While I was living in Germany, we were getting ready to PCS to Ft. Hood and decided to try ahead of time to find a place to live as there was a very long waiting list for housing. We stumbled across Texstar and did a online application, which at the time they charged like $25. For. I paid online for the application and then heard nothing back after they got their money. I emailed and still heard nothing back. I waited till we got to Killeen and then went to their office to see if we had been approved or we wanted our money back for not processing our application. They looked and looked for it but claims they never got it but the money was taken out of my account. They decided to approve us and showed us a house. When we looked at the house we decided to rent it from them provided they cleaned it first before we moved in and cut the grass. The agent said it would all be done before we came in a couple of weeks to move in. We paid our security and 1st months rent in July but did not move in it until almost September.
They had more then enough time and our money to have the house cleaned. When we came to get the keys they complained they we did not notify them that we were moving in! Here we had a lease and paid security and 2 months of rent and now these people had to go change the locks before we moved in it!???! They also did not clean anything and did not cut the grass which was by now over 2 feet high! When I called to complain they stated it was cleaned! It took me days to clean that house and I have pictures to proove it. It delayed my move in and when I told them because of this I wanted to cancel the lease for not having it ready, they stated I could, but then I would be responsible for the reletting of the house and if they did not find someone to rent it I would be held responsible for the remainder of the lease. Which by the way is against the law!
It is their responisbility to have the house ready for move in and if it is not and delays your moving into it, you can legally break your lease. Which I did not know then.instead of argueing with these people we just cleaned the whole house and cut down the field of grass and moved in. BIG MISTAKE! After moving in, their were several maintence issues with this house. One, the security alarm on the house constantly beeped and they would not give me the code to it to shut it off or on. They said I would have to pay for that service when their own agent made it a point to tell me that the house had a security alarm. Can you imagine what that beepeing sounds like all day and night? Ever hear a smoke detector beep when they battery is going low? Not it going off but the ones that beep to let you know to change it? Well thats what this sounded like all the time and we couldn't shut it off! It was so loud people could hear it beeping when I was on the phone with them! Also, the tiolet ran constantly and when I went to turn on my water in my name the water company had a bill for me there already because the tiolet had been running the whole time we were not living in it and they were going to charge us for it! I had to have Texstar tell them I just got the keys that week!
I tried for two months to get Texstar to come out there to fix the alarm and the tiolet amoung other things like a garage interior door deadbolt that would not lock. (Which is also illegal) The fireplace back wall was so flimsy you could have just set a piece of wood in it and it would have fell out through back wall of the house. It had not been cleaned and there was soot laying in it when we moved in. They wouldn't clean it for us to use (the fireplace was one of the reasons we rented the house!) and so we didn't use for fear of it being a fire hazard. Then when we were cleaning the house we went to clean the dust off the top of the cabinets and discovered that they had removed wallpaper off the walls and left it with the glue on it on the top of the cabinets! It took us almost a week to scrap the set wall paper glue and the paper itself off the top of the wall cabinets! There was a big bleach stain in the middle of the carpet in the living room and in the bathroom and was about the size of a basket ball on brown carpet in the middle of the room and they wouldn't fix that either. First time my son went to use the bathroom, there was a ciggerette butt in the tiolet and the tub was disgusting! So we cleaned it and when he went to take a bath the shower rod fell down on his head without him ever touching it! There were cigerette burns on the sink vanity and they had broken the cover to the tiolet and tried to put a round one on to replace a sqaure cover! The back yard had a orange time warner cable spliced off of ours going to the neighbors house where they were getting free cable off of us! The outside screens were blown off into the yard and some were missing, etc. I could go on forever but to make this long story shorter, when I requested (IN writing like they ask you to do) they still would not come out to fix anything! Then when I went in to pay my rent, their manager tells us that we were two months behind on rent!
This was in Sept. And my husband was just getting ready to deply to Iraq, we're still unpacking out of boxes yet and they claim we had not been paying our rent. When we told them we had our bank wire the money to their account and it had been paid, they stated well! Where did you get that information to our account? I told them their front desk person gave it to me. They just about called me a liar. We went on their computer and printed out a copy from our bank the wire that stated right down to the second when our money hit their bank account and still, with the owner (Mr. Wheatley) standing right there listening to all this did they still try to jerk us around! (Which at the time I did not know that this guy was the owner it wasn't until another pissed off renter pointed him out to me a month later that I knew it was him.) But in any case Mr. Wheatley asked what the problem was and then when we told them he said he would not fix anything unless the rent was paid and we stated again we had and showed him the bank wire receipt and a list of the damages on our house. He said he would only fix what the owner approved of and thats all. I was floored! I asked the name and number to the owner of the house and he refused to give it to us.
