Time to take the landlord to court?

[HawkeyeNFO]

So we rented a house and moved out on November 30th. I'm still waiting to receive my $4300 worth of deposits back.

Landlord lives in Asia, and I've only dealt with his local agent who is a realtor. During the move-out walk through inspection, he noted zero damages and said that the owner would send me back my full deposit. Virginia law gives him 45 days to either return my funds and/or give me an itemized list of the damages. He knows how to send me the funds, and we e-mailed each other about a week ago.

Here's where I could use advice....
If I end up taking him to court and win, there still is no guarantee that he would pay. Is there a way to collect? Put a lien on the house? Not sure how that works.

 

[bingybear]

In my state I know you can put a lean based on a judgement. However you may need to re-process some stuff every so often. Again in my state there are interest rates that apply as long as the judgement is not paid.

We did this when we rented our house as we were out of country. The tenant left the house is bad shape (things bad tenants often do).

Check your area's laws and processes.

 

[Winemaker]

Usually when a deposit is not returned on time, state law doubles or triples the amounts, as most laws favor the tenants. Here in Commonwealth of PA, it is doubled. At $4300, it would be worth your while to sue/go to small claims court. If the ruling is in your favor and get a judgement, a lien can be placed, and you'll get your money when he/she sells. so follow bingybear's advice and find out your laws. You might even get a free lawyer to represent you in court!

 

[Letj]

So we rented a house and moved out on November 30th. I'm still waiting to receive my $4300 worth of deposits back.



Landlord lives in Asia, and I've only dealt with his local agent who is a realtor. During the move-out walk through inspection, he noted zero damages and said that the owner would send me back my full deposit. Virginia law gives him 45 days to either return my funds and/or give me an itemized list of the damages. He knows how to send me the funds, and we e-mailed each other about a week ago.



Here's where I could use advice....

If I end up taking him to court and win, there still is no guarantee that he would pay. Is there a way to collect? Put a lien on the house? Not sure how that works.

I can’t help you with how you can collect but I would certainly advise against renting from any landlord that’s located outside of the country for this very reason. I was looking to rent an apartment in a nice area of Miami some years ago and nearly all the landlords lived in Latin America. I refused to do a lease unless it was a domestic agency. They were also asking for first month’s rent, last month’s and a security deposit. I believed I would likely not see any of it back and would have limited recourse for collection.

 

[euro]

So we rented a house and moved out on November 30th. I'm still waiting to receive my $4300 worth of deposits back.

Landlord lives in Asia, and I've only dealt with his local agent who is a realtor. During the move-out walk through inspection, he noted zero damages and said that the owner would send me back my full deposit. Virginia law gives him 45 days to either return my funds and/or give me an itemized list of the damages. He knows how to send me the funds, and we e-mailed each other about a week ago.

Here's where I could use advice....
If I end up taking him to court and win, there still is no guarantee that he would pay. Is there a way to collect? Put a lien on the house? Not sure how that works.

You say that you moved out at the end of November and that in your state the landlord has 45 days to return the deposit or send a detailed list of damages. Today it is January 14, so it seems that the landlord isn't really late yet, or if he is then maybe by one day or so. Before you start pursuing legal action, perhaps send him another reminder (looks like minimally you know his e-mail)? I know everyone is suing everyone these days, but geesh, at this point, he is either one day late or not late at all. Ease up a little?

 

[pb4uski]

So we rented a house and moved out on November 30th. I'm still waiting to receive my $4300 worth of deposits back.

Landlord lives in Asia, and I've only dealt with his local agent who is a realtor. During the move-out walk through inspection, he noted zero damages and said that the owner would send me back my full deposit. Virginia law gives him 45 days to either return my funds and/or give me an itemized list of the damages. He knows how to send me the funds, and we e-mailed each other about a week ago.

Here's where I could use advice....
If I end up taking him to court and win, there still is no guarantee that he would pay. Is there a way to collect? Put a lien on the house? Not sure how that works.

I would start by calling the local agent/realtor who said that the owner would send you back your full deposit and ask him when you can expect to receive your deposit back. It is a bit early to think of legal action since today, Jan 14 is only 45 days after November 30th.

 

[njhowie]

...and I've only dealt with his local agent who is a realtor.
...
Here's where I could use advice....
If I end up taking him to court and win, there still is no guarantee that he would pay. Is there a way to collect? Put a lien on the house? Not sure how that works.

Sue the local agent.

 

[RobbieB]

I'd wait until the end of week before doing anything.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

Landlord will be late as of tomorrow. I'll give him a short grace period of a few days, but this has been THE WORST landlord I have ever done business with. Very lazy. Failure to respond to my calls, texts, or e-mails to let him know something needed to be fixed, failure to fix things in a timely manner, failed to fix some things at all.

So I'm not surprised that he is not wanting to pay me back the deposit, but it is unacceptable. I've been a landlord, and always treated my tenants with respect while taking care of them and my property. I really don't want to go to the legal system, but given the history of this guy, I don't see him doing the right thing without some kind of prodding, which may require a judgement.

