[19-Nov-2012] We moved in mid-month. We had to pay the prorated rent, the first entire month's rent, last month's rent and a $500 "bonus" as Alex called it. Basically, this is $500 you will never see again as Alex uses it to fix up properties on your dime.
When we moved in, the place was filthy. The carpets were not cleaned and we had to request them to be cleaned. A day before we moved in, we were at the unit and Alex was painting the walls himself. Once we got the key, we had to spend 2 days cleaning the place it was so dirty. The back patio area was not even visible as it was completely overgrown with weeds. The overgrowth was actually causing the chain link fence to bow out they were so out of control.
We had no dryer when we moved it and he told us to just use our neighbors! It was 3 days before we had a working dryer. We had plumbing issues throughout our time there and he was slow to fix because he would call several plumbers to get the cheapest rate so we were without a working shower for 24 hours. During the almost 2 years we lived there, he never changed the air filter.
Upon moving out, Alex did a walk through with us but pointed out things that were NOT our responsibility to fix (normal wear/tear) or things that were in that condition when we moved in. He actually pointed out flaws in the paint....a paint job he did himself!
It took him OVER the 21 day legally required time frame to return our money. Since we had prepaid the rent when we moved in + the $500 bonus, by my calculations he owed us about $1730. He did give us 3 old water bills the day after we gave our move out notice so after I subtracted them, he still owed us almost $1300.
He only gave us back $676 and included only two Home Depot receipts! He charged us to take out trash (there was none) clean up the yard, replace air filters, replant the weeds in the back, haul off waste and repaint. He charged is $95 to clean the living room carpet when it hadn't even been done yet! (The $95 was an estimate!) We went over to the property was confirmed just by looking on the outside of the property he did NOT do anything that he charged us for. No replanted the "waste" (an old fence left by a construction job done at the property next to ours) was still there, etc.
He seems to think he can do whatever he wants with the $500 bonus but per CA law, any monies that does NOT go to rent is considered a security deposit and therefore, the landlord must abide by the laws for security deposits. He did not. You cannot use a security deposit to clean carpet, paint, fix nail holes or anything caused by normal wear and tear.
Know your rights as a tenant. We will be pursuing legal action. Save yourself the frustration and DO NOT RENT FROM ALEX KIRIAZE.
MISCELLANY
This landlord's information has been viewed 427 times since 10/15/2012.
