famedglory wrote:<snip>
Also where are these mythical landlords who actually take care of maintenance? I've never heard of anyone I know having a landlord around here who actually does anything, let alone have one myself. And we live in a nice area. The husband spent a few hours last night fixing the plumbing in the bathroom of the new place. Our roomates had been trying to get the landlord to come out for months to do that. We have a jar full of little balls and flakes of iron that he cleaned out of the pipes, but at least we have water pressure now.
I've lived in 3 places in different parts of Orlando, and each and every landlord had to have threats of rent-withholding before they would do something so simple as send a plumber out to fix a leaky tub faucet. I'm pretty handy around the house; I can do small drywall patches, replace door-knobs and locks, caulk and seal windows, sinks, (but not tubs... never figured that one out) etc... But I refuse to come out of pocket for major repairs that are not my responsibility. For instance: First house we lived in, the main light fixture in the living room was not wired properly. Every time we put a bulb in, the thing would blow within a week, no matter the wattage. We tried the recommended size that was printed on the sticker inside the fixture, then tried lower watts, then higher. Didn't matter. Bulb would go flickerflickerdimbrightdark. Not major, but annoying, and the landlord blew it off... Next place was a nightmare: Maaaaaajor termite infestation. Huge sink hole in the back yard, right next to the house, where they pulled up a palm tree and never filled the hole properly, which the washing machine drained into, without any pipes; just rush of water every time it emptied. And it was right next to the foundation. Windows NAILED shut on the ground floor, and windows on the front porch that didn't close at all, with no screens on them. Deadbolt that was missing the bolt portion, and the landlord forbid me from changing. Front door not insulated properly, leading to flooding of our front porch. Holes in the fences, which meant my dogs still had to be tied up, thus partially defeating the purpose of "fenced-in back yard". No insulation in the ceiling. Backed-up air conditioner drain system, which meant all the condensation flooded back into the vents, and drained into our bedroom, ruining several hundred dollars worth of furniture and clothing when the ceiling rotted out and came down on it. Then, when we told the landlord we were going to with-hold rent, and put it in an escrow account until he fixed it, he posted an eviction notice on our door, notarized by his wife, who is a Notary, but which is illegal without going through the proper channels first. We got him to take it back, but then packed our stuff and called Code Enforcement on him, before we left. For the record, the guy didn't even get out of his truck, before spotting 10 violations of Florida building codes.
Our current place has just as many, or more problems, than the last one, and we've gone 2 years trying to get the landlord to do something about it. However, the property has been taken over by a property management company, so hopefully things will start getting fixed. It's not a bad place for the money, if it was FIXED. We have a small lake in the back yard, which is visible through the glass door, as well as the master bedroom window, and a giant oak tree in the side yard, that we share with the building next to ours. It's a bad neighborhood though, so hopefully we get to move soon.
