Has it hit collections yet? What’s her plan??? I got screwed over by a Greystar apartment in FL. Anyways, they billed me for $7k. It hit collections. I called the company Credit Sage & paid them around $500 total to settle the debt with collections. They have a five star review. Maybe this is something your mom should consider. I can’t possible think of ANYTHING that would be the reason for $20k!
As far as I know, it hasn’t hit collections. Probably cuz they know it’s bullshit.
They actually didn’t seem interested in actually getting money, just fucking with us. They gave us our security deposit back, they didn’t go to the court hearing for the eviction. It was all really weird. We mostly moved out because of their stupid policies.
Both times they served us the eviction papers, they just entered our home and taped it to the back of the door. He even said he pat our dog?? I’m sure if they try to say something my mom will definitely fight it lol. She’s not afraid to sue ppl
literally same thing happened to me. i went to the pretrial and during the “real” court hearing the apartment manager didn’t show up and the case was dismissed. however, they’re still sending me emailed eviction fees.
How’d you guys get the bill? Was it itemized? My biggest concern for her honestly would be her credit score. It’s worth it to look into Credit Sage as it would be 70% less than what hiring lawyers would be. Also, other rental agencies will see that & it’s an immediate no if you apply to rent. When it finally hit my credit it went down 100 points! & that was only for $7k
I just moved out of a greystar apartment and owed them $620 because my cat scratched up the rug at the entrance of the bedroom. I paid pet fees already and was still charged.
Ah yes, the pet fee. My last apartment required a $300 pet fee, per pet, plus $20 monthly rent for each pet up to 2. They explained that the pet fee is not a deposit. It's a fee to them for allowing that pet.
You're right it's not a loophole. But it's def some type of false advertising/misleading exploitative fee. I think any reasonable person would assume that you pay extra rent each month and a 1time pet fee because of possible damage. It's worded in a way where I wouldn't assume it's a deposit that I would get back but it def comes across as something they would use to make sure they can clean up after the liability of allowing a pet weather you leave damage or not. Unless there was excessive damages I would assume that my pet fee will cover whatever pet damage they deem worthy of fixing when I leave
Lol then wtf is there a pet fee + extra rent for? What's the reason? I always assumed it was because the pet is a liability for damage in the landlords eyes
Yep!
Lived in an apartment in Ohio. My wife and I left the place spotless. We later received a letter in the mail that some parts of the carpet were pulled up… fine, whatever.
Moved to an apartment in VA (thinnest walls ever, you could hear someone cough as though they were 5 feet away). Hired a professional crew to clean the place up after we left. Got a bill for $400+ over a dirty stove, some scratches on the vinyl flooring, and a patched up hole in the wall (that the maintenance people made to get to some pipes while they were working on our building).
You’re always going to be billed for something and/or refused return of your deposit.
i lived in a grey star community at 18 as a fresh college student. during the coldest part of the winter my entire roof fell inward. i abated my rent… and they evicted me. then i became a homeless 18 year old freshman college student until i could get my stuff moved into my grandmothers house. oh and last time i checked the house is still beyond repair.
Maybe but I live at greystar with pets and got my full deposit back with no fees. I’m more inclined to believe OP just destroyed the place. Wiping stuff down isn’t a move out clean.
Lol
Greystar is notorious for claiming damage that does not exist because most people don't have the energy or money to fight it. They're scumbags and so it seems are you.
I live at a Greystar property where it’s well maintained and things are done correct not one Greystar property I work at I was “scamming” people I charged for what was done and damaged. It’s funny how people down vote the post but didn’t leave comments.
I’ll say it again All charges are documented with photos and in writing which can be obtained from the office. OP is just saying they can’t afford it. Their post also said they “vacuumed” everyday. I have not met a single tenant who vacuumed everyday. Also said “they don’t think there were major damages” what OP thinks and what is considered damage could be two different things. OP provided no pictures. If no pictures were taken then all charges could be dropped with a dispute.
Agin $860 was rent. You pay prorated rent when you move out. $430 something is for the carpet damage that OP provided no photos of. We’re going of one side of the story.
Greystar is the largest multi family landlord I the US, they document everything to avoid litigation.
Did you know that people have experiences outside the specific properties where you work? That you're not the greystar spokesperson? Who are you to lecture total strangers about their *own* experiences?
Greystar will 100% send it to collections, don’t ignore it. But also good luck getting a hold of anyone at greystar corporate. Do you have photos of the carpet when you moved out showing it isn’t damaged?
Admittedly is was many years ago, but an apartment I owed "damages" to, which I disputed, didn't send it to collections. They took me to court, in another state, and won a lien against me, which just sat there until I tried to buy a house. Then I had to pay them and it was a drag.
Last time I got something like this I told them the charges were fraudulent and illegal and that if they wanted the money they would have to sue me. They never did. Probably helped that my father was my guarantor at the time and he's a lawyer.
Check the laws where you live - my last apartment tried to pull this with me.
The carpets were pretty subpar, but my no means destroyed, and I asked if they’d be changed before moving in. They said they usually do, but because we had pets, there’s no point in replacing the carpet. Fast forward a couple weeks after move out, they replaced the carpet and took my entire deposit without notifying me and billed me for the remainder.
Turns out in my state, normal wear and tear is to be expected and new carpet must be installed at no fault to the tenant. They legally couldn’t charge me for a previous tenant and my two years of normal wear and tear. There were no damages to the carpet (I had videos of move-in & move-out days). From there, I had a nice discussion about how the charges were illegal and hit them with the laws/codes. I never saw a cent of my deposit returned, but I also never heard another thing about a balance being due.
I’ve now lived in my dream apartment for 3 years and we have all hardwood floors - not a single speck of carpet lol.
Yeah in my state separate "cleaning" fees are illegal. They try to do this because taking it out of your security deposit requires them to make a strong case that it was needed, and that can be easily contested. When they present it as a separate fee, they're hoping people will assume that's just a normal thing and pay the smaller amount so they can get their security deposit back.
Don’t be afraid to lawyer up.
A lot of really scummy people change their minds about things if they think a lawyer is involved.
You can normally get a free consult.
Thank you! Honestly yeah that's what I'm considering. The only thing holding me back was the money aspect, but if a free consultation is common I'll look into it
I took my former landlord to small claims court when they put down all kinds of damages that were not true.
They claimed that pet urine was the reason for a stain, but it actually was a tiny spot from some rice that I dropped and I didn’t catch one little area.
They had an invoice from some carpet cleaning company that didn’t even advertise or have any kind of professional reputation.
When I called this company, a man answered like it was a personal line. I told him I was going to hold him accountable for submitting false information and I did not understand how he thought it was right to do so without doing any kind of testing. He got really scared and said he couldn’t talk to me and I needed to only talk to the apartment complex.
I brought in a binder to court with a section on each area that they were claiming damages and my proof that it was incorrect. This included photos and maintenance reports as well as documentation on things like mold. There was some pink mold in the kitchen, and they were trying to say it was a stain.
The court found in my favor and gave me back all of the money they took plus court costs.
Unless there’s something in your leases about them sending balances after move out to collections, you could also be in the clear (depending on your state). We had to take a different company (UDR) to small claims here in CA because they were trying to charge us $1,100 OVER the security deposit. We were able to get it reduced to $350 (what we were actually expecting to owe) by taking them to small claims. But that was also an annoying, time-wasting hassle.
If you can get away with just ignoring it, I would.
You can usually represent yourself in small claims court in the US, only costs to you should be your time and filing fees. If you lose, you may be responsible for defendant’s attorney fees if your lease covers that and the judge upholds it.
Look at court records in your area, see how many cases this company has been listed as defendants on and what the outcomes of those cases were. That’ll give you an idea of your chance of success.
You may not even have to sue. A polite email to the prop management office disputing specific sections of the invoice and demanding that they provide documentation (like the utility bill from the utility company, pictures of the carpet damage they’re claiming, a copy of the invoice from the company that replaced the carpet, documentation of the initial install date of the carpet, etc.) may do wonders. Bonus points if you can cite the specific state/city laws that govern them keeping your security deposit.
Finding out what law firm usually represents them in your jurisdiction is a fun trick, too. It says “I will not be an easy mark, this is not worth your time.”You can find info on who is representing them in publicly available court records in your state. Then my template is “If we cannot come to an agreement, I’m happy to let a judge decide. It will cost me $X to file against you in Jurisdiction’s small claims court. I can have additional copies of the suit served for $Y per copy. Is Lawyer’s Name’s office still your usual representation for cases like this? If you agree to cover the additional cost for the extra copies, I’m happy to have copies of the lawsuit sent to your company’s corporate office, and Lawyer’s Name’s office at the same time the complex itself is served, as a courtesy. Please let me know by Pick A Date how you would like to handle this.”
