Richmond Rental Nightmare 15 June 2011

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  • 8/6/2019 Richmond Rental Nightmare 15 June 2011

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    I moved to Richmond in 2008 to become a member of the faculty of VCU. My wife Jeanine and I found a

    house on craigslist (821 W. 30th St., Richmond, VA 23225) to rent while we learned about Richmond

    neighborhoods and to save up for a down payment on a house of our own. Terry and Patti Shulman

    were the landlords. This blog is about our experiences, what happened to us, and our quest to get our

    deposit back.

    A Richmond Rental

    Nightmare

    Share Report Abuse Next Blog Create Blog Sign In

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    WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 2011

    Posted by Craig Larson at 7:59 AM

    Get your Money Back!: Patti & Terry ShulmanContact Information

    If you are trying to get money back from Patti and Terry Shulman, the Storefront Hotel /

    B&B in Stuanton, VA, or Shulman Creative, here's all the contact information I have. It's

    worked for at least one couple. Good luck!

    Address

    Patti and Terry Shulman

    1226 Middle River Road

    Staunton, VA 24401

    Email

    Patti Shulman: [email protected], [email protected]

    Terry Shulman: [email protected]

    Phone

    Patti Shulman: (804) 426-9396

    Terry Shulman: (804) 426-9396

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    SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 2011

    Posted by Craig Larson at 10:20 AM

    Terry Shulman & the Storefront, III

    Terry and Patti Shulman run the Storefront bed and breakfast in Staunton, VA. Thanks to

    this blog at least one person has gotten their money back from the Shulmans. Yeah for

    that. This is the conclusion from the email I reported on yesterday. Read on:

    The Resolution

    Hi Craig this is [the] husband. all went well we got our money back. What i did you may

    not be able to do were you live. I live in the same town Terry lives in just his luck I found

    out were he and his wifes farm is . I called him up and told him I was prepared to go to

    his address and I told him his address and also I had no problem showing up at the Store

    Front condo and let people know that there is a problem with how Terry conducts his

    business he agreed to meet me and give me CASH. But he still claimed that he had

    deposited our money in our account but never showed me any receipts that he claimed

    he had I was very firm and didn't give a damn what he had to say and demanded he give

    me cash. [...] because thanks to things I read on your blog and I did mention he will not

    screw me over like he did the people in Richmond he change him attitude. Best thing be

    firmer with him and tell him you did chat with me not a problem and that you will go to

    any lengths to your money and you have to bug that crap out of him. I think he thinks this

    is a game and he met his match with me. [...] I just think he will continue to take

    advantage of people but he does not have the balls to face someone like me because of

    the way I handled it. When I read your blog that just made me pissed about the money

    [...] good luck brother...

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    FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 2011

    Terry Shulman & the Storefront Hotel, II

    Terry and Patti Shulman run the the Storefront Hotel in Staunton, VA. I'm starting to get

    emails about this place and other people trying to get their money back from the

    Shulmans. As the author writes, I am not alone.

    The Problem

    2011 (7)

    June (3)

    Get your Money Back!: Patti &

    Terry Shulman Contac...

    Terry Shulman & the Storefront,

    III

    Terry Shulman & the StorefrontHotel, II

    May (4)

    2010 (24)

    BLOG ARCHIVE

    Craig Larson

    View my complete

    profile

    ABOUT ME

    A Richmond Rental Nightmare http://rentalripoffs.blogspot.

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    Posted by Craig Larson at 8:22 AM

    I came across your blog while googling "Terry Shulman" and found it very interesting.

