Need lawyer for consultation/ landlord who won't return sec.

anonymous · November 2006

Subject: Need lawyer for consultation/ landlord who won't return sec.

My lease is up end of April, but wife is preganant, and she wants a larger place before she gets too big. So we found a bigger apt, and informed landlord that we'd be moving out early. He said that was OK, and indicated he'd refund my security deposit if I cleaned the place up.

I did, well, and took photos to cover myself. The place was rented by an agent in a matter of days, and the rent jumped from $1310 to $1450 for the new tenant. Plus, I paid up for October and vacated the apt on Oct. 17th. A new tenant moved in before the month ended so the landlord pocketed some extra dough there. In other words, he made out fine.

I sent him a letter, thanking him for his decency (we lived there from Nov. 2003 til now) and giving my new address, so he can send the depsoit. That was two weeks ago and I haven't received a check for the deposit. I will be calling him to "remind" him, but want to cover my bases before I do.

Anyone know an attorney in park Slope area who can draft a letter for me to send if he does refuse to send my deposit. I'm not interested in going to small claims, but I will if I have to, and will take my pregannt wife with me for support.

I'd rather of course not to go this route and am quite possibly getting myself into a lather for nothing: the check may truly be in the mail, or he may have forgot about the deposit. he owns several properties and is a multi-millionaire, most likely.

Thanks ya'll.

anonymous · November 2006

Subject: deposit

WHY enrich lawyers any more than need be? You'd probably end up paying the same amount just to have their receptionist answer the phone. Be patient. Life is too short to worry over such a paltry sum.
(And it is my experience that if you win in small claims court you still might not collect. And think of the precious time you waste.0 No charge for this superb advice.

anonymous · November 2006

Subject: Re: deposit

We may be on the opposite end of the economic spectrum: to me, $1275 is not a small sum of money.

A previous landlord tried the same deal, in Long Island, and I took her to court, and won, and collected.

I'm not into letting landlords get away with this practice.....

And I'm pretty certain I can find a lawyer to draft a letter for a nominal fee, to stave off a court visit, if this landlord doesn't pay up.....Whatsamatter, you don't like lawyers??

alafairnadia · November 2006

before you start spending your precious money (and I'm not being facetious - money is precious to people who can't afford to squander it) on a lawyer, get onto tenant.net (or is it tenant.org) and review their site. chances are they have a form letter you can use that will cite relevant portions of the housing code, etc.
also, because your case would be small claims, find out if the small claims court in brooklyn has a dispute resolution center - often you can file a claim and have it diverted to a mediator, and for that you definitely don't need a lawyer.

pitu · November 2006

Second on the patience and the tenant.net website -- their forums are really helpful.

A good local tenant lawyer, should it come to that, is Lynn Armentrout. She has a website, is googleable, etc.
I used her years ago for something, but I still see her around.

Good luck on a smooth transition . . . please try calling without being angry before you escalate and spend with a lawyer.

anonymous · November 2006

I know you guys are always eager to threaten with lawyers, even if the landlords are decent and you've been living in their property for years.

But why can't you just give that landlord a quick call to verify why he hasn't sent that check? Hey, perhaps he forgot about it! You had such a great relationship with him right? At this stage, to hire a lawyer and to threaten the landlord is absolutely not done - maybe later.

This is at all not about money, it's about basic civil behavior.

To all landlords: make sure you get new tenant's references from previous landlords.

Lawyer

anonymous · November 2006

Subject: Re: security deposit

Who wants to bet the "Lawyer" posting is also a landlord?

((((I know you guys are always eager to threaten with lawyers, even if the landlords are decent and you've been living in their property for years.

But why can't you just give that landlord a quick call to verify why he hasn't sent that check? Hey, perhaps he forgot about it! You had such a great relationship with him right? At this stage, to hire a lawyer and to threaten the landlord is absolutely not done - maybe later.

This is at all not about money, it's about basic civil behavior.

To all landlords: make sure you get new tenant's references from previous landlords.))))))

This, Lawyer, is what I wrote:

(((Anyone know an attorney in park Slope area who can draft a letter for me to send if he does refuse to send my deposit? I'm not interested in going to small claims, but I will if I have to, and will take my pregannt wife with me for support.

I'd rather of course not to go this route and am quite possibly getting myself into a lather for nothing: the check may truly be in the mail, or he may have forgot about the deposit. he owns several properties and is a multi-millionaire, most likely. )))))

I made it clear, I think, if you read the post in total, that I am getting an attorney's name if I need it....was that not clear, or did you just scan the post? I know who I efinitely will not be asking for a consultation, you: this is a favorite landlord trick, time honored...not returning security deposit. It's theft, and they get away with it because people aren't in a position to fight: it takes time and effort to go after it, and we all have jobs that need attending to.....

Pitu, thanks for the tip on Armentrout......

Need lawyer for consultation/ landlord who won't return sec.

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Need lawyer for consultation/ landlord who won't return sec.