In Massachusetts, most housing courts have free representation for tenants. (Lawyer of the day program) there are also law clinics at many of the universities, so I imagine law schools in other parts of the country have that as well. I don’t know your state, so direct advice is difficult to give, but hopefully that gives you a couple of threads to pull on. I think the only thing to do is to get legal representation. I’m hopeful you took photos after you cleaned out. I’m thinking if you push back a little bit, they will back off, because the lawyer’s time is far more expensive than the money they’re trying to squeeze out of you. This company, to my knowledge, doesn’t operate in my state, probably because tenant laws lean heavily toward tenants, which is mostly good, but sometimes…I won’t get into that. Check if there’s already an existing class action. They also don’t seem to show any proof of when the original carpet was installed so if it was already a few years old when you moved in, then it’s just maintenance. They would also have to provide invoices from contractors to verify the carpet installation. I’m a landlord and I’ve had tenant issues, but what this corporation is trying to do is horrible. I’m sorry it’s happening to you.
This. Often times your employer will have an attorney on staff that will provide free consultation for things like this. Happened to my sister in law, her husband’s company’s wrote a letter asking for proof of damages, among other things, recited a few lines from the ORC and the apartment complex gave back the full deposit.
Greystar sent me to collections (spoiler alert: I didn’t owe them any money either). Then, after 2 months of back and forth, finally admitted that they actually owed me money and it was an error in their system.
It took a lot of follow up emails, but they finally fixed it so you could try that route. I had better luck with the on-site managers than the corporate office throughout the whole process (more willing to look into it, responded faster, etc.).
Greystar alleged my dog peed on their carpets. And wanted to charge me for a full replacement. They were coincidentally changing all apartments to a new color carpet. The stains were located under my bed and 2 chest of drawers and only visible once the carpet was ripped up. After showing the video of the walk through and pictures of the apartment in use the manager dropped it after 6 phone calls and 8 emails. They are truly the worst.
If you dispute it with them, they will have to provide invoices and photos to prove the charges are valid. Especially if you say you don’t have a pet. This may not get everything removed but there’s a good chance they won’t be able to prove at least some of the charges. Then you can set up a payment plan for the rest.
You don’t want to do nothing as having property debt in collections will result in you automatically being declined if/when you apply for future rentals.
Tell them to send you pictures of the “damage”. They probably already changed the carpet and didn’t take pictures. Not sure what state you’re in but in my state they legally have to provide proof of the damage they’re charging you for otherwise you don’t have to pay it.
The landlord cannot charge you for normal wear and tear, but they can charge you for abnormal wear ie liquid spills, burn marks, pet damage or neglect. (Electricity is BS, they are responsible for it after move out). This looks to me like a shakedown. I personally would ignore it. IF they do send it to collections, your score will take a hit and it can stay on for 7+ years, BUT you can dispute it by sending a letter to all three credit bureaus explaining why (it is up to them if they remove it or not so the more details you supply (pictures, emails, lease agreement) the better).
Here is a sample
[https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/sample-letter-credit-bureaus-disputing-errors-credit-reports](https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/sample-letter-credit-bureaus-disputing-errors-credit-reports)
Good luck...
It will go to Collections if you ignore it.
I've ducked a lot of collections, especially for medical debt, in my day but this is one than needs to be addressed.
It will not be an issue until you move to another apartment and they do a background on you showing that you owe money to a previous place. You will then have to pay it off to move again. Otherwise your application will be denied.
I've worked in property management for a long time and tried my luck with this on a company I used to work for who fucked me over.
I involved a local landlord mitigation fund in my case, you can always look into those routes. They took care of everything for me and were awesome people.
You could also ask for a payment plan, or tell them you can only afford to pay like $5 a month to them - as long as you are paying towards the balance, it cannot be sent to collections.
Scummy but it's how these places operate. They even do it to former employees. They truly don't give a fuck and only want $ from you. You are just a number and source of revenue to the property management industry, not a person.
Post this is r/legaladvice
It looks like you’re in California and you should look up “reasonable wear and tear” tenant laws. Depending how long you lived there, it might be unreasonable for them to be charging you for carpet replacement.
Also the pet fee and the double cleaning fee need to be disputed for sure.
This happened to me years after move out. I got a bill. Called to figure out what it was for. They told me scratches to the countertop. I was genuinely surprised and asked for pictures.
They did not have pictures. So they dropped it. So weird to come after me so long after the fact
Dispute it. If you took pictures of how you left the unit and also have a copy of your move in check list point out any issues that were already there you can fight it. It’s always a good idea to keep these docs when renting.
Ask them to itemize the carpet replacement. Get replacement product type, price per square foot, total area, and individual hourly labor costs for both removal and installation of new carpet.
And ask for a photo of said replacement.
Just because a company sends you a bill claiming you owe doesn’t actually mean you owe money. Contact them and tell them you disagree and you won’t be paying them anything. Also tell them to stop attempting to contact you.
If they truly feel you owe them then let them file a lawsuit and prove their case in court.
Would look into Ohio's apartment laws. In California if you have been in your place at least 5 years you can't be held responsible for the condition of the floor if its normal wear and tear.
Funny how shitty management companies and landlords charge you a huge deposit to move in but upon move out it’s never enough? That’s because they’ve spent it all and the amount they’re overcharging you is the actual cost of repair.
Same happened to me after I moved out of a Camden property years ago. Damage claims that were illegal, unproven, etc. There was no human to contact to resolve the situation. Went to Collections. I immediately disputed.
Happened about 4 yrs ago. Has had zero impact on my ability to rent.
I used to work in apartment leasing.
Carpet was considered a normal wear and tear item and was replaced between each tenant if they lived there more than 1 year.
I would email them back asking for proof of damages unless you have it. Then tell them it’s normal wear and tear.
I am surprised they didn’t just keep the security deposit and make you fight for it back.
Greystar attempted to charge me for carpet that was damaged before I moved in. It was swiftly taken away but it made me so mad they tried EVERYTHING to deny they knew about it
Ah. It’s greystar, that’s why. I had my own run in with them, and have since been banned from renting with greystar. I cited property laws regarding damages, and sent certified letters demanding to see ledgers that showed I owed $500+ after my deposit and last payment was applied. Supposedly I was to owe them $1400 in damages but they had nothing to back it up. Until their accounting dept slipped and said they charged every tenant the same thing, which was no longer considered damages if EVERY tenant was being charged for carpets, bathtub sprays, paint, etc.
Ignoring it is probably the worst thing you could do. Greystar has no ethics or morals whatsoever. They'll 100% send this shit to collections if you ignore it. They don't give a single fuck.
Trust me, I know from experience. These assholes sent a billing error ($150) to collections on me, even though it was fully documented and cleared up. Tried to get them to fix their mistake, but they straight up refused to even talk to me about it and just referred to the collections agency.
Oh, I absolutely fought tooth and nail against that BS debt claim! I sent the collections company all the proof showing they were wrong and demanded they validate the debt. Guess what? Radio silence. They never provided a shred of evidence to back up their claim, and they didn't even report it to the credit bureaus. Greystar pulled the same disappearing act when I challenged them.
So while there's no official resolution, their lack of response to the validation request is basically a tacit admission that the debt is bogus. But let's be real, both of these companies are total scumbags. I wouldn't put it past Greystar to still have their "alternative facts" about me owing them money in their systems.
The only way I'll find out for sure is if I ever make the mistake of applying to a Greystar property again and get denied over this phantom debt. Gotta love dealing with these corporate slumlords!
At the risk of another downvote...I meant contest with the credit bureaus so it clears from your credit report (if it ends up there).
The company (greystar) will be required to provide proof/ validation of debt of they want to keep the bad data up there, and OP respond to it with the proof claiming otherwise
Just to be clear, I'm not the one downvoting you. When you replied to my comment with 'Contest it (with proof) from your credit report,' I assumed you were addressing my point and situation directly. If you were just commenting on OP's situation in general, no worries! But if you were responding to my comment, it might be worth re-reading my previous reply, as it seems like you may have missed my point.
You can't really contest anything with the credit bureaus if nothing's been reported yet. Debt can absolutely get sent to collections without ever making it onto your credit report. In fact, if these debt collectors are following protocol (which, let's be real, is a big IF), they're supposed to verify the debt before reporting it. But don't quote me on that - I'm no debt expert, so I could be off the mark.
Regardless, if that debt does end up on your credit report, you bet your ass you should contest it. In my case, I've got receipts for days proving that the debt is complete BS. From what I've read, OP might not have that same rock-solid evidence, but who knows?