 

[RobbieB]

I don't doubt you a bit. I hated all my landlords some more than others. Still I wouldn't do anything until it's officially late. Wait and then file your suit.

 

[travelover]

When I moved to the PNW I rented a house for a year. I had the hardest time getting my deposit back even though the owner raved about the condition of the house at lease's end. His "bookkeeper" insisted the check had been sent multiple times, even claiming the check would be reissued as the original had surely been lost in the mail. When I finally got the check, it was dated shortly after I had requested it - so the b*stards had sat on it the whole time.

 

[street]

Do you have the exit papers/documentation of zero damage, amount and signage of final walk through?

 

[CRLLS]

Maybe you would file by yourself in small claims court. If not, I doubt that any lawyer would take your case 1 day after the 45. If your state says double like some say. I would contact your owner's local agent and mention that this is what you expect, now that it is beyond the 45 days.

However, did you get a written report from the local agent of the inspection and is stated that you will get your full deposit back ? Maybe what he reported to the owner was different than what he told you. It could happen.

 

[ut2sua]

So we rented a house and moved out on November 30th. I'm still waiting to receive my $4300 worth of deposits back.

Landlord lives in Asia, and I've only dealt with his local agent who is a realtor. During the move-out walk through inspection, he noted zero damages and said that the owner would send me back my full deposit. Virginia law gives him 45 days to either return my funds and/or give me an itemized list of the damages. He knows how to send me the funds, and we e-mailed each other about a week ago.

Here's where I could use advice....
If I end up taking him to court and win, there still is no guarantee that he would pay. Is there a way to collect? Put a lien on the house? Not sure how that works.

I am a landlord myself, but the company that manages my rental manager (local agent in your case) keeps the deposit $ and do return the deposit timely to the tenants post move. This could be a situation where the local agent is the one not returning the deposit. I would sue in any case. The rental property can't disappear, and if the court agrees with you, there will be ways to force the owner/agent to pay. Good luck

 

[wolf]

OP. From reading your posts.

1. It appears, the real estate agent, rented the unit to you.

2. Then, all future correspondence was directly between you and the owner of the property.

3. IMHO. The real estate agent, represented the owner. (compensated by owner).

This is what I would do.

In writing, give owner "X" days to refund deposit, or you will go to small claims court.
Include, the "Agent" in this letter. As you will request both owner and agent to go
to small claims court.

Hopefully, just the threat, will get the "Agent", to contact the owner, and do the right
thing.

Worse, case, follow thru on your threat. Good luck.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

You might have an issue getting the LL into court. If they live overseas, getting them served could be an issue. If they are a registered entity with the Sec of State then you could probably sue the entity. ~not legal advice.

 

[wolf]

Which is why, I suggested taking the Real Estate agent to court.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

The property is in Virginia, with the county's tax record showing owner's name with a Maryland address.

Today I sent an e-mail to both the agent and the owner, after speaking with the agent on the phone. I gave them until Monday to pay. After that I'll be off to the court house to take care of business with both the agent and the owner.

 

[wolf]

Great. Keep records of your emails. Be nice and professional. Hopefully, the agent and owners will do the right thing. Good luck.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

Happy ending...........

The day after I sent the "demand letter" e-mail, the owner wired me the funds. No need to go to court. Problem solved.

 

[Winemaker]

Good deal. See, most of landlords are straight shooters.

 

[jollystomper]

Great to hear!

 

[CRLLS]

Good news. It probably just slipped his mind. He probably needed to just be reminded, with a big stick.

 

[DenverCraig]

<<Edited>> Just posted and noticed that you got your deposit back. That's great to hear!



(Caveat, I'm not a lawyer, but am a landlord) I'd figure out what the penalty for late deposit return for your state is, then sue the realtor (small claims court, not hard to do, inexpensive) who rented the property to you for that amount. If the realtor's name or his company's name is not on the lease (that is, the landlord who is out of the country is the name on the lease), I think you may have a tough time winning. Just the same, suing the realtor wil put some pressure on HIM to help you get your deposit back from the landlord.

BTW, as a landlord, I frequently wait the maximum amount of time until the deposit is due back to the tenant. It's not out of malice, it's just our process. It's like paying a bill when it's due. Hopefully that's the case with you also.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

I'd figure out what the penalty for late deposit return for your state is, then sue the realtor (small claims court, not hard to do, inexpensive) who rented the property to you for that amount. If the realtor's name or his company's name is not on the lease (that is, the landlord who is out of the country is the name on the lease), I think you may have a tough time winning. Just the same, suing the realtor wil put some pressure on HIM to help you get your deposit back from the landlord.

Yeah, that's what my plan was, to do just like you said. Realtor's name and his company (a large, well known realty corporation) were both listed on the lease.
Luckily I didn't have to go that route. I suppose I could still sue for punitive damages because he was late. Virginia law allows for that, but I have no plans to pursue it any further.