I signed a lease and moved into a rental home in November 2012. Prior to moving in, I advised the landlady of the issues/damages to the home that needed to be repaired (major bug problem, yard was a mess, inside needed painted and cleaned, carpets were disgusting, mold issue in bathrooms, etc). I had just relocated to the area and was staying with family temporarily. There is very little to choose from here as far as rentals go, so I didn't really have the option to look for a different home. She said she would fix the issues prior to my move-in date.
When move-in day came, most of the issues had not been addressed. An exterminator had come out to the house once or twice, but the bugs were still really bad. German roaches are very difficult to get rid of and require much more than one or two treatments. The yard had not been cleaned up, only a broken swingset was removed. The mold issue in the bathrooms was not addressed. The carpet was only cleaned in the living room. The paint was only done in the kitchen. When I asked the landlady about these issues, she said the house had been cleaned and painted completely (only the kitchen was done, and quite poorly). I don't think she even went out to check it when the work was supposedly done. I again advised that it hadn't been done and I filled out a form stating any/all damages present upon move-in, which she and I both signed. She said she would continue sending the exterminator out.
Fast forward a few months...the exterminator had never shown up, landlady never followed up or responded, and I called the exterminator myself to find out what was going on. He said the landlady never paid his bill, and if we wanted him to come back, we would have to pay. We ended up having him treat the house twice, but couldn't afford any additional payments. We eventually found a nest ourselves and treated it ourselves, greatly improving the issue, but not completely eliminating it.
Fast forward again a few more months...the mold issue in the bathroom was getting out of control and making me sick. We tried our best to keep it clean, but even daily cleaning with bleach did not control it. It grew back faster than we could clean it. A previous tenant had caulked over the mold around the tub. It needed to be stripped, cleaned, and redone (this was noted on my move-in form and discussed multiple times with the landlady). I contacted her again because I feared it was black mold. She did respond right away and came out to inspect it. She said it wasn't black mold, but that a plumber was needed to fix the issues in both bathrooms. She never scheduled the plumber or provided any other solution for the mold issues.
November 2013: landlady contacted me to sign a new lease, advising if I agreed to sign it, the owner would give me half off my rent for December. I agreed and paid the discounted rent that day (December's rent was due in 3 days), but some stipulations had to be put in the lease because the owner was planning to sell the house, and I was trying to buy a house and would possibly need to break lease later on. She said she would prepare the lease and email it to me. She never did.
January's rent was paid on schedule. Still no new lease. When I went to pay February's rent, I was told by the owner of the real estate office that my landlady was no longer working there and I would be contacted by her as to where to pay my rent from now on. He let me pay February's rent there, but March would not be paid to him. February came and went, no contact from her. I contacted the real estate office again in March to advise I still didn't know where to pay my rent. It wasn't until the rent was late that I finally got a call from the landlady to advise me of where to drop it off. I was told at that time that new leases would be dropped off to all renters because the company name on the lease was changed since she was no longer with the real estate office. No new lease was ever brought by. Later in March, I notified the landlady in writing that I would vacate the property as of April 30th because I was closing on a house I had purchased. I asked to set up an appointment to have the rental inspected and turn over the keys. She said she would contact me closer to my closing date to set the appointment.
April 28, 2014: already closed on my house and still no contact from landlady for inspection appointment. I called her and set it up for April 30th after I got off of work. On April 30th, I received a phone call from her at work that she was inside the rental and was inspecting it. She let herself in, without my prior knowledge and without me there, when she knew I would still be at work. We still had a some last minute belongings to pick up from the house, which my husband was taking care of that day right before our inspection appointment, but now she was walking around in our house without us there, griping on the phone to me about our belongings still being there. Florida law requires 12 hours notice before a landlord can enter your residence (except in emergency situations or other specific extenuating circumstances). I still possessed the keys and that rental until 6pm that night, so she was violating that law.
After work, we picked up the rest of our things and dropped off the keys, and also took extensive pictures of the property to show that we left it in better condition than what it was in when we moved in (we also have before pictures). When I dropped off the keys, I was told it would take up to 30 days to receive my deposit. A couple weeks later, I received a certified letter detailing the things she would use the deposit for, and the money she is saying I owe her for damages in excess of the deposit! The items she was claiming were largely things already on the move-in form as damages prior to move-in (which I'm sure she's not fixing anyway), and she claimed I did not pay my full rent for January 2014. I have proof of payment. What I believe she was referring to was December 2013 when she offered the discounted rent, but not once did she contact me to actually sign the lease and not once did she contact me to say "hey, you never signed a lease so you have to pay the other half of December's rent." She continued to accept my rental payments, on time every month, without ever questioning the discounted month. One of the times I asked her about getting the deposit back, she said "well, you didn't use me as a realtor to buy your house..."
Since moving, my kids and I are feeling much better and are hardly ever sick. We were constantly sick when we lived in the rental. This landlady is very shady. I don't ever plan on renting again, but if I ever had to, I have certainly learned some lessons with this one that I will never forget. I have already contacted an attorney and am in the process of filing suit against her for my deposit that she is fraudulently holding. Actually, I don't think she is "holding" it because I doubt even has it at all, though it is required by law to keep it in escrow.
