We were renting the house at 41 Mohawk Drive from Mr. Harlow. We called him about the lights going on and off, explaining there may be an electrical problem. He claimed he called an electrician but noone ever showed up. One night my husband came home from work and heard loud popping sounds and then smelled something strange. He called an electrician — because of the things that were going on, we assumed that was the problem.
When the electrician arrived, he said it was a problem with the outside box so we had to call the electric company. They came and said the wires were very old and frayed. The neutral had come loose and sent a surge through the house. The electrician then checked the wires in the walls and said they were all frayed and very old.
We had lost our TV, two VCRs, a CD/Clock/Radio, playstation, a DVD player, and our computer. When the landlord came over to see what had happened, he didn't offer any compensation. I asked about his insurance policy covering the damamge and he just shrugged his shoulders. The electrician he hired declared everything safe. I didn't trust it so I called two electricians myself.
Both of the certified electricians I called said the house was not safe to live in and was in violation of city code. I was ready to move out at that point. I called the landlord and asked if we could be released from our lease agreement which only had three months left on it. He refused.
He went on to say that if we did move out, he would sue us for the remainder of the lease. The city inspector came out and told him what needed to be done. He did nothing. As a matter of fact, he put the house up for sale. At this point, we were in the process of moving. We wrote him a letter explaining our reasons for moving and asking for our deposit back because he actually broke the lease by refusing to maintain the house.
We had given this man first and last months rent plus a large deposit. He refuses to even say he is sorry for happened to us. Thankfully, we had renters insurance to replace our damaged items but it doesn't make up for all the stress and hassle we had to go through. A simple apology could have helped a little bit. This guy is a pompous ass and noone should rent or buy this house! (he still has not made the repairs to meet the city code).
TD
Searcy, Arkansas
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