crazy apartement owner? can she do this????

[mienke]

As i see it you have a few options. The least stressful is to just forget about it and pay.
The most stressful option is to fight back. To fight back you might consider how you can get leverage. I don't think you should talk much about your strategy on this forum; assume your adversary is reading it as well.

our problem is that we will be moving back into the apartment in one months time and that we have paid a month ahead. So they have a large sum of money of ours. I assumed I could trust them, look like a nice enough couple.

what will prevent them from doing this again when we check out at the end of our stay? (in 5 months????)

NO word was said about this the day we left, only 4 days later.

I am just dumfounded. in shock.

 

[mienke]

So, you never finalized the first contract? For how long is/was the contract? Was there a check-out process when you left?

first contract would have ended 10 Feb. But along with them we discussed us leaving earlier and returning earlier. THey agreed we did not need too pay for the 1 month we would be away as long as our bags and stuff were removed. and we paid another months rent upfront.

sorry to be moaning about this, but just unsure of how too handle this and what can be said, done.

Just realising that its not a "pay and forget about it" experience.

 

[trennod]

She can do whatever she wants to do, especially when she already has you ¨con las manos en la masa¨ That's why NEVER EVER give anybody any money up front unless you are absolutely certain of both the person (hard to do, I know) and the overall ¨deal¨ I'm currently looking for a new place and being quite scrutinizing to the point of even being willing to pay more on a renewable month to month basis than have to fork over a deposit which I'm quite certain I will not see again.

Or even if you do see it its effectively worth 0 as inflation has chewed up any of its original worth

 

[mariano-BCN]

Fight back Mienke, you'll feel much better after woods if you at least say "No way". You'll be proud of yourself, even in the case you'll lose the case.

 

[TheBlackHand]

lol.

Priceless.

Stupid cow

If what you are saying is true, and i'm assuming it is, it sounds like shes just trying to squeeze some more money out of you.

And for future reference, it sounds like you went about the rental all wrong. First, the property should have been checked over by you and the owner at the first check out, if there were any real issues, they should have been discussed then. Only after that was resolved should you have paid any rent towards any future rental agreement.

The whole scenario just kind of sounds convoluted and unprofessional. Did you have a rental agent or agency or was this owner direct ? What does the rental contract look like ?

If it's really worth your time, contract a lawyer. You might just have a case.

 

[mienke]

lol.

Priceless.



If what you are saying is true, and i'm assuming it is, it sounds like shes just trying to squeeze some more money out of you.

And for future reference, it sounds like you went about the rental all wrong. First, the property should have been checked over by you and the owner at the first check out, if there were any real issues, they should have been discussed then. Only after that was resolved should you have paid any rent towards any future rental agreement.

The whole scenario just kind of sounds convoluted and unprofessional. Did you have a rental agent or agency or was this owner direct ? What does the rental contract look like ?

If it's really worth your time, contract a lawyer. You might just have a case.

I realise all of this now. I was stupid. Truth is we were late for an airport pickup, and we left the apartment in a rush (but clean!), met them at the door, arranged when and from who we could pick up the keys on our return. (i still informed her of 2 glasses I had broken and meant to replace on our return.. as we are planning on going back for 5 months)

It is owner rent, but through a small roomsharing agency that helped with the contract.. wish i am guessing is a friend of hers. Should I speak to the agency directly rather?

Sorry for all the questions, I am just FUMING. this was not a case of a final check out to retain our deposit. Just a temp checkout, till we return. But realising that might have been our mistake.

thanks for the advice anyway,

 

[TheBlackHand]

I would definitely speak to the agency and go over the contract with them. I don't think there are clauses in the contract that cover what the owner is unilaterally trying to charge you.

But yes, next time don't do any " temp " check out. That doesn't even exist, which is why the owner might be trying to take advantage of the situation. I'd say consult the agency first, review the contract and have them speak to the owner. If you still aren't satisfied with the result, contract a lawyer and send both the agency and the owner a legal notice.

It all sounds really petty on the owners part. Hopefully you can come to a reasonable solution.

Good luck.

It is owner rent, but through a small roomsharing agency that helped with the contract.. wish i am guessing is a friend of hers. Should I speak to the agency directly rather?

Sorry for all the questions, I am just FUMING. this was not a case of a final check out to retain our deposit. Just a temp checkout, till we return. But realising that might have been our mistake.

thanks for the advice anyway,

 

[va2ba]

When checking into or out of an apartment, take photos of EVERYTHING to show the condition that it was when you arrived, and when you left. This is a perfect example why.

You can never just assume that you can trust someone with a large amount of your money. They have very little legal ground to stand on. It sounds to me, like there may not have even been another client...that they just want to get some money for the time that the apartment was empty.

The sad thing is, that there may not be anything you can do. Take them to court will end up costing you a lot more than the money that they are charging you.

It does strike me as odd, that they wouldn't have just cleaned it themselves for the new client to save the money that they claim to have paid the maid. At the same time, why waste two days over the weekend when there is a "client" waiting to use the apartment. I really don't think that there was another client. If there really was a client, it would have been easier for them to just clean it themselves than to go through all this trouble trying to extort money from you.

 

[sesamosinsal]

Have you thought about calling the apartment's landline to see if there really is someone staying there? Do you know anyone in the building that could vouch for another person's presence there?

 

[YanquiGallego]

Even though Argentina has a very laid-back consensus to it as a country, when it comes to business or money matters, over communication and repetitiveness is the way to go.

I think your mistake was in rushing out at the end without thoroughly ¨walking¨ the place together, which obviously if you didn't do it together in the beginning in the first place would not have helped much, though.

As in many cases, there are many people here (landlords, taxi drivers, waiters, etc) who rapaciously know that most foreigners don't know what rights they hold in other countries, or know that they are generally too busy and with easy access to ¨petty¨ funds to even bother the stress of scrutinizing why it could cost 800 pesos (that is roughly 150 USD!) to clean a studio apartment.