    While we have never rented from Terry or Patti, we did however make reservations for

    our one-year anniversary at The Storefront West. That's his newest addition to his

    conglomeration of scams. He requires a 14 day notice to cancel reservations, I knew this

    when reserving the loft. I called him 2 days into that 14 day period (2 days too late) to

    see if there was any way to get out of the reservation because we had found out that our

    family is planning a cruise and invited us to come along, so we needed to try and save

    up some spending money. He reminded me of the cancellation policy and I understood

    but asked if someone else comes along and wants the loft, could we get out of our

    reservations then. He said yes. He notified me on Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 1:04 AM

    that someone else wants the loft and our reservation is considered cancelled. YES!! We

    were so happy that this worked out so nicely. I emailed him back thanking him and told

    him we would most definitely keep The Storefront and/or Storefront West in mind for our

    future accomodations. I received a response saying "You're welcome. I mistakenly

    charged your card on the the wrong Monday - last Monday - but will credit the charged

    amount to your account tomorrow." This email was sent to me at 12:55AM on Thursday

    morning, May 26th. Keep in mind, he made this "mistake" on MONDAY but is just now

    coming around to letting me know. My husband and I have been trying to get our money

    back, money that he had NO RIGHT to take out of our account on that date. He, in

    essence, stole our money and will not return it! My husband just got off the phone with

    him and he claimed he credited my card but I see no pending transactions listed from

    him on my account. I think he's trying to scam us and after reading your blog in its

    entirety, I feel even more strongly that he's trying to rip us off. I just wanted to email you

    to let you know that you are not alone in your fight for money that is rightfully your own

    and trying to get Terry Shulman to do the right thing. This is the shortened version but I

    have all emails if you want to see them back and forth between me and Terry.

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    MONDAY, MAY 30, 2011

    Posted by Craig Larson at 10:56 AM

    Terry Shulman & the Storefront Hotel

    Terry and Patti Shulman run the the Storefront Hotel in Staunton, VA. I happened to

    come across reviews for it at bedandbreakfast.com. Most of the reviews sound fake to

    me but, given our experiences with our deposit on the house we rented from them, this

    review rings very true:

    My husband and I were given a gift certificate to bedandbreakfast.com for Christmas

    from my sisters. We chose to stay at the Storefront because we did not want to stay at

    your typical bed and breakfast. We had a great time and were actually commenting on

    how we wanted to come back again; however, when we returned home, we found an

    unexpected extra charge of $100 on our credit card. When we spoke to the innkeeper, he

    informed us that we had violated the "no pet" policy. This was impossible, as we had not

    brought our dog. We did bring a blanket from home, which most likely had dog hair on it

    (we have a black lab and he tends to shed a lot). When I called the innkeeper to explain

    what happened, he refunded the money, but rudely told me that I was never welcome

    back. He told me that he had to wash the comforter because there was dog hair on it

    (shouldn't he be washing the comforter anyway???) The website clearly states that you

    don't have to clean before you leave. Had I known how picky they were going to be, we

    would have washed the sheets ourselves. We were very disappointed in the way this

    was handled. We were very glad to have the money refunded but were very upset by the

    rudeness of the innkeeper. Anyone who has a dog knows that a little bit of your dog

    always travels with you...

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    FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2011

    Wasps!

    I was cleaning out a little chest the other

    day and found these two little baggies.

    Each one had a wasp that I had saved

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    Posted by Craig Larson at 9:45 AM

    from 821 W. 30th. I had brought them to

    work to see if anyone at the university

    could tell me any more about them.

    These wasps kept appearing in the house

    for several days. I never figured out where

    they were coming from. My best guess is

    that they had a nest in a vent somewhere.

    I called and emailed Terry and Patti

    Shulman more than once about this, but

    they never came out or sent anyone toinvestigate. Did I mention we had a little

    baby?!?!? That made me a little nervous...

    Good luck future renters and homeowners.

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    THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011

    Posted by Craig Larson at 9:31 AM

    Move-In Inspection, II

    If you rent, make sure you get a move-in inspection. In Virginia it's the law. Terry and

    Patti Shulman did not do a move-in inspection at 821 W. 30th St. We were naive, didn't

    request one, and got burned. As the email in the last post indicates, I wasn't the onlyrenter there to get burned by the Shulmans. I warned the new tenants to get a move-in

    inspection when they moved in. I hope they got one! Here's another link to a move-in

    inspection form.

