Doug Boude

July 3, 2007

[insert ignorant landlady's name here]

 
Dear Miss Ignorant Landlady:

 
I received what I can only assume is your handwritten letter postmarked June 29, 2007 which cited a lease agreement signed by myself on July 2, 2005 and stated that due to failure to provide thirty days written notice, all security deposits had been forfeited. This letter appeared to be a copy of a faxed document, and was signed by a person unknown to me and claiming to be co-owner of the property at [my old address].

I respectfully request that you and the true home owner, [true homeowner's name], reconsider your decision to withhold the entire amount of my nine hundred forty dollar deposit, paid by check on July 2, 2005 for the following reasons:

1. As of July 2, 2006, the lease agreement I signed on July 2, 2005 and all terms therein expired; no other lease agreement was ever signed. The supposed reason for withholding my deposit cited, vaguely, an expired agreement.

2. I was a very good tenant at all times, caring for the property as if it were my own and always with the mindset that if the homeowner were to show up at any time, she would not be disappointed with the state of the property. I paid the full amount of my rent every month, and only deviated from the acceptable window of payment when previous arrangements were made with you; hence the fact that there is no back rent due at this time. In addition, I performed countless hours of maintenance and repairs (approximately valued at $1,195), many at my own expense for supplies and all with my own time, in order to maintain the property in good working order. AC filters were bought and changed regularly; lawn maintenance was above par (mowed and edged, yard fertilized, trees fed/spiked, flowers planted, shrubbery trimmed, grass watered and kept green – I even contracted with a lawn care company for a time in order to keep the lawn healthy), lawn equipment (which came with the house) was maintained exquisitely (mower blade changed, cracked fuel tank replaced, synthetic oil used in the motor), toilet internal parts were replaced, loose towel racks repaired, shower fixtures repaired or replaced, incandescent light bulbs replaced with low wattage energy saving fluorescent (all of which I left with the house), exterminator called as needed, garbage disposal repaired, clogged toilets and sinks unclogged…and any other thing that needed attention: I took care of it all, and willingly so.

3. I am uncertain as to who is actually making the decisions and judgments that are affecting the return of my good faith deposit. Since I was given no contact information for the home owner (who I understand to be in the military) and was directed to deal with you, her proxy, I could not contact the owner directly to discuss the terms of the return of my deposit. I then requested of you, in writing, to be put in communication with the actual home owner on June 14, 2007 and received no response whatsoever to date, effectively and purposefully preventing me from contacting her. Even the handwritten letter I received on July 1 omitted any return address nor did the letter itself contain any contact information (though the postmark shows it was sent from San Antonio). In addition, according to the Bexar County Appraisal district records, [my old address] only has one owner, [homeowner's name], and that at 100% ownership, making the claim of someone else touting themselves as “co-owner” very much suspect.

4. My failure to give a full thirty days notice was not done maliciously nor was it premeditated. The circumstances surrounding it were strictly financial, wherein a plan that would have allowed me to meet my financial needs was suddenly and unexpectedly disrupted. As soon as I was aware that I would not be able to pay the rent for the following month of June, I contacted you in writing to let you know and even went so far as to put the “for rent” sign out into the yard for you and repair it when the wind had knocked it down. I also answered inquiries from passers-by who were interested in the house and took them on tours of it in order to assist you in finding subsequent tenants. I acted with my, yours, and the homeowners best interest in mind and with fidelity at all times, as my deeds do attest.

5. I did everything in my power to leave the house in as good or better condition than I received it, with the one exception of repainting three or four walls back to the original color. The repainting issue was discussed with you, I informed you that I would not be able to do that, and so there was no miscommunication on that matter. Everything else, however, I did do. I cleaned the house in its entirety, including kitchen, floors, and refrigerator. I disposed of all trash in the bins and even came back after I had moved out to ensure that the bins were set on the curb to be emptied. I’m sure that there was yet more cleaning that could have been done in order to pass the white glove test, but due to my grandfather having a stroke on May 27^th and me being the only family he has locally, my cleaning efforts were delayed. I informed you of that situation in writing on May 31^st. The hole in the garage which you brought to my attention as not being pre-existing, I purchased the supplies for and performed the repair of. The process of repairing such a hole is two step, and since the second step of sanding and painting had to be performed after my move-out date, I informed you of that need as well and offered to return to complete it. Once I had received from you a rough list of items that you deemed as deductible from my deposit (including items deemed by the attorney general as ‘normal wear and tear’), I offered to return and take care of any of them that you wanted me to. I received no response in the affirmative or negative…there was no communication from you. Again, as with the general care of the property while living there, my intentions and mindset regarding the state of the property at the time of my departure were completely upright and with the owner’s and my best interest in mind, even informing you that I was making myself available after my departure if it was desirable for me to return and take care of any outstanding matters.

For the reasons stated above, it is my contention that withholding of the full deposit amount is absolutely unfounded, morally wrong, and is not a just reciprocation for the very good tenant I have been for the past two years. If there were legal precedent that enabled a landlord to withhold the entire amount of a tenant’s good faith deposit when no valid lease agreement is in place due solely to the lack of a full thirty day written notice to vacate, that does NOT justify the doing of it when all other factors cast the tenant in so favorable a light.

My desire at this time is to be in communication directly with the home owner herself and not her proxy, in order to come to an amicable, fair, and just agreement regarding this matter as soon as possible.

I respectfully request that this letter be immediately forwarded to [homeowner] and that she contact me at the address in this letter’s header section within ten business days, in writing, regarding a fair and equitable agreement as to what portion of the deposit should be returned to me.

 Sincerely,

 DOUG BOUDE

PREVIOUS TENANT, [my old address]

(JULY 2005 – MAY 2007)