I asked flat out if there were any extra charges or hidden fees and was told it would be only $ 699/mo for everything, but after signing the year-lease, now I an all the other apartment renters in this complex are being charged extra for utilities. My neighbor was charged $ 50/mo for him & his son’s water/sewage bill. He complained & now it’s $ 25/mo.
I’ve simply paid $ 699/mo and ignored the extra fees, but now they are saying I need to pay late fees.
I put in a request to have the mold removed from under the windows, and the repair men, who came a month later said that if there was a request put in, they could enter my home whenever they want, whether I’m there or not, so I changed the lock. After they found out I changed the lock, they started charging me an extra $ 50/mo for yard-service fees, which was not charged before. I complained about the new charge and instead of discussing it, the landlady complained about my changing the lock, and when I agreed to put the old lock back on, she told me that they had simply made a mistake, that they were actually paying me $ 50/mo instead and that they would fix it right away. Note, this was told to me right after I agreed to change the locks back.
It just gets weirder with these guys too. I asked for a paper telling me exactly how much I owe and for what, and they refused to print one out, and instead read me off a supposed list of payments which included a payment for $ 300, which is silly, cause I’ve only been paying $ 699 in checks.
The problem is, I put in a huge security deposit, and gave them a copy of a real-estate agent contract showing that I owe some land, so that they would know I could get the rent paid. I have no credit cause I simply do not use credit and pay everything cash if possible.
Also, the lease is about +8 pages of lawyer-speak, but when I read it, I saw nothing about paying extra for water, and I remember the sales person clearly saying there would be no extra charges for utilities or anything.
What can I do?
How can I have justice, and what about all the other tenants in this complex?
This complex (BM) is supposedly a national apartment chain!
Thanks
David Z: If I use up the deposit & just move out, couldnt they try to sue me for the rest of the year’s rent? I have about 9 months left. Do I need to give them a month’s notice, like it says in the lease… it also says I’d have to forfeight my deposit if I moved out before the lease expired. I would LOVE to move out of here, but legally, could they screw me over in NC? I dont care about my credit rating. I dont want to end up in prison, or be court-ordered to pay the rest of the year’s lease.