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    MONDAY, MAY 16, 2011

    Posted by Craig Larson at 6:53 AM

    Terry Shulman's Pattern of Behavior

    Here's a very interesting email I just received:

    Hi Craig,

    A friend of mine recently turned me on to your blog about you awful experience with 821W. 30th. I was a tenant at 821 W. 30th during the year of June'05 to May'06. Many of the

    experiences you speak of were similar with my experiences with Terry Shulman. In fact

    some of the house issues mentioned were there during our tenancy and I know friends

    who lived there before me who created some of the damage mentioned in your blog. It

    was very frustrating to us but most of my roommates were students and didn't have the

    drive to go any further with reclaiming our deposit since it was split between 4 of us. I just

    didn't like the way Terry treated us after all was said and done and consider it a lesson

    that landlords(just Terry) aren't that nice despite the many good experiences I've had with

    other landlords.

    I don't know how far a long your fight with Terry to reclaim your security deposit has

    gone, but I'm hunting for a letter Terry sent us about all the damages he was claiming our

    security deposit with. I can't promise anything due to the passage of time but I will check

    with my roommate at the time as well. We made the mistake too of not having an initial

    walkthrough. The letter accuses us of some of the said damages you were accused of

    and I find it ridiculous he would use that on your family to withhold your deposit.

    I will try to email you later this week on the status of said letter. I don't know if any of this

    helps.

    Take care,

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    FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2010

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    Posted by Craig Larson at 6:16 AM

    Bad People with Bad Hearts

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    TUESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2010

    Posted by Craig Larson at 9:43 AM

    Screened Windows

    The new house has exclusively new windows,all with screens. The office has 12 windows. On

    a nice day that's a real treat to be able to open

    the windows and enjoy the breeze without letting

    all the mosquitoes and other bugs in.

    The house that we rented from Terry and Patti

    Shulman (821 W. 30th St., Richmond, VA

    23225) had OLD windows with no screens.

    Many of the windows were painted shut. But if

    you opened the other ones mosquitoes would

    be on their way. Yuck. That's the old house on

    the left.

    0

    MONDAY, AUGUST 30, 2010

    Posted by Craig Larson at 8:59 AM

    Trembling!

    Here's Terry and Patti Shulman's latest email:

    Please direct all further correspondence to my attorney, Lucy Ivanoff, at:

    Lucy Ivanoff Esq.

    9 South Augusta Street

    Staunton VA. 24401

    Terry and Patti Shulman simply did not return a security deposit that was due to their

    previous tenants. Perhaps this is their M.O.? In any case, we'll get it back. We have the

    pictures and evidence. They are welcome to bring an attorney. It won't change the facts

    of the case!

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    FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 2010

    On to Court?

    Here's the email I sent today:

    Dear Terry and Patti Shulman,

    I have received the check you sent for the $5 you have returned of our security deposit. I

    plan to take the issue to court unless you return the remaining $1245.

    According to the receipt you sent, you

    1) charged us for torn wallpaper. This wall paper is extremely old and peeling at every

    seam. We are certainly not responsible for this. The move-out pictures show this.

    2) charged us for cleaning. The house was spotless. The pictures show this. No mention

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    Posted by Craig Larson at 2:22 PM

    was made about any needed cleaning at the move-out inspection, or in the move-out

    video.

    3) charged us for yard work. The grass was cut as required in the lease. The lease

    leaves other yard work to the landlords.

    The pictures and move-out video can be found on my blog (just google "Terry and Patti

    Shulman").

    The court will be interested in the above points, together with

    1) the fact that there was no move-in inspection, as required by Virginia law,

    2) the fact that the receipt was written by Niche Properties to Terry Shulman, that is, from

    Terry Shulman to himself - but apparently trying to disguise this fact.

    If you do not send a check for $1245 immediately you should both prepare to address

    these points in court.