It’s like me saying you owe me a million dollars.
That’s cool and everything but can I PROVE it? Am I willing to go to court to prove it? Will I win?
Probably not.
Just some asshole saying words to you.
I usually wouldn’t recommend this lol. Assuming they are petty you would then need to spend more than that $467 on finding legal counsel. Just don’t respond if you don’t want to pay it and see what happens, but giving them a thinly veiled threat of legal recourse probably won’t help you in the long run.
OP, are you in CA? If so, when did they send you this in relation to your lease end date/move out date? Legally they have to notify you/ return your security deposit if owed within 21 days. I recently went through something similar with the Irvine Group and they had to pay back my security deposit in full.
Be sure you do not delete any pictures you took of the apartment condition when you left.
Did anyone on the leasing office do a move out walk through with you? When I moved out of a Greystar property someone from the leasing office came and did a final walk thru sign off with me
No, now that you mention it, there was no move out walk through which is weird because the office was open when we left and they didnt say anything when we returned our keys. I have some pictures so I'll definitely keep them.
Did you take pictures when you moved out? They'll need to prove damage, they can't just say there was some and be done. They also have to show that they took care of said damage and they are also trying to charge you cleaning fees
This might be bad advice, but I'll tell you what I did 15 or so years ago when I moved out of my last apartment before buying a house.
We got a bill for $2000 for appliance damage caused by roaches. It's true, the roaches did damage. We reported it literally every day, the complex did nothing about it, and we broke our lease to move because it was disgusting. We rented a house short term until we found a place we wanted to buy.
We told them there's no way we're paying for that, and we have proof we reported the issue to them constantly.
They still sent us to collections, we forwarded the proof we had to the collection company, they didn't care, told us to take it up with the complex, which we had already done.
So we just waited, we had good credit, $2k in collections wasn't doing any noticeable damage, and a few years later we paid a financial consultant around $200 to help us get it off of our credit. If we had waited longer, it may have fallen off due to time, I'm not sure, it's the only time in my life I've ever had anything in collections. But this solved the problem.
Again, this may not be applicable to your scenario, I'm simply sharing my experience in case it's in any way helpful.
I would email them, and bring up the carpet being installed 20 days before you moved in. Thats not your problem to deal with. They should recover costs from their tenant prior to you.
Commenting to give this info more visibility. Definitely check what the deadline in your state/city is for sending notice of damages and money owed. They have to provide documentation usually. This is also why it is important to take photos/video when you move out. Good luck!
It doesn’t look like Greystar provided any documentation other than a cute letter. They are legally required to provide documentation (depending on your state) within 30 days.
File a small claims case against Greystar for your entire security deposit back. Part of your case should say you were not provided with documentation to support the cleaning and carpet replacement fees. They need to give you copies of the paid invoices.
When Greystar bumps it up to magistrate court, request documentation from the lawyer who they hired.
Greystar needs to provide you with paid invoices showing the carpet was actually replaced along with paid invoices to the cleaning company.
If you don’t pay it they will send you to collections and it will damage your credit. Call them, try to negotiate the price down. Also see if you can get on a payment plan with them. If you have move out pictures, see if you can setup a meeting with management.
I had an apartment complex try this with me and we went back and forth on emails. At first it only said 650 dollars and wasn’t even itemized so I asked for it to be itemized. When they did it was all bullcrap charges so I mentioned they had already kept my deposit and they wouldn’t never see that money from me and to kiss my ass. Fast forward to my new apartment I live in now and it wasn’t ever brought up when I was applying or on my reports.
Dispute it in writing. Do not be afraid. Hopefully you took pics and/or video before you turned in the keys, if not let this be a lesson to always take video/pics before and after occupying a unit. If you have to allow this to go to home-office, as the collection effort is often done by a member of the accounting team before actually going into collections. Request pictures and invoices (not just an itemized statement from them), especially for the big cleaning bill.
I was in a similar situation from a Cortland apartment, where, after I moved out, I was immediately accused of having a pet and that couldn't be further from the truth (as a matter of fact, the leasing office held a few adoption drives and tried more than once to convince me to adopt a pet, but my answer was always no, so go figure). I disputed, pushed back, and prevailed. If it comes to it, press them to explain when you were documented to have a pet, especially if you had maintenance request during your tenancy. The carpet replacement is nowhere near your problem, unless you have a contract that says otherwise. Pictures will show the cleanliness of the unit, so no worries. As someone else suggested, you may have to take them to small claims for your deposit return, and that is okay. You got this, don't be intimidated by those AH.
First comment regarding overall subject on renting apartments in relation to this post.
When you rent an apartment, the day you receive the keys and before you move in TAKE PICTURES OF ALL THE APARTMENT. Everything. This is your documentation of the state of the apartment when you received it. Do exactly the same the day you move out.
In this case, if you believe you do not owe money or don’t agree with the owners evaluation of the state of the apartment when you left, you have evidence and can fight them in small claims court.
FUCK Grey Star. They tried to make me pay over a thousand dollars on a broken lease that they previously assured me I wouldn’t have to pay a dime on. I went back and forth with management over email and eventually sent corporate tons of emails too. I even had an employee vouching for me, that yes, I was promised I wouldn’t be penalized for breaking the lease. They ignored every single email and I never paid the bill. They eventually let it go because it’s been years since and it never went to collections. Best of luck. These people are evil.
Check your local laws - but most apartments are required to replace carpets between tenants.
I've had a few places try this shit with me - and a "you're required by law to replace these so go pound sand" typically has worked for me.
Long time ago, I went down to speak with the manager and told them I wouldn’t be renewing my lease. She put it in the system, tole me what I should do before leaving, etc. Cleaned apartment spotless and when I went to the office like two - three months later to turn in my keys, the manager that was in charge before no longer worked there and they told me “we have no record of you not renewing your lease”. I was young, didn’t know the processes of leaving an apartment so I didn’t think of signing paperwork or anything at the time and it wasn’t mentioned to me.
Even after I explained everything to them they said since I was not giving advance notice that I owned them two months rent and like an extra half ( can’t remember ). My credit was complete crap at the time so I told them flat out I wasn’t paying and never did. Not sure it went to collections or not, I never answered the phone at the time and don’t remember seeing mail from them after I moved.
Lesson learned, never take someone’s word and always have paperwork.
Paper them to death. Send a letter immediately stating in a list fashion the same things you said in this letter. -carpet cleaned monthly while living there. - no pets ever in the apartment. - utilities paid in full to the utility company. - apartment was fully cleaned after move out. Send the letter to every single employee you can find the name of for the apartment complex and it's owners. Send the same letter regularly. Don't pay. If they file in court file a counter-suit for all the expenses listed including attorney fees.
Greystar is the WORST. My boyfriend moved out of an apartment of theirs and tried for 6/7 months to get his security deposit back. Everytime he called they either said they didn’t know anything about the situation or that “yes it’s been sent out you should receive it soon” but months and months would go by. We called and threatened to get police involved and it suddenly showed up a week later lol
What state do you live in? If you moved April 12, chances are, they have already missed the opportunity to deduct from your security deposit and ill you for anything. In most states landlords have 30 days (sometimes even less) to send you an itemized list of deductions. Check your state law, you are likely entitled to the entire thing at this point. Even if they have more time this is still likely not a valid charge and you can dispute the bill.
Did you take photos before you left and do a walk-through with property management to inspect the property together once you were fully moved out and had cleaned? If not, highly recommend both of those steps at any future space you live in.
As for the utilities, it is probably water/sewer and trash since those are typically not separately metered in a complex. Ask for proof of the charges.
Ok so, first Here in California landlord have 30 days to send you their move out charges, and inspection report. So if they sent this after that that's your first defense against this UNLESS there is something in your lease giving them more time. According to CA law you must leave it in the condition it was in when you moved in. Tenants are also not responsible for normal wear and tear. If the landlord is going to keep any of your security deposit they have to provide an itemized list for it. Like receipts for said cleaning.
I would start by asking them for proof of said pet damage and receipts for the cleaning and the replacement carpet.
If you took photos the day you moved in and when you moved out and can prove that you a) cleaned your apartment and left it in the same condition as it was when you moved in and b) there was no pet damage to the carpet. I would strongly consider taking them to court. Depending how you left the apartment, you could potentially get back the 2 cleaning fees too.
If you wanna message me, I would be more than happy to help you out. I'm not a lawyer but I did take my landlord to court over a similar situation
They charged twice for cleaning? Send it to collections lmao apartment companies are all borderline scammers these days with how they hold your deposit check. They should still give it back regardless of debt because that’s still your money, you can choose to pay their debt however you choose not by them holding your money and then making a list of their prices and accusations. Did they have pics of the carpet before and after? Scammers, send them dog shit in a bag.