Lott Properties Inc Reviews
I signed a lease and moved into a rental home in November 2012. Prior to moving in, I advised the landlady of the issues/damages to the home that needed to be repaired (major bug problem, yard was a mess, inside needed painted and cleaned, carpets were disgusting, mold issue in bathrooms, etc). I had just relocated to the area and was staying with family temporarily. There is very little to choose from here as far as rentals go, so I didn't really have the option to look for a different home. She said she would fix the issues prior to my move-in date.
When move-in day came, most of the issues had not been addressed. An exterminator had come out to the house once or twice, but the bugs were still really bad. German roaches are very difficult to get rid of and require much more than one or two treatments. The yard had not been cleaned up, only a broken swingset was removed. The mold issue in the bathrooms was not addressed. The carpet was only cleaned in the living room. The paint was only done in the kitchen. When I asked the landlady about these issues, she said the house had been cleaned and painted completely (only the kitchen was done, and quite poorly). I don't think she even went out to check it when the work was supposedly done. I again advised that it hadn't been done and I filled out a form stating any/all damages present upon move-in, which she and I both signed. She said she would continue sending the exterminator out.
Fast forward a few months...the exterminator had never shown up, landlady never followed up or responded, and I called the exterminator myself to find out what was going on. He said the landlady never paid his bill, and if we wanted him to come back, we would have to pay. We ended up having him treat the house twice, but couldn't afford any additional payments. We eventually found a nest ourselves and treated it ourselves, greatly improving the issue, but not completely eliminating it.
Fast forward again a few more months...the mold issue in the bathroom was getting out of control and making me sick. We tried our best to keep it clean, but even daily cleaning with bleach did not control it. It grew back faster than we could clean it. A previous tenant had caulked over the mold around the tub. It needed to be stripped, cleaned, and redone (this was noted on my move-in form and discussed multiple times with the landlady). I contacted her again because I feared it was black mold. She did respond right away and came out to inspect it. She said it wasn't black mold, but that a plumber was needed to fix the issues in both bathrooms. She never scheduled the plumber or provided any other solution for the mold issues.
November 2013: landlady contacted me to sign a new lease, advising if I agreed to sign it, the owner would give me half off my rent for December. I agreed and paid the discounted rent that day (December's rent was due in 3 days), but some stipulations had to be put in the lease because the owner was planning to sell the house, and I was trying to buy a house and would possibly need to break lease later on. She said she would prepare the lease and email it to me. She never did.
January's rent was paid on schedule. Still no new lease. When I went to pay February's rent, I was told by the owner of the real estate office that my landlady was no longer working there and I would be contacted by her as to where to pay my rent from now on. He let me pay February's rent there, but March would not be paid to him. February came and went, no contact from her. I contacted the real estate office again in March to advise I still didn't know where to pay my rent. It wasn't until the rent was late that I finally got a call from the landlady to advise me of where to drop it off. I was told at that time that new leases would be dropped off to all renters because the company name on the lease was changed since she was no longer with the real estate office. No new lease was ever brought by. Later in March, I notified the landlady in writing that I would vacate the property as of April 30th because I was closing on a house I had purchased. I asked to set up an appointment to have the rental inspected and turn over the keys. She said she would contact me closer to my closing date to set the appointment.
April 28, 2014: already closed on my house and still no contact from landlady for inspection appointment. I called her and set it up for April 30th after I got off of work. On April 30th, I received a phone call from her at work that she was inside the rental and was inspecting it. She let herself in, without my prior knowledge and without me there, when she knew I would still be at work. We still had a some last minute belongings to pick up from the house, which my husband was taking care of that day right before our inspection appointment, but now she was walking around in our house without us there, griping on the phone to me about our belongings still being there. Florida law requires 12 hours notice before a landlord can enter your residence (except in emergency situations or other specific extenuating circumstances). I still possessed the keys and that rental until 6pm that night, so she was violating that law.
After work, we picked up the rest of our things and dropped off the keys, and also took extensive pictures of the property to show that we left it in better condition than what it was in when we moved in (we also have before pictures). When I dropped off the keys, I was told it would take up to 30 days to receive my deposit. A couple weeks later, I received a certified letter detailing the things she would use the deposit for, and the money she is saying I owe her for damages in excess of the deposit! The items she was claiming were largely things already on the move-in form as damages prior to move-in (which I'm sure she's not fixing anyway), and she claimed I did not pay my full rent for January 2014. I have proof of payment. What I believe she was referring to was December 2013 when she offered the discounted rent, but not once did she contact me to actually sign the lease and not once did she contact me to say "hey, you never signed a lease so you have to pay the other half of December's rent." She continued to accept my rental payments, on time every month, without ever questioning the discounted month. One of the times I asked her about getting the deposit back, she said "well, you didn't use me as a realtor to buy your house..."
Since moving, my kids and I are feeling much better and are hardly ever sick. We were constantly sick when we lived in the rental. This landlady is very shady. I don't ever plan on renting again, but if I ever had to, I have certainly learned some lessons with this one that I will never forget. I have already contacted an attorney and am in the process of filing suit against her for my deposit that she is fraudulently holding. Actually, I don't think she is "holding" it because I doubt even has it at all, though it is required by law to keep it in escrow.