[03-Dec-2013] I rented from Todd Richter for 2-1/2 years, was late on my rent only a few times which I pre-arranged, and made countless improvements to the house and property. All my neighbors loved me and commented on how much better the home looked since I moved in.
When I discovered mold in a basement room, he came in and tore my couch away from the moldy wall spreading mold spores everywhere. He did not isolate the area first, protect any of my belongings, or ventilate. He tried to hide the mold on the walls by spraying Mold Armour a bleaching agent. When I complained that we began feeling symptoms from the mold after he did this, he served me with an eviction notice stating the large dog was in violation of my rental agreement. My boyfriend lives in OR and has been visiting me about once a month the entire time I lived in the house. Todd Richter had a problem with the dog about a year into my tenancy, stating that the large dog would damage the home. He performed an inspection of the house, determined there was no damage, and gave me permission for the dog to stay when my boyfriend was here. No mention of the dog again until the eviction.
Todd Richter is a liar and a slumlord. After learning of the mold he tried to blame me for causing it; saying that the flowers I planted along the front of the house were to blame. The mold is on the side of the house where I have planted nothing, I didn't even water the lawn there. He also lied and said that he had noticed the sprinkler too close to the house and had stopped and moved it in the past. If this were true, it would be an illegal action without proper notice. However this is not true, I was always home when I ran the sprinkler and usually working in the yard.
After performing my own inspection into the cause of the mold I found huge cracks in the foundation of the house; the largest being exactly where the mold started. The crack there was about 2 feet long by an inch wide and ran both above and below the dirt line. Ironically, someone had previously tried to cover it up by applying a concrete patch over the visible part of the crack but did not bother patching the hidden part below the dirt line therefore not addressing the problem at all.
Todd never once tried to correct the mess he created when he spread mold spores throughout the house with his negligent act, but he sure got on trying to mask the 2 largest cracks in the foundation. His solution was to hire a Home Depot lot guy as his helper and pour a column of concrete in front of the cracks a foot or more down stopping at the dirt line. This of course will still allow water to seep into the crack however will make it very difficult for anyone trying to look at the crack to see it without tearing out the concrete column he poured to try and hide it.
Future renters/buyers should also beware of the porch he built along the other side of the house. He did not build this to code and there is one beam supporting the whole deck. Luckily the deck is only a couple of feet above the ground but any kids or pets near or under it could be hurt if/when it collapses. This deck only took 2 years after it was promised to finally get it built. He was supposed to rebuild the old rickety deck the summer I moved in but did not until it had become such a safety concern that he couldn't avoid it any longer.
Here is another example of Todd Richter's lies... There was a small tree in the landscaping in front growing into the power lines above it. I brought this to Todd's attention and offered to remove the tree at no charge. He agreed that it should be removed and told me I could do it (how gracious of him). My boyfriend removed the tree as agreed. A couple of weeks later my boyfriend had problems with his SUV and used the main trunk of the tree to support a tarp over his SUV in the backyard while he worked in the rain. Todd even stopped to talk to him and offered to give him a battery (which he never gave him). Of course Todd made no mention of the tree trunk supporting the tarp because why would he? Nor did he mention the large dog that ran around the entire time, because again there was no issue to mention - both had been approved. Yet, in an email where he tried to discredit me as a tenant; one of the reasons he gave was that I allowed my boyfriend to chop down a tree so that he could use it to hold up a tarp! Really?! Another reason he gave was that I pressure washed the front 100 year old front porch. Ooh wouldn't you hate to have a terrible tenant like me? I should add that I pressure washed after he first did it and left streaks from doing a poor job. I just did the job right, didn't damage anything. Looking back he probably was worried about the huge crack in the foundation behind the stairs he didn't want anyone to find out about.
Anyway, this landlord has horrible ethics, and obviously will tell whatever lie he needs to in order to make himself look innocent. The truth will prevail in the end but I caution anyone who is thinking about renting from him or especially buying from him!!!
MISCELLANY
This landlord's information has been viewed 522 times since 12/03/2013.
This landlord has been rated by 1 member.
Link to this landlord's details directly via https://www.ratemylandlord.com/landlords/displayLandlordDetails.html?landlordid=855
Updates to this landlord's information may be submitted here.