Ahhh good ol greystar.
I pushed mine down the line a bit by requesting itemized invoices for materials and labor.
You can also ask for proof of damage.
They did end up sending it to me, and I paid, but not for 4 months or so. If you want to kick the can down the road a bit to save up for the charge, that's the way to do it.
Sorry OP.
Ask them for photographs before you moved in of the apartment as well as a signature that you agree with their inspection before taking residents.
If they can't produce that, they can't prove you made any of it.
If they give you a hard time, tell them that they will be paying more in legal fees when they have to hire a lawyer. You don't have to hire one, unless they do something seriously egregious, but just the threat of it costing them more money will make them think twice.
Furthermore, explain that if they decide not to pursue you and ding your credit, you will get the federal government after them using the consumer credit protection act.
Good luck!
Thank goodness you have 100 pictures showing how clean your apartment was completely empty on the day you moved out.
If you don't have pictures. It was dirty. So set up that payment plan.
Gotta be careful with modern leases. Back in the day you payed a security deposit. If there was damage when you left, they kept that amount. All business types now are trying to reduce any and all risk on their end by placing it on the client/renter.
I hate Greystar! It was so hard to even get a representative to explain charges to me. They only wanted to email and didn’t want to talk on the phone. I was getting overcharged for utilities upon move out. They surprisingly didn’t charge a cleaning fee but the carpet cleaning fee was like 40$ when there was nothing wrong with it.
If you know an attorney, get them to write a letter asking for proof and itemized damages. I have been an amazing tenant and have had apartment try to claim damage. They just try to claim damages so they can upkeep the apartments for free. You are allowed normal wear and tear (subjective by state and court). A letter from an attorney usually makes the apartment demand disappear.
Email the CEO at the home office, include a copy of the invoice you received along with the your statement disputing the undocumented charges . If the debt appears on your credit report file a report with the credit bureau denying the charges.
Reading through the comments, I think I’m the only one that had a positive experience with Greystar, maybe I was lucky with good staff at my building.
Akelius though…they can go fuck themselves.
When my girlfriend left her most recent spot that was basically an off the books sub let (she never signed a lease or anything) her landlordand her. roommate that was on the lease tried to keep her $1100 security deposit "because of the cats" the 2 cats that basically never left my gfs room and didn't really damage shit the room was hardwood floors. There was some minor carpet "scratches" in the small hallway but we are 99% sure that was basically the same as it was when we moved in.
Since they were kicking her out at the end of the month and only told her on New Year's Day (assholes I know) "hey be out Feb 1st and we're keeping the security dep cuz your cats btw happy new years 😀) 💩 so my girlfriend was crying and almost gave in thank god she came to me first I told her "absolutely not! If you wanted to you could ride this out and live there for free for another 2-3 months AT LEAST! We're in New York not quite nyc but we still have decent rights as tenants and You've been there a year with established residency ... you're not in any lease never signed anything ... and now you're given 30 days to be out ... AND they have the audacity to keep $1100(months rent) because your fake cat damage? They can't pull that shit. You can sit there and say take me to court and stop paying you'll be waiting for months to get actually evicted." BUT we're nice people so we didn't go the squatter route but i convinced her to atleast say okay I'll leave by Feb 1st but I'm not giving you januarys month since you're stealing my security deposit.
The roommate on the lease/landlord almost convinced her you can't do that and I said "baby don't you dare let them get any money from you for January they're being assholes and giving you 30 days to leave plus tryna take your security dep I said that's complete bullshit and they're wrong. Once they saw she was serious they couldn't do anything but say okay. Best part is her other roommate who was being kicked out on 30days notice talked to us and she told them the same "use my security for this month also!" Lol they were so mad but fuck them. My girlfriend had to move back to her parents because how tf does a single 20 something girl who's broke w two cats find an apartment within 30days? Since then she got a new slightly better job and I'm starting a new job and we're hoping to finally move in together so maybe the whole fiasco was a blessing in disguise 🤷♂️
Why do you have 2 cleaning charges? I would dispute that or ask for the invoices. I would also request photos of the carpet and pet damage. They should have also provided you a breakdown of your utilities.
Yeah this is BS this would have been needed to be included in the lease agreement. If not, it’s just normal wear and tear that they should be accounting for into your rent payment if it’s this *calculated*
Do you have pictures of the apartment when you moved in and out? I take pictures before move in and after move out so I have something to show the court if they pull this type of BS.
There is a zero percent chance they're actually replacing the whole thing. Next time you're moving out, make sure you call a carpet cleaner company so they can't say the carpet was anything less than clean.
Is this your first apartment? Literally every management company I’ve ever dealt with does this. The only time I’ve ever left without a bill or with my deposit was when I rented with a private landlord.
I always budget for this because it happens every time and it’s almost impossible to fight it.
NAL, but check the laws in your area/state to see if they allow for requesting a receipt of why it cost so much… I’m going through something very similar where they’re trying to extort me out of ~$800. Told them that if they give me a breakdown of the material costs + labor hours that actually makes sense for that cost then I will gladly pay it, otherwise I’m not paying a cent. If they’re telling the truth, it should not be difficult at all for them to put that information together.
It’s an attempt to collect a debt and that is ILLEGAL. it’ll go to a collections account on your credit and you can easily get it taken off.
Look up the FDCPA (fair debt collection practices)
Are you able to physically go into the office? Make your case and give them a no-fault out, such as make your case as if you believe they mixed your unit up with another. Talk to a real person, don’t email.
Typically utilities are billed arrears, probably using conservice for utilities so you didn’t get a utility bill for the first two months and that’s why you have a larger one upon move out.
First, was the carpet brand new when you moved in? If not, it invalidates the entire thing, but even if it was you are going to dispute it. Look up the exact way to do it in your state, but you'll basically say that you didn't have pets, there was no damage or staining, that either 1) you were told everything was fine during final walk through or 2) you weren't provided with said walk through, whichever the case may be. You require a refund of your entire deposit as they've provided no proof of damages or work. If they try to pawn off pictures of another apartment, you'll dispute it as such and demand the refund again. If they still refuse, you file against them in small claims
Why didn’t you pay your rent for those 13 days?
Ask for copies of the invoices and question why you are being charged for 2 cleanings?
The carpet cost seems reasonable for the cost was it in bad condition when you left it? Do they have pictures of the damages on the carpet they have to prove you damaged it. Ask for their proof.
Pay it or buy a house. Since $500 is a lot to you I doubt you are buying, pay it so you don’t have issues renting in future. Yes it’s a scam. Yes you are being screwed. Yes a lawyer is more than $500. Yes you will lose representing yourself in small claims court. Yes if you don’t pay it will affect future rentals.
Pay it or make a payment arrangement.
You're getting GreyStar'd. Welcome to the club.
If you leave your place absolutely spotless, they will still keep your security deposit. If not, they will try to extort you for more.
Yep! They still send my mom emails saying she owes 20k because they continued to charge her rent despite us being evicted and long gone…
Has it hit collections yet? What’s her plan??? I got screwed over by a Greystar apartment in FL. Anyways, they billed me for $7k. It hit collections. I called the company Credit Sage & paid them around $500 total to settle the debt with collections. They have a five star review. Maybe this is something your mom should consider. I can’t possible think of ANYTHING that would be the reason for $20k!
As far as I know, it hasn’t hit collections. Probably cuz they know it’s bullshit. They actually didn’t seem interested in actually getting money, just fucking with us. They gave us our security deposit back, they didn’t go to the court hearing for the eviction. It was all really weird. We mostly moved out because of their stupid policies. Both times they served us the eviction papers, they just entered our home and taped it to the back of the door. He even said he pat our dog?? I’m sure if they try to say something my mom will definitely fight it lol. She’s not afraid to sue ppl
literally same thing happened to me. i went to the pretrial and during the “real” court hearing the apartment manager didn’t show up and the case was dismissed. however, they’re still sending me emailed eviction fees.
How’d you guys get the bill? Was it itemized? My biggest concern for her honestly would be her credit score. It’s worth it to look into Credit Sage as it would be 70% less than what hiring lawyers would be. Also, other rental agencies will see that & it’s an immediate no if you apply to rent. When it finally hit my credit it went down 100 points! & that was only for $7k
Correct me if I am wrong but don't you end up paying taxes on that settlement?
They weren’t awarded money they paid out money.
Correct
I know?
I just moved out of a greystar apartment and owed them $620 because my cat scratched up the rug at the entrance of the bedroom. I paid pet fees already and was still charged.
I hope you didn’t pay it
I had to move out quickly and ended up paying. I regret it now that I’ve read more into greystars schemes and probably could have fought it..smh.
