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+--- Thread: Roommate Etiquette (/showthread.php?tid=4728)
Roommate Etiquette - REED - 09-07-2006
Ok here is my situation that I need some advice on. Last year I lived in a townhouse with two of my friends. We all moved out earlier this summer because the owners were selling the house. They then stuck us for a bill for repairs to the house that conveniently matches what our security deposit was. My question to you is ÔÇô Is it unreasonable to not split the charges equally and to split based on responsibility. The charges are as follows
General house cleaning: 180
Repaint one room: 225
Repair one bathroom: 1,035
Repair molding and handrail: 495
Now here is where it gets kind of tricky. I think itÔÇÖs obvious that all 3 of us split the general house cleaning, we all lived there and we all were responsible for cleaning it. The repainting of the bedroom is for my roommate ChrisÔÇÖ room; apparently he left some holes in the wall or something like that. That being said I donÔÇÖt feel that my other roommate or I should have to pay to repaint his room. The broken molding and handrail are from my other roommateÔÇÖs dog. I do remember him saying that he was going to pay for any damage the dog caused; however, IÔÇÖm certain he doesnÔÇÖt remember that. Basically the dog chewed the molding up, chewed on the handrail and then ripped it off the wall. Now the bathroom that basically needs to be completely redone is the one that my roommates shared, I had my own bathroom in my room. Given these circumstances I donÔÇÖt really think that I should lose my $600+ for damage that I didnÔÇÖt cause and had no control over. Is this completely irrational of me; is there some unspoken roommate code that I am breaking?
- white_2kgt - 09-07-2006
Whomever caused the damage should pay, that's easy, however barring the inability to get the $$$ out of them the bill needs to be paid to the rental company, my guess is they already have their $$$ in the form of your security deposit so thats already taken care of.
- JustinG - 09-07-2006
i dont think its out of line at all. if they caused the damage then they should pay. I would feel shitty if my roomates had to pay for stuff that i messed up.
- Evan - 09-07-2006
you are spot on
there really isnt any room for interpretation in that situation. tell them to pay up for their damage.
also, ask for a copy of the work estimates from a contractor to fix the work. While it sounds like there is definately some damage to the house, it also sounds like the landlord just doesnt want to pay you anything back.
- Sijray21 - 09-07-2006
what you're requesting sounds fine to me - like what was said before, whoever did the damage should pay. I don't see why you should front any cost except for the common area portion that you owe. Your roomates should feel the same way and suck up paying for what they had damaged. I hope you can get this resolved - it gets messy if they don't try to own-up to their own actions....
- Andy - 09-07-2006
It seems pretty clear that you're in the clear but good luck bringing it up to your friends. I have some friend who would've volunteered to cover their charges, and I have other friends who will argue to the end about it.
- REED - 09-07-2006
I agree - the hard part now is getting everyone else to agree to it. it doesn't help the situation that I'm the one who will be paying the least. As far as I'm concerned the money is already gone, our real estate company is pile of crap. I don't feel like getting into the specifics now, but we have already tried arguing our case against the charges. At this point I just want to get my money back.
- Sijray21 - 09-07-2006
REED Wrote:I don't feel like getting into the specifics now, but we have already tried arguing our case against the charges.
lol, with the description i can't see where you guys would have much leverage - sounds like some damages to the house hold with the railing and the molding and i'm not sure what was wrong with the bathroom, but damn that's a lot. I think you're justified in asking for your deposit back. Your roomates on the other hand....i have no idea what they're smoking, sounds like they damaged the place pretty good for the time you guys were there.
- Maengelito - 09-07-2006
there's a distinct difference between what should happen and what will happen. hell yeah your roommates should own up to the damages done by them and their pets. it would be really irresponsible for them to not do so. however, they're gonna have to pay more to do the right thing. and they're not gonna bring it up initially. it can get messy and you can get your money, or they may not see it your way and try to weasel you out of money.
- REED - 09-07-2006
welp - we'll see how this goes....bombs away. Actually I just got a response from my one roomate, he agrees, now we just have to convice the other one to pay me and if we are lucky kill his dog
*disclaimer* i love dogs, but this isn't a dog its the spawn of satan