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Thread: I AM SO ANGRY AT MY "NONEXISTENT" LANDLORDS!!

  1. #1
    PhillyDancer1982
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    Angry I AM SO ANGRY AT MY "NONEXISTENT" LANDLORDS!!

    OK I live in a mediocre-at-best apartment in the lower part of Northeast Philly. It's a neighborhood that is not bad by any means, but has seen better days. I got the apartment on my own back in May 2005, and my lease expires April 1st 2006. At the lease signing, I was required to pay 3months rent upfront because I lacked rental history. Unlike most of the deadbeat derelict tenants in my building, I've always paid my rent on time. I am very credit-obsessed and conscientious about paying bills.

    Two months ago, our building-full-o-deadbeats got sold to a different rental company(probably b/c the old management got tired of "pulling teeth" each month just to get some of the tenants to pay their rent). These new landlords are so nonexistent, it's at the point that I'm convinced they are mere robots. There is no rental office in our building, or there is, but is abandoned these days. The mailing address for the rent is a mere PO box in NJ, 2hrs from the apartment. The office phone number is a Philly area code number, but no one ever answers calls during business hours, or even checks messages(voice mailbox is ALWAYS full, I can't even leave a message!!! ) Sound shady?

    On January 28th, I sent out a money order for the rent amount to the NJ PO Box address. I had until February 5th for it to be considered "on time." On late afternoon of February 3rd, I get my rent "returned to sender" with a stamp saying "insufficient address." I tried frantically to call the rental office and explain what happened, notify them that the rent was on its way, confirm the mailing address, etc. I left a message asking them to call me back "immediately." I called 10000times in a stalker-esque fashion, never got a hold of ANYONE, never a return call, and as of Monday the voice mailbox was full again so I couldn't even leave another message. I've done everything I could to find out how I can get in touch. I notified the old management, they said they have "no idea" anything about how to reach the new management. I even tried contacting legal courts to file a tenant/landlord complaint for "landlord negligence," so that I could use this as evidence in court that I attempted to contact them if they try to sue for unpaid rent; but all I got was the "ringer," calling like 12 numbers and each time being pawned off to someone else and then wasting all these cell phone minutes. At this point I'm not comfortable re-mailling the rent, what if it gets returned to sender again, thus delaying more time...or worse, what if it gets lost? I only want to hand in the rent to them personally so I know that it reaches their hands. But I can't get in contact with them. I spent literally hours yesterday afternoon, making calls, crying my eyes out, and worried about what if they evict me. Because they've had so many problems with tenants not paying rent, they put up big lawsuit notices on the 10th of the month, and hang these in the front doorway to humiliate the delinquent tenant in front of everyone else. I severely fear getting taken to court for something that I never intended to happen.

    I DIDN'T MAKE RENT PAYMENTS ON TIME ALL YEAR LONG, JUST TO DEFAULT ON RENT AT THE LAST MONTH. TRUST ME, IF I WANTED TO PAY RENT LATE, I WOULDA PAID LATE ON A MONTH THAT I WAS MORE IN NEED OF THE MONEY. IF I WANTED TO GET EVICTED FROM THIS SHITTY WHITE-TRASH/BLACK-TRASH APARTMENT BUILDING, I WOULDA MOVED OUT MONTHS EARLIER AND SAVED MUCHO DINERO IN CAR INSURANCE BY DOING SO. This just doesn't seem fair at all. I probably care the most about getting my rent paid, than anyone else in my building. I have the fucking money, obviously I meant for it to be on-time if the Money Order and envelope postage was days before the rent due date, all I wanted to do was pay my fucking rent and move outta this dump when my lease is up in April. At this point I'll probably be taken to court and have to pay all these late fees/court fees for something that isn't my fault. All because they are being ignorant/negligent and not allowing me to get in contact with them. My credit means a lot to me, the last thing I need is to get sued/evicted and get a public judgment on my credit. I spent literally all day yesterday crying to friends about this.

