would not light the pilot light and we are without hot water.
8. It seems that the wiring in the house is hooked up to only a few circuits. We are afraid to try and plug in or turn on most thing sn the house because it trips the breaker. Until yesterday when the temperature outside cooled, it has been nearly impossible to go upstairs for more than a minute or two at a time because it's been unbearably hot. We have been offered air conditioners from a friend but don't know if we can plug them in due to everyhting tripping the breakers, and weare now especially reluctant to go into the basement due to the sewage. I was also told during my call on 8/6 that an electrician would be called to check the wiring, but have not heard anything since.
General complaints:
1. We still have not recieved a copy of the lease, despite having signed it two weeks ago. We would like a copy ASAP.
2. We were never informed that the manner of heating is oil, which is extremely expensive, and do not remember seeing anything in the lease about this.
3. The plumber came to the house on Friday 8/10 without prior notice. Had it been any other weekday, no one would have been available to let him in without knowing in advance to expect him. Since we were told that someone must be in the house to let anyone in unless prior arrangements are made in writing, if we hadnot been there, he would not have gotten in the house. In the future, we would like to be notifiedper these terms that someone will be showing up so that we can be sure that someone will be available to let them in.
I had the roommates grab some pictures of the basement floor last night for documentation...just in case.
So the hope is that they start right on getting stuff taken care of today. Especially the basement because that's a health issue.
Does anyone know what the legalities might be if they don't get these issues fixed? (I'm looking into getting the inspection history of the house, and finding out which of these issues must be resolved for the house to be considered legally rentable) Seriously considering putting rent for September into escrow if they don't hop to real quick. We're so wanting to try and get out of the lease if these issues continue, but it took over two months to find this place and are afraid that the same thign would happen again. What about asking if they have a comparable three-bedroom place elsewhere in the city that we could move into? Anyone else ever have similar issues like this?
Also, has anyone in Baltimore ever heard of Disch Realty? Have any experience with them?
Unfortunatelythe property manager is supposed to be showing up between 1030 and 11 this morning...I don't know how much sleep I'm going to get today *grumble* Hopefully he'll just show up, see what's wrong and get to getting it fixed.
Problems with the house:
1. There is a loose stair tread- when proceeding upstairs, it is on the last step before the stairs begin to turn.
2. Door key locks frequently will not lock or unlock, we have frequently have to try several times before succeeding in locking or unlocking a door. Doors cannot be unlocked from the inside without keys.
3. The refrigerator and freezer both smell like mold. We were told that a new refrigerator was being brought in before we moved into the house, but it seems that there was an attempt to clean this one out. We are very reluctant to put food in the refrigerator and have already experienced pitchers of water picking up the taste.
4. The doorknob to the bedroom at the right side of the stairs sticks if closed.
5. The breaker box in the basement is unlabeled.
6. I called on Monday 8/6 to report water on the basement floor. On Friday 8/10, a plumber showed up and informed us that the water was from the water heater which had overflowed and that he could not fix it. The plumbersaid that the downstairs toilet was not refilling quickly enough after flushing and tried to fix it but was not able to. Afterhe left, the downstairs toilet would not flush, and the upstairs shower drips constantly. These issues did not exist before the plumber showed up. We have since resolved the non-flushing toilet but not the shower.
7. On Tuesday 8/14, the BGE technician that came to turn on the gas informed me that it looked like sewage in the basement, that there is an open sewer line, and that there is feces on the floor. Because of the sewage and feces on the floor, and because we were informed by the plumber that there was a problem with the water heater, he would not light the pilot light and we are without hot water.
8. It seems that the wiring in the house is hooked up to only a few circuits. We are afraid to try and plug in or turn on most thing sn the house because it trips the breaker. Until yesterday when the temperature outside cooled, it has been nearly impossible to go upstairs for more than a minute or two at a time because it's been unbearably hot. We have been offered air conditioners from a friend but don't know if we can plug them in due to everyhting tripping the breakers, and weare now especially reluctant to go into the basement due to the sewage. I was also told during my call on 8/6 that an electrician would be called to check the wiring, but have not heard anything since.
General complaints:
1. We still have not recieved a copy of the lease, despite having signed it two weeks ago. We would like a copy ASAP.
2. We were never informed that the manner of heating is oil, which is extremely expensive, and do not remember seeing anything in the lease about this.
3. The plumber came to the house on Friday 8/10 without prior notice. Had it been any other weekday, no one would have been available to let him in without knowing in advance to expect him. Since we were told that someone must be in the house to let anyone in unless prior arrangements are made in writing, if we hadnot been there, he would not have gotten in the house. In the future, we would like to be notifiedper these terms that someone will be showing up so that we can be sure that someone will be available to let them in.
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no subject
Date: 2007-08-15 12:58 pm (UTC)2. Better Business Bureau is your friend. Report the realty company. http://www.bbb.org/
3. Maryland State Attorney General Office of Consumer Affairs. Doug Gansler and his crew should be your friends . . .go to http://www.oag.state.md.us/ and explore!
4. I believe it is also illegal for them to not have given you a copy of the lease, since it's a legal contract, especially if you requested a copy. Re-request one in writing, and send the request certified mail, return receipt. The Atty. General's office could tell you.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-15 01:22 pm (UTC)This sentence doesn't make any sense.
How about:
We frequently have trouble locking or unlocking the doors that require a key, because the locks are sticking. We often have to try many times to succeed. In addition, we have to unlock doors from the inside using a key, in order to get out, and the locks sticking traps us in the house.
(or whatever the last thing entails, it wasn't clear)
I agree with
no subject
Date: 2007-08-15 01:31 pm (UTC)On the other hand, this is Ball'murr we're talking about. They might call the sewage "waterfront property" and the rats "pet friendly."
no subject
Date: 2007-08-15 06:41 pm (UTC)