I have a gripe.

My wife and I rented a house from Watson Property Management for the last 14 months. When we moved in, we planned on being there for about a year until we found a house we wanted to buy.

We had a baby in 2008 and he has been raised at the house up until last week when we moved out.

Here is the problem:

We ALWAYS paid rent on time and have family with professional carpet cleaning machines. Being weird about the baby being on the floor w/ 2 dogs, we cleaned the carpets bi-monthly. When we moved out last week, we spent 9 HOURS cleaning the house after everything was moved out with a PROMISE from the property manager at Watson of getting our $1,000 deposit back. When we went to collect it, she advised us we would get it all bed "less the cleaning fees". Here is my BIG problem.

One of the main reasons we moved out wasn't because of the house we are buying, but because of the MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF MOLD! The house had a small amount of mold prior to us moving in and they "took care of it". We called several times, even showed the maintenance man when he came out for other fixes. He told us the house has ALWAYS had mold and that's the reason the LAST TENANTS MOVED OUT!!!

When we moved out of that house, it was cleaner then when we moved in and I think its PITIFUL that they take our deposit towards "cleaning" that A.) didn't need to be done and B.) we paid a $300 NON-REFUNDABLE pet deposit. They won't take the $250 out of that, they told us that THAT deposit is "just to have a dog in the house".

They are MISERABLE people to deal with, VERY unprofessional and RUDE. I caution ANYONE who thinks of doing business with WATSON to be careful. Even with pictures, we're fighting tooth and nail.

I have the agreement in storage so I have to read the specifics however, we were told that if the house was left "spotless" and we have been "excellent tenants", we would have "no issues" getting the "deposit back". Their liars in every sense and they knew about the mold and now its coming to surface the more we discuss the issue with them. We also found out the last tenants are friends of a friend and had told our friend they threatened with a law suit due to the mold and they gave them their money back to keep quiet. I'm not a sue happy person but its not right what they did to my family and I by trying to hide the mold then keep $250 of our $1,000 deposit (not including the non-refundable $300 pet deposit).

See thats my problem. You said it yourself too, you cleaned the house better than when you moved in. Their $250 cleaning is pitiful because their not getting a $250 cleaning. The house was nasty when we moved in and better when we moved out.

I have NO complaints about maintenance. The maintenance man was ALWAYS friendly and professional and went above and beyond to make sure all fixes were done promptly and correctly. He had mentioned the previous mold issues and said they kept trying to hide it.

I'm sure the property manager we have didn't help. She is a miserable woman who is cold and heartless. She doesn't care about taking your money and just pawns everything off on someone else. She avoided my calls and messages for a week before my wife had to go in and confront her face to face. She is a coward.

I'm no expert, but have you called the County Health Dept concerning the mold? I also heard that when a house is being SOLD by a realtor, they must disclose that there is a mold issue, just as they are supposed to disclose if a homicide occurred in that home.  Not sure about rentals. The Health Dept takes mold concerns seriously, from what I understand, as it can be a life or death issue with certain folks and can actually cause disability in sensitive individuals. I know we have posters that are knowlegeable in the real estate/rental business, hopefully they will see your post and respond. Good luck!

What a great update. Just got ther Certified Letter today (that they charge me $5 for) and their taking $85 out for "Paint/Drywall". We had one small bedroom wall light blue that we forgot to re-paint when we left but offered to after the fact. They are now charging me $85 for a QUART OF PAINT and a couple strokes of a roller. They also decided instead of $250 for "cleaning" its not $275. Funny how they just do what they want.

Anyone know about the laws regarding the mold? I am going to contact an attorney tomorrow to look into this as well as my son's possible respiratory issues from 14 months of exposure, as well as me and my wife's.

Even when we asked them REPEATEDLY to fix it? The maintenance man said he would notify them and they never fixed it. If we broke the lease, we would have lost our $1,000.00 deposit so we counted on them fixing it and they didn't and they knew prior to, and during of the mold. There HAS to be SOMETHING that can be done?

The poor victim never "have a leg to stand on". Business is always right. Real SAD.





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I really hate to agree with walkman but this case it appears that the house had mold.  Mold isn't always seen and won't be found until living there for awhile.  Since the landlord nor the management company handling the rental wasn't responsive the tenant moved out.  Now they are withholding the deposit.  Therein lies the victim label.