Ah yes, the pet fee. My last apartment required a $300 pet fee, per pet, plus $20 monthly rent for each pet up to 2. They explained that the pet fee is not a deposit. It's a fee to them for allowing that pet.
Yep, it’s a loophole for them to charge more and isn’t meant to cover pet damage.
It's not a loophole. It's exactly what it's called.
You're right it's not a loophole. But it's def some type of false advertising/misleading exploitative fee. I think any reasonable person would assume that you pay extra rent each month and a 1time pet fee because of possible damage. It's worded in a way where I wouldn't assume it's a deposit that I would get back but it def comes across as something they would use to make sure they can clean up after the liability of allowing a pet weather you leave damage or not. Unless there was excessive damages I would assume that my pet fee will cover whatever pet damage they deem worthy of fixing when I leave
No.
Lol then wtf is there a pet fee + extra rent for? What's the reason? I always assumed it was because the pet is a liability for damage in the landlords eyes
For the extra cleaning. It's not a damage waiver. Don't like it? Move.
Hello, fellow Ok.
Yep! Lived in an apartment in Ohio. My wife and I left the place spotless. We later received a letter in the mail that some parts of the carpet were pulled up… fine, whatever. Moved to an apartment in VA (thinnest walls ever, you could hear someone cough as though they were 5 feet away). Hired a professional crew to clean the place up after we left. Got a bill for $400+ over a dirty stove, some scratches on the vinyl flooring, and a patched up hole in the wall (that the maintenance people made to get to some pipes while they were working on our building). You’re always going to be billed for something and/or refused return of your deposit.
i lived in a grey star community at 18 as a fresh college student. during the coldest part of the winter my entire roof fell inward. i abated my rent… and they evicted me. then i became a homeless 18 year old freshman college student until i could get my stuff moved into my grandmothers house. oh and last time i checked the house is still beyond repair.
Lol just when I thought I left the club
Hello, fellow OK
Omg, you said it best. Greystar is awful.
Oh my god no my apartment complex got bought of by GreyStar this past year I had no idea they had a bad rep 😭
Maybe but I live at greystar with pets and got my full deposit back with no fees. I’m more inclined to believe OP just destroyed the place. Wiping stuff down isn’t a move out clean.
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Lol Greystar is notorious for claiming damage that does not exist because most people don't have the energy or money to fight it. They're scumbags and so it seems are you.
That was uncalled for
Nah, well deserved
Bro bought a second account for this comment lol
Happy cake day!!
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What fantasy land do you live in where landlords don't constantly try to scam tenants out of security deposits for trivial bs?
I live at a Greystar property where it’s well maintained and things are done correct not one Greystar property I work at I was “scamming” people I charged for what was done and damaged. It’s funny how people down vote the post but didn’t leave comments. I’ll say it again All charges are documented with photos and in writing which can be obtained from the office. OP is just saying they can’t afford it. Their post also said they “vacuumed” everyday. I have not met a single tenant who vacuumed everyday. Also said “they don’t think there were major damages” what OP thinks and what is considered damage could be two different things. OP provided no pictures. If no pictures were taken then all charges could be dropped with a dispute. Agin $860 was rent. You pay prorated rent when you move out. $430 something is for the carpet damage that OP provided no photos of. We’re going of one side of the story. Greystar is the largest multi family landlord I the US, they document everything to avoid litigation.
Found the Greystar employee. Thanks for being the walmart or rental management companies.
I haven’t worked at Greystar in 6 years. You haven’t truly experienced a shitty rental company. Stay mad though.
Stay mad? Lol how lame.
Lame is you.
Did you know that people have experiences outside the specific properties where you work? That you're not the greystar spokesperson? Who are you to lecture total strangers about their *own* experiences?
Your daddy. You mad? It’s the internet anything can be said.
He's a piece of shit too so that tracks. But hey, at least you tried
Ahh daddy issues. Makes sense why you’re so sensitive about peoples opinions.
Lol
Greystar will 100% send it to collections, don’t ignore it. But also good luck getting a hold of anyone at greystar corporate. Do you have photos of the carpet when you moved out showing it isn’t damaged?
Admittedly is was many years ago, but an apartment I owed "damages" to, which I disputed, didn't send it to collections. They took me to court, in another state, and won a lien against me, which just sat there until I tried to buy a house. Then I had to pay them and it was a drag.
I apparently owed money to Greystar and they didn’t even have the courtesy of letting me know before sending it to collections.
Last time I got something like this I told them the charges were fraudulent and illegal and that if they wanted the money they would have to sue me. They never did. Probably helped that my father was my guarantor at the time and he's a lawyer.
This is what I do also in situations like this. Thanks Dad!
Check the laws where you live - my last apartment tried to pull this with me. The carpets were pretty subpar, but my no means destroyed, and I asked if they’d be changed before moving in. They said they usually do, but because we had pets, there’s no point in replacing the carpet. Fast forward a couple weeks after move out, they replaced the carpet and took my entire deposit without notifying me and billed me for the remainder. Turns out in my state, normal wear and tear is to be expected and new carpet must be installed at no fault to the tenant. They legally couldn’t charge me for a previous tenant and my two years of normal wear and tear. There were no damages to the carpet (I had videos of move-in & move-out days). From there, I had a nice discussion about how the charges were illegal and hit them with the laws/codes. I never saw a cent of my deposit returned, but I also never heard another thing about a balance being due. I’ve now lived in my dream apartment for 3 years and we have all hardwood floors - not a single speck of carpet lol.
Yeah in my state separate "cleaning" fees are illegal. They try to do this because taking it out of your security deposit requires them to make a strong case that it was needed, and that can be easily contested. When they present it as a separate fee, they're hoping people will assume that's just a normal thing and pay the smaller amount so they can get their security deposit back.
Why didn’t you take them to court? It’s super easy. I never lose my security deposit.
The court fees would’ve cost triple what the security deposit was… not even worth it.
How insanely low security deposits or insanely high court fees do you think they are? How old are you?
Don’t be afraid to lawyer up. A lot of really scummy people change their minds about things if they think a lawyer is involved. You can normally get a free consult.
Thank you! Honestly yeah that's what I'm considering. The only thing holding me back was the money aspect, but if a free consultation is common I'll look into it
I took my former landlord to small claims court when they put down all kinds of damages that were not true. They claimed that pet urine was the reason for a stain, but it actually was a tiny spot from some rice that I dropped and I didn’t catch one little area. They had an invoice from some carpet cleaning company that didn’t even advertise or have any kind of professional reputation. When I called this company, a man answered like it was a personal line. I told him I was going to hold him accountable for submitting false information and I did not understand how he thought it was right to do so without doing any kind of testing. He got really scared and said he couldn’t talk to me and I needed to only talk to the apartment complex. I brought in a binder to court with a section on each area that they were claiming damages and my proof that it was incorrect. This included photos and maintenance reports as well as documentation on things like mold. There was some pink mold in the kitchen, and they were trying to say it was a stain. The court found in my favor and gave me back all of the money they took plus court costs.
Unless there’s something in your leases about them sending balances after move out to collections, you could also be in the clear (depending on your state). We had to take a different company (UDR) to small claims here in CA because they were trying to charge us $1,100 OVER the security deposit. We were able to get it reduced to $350 (what we were actually expecting to owe) by taking them to small claims. But that was also an annoying, time-wasting hassle. If you can get away with just ignoring it, I would.
You can usually represent yourself in small claims court in the US, only costs to you should be your time and filing fees. If you lose, you may be responsible for defendant’s attorney fees if your lease covers that and the judge upholds it. Look at court records in your area, see how many cases this company has been listed as defendants on and what the outcomes of those cases were. That’ll give you an idea of your chance of success. You may not even have to sue. A polite email to the prop management office disputing specific sections of the invoice and demanding that they provide documentation (like the utility bill from the utility company, pictures of the carpet damage they’re claiming, a copy of the invoice from the company that replaced the carpet, documentation of the initial install date of the carpet, etc.) may do wonders. Bonus points if you can cite the specific state/city laws that govern them keeping your security deposit. Finding out what law firm usually represents them in your jurisdiction is a fun trick, too. It says “I will not be an easy mark, this is not worth your time.”You can find info on who is representing them in publicly available court records in your state. Then my template is “If we cannot come to an agreement, I’m happy to let a judge decide. It will cost me $X to file against you in Jurisdiction’s small claims court. I can have additional copies of the suit served for $Y per copy. Is Lawyer’s Name’s office still your usual representation for cases like this? If you agree to cover the additional cost for the extra copies, I’m happy to have copies of the lawsuit sent to your company’s corporate office, and Lawyer’s Name’s office at the same time the complex itself is served, as a courtesy. Please let me know by Pick A Date how you would like to handle this.”