  2. #2
    PhillyDancer1982
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    Default Re: I AM SO ANGRY AT MY "NONEXISTENT" LANDLORDS!!

    Oh, and another thing I want to vent! Earlier that day, I was bawling my eyes out to my friend and her boyfriend about the situation, asking them what I should do, and crying about how much it would *screw* my life if I got evicted for this whole miscommunication. It was obvious that I was very upset that I was unable to get my rent in, despite my best efforts.

    So then a few hours later, who calls, but the same friend I talked to earlier, asking ME if she could borrow $500 to pay her rent because she didn't have the money!!!! Why would I want to pay SOMEONE ELSE'S rent for them on-time, if I can't even have MY OWN rent be considered "on-time"? And that's considering that I HAD the rent money the whole fucking time and INTENDED to have it get there, but my friend feared rent being late simply because she didn't have the rent money. I constantly feel like people are always trying to ask me for money, it's like having leeches feed off the already-crippled, weakened individual. Why do others expect me to help them, when I can't even help myself??

  3. #3
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    Default Re: I AM SO ANGRY AT MY "NONEXISTENT" LANDLORDS!!

    This is similar to insurance companies who won't process your health claims, or property insurance companies that only have 800 numbers where no one answers the phone.
    Or like companies that sell you products but have no real customer service.
    This is their way of telling the american people they will take your money, but they really don't want you as a customer for too much longer.

    Mail your rent check certified mail return receipt requested. Use a paper check not a credit card so you've got evidence it was cashed. Use an old fashioned bank that returns your checks or at the least provides computer images of the checks that are processed.

    Expect maintenance service to decline further. Is this an area where they could knock
    down the buidling and put up a more intensive (profitable) building? If so you are in a transitional use building and it is time to think of a contingency plan to move.

  4. #4
    PhillyDancer1982
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    Default Re: I AM SO ANGRY AT MY "NONEXISTENT" LANDLORDS!!

    Yes I agree with your comments Niceguy. I like the comparison you made to insurance companies. I was actually thinking of comparing the landlords to one of those predatory bad-credit CC companies, where they constantly change their mailing addresses and "trick" you into paying late so they can charge you absurdly large late fees.

    As far as moving?? Haaaa I've wanted to move outta this dump ever since I got my Mustang GT in November and learned that I was paying $1000-2000/yr more by living within Philly city limits. (Philly was rated the #1 county in the US for most expensive car insurance, by the way) And then right after that, there was a shooting that occured right outside my building; an angry ex-girlfriend shot her ex-boyfriend and his new girl in broad daylight, luckily there were no deaths involved. I somewhat knew the old landlord, he was very cool, and I can understand why he wanted to get "out" of managing the building; every week, he would get frustrated with the tenants littering in the hallways & parking lot, would put up angry signs in the halls telling people to clean up after themselves, then have the signs torn down by the derelict tenants. The only reason I'm still here, is to carry through the full terms of my lease so that I can develop "good rental history," which is an oxymoron, because if I broke my lease and moved out earlier, I would have never encountered this problem, which could potentially DESTROY the possibility of having "good rental history."

  5. #5
    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: I AM SO ANGRY AT MY "NONEXISTENT" LANDLORDS!!

    Mail your rent check certified mail return receipt requested. Use a paper check not a credit card so you've got evidence it was cashed. Use an old fashioned bank that returns your checks or at the least provides computer images of the checks that are processed.
    Obviously, the new owners of your building had a very good idea of the financial dependability of the majority of tenants before they bought the property. It's also quite reasonable to assume that the new owners have plans for this building which are something other than 'low rent' housing for financially undependable tenants.

    The 'insufficient address' may have been a deliberate gambit on the part of the new owners, or it could have simply been an oversight. If you addressed your rent payment envelope in EXACTLY the way the new owners listed it on whatever notification document you received from them, then the fact that mail delivery was not possible is THEIR fault not yours. The postmarked envelope with USPO markings 'returned - insufficient address' constitute proof of your attempt to make a timely rent payment if the matter ever comes up before a court of law.

