- Nov 27, 2003
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Update 1: I emailed the guy who handled all the deposit checks during that time and he said everyone in the house paid $643 each and that Mr. K paid him that much also. He also had the posted date of the amount in his bank records. He unfortunately couldn't get an image of the check since it was too far back.
Earlier today I confronted Mr. K with an image of the check I wrote to him and email transcripts between me and the deposit guy. I never yelled, accused him, or rose my voice. I said that there were two different sides saying two different things and that I was caught in the middle of it, and I want to get out of it. I got him to check his bank records online while I was at his house and he said that he indeed sees that he paid $643 to the deposit guy. He stated that he realized that he has to pay me $137 and that he would have to pay the money in two different checks. He stated that he didn't have any malicious intent and really thought the deposit was 1.5x rent. He said he would pay me the first increment by a certain date we agreed on, and that he would pay me the rest (or next increment) a few weeks later.
All in all I'm pleased since I got him to realize and confirm that he has to pay me $137. However, nothing is certain until i get all the money
Original:
Okay here's what happened.
I was looking for housing last year for the 06-07 college semester and found this room in a house. The guy living in the room wanted to move out and I wanted to take over his lease. I drove us to the property owner so that we can change names on the lease. Everything was going fine. They basically crossed his named off and replaced it with mine. Lets refer to this guy as Mr. K.
The problem is this: The deposit on the house was $4500 and was split by 7 people (one of which was Mr.K) evenly rather than by rent into $643 each. The Realtor and I did not know that this was how the house split the deposit. The Realtor didn't want to bother sending deposits to different people and suggested that I pay the deposit to Mr. K. We both thought that the deposit was 1.5x the rental of the room since that was the norm for deposits, so I wrote a check of $780 (1.5 * 520) directly to Mr. K. at the signing. The Realtor and I both asked Mr. K. if this was the correct amount for his deposit and Mr. K agreed.
Fast forward to yesterday where I found out that the deposit was not done by room rent, but was split evenly by everyone. I contacted Mr. K and he said he was 90% sure it was not split evenly. He said he would have to check his records and get back to me. I asked him to provide proof and he said he would get back to me.
Everyone else in the house I'm living with is saying that Mr. K. is full of it. In fact, this person was very shady in the past. There was a situation where a shoe box left on a chair outside his room disappeared that contained $500 in cash (all packages are left in the living room which is located outside his room). This box was hidden under some clothes and belonged to a previous tenants that forgot to pick it up when he was moving out.
So far Mr. K is not answering my calls and I am going to confront him at his new address next week during banking hours. I'm not sure how much this is going to do, but don't know what other LEGAL options I have right now. We do not have any mutual friends either. I know his address and his place of work.
Also one more thing. It's not the $137 in cash that's bothering me but rather the action of trying to get away with my money. We all know that there's more important things in life than money ... such as reputation and trust.
If any ATOT members can help me out with guidance or advice I would greatly greatly appreciate it.
CLIFFS:
- Took over a guy's lease
- Wrote a check of 1.5x rent as deposit to the guy since the Realtor didn't want to pay 2 different people
- After 7 months I found out that deposit was actually split evenly among all house mates and I paid ~ $140 more than I should have
- Called the guy and he said he's 90% sure deposit was 1.5x rent. All other house mates says he's full of it and that he's a shady guy in general.
- Going to confront him next week, but not sure what to do during the confrontation if he's not there or still denying.
- His action pisses me off more than the actual cash I lost
- Reputation and trust are more important than cash to me...
Earlier today I confronted Mr. K with an image of the check I wrote to him and email transcripts between me and the deposit guy. I never yelled, accused him, or rose my voice. I said that there were two different sides saying two different things and that I was caught in the middle of it, and I want to get out of it. I got him to check his bank records online while I was at his house and he said that he indeed sees that he paid $643 to the deposit guy. He stated that he realized that he has to pay me $137 and that he would have to pay the money in two different checks. He stated that he didn't have any malicious intent and really thought the deposit was 1.5x rent. He said he would pay me the first increment by a certain date we agreed on, and that he would pay me the rest (or next increment) a few weeks later.
All in all I'm pleased since I got him to realize and confirm that he has to pay me $137. However, nothing is certain until i get all the money
Original:
Okay here's what happened.
I was looking for housing last year for the 06-07 college semester and found this room in a house. The guy living in the room wanted to move out and I wanted to take over his lease. I drove us to the property owner so that we can change names on the lease. Everything was going fine. They basically crossed his named off and replaced it with mine. Lets refer to this guy as Mr. K.
The problem is this: The deposit on the house was $4500 and was split by 7 people (one of which was Mr.K) evenly rather than by rent into $643 each. The Realtor and I did not know that this was how the house split the deposit. The Realtor didn't want to bother sending deposits to different people and suggested that I pay the deposit to Mr. K. We both thought that the deposit was 1.5x the rental of the room since that was the norm for deposits, so I wrote a check of $780 (1.5 * 520) directly to Mr. K. at the signing. The Realtor and I both asked Mr. K. if this was the correct amount for his deposit and Mr. K agreed.
Fast forward to yesterday where I found out that the deposit was not done by room rent, but was split evenly by everyone. I contacted Mr. K and he said he was 90% sure it was not split evenly. He said he would have to check his records and get back to me. I asked him to provide proof and he said he would get back to me.
Everyone else in the house I'm living with is saying that Mr. K. is full of it. In fact, this person was very shady in the past. There was a situation where a shoe box left on a chair outside his room disappeared that contained $500 in cash (all packages are left in the living room which is located outside his room). This box was hidden under some clothes and belonged to a previous tenants that forgot to pick it up when he was moving out.
So far Mr. K is not answering my calls and I am going to confront him at his new address next week during banking hours. I'm not sure how much this is going to do, but don't know what other LEGAL options I have right now. We do not have any mutual friends either. I know his address and his place of work.
Also one more thing. It's not the $137 in cash that's bothering me but rather the action of trying to get away with my money. We all know that there's more important things in life than money ... such as reputation and trust.
If any ATOT members can help me out with guidance or advice I would greatly greatly appreciate it.
CLIFFS:
- Took over a guy's lease
- Wrote a check of 1.5x rent as deposit to the guy since the Realtor didn't want to pay 2 different people
- After 7 months I found out that deposit was actually split evenly among all house mates and I paid ~ $140 more than I should have
- Called the guy and he said he's 90% sure deposit was 1.5x rent. All other house mates says he's full of it and that he's a shady guy in general.
- Going to confront him next week, but not sure what to do during the confrontation if he's not there or still denying.
- His action pisses me off more than the actual cash I lost
- Reputation and trust are more important than cash to me...
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