If you do not care that much about the Security De...

If you do not care that much about the Security Deposit, you have come to the wrong place.

I was perfectly satisfied with Monroe Properties (if we do not count that sometimes the maintenance people would leave trash behind) until it came to the Security Deposit. I first learnt from my colleagues who were staying at the same building that none of the people they knew ever got their Security Deposit back. I was shocked. People I knew, including myself always get full refund of our Security Deposit from previous landlords. Probably my colleagues friends did a bad job cleaning the apartment, I thought. Well, it doesn't seem to be the truth as in my case. I spent almost all night cleaning the apartment as I used to do. But still, I got little refund.

Why? What happened?

First of all, Monroe Properties don't have a correct record showing whether the tenant was present during the inspection. I was present and had waited for the guy more than 45 min after he was supposed to show up. However, the letter I received together with the little deposit refund said I was not present. Can you believe that?

Secondly, the guy who did the inspection even didn't have with him the move-in sheet I filled out when I first moved there. How was he supposed to know whether the damage was already there before I moved in? Just going around and randomly marking down everything so that the tenants don't get his or her refund? For your information, a plastic paper towel holder in the kitchen was broken when I first moved in and I spent nearly $14 to replace it with a new steel one and left it there when I moved out. Pity, they ignored it.

Thirdly, during the inspection I was told by the guy that since I occupied the apartment for more than one year, there will be an automatic reduction of $250 from the painting cost later on. I was really surprised to see that there was a $412.5 charge for painting. When I asked them to show me the invoice they received from the third party who did the service, they completely ignored my phone call, my message and my email. Something unspeakable was going on? You tell me.

Well, I have to be fair. There are a few good guys in the company too. I would particularly give my thanks to David Steiger, who, though ignored my emails regarding to the deposit refund as his other colleagues, helped me tremendously to get the apartment re-rented.

Pieces of advice for you when considering renting with Monroe Properties:
1. Ask them to bring the move-in sheet you filled out (taking pictures at that time for your own record would also be a good idea) when they do the inspection.
2. Record the inspection so that no one can deny what they had said.
3. If you ever encounter an unpleasant situation, please share with us. In the end, I hope, they will address these issues and together, we could make a better life for ourselves as tenants.