My husband and me had had enough! We left the office and went home and my husband decides to call them back to ask them what they intended to do about the matter. While he was on the phone I told him not to bother because we are not going to stay in this house and continue to get ripped off. The Texstar property office manager heard that and told my husband to tell me to shut my fat mouth or she would evict us! That was it! I went down to office to demand the name of the owner that Texstar office and a copy of our inspection list and receipt for the monies already paid to them. She refused to give it to me and then threatened to call the police on me for tresspassing if I did not leave! Two days later, a letter comes from the police stating I have a criminal tresspass warning not to return to the property or I would be arrested! I can't wire my rent or they pocket it and say I didn't and now I can't go and pay with cash to the office or I will be arrested! I went to Ft. Hood housing for some assitance. I had a housing manager call Texstar and he spoke with the manager. He had asked what the problem was and the manager starts going off in rants and raves cussing at the housing manager and then go's on to call my husband and I dead beats! She then threatens to have us evicted again! The housing manger had had enough too and aksed to speak to the owner. Their manger refused and when the Ft. Hood manager asked what her name was she responded with "None of yoour damn business!" The housing manager thanked her and said for her to have a nice day and hung up.
He referred us to s Jag Lawyer and said we did not have to put up with crap like that. We went to Jag and got a lawyer. Their contract was pretty much iron clad to break BUT! There was a military clause allowing us to break the lease if we showed proof of my husband leaving on deployment for more then 90 days and so he was. Not to mention the house was not ready for move in could have been another. They tried to hold me the spouse as the lease signer and that I was not the one deploying. However, when I signed the leased I signed it as the power of attorney of my husband so there for, they could not hold me to that. And that is what got us out of that lease along with a lot of threatening from our lawyer for a class action suit and slander because we had found out that Texstar had several law suits against them for the same thing. (Which you can find at the Killeen Small Claims Courts Office, free to view by the public) We did as they asked on the move out check list and cleaned the house we only lived in for three months, we cleaned the carpet also and had the house treated for bugs per their request even though there wasn't any and cut the grass. We changed the AC filter, put out intent to move out in writing and sent via certified mail a month before move out and made our appointment for move out inspection which they did not show up for. We rescheduled again and paid the rent for the remainder of that month even though they charge you prorated rent to move in, they do not let you have prorated rent when you move out! We also in writing gave them my forwarding address for the deposit to be sent back to us. We passed our move out inspection and the inspector said the house looked so much better then when we moved in that he couldn't believe the difference! But that same inspector tried to charge me for a ceiling fan that was loose on a high vaulted ceiling that I had not even noticed when we moved in and I know we did not touch it because it was too high to even get to! But yet he went right to it??? It's been a year now and I still have not received back my deposit. Quoting Texas State Law here -
A landlord must accept rental payments in the form of cash or a personal check, unless the written lease provides otherwise. If you pay your rent in cash, your landlord must provide you with a written receipt. The landlord must also keep a record of the date and amount
of each cash payment. If a landlord fails to provide receipts or keep a record book, you can file suit and may be entitled to a court order that: (1) directs the landlord to comply with the law; (2) awards you
the greater of one month's rent or $500 for each violation; and (3) awards you court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. When you move into your new home make sure all the repairs your landlord promised have been completed. If some of the repairs have not been made, contact your landlord immediately. If the landlord
fails to make the repairs she promised before you signed the lease, she may be liable for violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices -
Consumer Protection Act. Contact a lawyer or tenant association for more details. You should also make a written list noting the condition of the apartment on the day you move in. This list will help you avoid disputes when you move out and may also be crucial in getting back your security deposit. Make a note of every spot on the carpet and every damaged item in the place. Give a copy of the list to the landlord and keep a copy for yourself. Your landlord has a duty to test all
smoke detectors to verify they are in working order when you move
in.
The landlord also has a duty to rekey the locks between tenants. (Not after the tenant rents it)
Retaliation for Requesting Repairs or Exercising Your Rights as a Tenant Your landlord is restricted for six months from retaliating against you because you gave her a repair notice, complained to a city code enforcement agency, public utility, or civic or nonprofit agency, or
exercised a right or remedy granted to you by lease, municipal ordinance, or state or federal law. Illegal retaliation occurs when the landlord, in retaliation for your requesting repairs, complaining to a city inspector, or asserting a right you have under your lease or another law, wrongfully terminates the lease, files for eviction, deprives you of the use of the premises, decreases your services, increases your rent,
or engages in activity that materially interferes with your rights under the lease.
