I know this may not be the best place to vent, but I don’t think anyone in my vicinity really wants to hear it.
A few months ago, an old landlord took me to court for “damages” done to a mobile home that I rented from him for a few years. The judge agreed that I probably didn’t cause more damage than what the trailer was actually worth and settled on a still high amount. I basically paid to have this place completely redone, which is what it needed before I moved in (but out of desperation, and needing a place to stay we took it). But this guy did this for a living, I had no pictures of when I moved in, whatever, I agreed to pay.
Time goes on, we exchange some phone calls, money is tight, he says whenever you can send some money, $100 per month is fine, we do here and there, he never says anything different.
Fast forward a month, I’m sitting at my desk, I opened an envelope to see my wages are garnished 20%. My wife calls, hers are also garnished 20%. Lovely, From Nov. to March, we will have 40% of our wages taken.
I can’t even be mad, because I know this is my fault because I owe it. It’s just the timing of the damn thing and the fact that he did it to both of our wages.
20% of yours and 20% of hers is still 20% overall, provided you make about the same. Small consolation, I know.
That’s a little surprising to me he can do that, especially if you had some form of an agreement on how you’d be working it out already. Do you have kids? Seems like any court would have to take their well being into account before any civil compensation could be garnished.
Now, where is the record of what you’ve paid to date? Can you prove some of the expense has already been met?
Residential rentals are always personal, even if you’re in the business of being a landlord. To a landlord it’s an income generating asset, to a tenant it’s home.
Unfortunately in my experience that just means that people lie and scheme and act like children in a way that rarely happens when dealing with another business. Things like “I couldn’t return your half dozen calls over the past week and a half because my mother-in-law died, and no I still don’t have your rent money”. It’s unpleasant having people lie to your face about their in-laws dying. Or tenants who hide rotting seafood in the house because their landlord had the nerve to evict them merely because they stopped paying rent. It’s definitely folly for a landlord to just assume their residential tenants won’t take thing personally.
All that said, jrsone, it sounds very frustrating. I hope you get through to March ok.