    Unfortunately, this will not prevent your new landlord from making a credit report that your rent payment was not received on time. Such a bogus report can be successfully disputed via the same envelope evidence, but the fact remains that your new landlord can do the damage to your credit rating first and you'll have to dispute it second.

    I agree that it's time to seriously think about moving ASAP.

  6. #6
    AudreyLeigh
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    Default Re: I AM SO ANGRY AT MY "NONEXISTENT" LANDLORDS!!

    From my experience most landlords dont report late payments to your credit report like cc companies and such. Only thing that will go on your report is a judgement if its sent to collections and not paid.

    You do now (from all your calls) have proof that you tried numerous times to contact them on your phone records.

    I would HIGHLY recommend NOT paying in a MO. Its sooo hard to track those down. My ex paid rent with one and they claimed they didnt receive it. He called and mailed in the papers and etc to the MO company and gave up after 6 months to no avail. He also had to re-pay rent with a late fee for that month.

    Please get a checking account and pay your rent with a cashiers check. That way its traceable. There are MANY banks that offer 2nd chance checking if youre on Chex Systems from a previous account. Someone will give you an account. And with a cashiers check (if youre worried about bouncing a check) the money is taken directly out of your account when you draw up the check. Theyre $6 each at my bank and well worth it.

    I would do that and then mail the check certified with return receipt... IF the check never gets picked up you have proof of the date you got it (check is dated at the bank, and all proof is on your bank statement) and its not your fault they never received it. You TRIED. Even IF it goes to court or collections youll have proof to get it removed from your credit report.

    Then I would move out as soon as the lease expires.

    Good luck!

  7. #7
    God/dess montythegeek's Avatar
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    Default Re: I AM SO ANGRY AT MY "NONEXISTENT" LANDLORDS!!

    A list of possibilities,

    1 contact the local agency that sends property tax bills. There has to be an address for that and the name of the owner.

    2 Call the housing department/authority of city/county government. There may be an escrow provison in local law that deals with these issues as well as landlord/tenant disputes and info on file for water and utility bills. If no one can be contacted ther is no provison for an emergency repair if a pipe breaks or the furnace dies in winter.

    3 Talk to the next most likely to be responsible tenant and find out if they got theirs back too or had a better address.

    4 Ask the old landlord what lawyer/ real estate agent dealt with the deal and contact them for an address/name.

  8. #8
    PhillyDancer1982
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    Default Re: I AM SO ANGRY AT MY "NONEXISTENT" LANDLORDS!!

    OK here is a (still very frustrating) update.

    I did some stalker-esque workings, by doing "reverse lookup" of the office phone number on whitepages.com. It gave me an address with a simple resident name, "D Pollac," so I drove to this address(in the bad part of the city) and it was actually an entire apartment building. Isn't it kinda shady that the apartment building isn't listed as an apartment building in the yellow pages, but as someone's individual place?? I told you this management is shady and "bad news." I went to the office, asked a few tenants and even the mailman if they ever saw the manager. The mailman said he sometimes saw maintenance/custodians, but never the manager. One girl said she only met him once, on the day he gave her the key to her place! Finally, I resorted to writing a note explaining the situation, complete with my name, phone#, and apartment#, and placed this through the slot in the door. I did NOT however put my enveloped Money Order thru the slot, because the slot looked big enough that someone could possibly steal it from there if they tried. I stated this in the note, that I HAD the original unopened envelope but would not deliver it until it was given in person, to ensure the security of its delivery this time.

    Hahaha and on the way back into my apartment, I ran into two kids that often play in the hallway of my building. I was dressed in a blazer suit(it was to impress this nonexistent landlord, so that I would look mature and responsible!), and the one kid says, "Wow, are you the apartment manager?" Of all irony!! So I crack, "Ha I wish, no I'm not, but if I was the manager I would do a lot better job than our current one." Then I proceded to tell them that our manager was "invisible" and a "robot," and to tell their mommies and daddies what I said!! The one little girl was awestruck, like "Wow, he's a robot?! What kinda robot?" Haha if they've had any maintenance problems at all, I'm sure their parents will understand the satirical humor when their kids tell them this.

