[01-Jun-2021] When things went wrong (i.e hot water heater broke and flooded first floor of the place the second week I moved in,) I found this landlord to be more concerned with the damage to her property than ensuring her tenant had the adequate living conditions for which she was paying. I had no hot water, countless workmen traipsing in and out (during a pandemic,) and 3 or 4 large, noisy industrial fans blaring 24/7 for over a week. I suspect, but have no proof, this delay in restoring hot water was not because there were no available local plumbers, or hot water heaters to be had, but bc she was shopping around for the least-expensive solution. Again, just a hunch.
Hot water heaters break, and it wasn’t the landlord’s fault, but she could have been a lot nicer about it. After, all, I was her paying tenant, not a houseguest. Only when I threatened to deduct something from the rent did she get in a plumber and (crappy) new hot water heater. While I appreciated the tulips and the $100 gift card from Citarella that her sister brought me when she came to survey the damage, I got pushback from this landlord when I wanted to deduct $70 from the rent (my electric bill was higher from all the fans she had going to dry the floors.) The landlord actually asked to see both sides of my electricity bill (!!!) and suggested the increase in my bill could also be due to colder weather. “What I am willing to do for this month only is split the difference with you. And have you take off $35 this month.” Unreal.
Later on during my tenancy, when the electricity went out one winter night, I called the electric company for help as I didn’t want to bother her. When neither myself or PSEG could figure out the problem (it wound up having to do with a loose wire or something in one of her outdoor generators,) and I texted her that I was calling an electrician, she said, “I’m not paying a technician to flip a switch”!
She also insisted upon my using her mother’s cleaning woman to do a full top-to-bottom cleaning of the place *after* I moved out, nevermind that I’d had two professional cleaners in every week for two hours since I took possession of the place, and no where in the lease did it say that I had to use her cleaning person. When she wouldnt tell me how much this cleaner charges (she claimed the woman had to first see the condition in which I had left the place in order to give her an estimate -?????) I called the cleaning woman up to find out (The landlord had left me the woman’s phone number on the fridge.) I learned that my landlord had paid the woman $200 for a top-to-bottom cleaning job before I moved in. So why the opaqueness? Why not just say, “about $200.”
The landlord was so incensed at having been outmaneuvered (or maybe just exposed) that she called me up and raged, “How dare you!” shouted, “Fuck you” and called me a “bitch” (!) before slamming down the receiver. Not exactly the reaction of someone operating above board.
P.s. She claims her cleaner wanted to charge more than $200 because I left the place “filthy.” Total b.s. - I had two people view the place the morning I moved out who can attest that this is false.
If you decide to rent from this landlord, I strongly suggest doing the following:
1. Take pictures and video - including extreme close ups of *every inch of this place* before you move in. Send this footage to the landlord with a cc to the real estate agent/broker, and make sure the landlord confirms receipt. This way, you can defend yourself against any bogus charges. Also, look for loose blinds, light fixtures, window and door knobs before signing the lease, and insist they be fixed before you move in. The third time I pulled a blind in the bathroom, it broke. Guess who had to pay for that?
2. Have the landlord remove all pots, pans, dish-ware, utensils, silverware, food, small appliances and clutter from the premises before you move in. Bring in your own stuff. Again, no chance this way of being accused of damages.
3. Make sure the lease states that unless landlord fixes damages (electrical or otherwise) within 24 hours, you can withhold a certain amount from the rent.
4. I have a bad back and needed a place with a tub as the hot water relieves pain. The hot water heater she got when her previous one broke does not hold enough hot water to do the laundry or run the dishwasher and/or take a bath in one day. If this concerns you, make sure you put in the lease that if this problem remains an issue, she must upgrade the hot water heater immediately or else allow you to deduct rent.
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