So we've lived in our rental house here in Houston for 14 months, just resigned another 12-month lease two months ago, mostly because we had a baby that week and could in no way possible move.
Our house had been recently purchased right before we moved in to rent...there were no occupants living there before us under this new owner. The roof had been replaced.
In Sept. 2008, Hurricane Ike destroyed our back fence, made new roofing leaks, and collapsed our garage door. The home was inspected by agents of the homeowner as well as FEMA. The fence ended up getting put back up by our neighbor (at his expense) because he was tired of looking at us (haha)and our landlord would not share repair costs with his landlord.
We discovered when we had an A/C repairman out that when the new roof was installed, all of the destroyed fiberglas batting insulation had been removed from the attic (because it was wet from roof leaks), but had never been replaced. We sealed up all of the HVAC ducting leaks ourselves, but can never get the home below 90 degrees with the A/C running full blast. The A/C leaks refridgerant constantly, and we can't get any relief. So on top of the air handling issues, it's just not working well anyway.
We typically only use 350-400kwH of electricity each month here as we are very concious of our energy usage. Typically when the A/C is in use, we will max out at 1200-1300kwH running that thing 24 hours a day. Last month, our bill said we went from ~900kwH (running the A/C most of the time) to 2496kwH, with no real change in apparent usage other than being gone for 9 days (no use!). Calls to our power provider resulted in a few rude service visits with very bad customer service, but not much else. Meanwhile the meter spins like it's out of control even with all lights/appliances OFF in the house. We finally brought an electrician out (at our expense, as usual) after the lights kept flickering badly, and he was seeing sparking and smoldering at the fuse panel and said it all needed to be replaced as it was way old and a fire hazard. He said this could also be the cause of the additional power usage, though our meter had not been inspected for proper operation since 1996 according to the power company.
So on top of this, we have leaky pipes. Bummer. Tired of putting tupperware containers under the sink and emptying them out every night. Worse though, is that I have to replace or clean the faucet aerators out monthly because they get clogged with broken pieces of rust from the original pipes. Kids don't drink tap water any more
In addition to this, we have had two home invasion robberies in the last 12 months. We are paying about 15-20% higher in rent than other homes in our area. My wife desperately wants to move because of the safety issue as well as the house falling apart, but doesn't want to do it with a new born and a toddler....and we both work at a school (she teaches, I am in a non-teaching position) that starts the next schoolyear in 2 weeks. She is worried that if we move now, the landlord will keep our Deposit of $1600 as the house is in shambles, even though much of that was cataloged in our Move-In Inspection paperwork and the rest is Hurricane damage or just major failures.
I am at my wit's end with this landlord, she is a realtor that manages the house for her sister, who is the owner. It's hot, our power bill is HUNDREDS of dollars when it is usually $50-$60, I am tired of the disrepair of the home and overpaying for not getting anything done.
Short of hiring a lawyer and just moving out, what can I do? I have written letters and emails and had several meetings, she assures me it will be taken care of. It's been months since we've had these meetings. I can't legally withhold Rent payment or else I am liable for 3x in penalties according to TX law. I can have the items repaired and deduct it from the Rent, but these things are THOUSANDS of dollars...insulation quoted at $3.5K, A/C replacement at $5K, plumbing at $1K, garage door a few hundred dollars, etc. I would basically quit paying rent for a year just to cover this stuff, and then what...get Evicted and she gets a nice renovated home?
Wits end here guys. Suggestions? Any homeowners/landlords here with their side?
Thanks,
Our house had been recently purchased right before we moved in to rent...there were no occupants living there before us under this new owner. The roof had been replaced.
In Sept. 2008, Hurricane Ike destroyed our back fence, made new roofing leaks, and collapsed our garage door. The home was inspected by agents of the homeowner as well as FEMA. The fence ended up getting put back up by our neighbor (at his expense) because he was tired of looking at us (haha)and our landlord would not share repair costs with his landlord.
We discovered when we had an A/C repairman out that when the new roof was installed, all of the destroyed fiberglas batting insulation had been removed from the attic (because it was wet from roof leaks), but had never been replaced. We sealed up all of the HVAC ducting leaks ourselves, but can never get the home below 90 degrees with the A/C running full blast. The A/C leaks refridgerant constantly, and we can't get any relief. So on top of the air handling issues, it's just not working well anyway.
We typically only use 350-400kwH of electricity each month here as we are very concious of our energy usage. Typically when the A/C is in use, we will max out at 1200-1300kwH running that thing 24 hours a day. Last month, our bill said we went from ~900kwH (running the A/C most of the time) to 2496kwH, with no real change in apparent usage other than being gone for 9 days (no use!). Calls to our power provider resulted in a few rude service visits with very bad customer service, but not much else. Meanwhile the meter spins like it's out of control even with all lights/appliances OFF in the house. We finally brought an electrician out (at our expense, as usual) after the lights kept flickering badly, and he was seeing sparking and smoldering at the fuse panel and said it all needed to be replaced as it was way old and a fire hazard. He said this could also be the cause of the additional power usage, though our meter had not been inspected for proper operation since 1996 according to the power company.
So on top of this, we have leaky pipes. Bummer. Tired of putting tupperware containers under the sink and emptying them out every night. Worse though, is that I have to replace or clean the faucet aerators out monthly because they get clogged with broken pieces of rust from the original pipes. Kids don't drink tap water any more
In addition to this, we have had two home invasion robberies in the last 12 months. We are paying about 15-20% higher in rent than other homes in our area. My wife desperately wants to move because of the safety issue as well as the house falling apart, but doesn't want to do it with a new born and a toddler....and we both work at a school (she teaches, I am in a non-teaching position) that starts the next schoolyear in 2 weeks. She is worried that if we move now, the landlord will keep our Deposit of $1600 as the house is in shambles, even though much of that was cataloged in our Move-In Inspection paperwork and the rest is Hurricane damage or just major failures.
I am at my wit's end with this landlord, she is a realtor that manages the house for her sister, who is the owner. It's hot, our power bill is HUNDREDS of dollars when it is usually $50-$60, I am tired of the disrepair of the home and overpaying for not getting anything done.
Short of hiring a lawyer and just moving out, what can I do? I have written letters and emails and had several meetings, she assures me it will be taken care of. It's been months since we've had these meetings. I can't legally withhold Rent payment or else I am liable for 3x in penalties according to TX law. I can have the items repaired and deduct it from the Rent, but these things are THOUSANDS of dollars...insulation quoted at $3.5K, A/C replacement at $5K, plumbing at $1K, garage door a few hundred dollars, etc. I would basically quit paying rent for a year just to cover this stuff, and then what...get Evicted and she gets a nice renovated home?
Wits end here guys. Suggestions? Any homeowners/landlords here with their side?
Thanks,