    The reason I paid with a money order, is simply because I ran out of checks for my checking account, and was waiting for my re-orders to arrive.

  9. #9
    God/dess VenusGoddess's Avatar
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    Default Re: I AM SO ANGRY AT MY "NONEXISTENT" LANDLORDS!!

    If you hold onto the check that was returned, do not open it, do not make changes to it in any way shape or form...it will be valid in any kind of dispute.

    Keep a log of everything you've done. Not emotional accounts, but factual. Every phone number you called...day and time...who you spoke with, if anyone.

    Keeping a log will always win out over trying to remember circumstances, dates, times, names, etc.

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    Default Re: I AM SO ANGRY AT MY "NONEXISTENT" LANDLORDS!!

    You must pay with a check... no exception. Without it, one of your key items of proof is removed from your evidence file, which in this instance, is good evidence for you proving your case. A bank certified check would work. You keep the carbon copy of who its made out to. They cost anywhere from free to $12.00. It's a very good payment record.

    This is all very odd. I'll bet your building is scheduled for demolition, (as a transitional use) or you have an ownership entity with alot of money that really isn't in the real estate business and is totally incompetant on administration and running an apartment business.

    In other words they are either trying to get rid of their tenants, or don't care about having any because that is not the reason they own the building. Let us know what happens.

  11. #11
    PhillyDancer1982
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    Default Re: I AM SO ANGRY AT MY "NONEXISTENT" LANDLORDS!!

    Again, I agree with you Niceguy. The landlord doesn't do shit!! My lease is up in April, and TRUST ME I will not be staying past the end-of-lease date. But even if I wanted to extend my lease, how could I do so if the landlord won't get in any contact at all? The tenants in the other building the landlord owns, claim that he NEVER answers maintenance/repair calls, but raises rent sky-high; $1000+/month for a 2bedroom apartment in a not-good part of the city??(luckily my rent is only $580 for a 1bedroom) F--k that! My friend and I were looking at 2bedroom apartments in a NICE SUBURB nearby the city, but for only $800! Much nicer apartments, too!!

    It seems like no one cares about my building anymore. I really do think this landlord is an "amateur" that doesn't know what he is doing. Why else would "Granada Apartments" be listed on whitepages.com as "D. Pollack"? Obviously it's not an official "business." Hey, my apartment building isn't even listed at all on whitepages.com!! I wish I knew this was going to happen, when I moved in. These "robot" landlords didn't even have my building until 2months ago! Now that I've been dancing for a year and have finances under control, hopefully I can get a nicer place with something better than this ghetto landlord BS!

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    Default Re: I AM SO ANGRY AT MY "NONEXISTENT" LANDLORDS!!

    But why doesn't he do anything? Doesn't advertise. Doesn't have apartment building listed as apartment building. Doesn't allow any contact. Hides behind management company that isn't there and is on auto pilot. He's he is a drug dealer, hiding something, or is incompetant. I guess I would believe incompetant, but that means he is losing money which no one likes to do. Again let us know when you find out what the story is.

  13. #13
    PhillyDancer1982
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    Default Re: I AM SO ANGRY AT MY "NONEXISTENT" LANDLORDS!!

    OK here's an update. I talked to one of my neighbors, and got a different number to reach the landlord. THIS number is a 732 area code, which is Jersey!! WHY is he making us mail our rent to Jersey, and call him in Jersey? My neighbor is mad because she doesn't have long distance on her phone, thus cannot even call this number when she needs him, but anyway.

    So I call him, he has trouble hearing me, then 1.06mins into my explanation, call gets disconnected. He hasn't tried to call back yet, and to be honest I had to answer a business call right afterwards so I haven't called back either. When I introduced myself on the phone, I was very friendly and confirmed, "You're the manager of [insert Bullshit] Apartments, right?" and he said "Well, uh...I'm in the management." So now I'm not even sure if he's the specific person in charge of my building. I don't know. But I told my ex-boyfriend, who used to live with me here, what you said about the building possibly being planned for something else. I think there is something to that.

