Someone finally did pick up the letter that was sent to the ex-husband's address. I haven't checked to see if they cashed the check or not, but I'm thinking they probably did. I'll check tomorrow and see.
And today I get a threatening e-mail from the boyfriend telling me "there are some problems with your deductions that need to be rectified"
and "All told, between utilities paid and deductions for items that are not the tenants' responsibility, you owe us $219.06 (pending the final accounting on the $11.84 prorated utilities withheld). If we do not have payment in hand by August 24, we will file a claim in Magistrate Court, with photographic evidence, well-established HUD guidelines, and many years of Georgia court rulings in our favor. Should your failure to pay the amounts owed require us to settle this matter in court, we will also sue for court costs and time away from work, given we both get paid by the hour."
$120.84 of it is an uncashed utility check that I can't return because they never gave me a forwarding address, so that drops the amount to $98.22 right off the bat.
They dropped the check off late, so add back in a late fee of $10 for one bill and $15 for the other (that's the charge from the utility companies), plus the actual amount for one of the bills that I under estimated at $8.39 for another $33.39 drops it down to $64.83.
He's still insisting that the fan blade arm that broke was "defective", which I seriously doubt. He misstates in his email that I charged him $48.22 where I really only charged him $32.25. I'm not even sure where he got $48.22 from; it's not in my letter anywhere. I hadn't measured the dang fan and it really ended up being $47.35, but I'll eat the $15.10. I'm still not refunding the $32.25, so the amount now drops to $32.58.
And lastly he wants his $50 back for the large nail holes and the gouge in the wall where the fan blade supposedly hit the wall that I charged him for. The 15 or so nails I pulled out of the wall were 1.5 inches long. I call those large. Anybody else think those are anything but?
I looked it up and to file a claim in Fulton County in the State of Georgia, which you can now do electronically, it $60 for the first person, $8 for each additional person, and $25 for a Marshall fee. So if we just take off the utilities ($120.84) without any late fees his demanded amount ($219.06) the amount he would get drops to $98.22. Hardly seems worth it to me if it would cost him $93 to file.
The funny part about all this is I don't even own the property; my 86-Y-O legally blind widowed mother does.
BUT I am named on the lease as the property manager, so I guess I could be named as a defendant?
I of course have pictures of the nails, the stickers on the walls, the writing where the kids' and mom's heights were noted, the unchanged furnace filter, the stove, bathrooms, floors, etc that were "cleaned" after move-out, the Christmas tree that was still behind the unit in JUNE (yes, it was there!). And I do still have in my possession the BROKEN fan arm and the filthy fan blades that are still in tact. I did throw away the broken 3-year-old mini blinds but I do have pictures of those.
I'm planning to write an email back and let the guy know the following:
1) I haven't returned the utility check because you didn't give me a forwarding addres
2) you owe me a late fee on the utilities
3) you owe me more on the last utility bill I under estimated
4) I still say the fan is not defective and I'm not refunding that, and besides, I didn't even charge you the full amount it costed me to fix it and you misstated what I charged you
5) I stand by the fact that the nails used were LARGE.
6) I did not even discuss the fact of not being notified of maintenance issues requiring attention at the unit, such as the furnace filters not being changed; those were supposed to have been changed monthly and Ms. Lyle was supposed to have been doing that. She agreed to take care of that. I had been doing that and she told me she would. When I took possession of the unit I found the filter to be completely clogged and BLACK, the gutters on the back of the unit being clogged, overflowing when it rained, and the downspouts being clogged in both the front and the back, the upstairs bathtub drain being clogged with hair and nail clippings, the stove and all of the grease, the grout in the bathrooms and kitchen being completely BLACK when I had just re-grouted the bathrooms and cleaned the kitchen before Ms. Lyle moved in.
7) And now you are threatening me with a lawsuit FOR A SECOND TIME.
You obviously don't want to work things out, therefore go ahead and file.
And by the way, give me a forwarding address and I'll send you the uncashed utility check.
I'm going to hold off on this until August 23, (his self-imposed deadline is August 24).
Any comments would be appreciated, and attorneys in the Atlanta area that would like to help me skewer this a-hole for threatening me are welcome to contact me.
I prefer "vintage" to "ancient".