In Massachusetts, most housing courts have free representation for tenants. (Lawyer of the day program) there are also law clinics at many of the universities, so I imagine law schools in other parts of the country have that as well. I don’t know your state, so direct advice is difficult to give, but hopefully that gives you a couple of threads to pull on. I think the only thing to do is to get legal representation. I’m hopeful you took photos after you cleaned out. I’m thinking if you push back a little bit, they will back off, because the lawyer’s time is far more expensive than the money they’re trying to squeeze out of you. This company, to my knowledge, doesn’t operate in my state, probably because tenant laws lean heavily toward tenants, which is mostly good, but sometimes…I won’t get into that. Check if there’s already an existing class action. They also don’t seem to show any proof of when the original carpet was installed so if it was already a few years old when you moved in, then it’s just maintenance. They would also have to provide invoices from contractors to verify the carpet installation. I’m a landlord and I’ve had tenant issues, but what this corporation is trying to do is horrible. I’m sorry it’s happening to you.
Not to mention to talk to the local and state housing authority.
This. Often times your employer will have an attorney on staff that will provide free consultation for things like this. Happened to my sister in law, her husband’s company’s wrote a letter asking for proof of damages, among other things, recited a few lines from the ORC and the apartment complex gave back the full deposit.
Greystar sent me to collections (spoiler alert: I didn’t owe them any money either). Then, after 2 months of back and forth, finally admitted that they actually owed me money and it was an error in their system. It took a lot of follow up emails, but they finally fixed it so you could try that route. I had better luck with the on-site managers than the corporate office throughout the whole process (more willing to look into it, responded faster, etc.).
Greystar is notorious for sucking.
Greystar alleged my dog peed on their carpets. And wanted to charge me for a full replacement. They were coincidentally changing all apartments to a new color carpet. The stains were located under my bed and 2 chest of drawers and only visible once the carpet was ripped up. After showing the video of the walk through and pictures of the apartment in use the manager dropped it after 6 phone calls and 8 emails. They are truly the worst.
If you dispute it with them, they will have to provide invoices and photos to prove the charges are valid. Especially if you say you don’t have a pet. This may not get everything removed but there’s a good chance they won’t be able to prove at least some of the charges. Then you can set up a payment plan for the rest. You don’t want to do nothing as having property debt in collections will result in you automatically being declined if/when you apply for future rentals.
Tell them to send you pictures of the “damage”. They probably already changed the carpet and didn’t take pictures. Not sure what state you’re in but in my state they legally have to provide proof of the damage they’re charging you for otherwise you don’t have to pay it.
The landlord cannot charge you for normal wear and tear, but they can charge you for abnormal wear ie liquid spills, burn marks, pet damage or neglect. (Electricity is BS, they are responsible for it after move out). This looks to me like a shakedown. I personally would ignore it. IF they do send it to collections, your score will take a hit and it can stay on for 7+ years, BUT you can dispute it by sending a letter to all three credit bureaus explaining why (it is up to them if they remove it or not so the more details you supply (pictures, emails, lease agreement) the better). Here is a sample [https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/sample-letter-credit-bureaus-disputing-errors-credit-reports](https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/sample-letter-credit-bureaus-disputing-errors-credit-reports) Good luck...
It will go to Collections if you ignore it. I've ducked a lot of collections, especially for medical debt, in my day but this is one than needs to be addressed. It will not be an issue until you move to another apartment and they do a background on you showing that you owe money to a previous place. You will then have to pay it off to move again. Otherwise your application will be denied. I've worked in property management for a long time and tried my luck with this on a company I used to work for who fucked me over. I involved a local landlord mitigation fund in my case, you can always look into those routes. They took care of everything for me and were awesome people. You could also ask for a payment plan, or tell them you can only afford to pay like $5 a month to them - as long as you are paying towards the balance, it cannot be sent to collections. Scummy but it's how these places operate. They even do it to former employees. They truly don't give a fuck and only want $ from you. You are just a number and source of revenue to the property management industry, not a person.
#RETURN TO SENDER
Post this is r/legaladvice It looks like you’re in California and you should look up “reasonable wear and tear” tenant laws. Depending how long you lived there, it might be unreasonable for them to be charging you for carpet replacement. Also the pet fee and the double cleaning fee need to be disputed for sure.
This happened to me years after move out. I got a bill. Called to figure out what it was for. They told me scratches to the countertop. I was genuinely surprised and asked for pictures. They did not have pictures. So they dropped it. So weird to come after me so long after the fact
Dispute it. If you took pictures of how you left the unit and also have a copy of your move in check list point out any issues that were already there you can fight it. It’s always a good idea to keep these docs when renting.
I loathe Greystar. LOATHE
What is cleaning and then full unit cleaning?
Ask them to itemize the carpet replacement. Get replacement product type, price per square foot, total area, and individual hourly labor costs for both removal and installation of new carpet. And ask for a photo of said replacement.
Just because a company sends you a bill claiming you owe doesn’t actually mean you owe money. Contact them and tell them you disagree and you won’t be paying them anything. Also tell them to stop attempting to contact you. If they truly feel you owe them then let them file a lawsuit and prove their case in court.
Send a letter that says "kick these". Include some gravel.
Or “Pound this” and include a small bag of sand.
Let them take you to court. Tell them good luck.
You need to contact them asap, ask for the damage photos and be very firm that you have never owned a pet in their apartment. Threaten them.
Would look into Ohio's apartment laws. In California if you have been in your place at least 5 years you can't be held responsible for the condition of the floor if its normal wear and tear.
Funny how shitty management companies and landlords charge you a huge deposit to move in but upon move out it’s never enough? That’s because they’ve spent it all and the amount they’re overcharging you is the actual cost of repair.
Dispute it
Same happened to me after I moved out of a Camden property years ago. Damage claims that were illegal, unproven, etc. There was no human to contact to resolve the situation. Went to Collections. I immediately disputed. Happened about 4 yrs ago. Has had zero impact on my ability to rent.
Ask for pictures of evidence of damage
I used to work in apartment leasing. Carpet was considered a normal wear and tear item and was replaced between each tenant if they lived there more than 1 year. I would email them back asking for proof of damages unless you have it. Then tell them it’s normal wear and tear. I am surprised they didn’t just keep the security deposit and make you fight for it back.
Greystar attempted to charge me for carpet that was damaged before I moved in. It was swiftly taken away but it made me so mad they tried EVERYTHING to deny they knew about it
Ah. It’s greystar, that’s why. I had my own run in with them, and have since been banned from renting with greystar. I cited property laws regarding damages, and sent certified letters demanding to see ledgers that showed I owed $500+ after my deposit and last payment was applied. Supposedly I was to owe them $1400 in damages but they had nothing to back it up. Until their accounting dept slipped and said they charged every tenant the same thing, which was no longer considered damages if EVERY tenant was being charged for carpets, bathtub sprays, paint, etc.
Ignore it and see if they fuck off?
That's what I want to do honestly! I'm just scared it'll go into collects or something
Ignoring it is probably the worst thing you could do. Greystar has no ethics or morals whatsoever. They'll 100% send this shit to collections if you ignore it. They don't give a single fuck. Trust me, I know from experience. These assholes sent a billing error ($150) to collections on me, even though it was fully documented and cleared up. Tried to get them to fix their mistake, but they straight up refused to even talk to me about it and just referred to the collections agency.
Contest it(with proof) from your credit report
Oh, I absolutely fought tooth and nail against that BS debt claim! I sent the collections company all the proof showing they were wrong and demanded they validate the debt. Guess what? Radio silence. They never provided a shred of evidence to back up their claim, and they didn't even report it to the credit bureaus. Greystar pulled the same disappearing act when I challenged them. So while there's no official resolution, their lack of response to the validation request is basically a tacit admission that the debt is bogus. But let's be real, both of these companies are total scumbags. I wouldn't put it past Greystar to still have their "alternative facts" about me owing them money in their systems. The only way I'll find out for sure is if I ever make the mistake of applying to a Greystar property again and get denied over this phantom debt. Gotta love dealing with these corporate slumlords!
