[quote=NicMM]The landlord asked me to do all these before the moving out inspection. I really have no idea after all these if she will still charge something else.
Should I refuse?
I have small kids, they put stickers on the wall and floor. There is one area under a rocking chair that we made big notable scratches. Because it is such a small space, the closets are not sliding ones but folding ones, sometimes when a closet door is not fully closed, you open the room door and enter the room , the door nob knocks to the closet door. So there are dents on the closet door too. Other than that, we didn’t do any other damage. We hire cleaners to clean the house every month for $80.
The house is old. But the condition when we moved in was better than today. I am fine to pay some repair. I just feel if I am paying too much (and still no guaranteed to get full deposit back). Nevertheless, the labor in Bay Area is very expensive.
If I don’t do all these, and landlord gets the same (or even more) bill with invoice to show my deduct from the deposit, is that legitimate for her to do? She even mentioned if she repairs, she will deduct the cost for days the house not available for rent.
I am not a person that would like to argue with people, hard to think to go to court for these kind of things.[/quote]
Great posts by the other posters, especially HLS and econprof.
Not sure about how tight your schedule is, but you might check with some local handymen to ask how much they would charge for some of the repairs that are not “normal” wear and tear. If your LL is recommending certain contractors, they might be related and could conspire to include things that weren’t there or claim the damages were greater than they really were, and/or they could overcharge you and make it more difficult to prove your case in court.
Congratulations on the purchase of your new home, and good luck with the LL!