If the landlord engages in activity that constitutes unlawful retaliation, you may file a lawsuit and seek a court order against your land lord awarding you: (1) one month's rent, plus $500; (2) the reasonable
costs to move to another place and other actual damages; and (3) attorney's fees and court costs.
A landlord must install the following security devices without the necessity of your request: a window latch on each exterior window of the dwelling; a doorknob lock or keyed deadbolt on each exterior door.
Landlord Must Rekey Between Tenancies
A landlord must rekey or change all the key-operated locks (or other combination locks) on the exterior doors between each tenancy at her expense.
The landlord must install, repair, or rekey devices within a reasonable period of time, usually within seven days of the request. Landlord Must Refund or Explain Within 30 Days Your security deposit must be refunded to you within 30 days after you move out of the apartment or house, provided that you give a written forwarding address to your landlord. You can give your forwarding
address at any time; however, the landlord's duty to refund does not exist until you do so. If your landlord has cause to retain all or a portion of your security deposit, the landlord must provide you with a refund of the balance of the security deposit, if any, together
with a written description and itemized list of all deductions within 30 days of your move out (or within 30 days of your giving her your forwarding address in writing). If a landlord who has the tenant's forwarding
address fails either to return the security deposit or to provide a written list of deductions on or before the thirtieth day after the tenant moves out, then the landlord is presumed to have acted in bad faith. If your landlord retains all or part of your security deposit in bad faith, you may sue her and recover $100 plus three times the amount of the security deposit that was wrongfully withheld, plus attorney's fees and
court costs. If your landlord, in bad faith, fails to provide a written description and itemized list of damages and charges to you for a portion of your security deposit that has been withheld, she has forfeited all rights to withhold any portion of the security deposit or to bring suit against you for damages to the premises. Tenants who wish to sue for their deposits can do so fairly easily without an attorney in a Justice of the Peace Court.in these courts, you can be awarded up to $5,000 plus court costs. Contact a lawyer or your local tenant association
for tips on suing in a Justice of the Peace Court.
Exceptions and Miscellaneous
The landlord is required by law to keep accurate records of all security deposits; however, the landlord is not obligated to keep the funds in a separate account. The landlord is also not required to pay interest on the security deposit.
Texas Section 92.109:
(a) A landlord who in bad faith retains a security deposit in violation of this subchapter is liable for an amount equal to the sum of $100, three times the portion of the deposit wrongfully withheld, and the tenant's reasonable attorney's fees in a suit to recover the deposit
In addition, a landlord
must refund an application deposit to an applicant if the applicant is rejected as a tenant. An applicant is deemed rejected by the landlord if the landlord does not give notice of acceptance on or before the seventh day after the applicant submits a completed rental application to the landlord, or on or before the seventh day the landlord accepts an application deposit if the landlord does not furnish the applicant an applicant form. A landlord who in bad faith fails to refund an application deposit is liable in court for $100, three times the amount of the application deposit, and reasonable attorney's fees.
As a tenant, you have the right to know the name and address of the owner of the premises. You also have the right to know the name and street address of any property management company that is managing your house or apartment. The landlord may satisfy her duty of disclosure by providing you with a written copy of the information, by having the information posted continuously in a conspicuous place in the apartment complex or resident manager's office, or by having the information included in your copy of the written lease
agreement or house rules.
If you were current on your rent when you gave the notices and the landlord has not complied with your second notice after seven days (or intentionally gave you incorrect information), you may sue the landlord for a court order that: (1) requires the landlord to disclose
the information; (2) awards to you your actual costs incurred in discovering the information; (3) imposes a penalty against the landlord in the amount of one month's rent plus $100; and (4) awards you attorney's fees and court costs. You may also terminate the lease
agreement without court proceedings. See "Warning." You may sue your landlord if she furnished an incorrect name or address of the owner or property management company by willfully posting or stating wrong information, or by willfully failing to correct information known by the landlord to be incorrect. You may sue your landlord
under these circumstances even if your rent is past due.
TERMINATION FOR LANDLORD FAILURES OR MILITARY TRANSFERS
Texas law specifically allows you to terminate a lease in a few circumstances when the landlord has failed to perform her duties.
A federal law allows military personnel to prematurely
terminate their leases without penalty if they are transferred by the military. A tenant in this situation should contact the applicable military agency or his commanding officer for more details.
In short... See you in court texstar, you will stop ripping off the military!
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