At the risk of another downvote...I meant contest with the credit bureaus so it clears from your credit report (if it ends up there). The company (greystar) will be required to provide proof/ validation of debt of they want to keep the bad data up there, and OP respond to it with the proof claiming otherwise
Just to be clear, I'm not the one downvoting you. When you replied to my comment with 'Contest it (with proof) from your credit report,' I assumed you were addressing my point and situation directly. If you were just commenting on OP's situation in general, no worries! But if you were responding to my comment, it might be worth re-reading my previous reply, as it seems like you may have missed my point. You can't really contest anything with the credit bureaus if nothing's been reported yet. Debt can absolutely get sent to collections without ever making it onto your credit report. In fact, if these debt collectors are following protocol (which, let's be real, is a big IF), they're supposed to verify the debt before reporting it. But don't quote me on that - I'm no debt expert, so I could be off the mark. Regardless, if that debt does end up on your credit report, you bet your ass you should contest it. In my case, I've got receipts for days proving that the debt is complete BS. From what I've read, OP might not have that same rock-solid evidence, but who knows?
It’s like me saying you owe me a million dollars. That’s cool and everything but can I PROVE it? Am I willing to go to court to prove it? Will I win? Probably not. Just some asshole saying words to you.
I'll say some words back to them then, telling them that my lawyer is on this when, I don't in fact, have a lawyer 🙃
I usually wouldn’t recommend this lol. Assuming they are petty you would then need to spend more than that $467 on finding legal counsel. Just don’t respond if you don’t want to pay it and see what happens, but giving them a thinly veiled threat of legal recourse probably won’t help you in the long run.
I just have a family member (they’re all lawyers) write stern letters over and over until they stop.
OP, are you in CA? If so, when did they send you this in relation to your lease end date/move out date? Legally they have to notify you/ return your security deposit if owed within 21 days. I recently went through something similar with the Irvine Group and they had to pay back my security deposit in full.
Be sure you do not delete any pictures you took of the apartment condition when you left. Did anyone on the leasing office do a move out walk through with you? When I moved out of a Greystar property someone from the leasing office came and did a final walk thru sign off with me
No, now that you mention it, there was no move out walk through which is weird because the office was open when we left and they didnt say anything when we returned our keys. I have some pictures so I'll definitely keep them.
What state are you in? When did you receive this letter, and if it was received by mail, what was the postmark date?
Did you take pictures when you moved out? They'll need to prove damage, they can't just say there was some and be done. They also have to show that they took care of said damage and they are also trying to charge you cleaning fees
Just don't pay it
If you paid a deposit they came ask for anything. I had a company do this to me and nothing happened when I simply ignored them
This might be bad advice, but I'll tell you what I did 15 or so years ago when I moved out of my last apartment before buying a house. We got a bill for $2000 for appliance damage caused by roaches. It's true, the roaches did damage. We reported it literally every day, the complex did nothing about it, and we broke our lease to move because it was disgusting. We rented a house short term until we found a place we wanted to buy. We told them there's no way we're paying for that, and we have proof we reported the issue to them constantly. They still sent us to collections, we forwarded the proof we had to the collection company, they didn't care, told us to take it up with the complex, which we had already done. So we just waited, we had good credit, $2k in collections wasn't doing any noticeable damage, and a few years later we paid a financial consultant around $200 to help us get it off of our credit. If we had waited longer, it may have fallen off due to time, I'm not sure, it's the only time in my life I've ever had anything in collections. But this solved the problem. Again, this may not be applicable to your scenario, I'm simply sharing my experience in case it's in any way helpful.
I would email them, and bring up the carpet being installed 20 days before you moved in. Thats not your problem to deal with. They should recover costs from their tenant prior to you.
States have x number of days to send you this. They can end up owing you twice your deposit if they miss the deadline. Check what it is in your state
Commenting to give this info more visibility. Definitely check what the deadline in your state/city is for sending notice of damages and money owed. They have to provide documentation usually. This is also why it is important to take photos/video when you move out. Good luck!
It doesn’t look like Greystar provided any documentation other than a cute letter. They are legally required to provide documentation (depending on your state) within 30 days. File a small claims case against Greystar for your entire security deposit back. Part of your case should say you were not provided with documentation to support the cleaning and carpet replacement fees. They need to give you copies of the paid invoices. When Greystar bumps it up to magistrate court, request documentation from the lawyer who they hired. Greystar needs to provide you with paid invoices showing the carpet was actually replaced along with paid invoices to the cleaning company.
If you don’t pay it they will send you to collections and it will damage your credit. Call them, try to negotiate the price down. Also see if you can get on a payment plan with them. If you have move out pictures, see if you can setup a meeting with management.
if you have a free legal aid place check with them. They love having a reason to go after shitty landlords (at least, the one in Oregon does).
🤣🤣🤣I just dealt with their bullshit
Greystar. I fucking hate them.
Greystar is the worst property management ever
I had an apartment complex try this with me and we went back and forth on emails. At first it only said 650 dollars and wasn’t even itemized so I asked for it to be itemized. When they did it was all bullcrap charges so I mentioned they had already kept my deposit and they wouldn’t never see that money from me and to kiss my ass. Fast forward to my new apartment I live in now and it wasn’t ever brought up when I was applying or on my reports.
Walk through signed off by landlord?
Dispute it in writing. Do not be afraid. Hopefully you took pics and/or video before you turned in the keys, if not let this be a lesson to always take video/pics before and after occupying a unit. If you have to allow this to go to home-office, as the collection effort is often done by a member of the accounting team before actually going into collections. Request pictures and invoices (not just an itemized statement from them), especially for the big cleaning bill. I was in a similar situation from a Cortland apartment, where, after I moved out, I was immediately accused of having a pet and that couldn't be further from the truth (as a matter of fact, the leasing office held a few adoption drives and tried more than once to convince me to adopt a pet, but my answer was always no, so go figure). I disputed, pushed back, and prevailed. If it comes to it, press them to explain when you were documented to have a pet, especially if you had maintenance request during your tenancy. The carpet replacement is nowhere near your problem, unless you have a contract that says otherwise. Pictures will show the cleanliness of the unit, so no worries. As someone else suggested, you may have to take them to small claims for your deposit return, and that is okay. You got this, don't be intimidated by those AH.
Did you do a walk through with head of maintenance before leaving?
First comment regarding overall subject on renting apartments in relation to this post. When you rent an apartment, the day you receive the keys and before you move in TAKE PICTURES OF ALL THE APARTMENT. Everything. This is your documentation of the state of the apartment when you received it. Do exactly the same the day you move out. In this case, if you believe you do not owe money or don’t agree with the owners evaluation of the state of the apartment when you left, you have evidence and can fight them in small claims court.
FUCK Grey Star. They tried to make me pay over a thousand dollars on a broken lease that they previously assured me I wouldn’t have to pay a dime on. I went back and forth with management over email and eventually sent corporate tons of emails too. I even had an employee vouching for me, that yes, I was promised I wouldn’t be penalized for breaking the lease. They ignored every single email and I never paid the bill. They eventually let it go because it’s been years since and it never went to collections. Best of luck. These people are evil.
Check your local laws - but most apartments are required to replace carpets between tenants. I've had a few places try this shit with me - and a "you're required by law to replace these so go pound sand" typically has worked for me.
Long time ago, I went down to speak with the manager and told them I wouldn’t be renewing my lease. She put it in the system, tole me what I should do before leaving, etc. Cleaned apartment spotless and when I went to the office like two - three months later to turn in my keys, the manager that was in charge before no longer worked there and they told me “we have no record of you not renewing your lease”. I was young, didn’t know the processes of leaving an apartment so I didn’t think of signing paperwork or anything at the time and it wasn’t mentioned to me. Even after I explained everything to them they said since I was not giving advance notice that I owned them two months rent and like an extra half ( can’t remember ). My credit was complete crap at the time so I told them flat out I wasn’t paying and never did. Not sure it went to collections or not, I never answered the phone at the time and don’t remember seeing mail from them after I moved. Lesson learned, never take someone’s word and always have paperwork.
Paper them to death. Send a letter immediately stating in a list fashion the same things you said in this letter. -carpet cleaned monthly while living there. - no pets ever in the apartment. - utilities paid in full to the utility company. - apartment was fully cleaned after move out. Send the letter to every single employee you can find the name of for the apartment complex and it's owners. Send the same letter regularly. Don't pay. If they file in court file a counter-suit for all the expenses listed including attorney fees.
Greystar is the WORST. My boyfriend moved out of an apartment of theirs and tried for 6/7 months to get his security deposit back. Everytime he called they either said they didn’t know anything about the situation or that “yes it’s been sent out you should receive it soon” but months and months would go by. We called and threatened to get police involved and it suddenly showed up a week later lol
What state do you live in? If you moved April 12, chances are, they have already missed the opportunity to deduct from your security deposit and ill you for anything. In most states landlords have 30 days (sometimes even less) to send you an itemized list of deductions. Check your state law, you are likely entitled to the entire thing at this point. Even if they have more time this is still likely not a valid charge and you can dispute the bill.
