My husband and I rented from Bruce & Lynda McDonnell for not quite three years. We started off in the upper apartment at his property at 6734 Boy Scout Road NE, Mineral City, OH. When we moved in, the walls were black and the place smelled like dog urine, but we fixed it up, painted it, and paid $300 out of pocket to make the place livable. We were never reimbursed for any of it.
After nearly two years in that apartment, we moved into the basement apartment, which was twice as big. The first problem was the place was filthy - mold and nicotine stained everything. So we cleaned it up, painted, the whole deal, to another $200.
Then, Bruce stopped mowing the lawn. That was in the lease as being his responsibility. So within a couple of months the grass was nearly as high as my knees, until he bribed the upstairs neighbor to mow it for him. The hot water tank in our old apartment blew, flooding our living room, and he wanted us to lie to the insurance adjuster to get the carpet in the whole house replaced.
Our toilet broke, and he refused to fix it immediately, which caused the bathroom to smell like a sewer for the rest of the time we lived there.
He refused to provide a dehumidifier to stop the mold growth and dampness down there, and when we told him it was required by law (as per a lawyer's advice) we were told that he didn't have to do it.
Our neighbors flooded our bathroom when their waterbed burst, and it caused our hot water tank to start sparking. His solution? Take the lid off the hot water tank, wait for it to 'dry out' and tell us to keep our cats out of there.
The water was orange and undrinkable, but he refused to fix the well pump OR bring us softener salt more than once every 3-4 months.
The pipes under the sinks in both apartments leaked constantly and didn't work very well; he would try to fix them but it didn't help at all. He would refuse to have a professional come in to fix it.
He entered the apartment illegally to 'show' it so he could sell it, then sent us a nasty letter because the apartment was messy.
The last straw was finding out that he KNEW the back bedroom flooded frequently - the previous tenants had even mentioned it to US - and he refused to admit it or tell us about it. We found out when we lost $1,000 worth of our property, most of it covered in the black mold that grew in the standing water. He tried to tell us it was our fault because we were supposed to leave the heat on - well, A, it was never mentioned to us, and B, heat is NOT going to help when the room is FLOODING.
DO NOT rent off this man! He will try to blame you for his failings as a landlord, and he will try to take you to court to boot!
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