I'm not feeling very secure
As I prepare to move out of my Studio City apartment to a cool Sherman Oaks house this Saturday, I'm left to deal with all the nit-picky details one must deal with when going through this. The most pressing being...I want my security deposit back!!
It should be a no-brainer. My roommate and I kept the apartment in immaculate condition. Sure there may be some markings on the stove covering from use or a couple of little marks on the hardwood floors...but there is no "damage". It's just normal wear and tear from living in a space for almost two years. I gave my 30 day notice and figured everything would be fine. Then I get a call from my landlord.
He "informs" me that the lease contains and addendum that we were required to give 6 weeks notice and not the standard 30 days that every other rental agreement in the world requires. First off, I looked through the contract when I decided to move and it stated on the first page "30 days". Now at the back of the contract is the addendum. So I saw 30 and just went with that and never intended to "go against" the agreement. I also researched it and tenants are only required to give as much notice as is in between payments. Since they didn't allow me to pay every 6 weeks, I believe I'm not legally bound to honor any 6 week agreement. Plus, the addendums were never initialed so they could have added that after the lease was signed. Or brainwashed me. Or used magic ink. Yeah, I bet that's it.
My favorite part of the agreement is the "$125 non-refundable cleaning deposit" taken from the security deposit. It also states that they expect us to leave a clean apartment. Basically, they want us to clean the apartment and then charge us $125 to clean it again. It's like taking your car to get the oil changed and them charging you, but expecting you to have the oil changed before you get there. What the hell is the charge for?? You can bet my definition of "clean apartment" has been modified to "none of my shit is in there anymore". Your definition of clean may vary.
So one week to go until the official move and then we'll have the drama of how much of the security deposit we'll get back. I can't wait until it's all over and I can just settle and get back into my life again.
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