I had moved into this property that was rented out by an individual for a while now. At first everything seemed on the level and we were getting along as individuals with a good business reputation. As time had pressed on and the lease was about to expire, that's when the situation changed.
I began hearing rumors and misgivings that the landlady was talking about the tenants in a derogatory manner and since I had bounced a check, she demanded that I pay not only the bounce check fees, she demanded that I pay for her fees from the check that she wrote. Now I'm not too sure if this is standard practice or not and it was unintentional that the check had bounced but I paid the fees anyway. Since she does not report to any major credit bureaus, I began to think that her practice was a bit suspicious.
This of course happened right after she had accused myself and my neighbors in the duplex that we were running the water bill too high when she had stated in her lease that she pays for the water. Now tell me if this sounds strange to you but is it not unprofessional to show your tenants the water bill and accuse them of misuse? Again, I had let that slide.
Then she found out that we were in the market to buy a house. Her eyes lit up and those dollar signs flashed. Her hungry look turned into maliciousness when I informed her that I was not going to buy the duplex and decided to buy a house. For the time that we had lived there, we had nothing but drama and stress from her unprofessional attitude and horrible demeanor if the rent was paid even one day late. She made it a point to show up at the door at 2 on the day rent was due, which is on the third of every month, and I quote, "Where's my money?". This is even after we call her to let her know that payday was going to be a little off which happened a few times and we were good to adhere to our word.
There were times that we were never late and we would be slapped with charges that were completely unrelated to the rent. On an as-is lease, which is a big mistake by the way, any damages done should not be liable to the lessee but Yolanda makes it a point to let you know that if there are any damages other than normal wear and tear (which is on the lease), your security deposit is forfeit; her thoughts on wear and tear are unrealistic at best. If you don't submit in writing that you found another home in 30 days, your deposit is forfeit. She tries to run her operation like a loan sharking business which is horrible since the paint is peeling off the front the house on all sides, wood rot and mold is everywhere which is often covered up by paint, and the insulation is eaten by mildew with a terrible shift in foundation that is apparent by just looking at the house.
In San Antonio, it's normal for the foundations to shift since the ground is very dry and any rain would cause the surface dirt, which is a lot, to turn into mud and sink. She claims that the roof is new, it's over ten years old. She claims that the fuse boxes are updated which only one side of the duplex has an updated box and she claims that the rent is reasonable for the square footage. $550.00 for 800SqFt.
Ah, but here's the kicker. As the lessee, you're not only paying the rent, you're paying for her mortgage, her trips to the gym, her car payment and her grocery bill. She's getting money from her estranged husband, her live-in boyfriend, and her tenants. I can understand that this is part of the perks of being a property owner for profits but she's not really a property owner since she does the bare minimum on the upkeep to keep her profits hers and not giving back to the property which is her bread and butter. Sadly, her reputation in the neighborhood is getting around.
For the time that I had leased this property from her, she has only done one major repair job to both units and that's only because her live-in boyfriend noticed the problem and decided to fix it. (leaky pipes and water heater replacement). Both units are completely unfurnished meaning that you provide your own refrigerator and stove. There are washer and dryer hook-ups but we're not allowed to install these appliances since she's the one that pays for the water bill, and no carpet or painting is allowed. We don't have the permission to update the windows which are in serious need of replacing.
I had asked her once if I could update the cabinets since the laminate was separating from the surface with the response as a resounding no. Then that means that she would have to reimburse me and she didn't want to do that at all. She had kept the property at it's bare minimum with the bathroom floor is rotting away and I can't even fix that! This duplex is a health hazard and a half with a lot of need for upgrading. The duplex was built in the 1930's and if you're familiar with how houses were built, you can bet that there was very little to no ventilation in the kitchen and bathroom unless you open both front and back doors and all windows. Forget having air conditioning to correct the humidity issue while you're cooking on the stove. It simply doesn't work and the house becomes an oven itself. Microwave meals and crock pot creations work only for so long and take out gets expensive.
These units are not energy efficient for the cost with poor insulation, and the inspection alone would not pass for the amount that she's asking for in the selling price. With all the repairs that she would have to make in order to make the duplex worth buying, it would cost her the asking price alone. This includes new foundation supports (which are only sectioned logs, no lie), new fencing, floor replacement in the bathrooms in both units, new cabinets, sinks, windows, screens, insulation, roof, concrete repair on both front and back yard porches, siding replacement (wood rot on the wood siding from lack of maintenance), electrical work, pipe work, wood floor has holes in some places from termites found post extermination. To be honest, this duplex would not pass code unless you're paying in cash without a bank loan.
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