  14. #14
    PhillyDancer1982
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    Default Re: I AM SO ANGRY AT MY "NONEXISTENT" LANDLORDS!!

    OK I just called back the landlord and we arranged to meet at the other apartment building(the one I tried going to yesterday) so I can hand him the rent. He seems kinda easy going with it, so that's good(well, at least for my case LOL). Hopefully he'll realize the miscommunication and not try to charge me late fees, once he sees that the Money Order WAS sent out before duedate. But yeah, this has taught me a lesson...to look into the apartment's validity before signing a lease! Last year, I didn't have many options(low budget, lack of rental history, credit had some inaccuracies on it, etc), and the apartment I'm in now was the "nicest" that I could afford/qualify for. This year, however, I can afford something nicer and trust me I will seize that opportunity.

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    Default Re: I AM SO ANGRY AT MY "NONEXISTENT" LANDLORDS!!

    I wouldn't go to this meeting alone on his turf. Your call.

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    Default Re: I AM SO ANGRY AT MY "NONEXISTENT" LANDLORDS!!

    MORE: When you see him get an address or PO box where you can send your rent in the future. I would not suggest seeing him every month in person to pay your rent.
    This is the type of relationship you want never to get started and screen out now. It is also most inefficent to have to pay bills in person. Sounds like 1890.

  17. #17
    God/dess sxybrat07's Avatar
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    Default Re: I AM SO ANGRY AT MY "NONEXISTENT" LANDLORDS!!

    ^Yeah might want to take someone with you. Also make sure you get a receipt or something signed by him showing that you paid him. With him being so shady you will want to have proof, in case they decide to pocket the money and take you to court claiming you never paid.
    I believe you Dottie and you have my support

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    God/dess VenusGoddess's Avatar
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    Default Re: I AM SO ANGRY AT MY "NONEXISTENT" LANDLORDS!!

    In addition to all of the above mentioned stuff...I would make a nice-clear color photo copy of the returned envelope...make sure that ALL of the writing/stamps/return markings, etc. show up...and put that with the exact address you were given...

    Keep it as proof. That, in itself is very important if anything were to go down in regards to you not paying your rent...or you not paying it on time.

  19. #19
    PhillyDancer1982
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    Default Re: I AM SO ANGRY AT MY "NONEXISTENT" LANDLORDS!!

    Maybe I should make a photocopy of the original envelope before I go? And have him sign something verifying that it was paid and considered "on-time"? Hmm maybe I should photocopy the Money Order too, but I don't know how I can do that because it is sealed inside the postmarked envelope.

  20. #20
    God/dess sxybrat07's Avatar
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    Default Re: I AM SO ANGRY AT MY "NONEXISTENT" LANDLORDS!!

    PhillyDancer, do you have the money order stub? If so that should work for proof. The more stuff you can get to cover your ass, the better
    I believe you Dottie and you have my support

  21. #21
    PhillyDancer1982
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    Default Re: I AM SO ANGRY AT MY "NONEXISTENT" LANDLORDS!!

    Yes I still have the stub for the money order.

    And trust me, I'm not rookie to the legal system or suing!! LOL I just completed a small-claims lawsuit against some asshole loser a few months ago. He owed me(and several other people) money, and kept using these lies about having "cancer" as an excuse to not pay me. I found out later that he was purposely not paying me, as a way to spite me for not wanting to date him. So, I gathered evidence(documents and everything), pressed lawsuit, and the damn chicken paid the full amount upfront on the court date because he knew he had a 100% chance of losing. I still hate that asshole, not just for being a blithering idiot, but for lying about having cancer and many many other things. He made up "imaginary friends" at age 20, then claimed that each one died, just to get people to feel sorry for him. All this, coming from a dude who lost his own father to cancer when he was a child. How messed up can you get.

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