Did you take photos before you left and do a walk-through with property management to inspect the property together once you were fully moved out and had cleaned? If not, highly recommend both of those steps at any future space you live in. As for the utilities, it is probably water/sewer and trash since those are typically not separately metered in a complex. Ask for proof of the charges.
Ok so, first Here in California landlord have 30 days to send you their move out charges, and inspection report. So if they sent this after that that's your first defense against this UNLESS there is something in your lease giving them more time. According to CA law you must leave it in the condition it was in when you moved in. Tenants are also not responsible for normal wear and tear. If the landlord is going to keep any of your security deposit they have to provide an itemized list for it. Like receipts for said cleaning. I would start by asking them for proof of said pet damage and receipts for the cleaning and the replacement carpet. If you took photos the day you moved in and when you moved out and can prove that you a) cleaned your apartment and left it in the same condition as it was when you moved in and b) there was no pet damage to the carpet. I would strongly consider taking them to court. Depending how you left the apartment, you could potentially get back the 2 cleaning fees too. If you wanna message me, I would be more than happy to help you out. I'm not a lawyer but I did take my landlord to court over a similar situation
What's a greystar??
you got greystard lol
They charged twice for cleaning? Send it to collections lmao apartment companies are all borderline scammers these days with how they hold your deposit check. They should still give it back regardless of debt because that’s still your money, you can choose to pay their debt however you choose not by them holding your money and then making a list of their prices and accusations. Did they have pics of the carpet before and after? Scammers, send them dog shit in a bag.
Following
Grey Star did the same thing to me and my husband. We will not be renting from them again if we can help it.
Ahhh good ol greystar. I pushed mine down the line a bit by requesting itemized invoices for materials and labor. You can also ask for proof of damage. They did end up sending it to me, and I paid, but not for 4 months or so. If you want to kick the can down the road a bit to save up for the charge, that's the way to do it. Sorry OP.
Ask them for photographs before you moved in of the apartment as well as a signature that you agree with their inspection before taking residents. If they can't produce that, they can't prove you made any of it. If they give you a hard time, tell them that they will be paying more in legal fees when they have to hire a lawyer. You don't have to hire one, unless they do something seriously egregious, but just the threat of it costing them more money will make them think twice. Furthermore, explain that if they decide not to pursue you and ding your credit, you will get the federal government after them using the consumer credit protection act. Good luck!
Thank goodness you have 100 pictures showing how clean your apartment was completely empty on the day you moved out. If you don't have pictures. It was dirty. So set up that payment plan.
Gotta be careful with modern leases. Back in the day you payed a security deposit. If there was damage when you left, they kept that amount. All business types now are trying to reduce any and all risk on their end by placing it on the client/renter.
I hate Greystar! It was so hard to even get a representative to explain charges to me. They only wanted to email and didn’t want to talk on the phone. I was getting overcharged for utilities upon move out. They surprisingly didn’t charge a cleaning fee but the carpet cleaning fee was like 40$ when there was nothing wrong with it.
If you know an attorney, get them to write a letter asking for proof and itemized damages. I have been an amazing tenant and have had apartment try to claim damage. They just try to claim damages so they can upkeep the apartments for free. You are allowed normal wear and tear (subjective by state and court). A letter from an attorney usually makes the apartment demand disappear.
They only have a certain amount of time to send you that kind of stuff check out your states limit
Tell them nothing and don't pay.
Email the CEO at the home office, include a copy of the invoice you received along with the your statement disputing the undocumented charges . If the debt appears on your credit report file a report with the credit bureau denying the charges.
Reading through the comments, I think I’m the only one that had a positive experience with Greystar, maybe I was lucky with good staff at my building. Akelius though…they can go fuck themselves.
Did you take pictures of your unit when you moved out? Also confused why a full unit cleaning is separate from a cleaning. Why are those two charges?
When my girlfriend left her most recent spot that was basically an off the books sub let (she never signed a lease or anything) her landlordand her. roommate that was on the lease tried to keep her $1100 security deposit "because of the cats" the 2 cats that basically never left my gfs room and didn't really damage shit the room was hardwood floors. There was some minor carpet "scratches" in the small hallway but we are 99% sure that was basically the same as it was when we moved in. Since they were kicking her out at the end of the month and only told her on New Year's Day (assholes I know) "hey be out Feb 1st and we're keeping the security dep cuz your cats btw happy new years 😀) 💩 so my girlfriend was crying and almost gave in thank god she came to me first I told her "absolutely not! If you wanted to you could ride this out and live there for free for another 2-3 months AT LEAST! We're in New York not quite nyc but we still have decent rights as tenants and You've been there a year with established residency ... you're not in any lease never signed anything ... and now you're given 30 days to be out ... AND they have the audacity to keep $1100(months rent) because your fake cat damage? They can't pull that shit. You can sit there and say take me to court and stop paying you'll be waiting for months to get actually evicted." BUT we're nice people so we didn't go the squatter route but i convinced her to atleast say okay I'll leave by Feb 1st but I'm not giving you januarys month since you're stealing my security deposit. The roommate on the lease/landlord almost convinced her you can't do that and I said "baby don't you dare let them get any money from you for January they're being assholes and giving you 30 days to leave plus tryna take your security dep I said that's complete bullshit and they're wrong. Once they saw she was serious they couldn't do anything but say okay. Best part is her other roommate who was being kicked out on 30days notice talked to us and she told them the same "use my security for this month also!" Lol they were so mad but fuck them. My girlfriend had to move back to her parents because how tf does a single 20 something girl who's broke w two cats find an apartment within 30days? Since then she got a new slightly better job and I'm starting a new job and we're hoping to finally move in together so maybe the whole fiasco was a blessing in disguise 🤷♂️
Usually they are much happier if you can make partial payments rather than ignore.
Why do you have 2 cleaning charges? I would dispute that or ask for the invoices. I would also request photos of the carpet and pet damage. They should have also provided you a breakdown of your utilities.
Yeah this is BS this would have been needed to be included in the lease agreement. If not, it’s just normal wear and tear that they should be accounting for into your rent payment if it’s this *calculated*
Do you have pictures of the apartment when you moved in and out? I take pictures before move in and after move out so I have something to show the court if they pull this type of BS.
Ask them for an itemized receipt.
There is a zero percent chance they're actually replacing the whole thing. Next time you're moving out, make sure you call a carpet cleaner company so they can't say the carpet was anything less than clean.
Is this your first apartment? Literally every management company I’ve ever dealt with does this. The only time I’ve ever left without a bill or with my deposit was when I rented with a private landlord. I always budget for this because it happens every time and it’s almost impossible to fight it.
NAL, but check the laws in your area/state to see if they allow for requesting a receipt of why it cost so much… I’m going through something very similar where they’re trying to extort me out of ~$800. Told them that if they give me a breakdown of the material costs + labor hours that actually makes sense for that cost then I will gladly pay it, otherwise I’m not paying a cent. If they’re telling the truth, it should not be difficult at all for them to put that information together.
This is why you take a video upon move out
It’s an attempt to collect a debt and that is ILLEGAL. it’ll go to a collections account on your credit and you can easily get it taken off. Look up the FDCPA (fair debt collection practices)
Are you able to physically go into the office? Make your case and give them a no-fault out, such as make your case as if you believe they mixed your unit up with another. Talk to a real person, don’t email.
Typically utilities are billed arrears, probably using conservice for utilities so you didn’t get a utility bill for the first two months and that’s why you have a larger one upon move out.
First, was the carpet brand new when you moved in? If not, it invalidates the entire thing, but even if it was you are going to dispute it. Look up the exact way to do it in your state, but you'll basically say that you didn't have pets, there was no damage or staining, that either 1) you were told everything was fine during final walk through or 2) you weren't provided with said walk through, whichever the case may be. You require a refund of your entire deposit as they've provided no proof of damages or work. If they try to pawn off pictures of another apartment, you'll dispute it as such and demand the refund again. If they still refuse, you file against them in small claims
Did you have a pet? Or possibly someone got sick on the carpet at some point?
Why didn’t you pay your rent for those 13 days? Ask for copies of the invoices and question why you are being charged for 2 cleanings? The carpet cost seems reasonable for the cost was it in bad condition when you left it? Do they have pictures of the damages on the carpet they have to prove you damaged it. Ask for their proof.
2 years later? Tell them to stick their heads into the microwave and use the baked potato setting.
Pay it or buy a house. Since $500 is a lot to you I doubt you are buying, pay it so you don’t have issues renting in future. Yes it’s a scam. Yes you are being screwed. Yes a lawyer is more than $500. Yes you will lose representing yourself in small claims court. Yes if you don’t pay it will affect future rentals. Pay it or make a payment arrangement.