-Lauren
Tag Archives: Property
Archery in the suburbs
Transitional housing/donation of my property
Lien placed on property I do not own
Landlord requests flowerpots to be removed…?
I am renting a flat and my landlord now (after two years) asks me to remove the flowerpots I have on my windowsills (outside). They are unable to fall down or hurt in any other case and do not cause any damage, and I’m not sure if she can just ask me to do so? Does anyone know whether I can deny it, and on what reasons? My contract gives me the right to “take quiet enjoyment of the property” and I am unsure whether the flowerpots fall under this
Not to get me wrong, I don’t care too much about the pots, it’s more of a general thing whether she can just require me to do whatever she wants, without prior notice, and especially since it was done for a long period before without any problems… this can’t be right, can it?
Thanks,
Chris
unauthorized tree removal
Abandoned property
I am wondering what the legalities and time limits are on property that a tenant has left behind for an extended period of time. I ask this because I am scheduled to move into a house in about 10 days. The prior tenant removed all of his possessions from the house, but still has the detached garage full of his stuff. The tenant was evicted over 3 months ago and has refused to answer or return phone calls from the landlord to come get his stuff. Within the last week, someone got a message to him that the property was going to be rented and his stuff would be sold unless he got rid of it asap. Since then there are signs that he has been there and has made it look as if he is going to be moving things out but nothing has been moved yet.
So, I guess my questions are, what if he hasn’t gotten everything out of there by the time we take possession? I don’t want to have to deal with this guy moving out once we are there.
And secondly, is there a certain amount of time following an eviction that the tenant forfeits his right of ownership and the landlord can dispose of the property left behind?
Any advice would be appreciated and thank you in advance.
Landlord will not let me read my meters…
We moved into this apartment on January 2nd, at which time the utilities were put in our names. Our estimated usage for Jan 2nd to Feb 9th came out to nearly FOUR TIMES the kWh that we used per month in our old, larger apt. I was absolutely astounded that the electric bill for a 1-bedroom place could be so much money, and I called the utility to sort it out. They told me that if I wanted to read the meters myself I could call the readings in to them. They told me to get my landlord to show me where the meters are.
I spoke to the property manager today who said that their policy is to not allow tenants access to the meters, and that I should ask the utility to send someone out who could escort me to that area. He also said that he didn’t believe the utility would accept my own personal reading, and that whoever I talked to from them must have been trying to get me off the phone.
After returning home I called the utility again, and they reiterated that they were accepting readings over the phone from all customers who had their meters estimated. They also said that the only time they will read the meter is during their next scheduled visit. The person I spoke to was surprised that I was not allowed to see my meters, and said she’s never heard of a policy like that.
My question is, do I have a legal right to read my electricity and gas meters?
Wildcard Exemption question
Now the amount of the homestead exemption is $18,500 since I am filing jointly and both the wife and I “own” the home. The house is currently worth $132,000 with the mortgage being $140,000. So with having -$8,000 in equity, I do not need to use the homestead exemption. Does this mean that I can apply the total wildcard of $5,000 towards whatever I want?
Edit. Just to let you know what I am doing. I have purchased Nolo Press,”How To File For Chapter 7 Bankruptcy”. I am going over the Property Exemption Worksheet right now. I am a bit confused though.
How much detail do I need to go into regarding my property? For instance, regarding clothes, do I have to list all my clothes? Or do I just say “clothes” and give a value. Should I break down clothes by individual? Self, wife, kids, with values for each. What happens if I don’t list my blender or something stupid like that. Can they take it to sell? How would they even know I had one. Do they come to your house and look everything over?
Must my landlord enforce carpet requirement?
Any advice?
Thanks.