    Best,

    Craig Larson

    0

    THURSDAY, AUGUST 26, 2010

    Posted by Craig Larson at 9:07 AM

    $5 back. $1245 to go!The check was in the mail. We got $5 back of our $1250 security deposit from Terry and

    Patti Shulman. They still owe us $1245.

    0

    TUESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2010

    Posted by Craig Larson at 10:04 AM

    The Demand Letter has Arrived

    We sent a demand letterlast Thursday demanding that Terry and Patti Shulman return

    our security deposit. It was sent via registered mail and we just got the return receipt

    (also linked). A demand letter "gives the recipient a chance to perform the obligation

    without being taken to court". Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

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    SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2010

    Posted by Craig Larson at 7:43 AM

    From Terry Shulman to Terry Shulman

    I just realized that he letter that Terry Shulman sent was supposed to look like it came

    from Niche Properties to Terry. But Niche Propertiesis Terry Shulman (or Terry and Patti

    Shulman). The letter is from Terry Shulman to himself - but is supposed to look

    otherwise. Hmmm, what is Terry trying to do, or disguise?

    0

    FRIDAY, AUGUST 20, 2010

    What is Niche Properties?

    Did you notice that the letterthat Terry and Patti Shulman sent had "Niche Properties" as

    the return address? A quick search reveals that this is a business that is based at the

    Shulman's home address, 1226 Middle River, Staunton, VA. On LinkedIn Terry lists

    himself as the President of Niche Properties. Niche Properties also seems to be the

    holding company forThe Storefront. I hope guests there don't have to leave a deposit;

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    Posted by Craig Larson at 9:05 AM

    good luck getting it back!

    0

    THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 2010

    Posted by Craig Larson at 9:00 PM

    The Moment of Truth

    Terry and Patti Shulman made it official today. Here's theirletter. They plan to take $1245of our $1250 security deposit. So they apparently plan to give us $5 of our $1250 back

    (although we haven't actually received that $5 yet).

    Here's what Terry wrote:

    1) Repair animal damage to upstairs wall corner bead in bedroom. Four hours labor at

    $65 per hour = $260 + $25 materials = $285

    2) Additional cleaning done to remove food stains on dining room floor and upstairs back

    bedroom; removal of tenant-added shelf, re-plaster holes and repaint. Four hours labor

    at $65 = $260

    3) Remove overgrown weeds, trees, and vines covering fences, established trees,

    borders, and sides of house in front and back, remove debris pile. Fourteen hours labor

    at $50 per hour = $700

    One interesting thing is that when Terry Shulman does wallpaper he charges $65 per

    hour, but he only charges $50 an hour for yard work. Wow, that's a good deal. (Nice work

    if you can get it).

    Item (1) is the wallpaper. This was extremely old and peeling at every seam, as

    discussed below and can be seen in these pictures.

    Who knows what item (2) is? The house was spotless as can be seen in the move-out

    pictures. Terry did not mention any of these things in the move-out video.

    Item (3) is also nonsense. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the lease only says that lawn

    care was the tenant's responsibility. Other yard care was the landlord's.

    What Terry Shulman and Patti Shulman are doing here is wrong. They should return our

    money.

    0

    SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010

    The Worst of Richmond

    We moved to Virginia in 2008. It's a different place from Houston and Huntington Beach.

    We've had some great - and terrible - experiences. Earlier I posted a Best of Richmond

    list. Here's a list of the worst so far (in no particular order).

    821 W. 30th St. This is the house we rented. I posted about it earlier.

    Richmond Department of Public Utilities - my Houston water bills were

    around $15, here they start at $64 - before you've even turned on the faucet!

    Richmond City Public Schools - there are a couple of good ones - but most

    are really horrible - and the RPS seems to actively prevent any attempts to

    offer Richmond kids better options.

    Terry Shulman. He's one of the landlords who hasn't returned our deposit

    after more than a month. According to his wife Patti he's "in charge of the

    rental business". They have other businesses.

    Patti Shulman. She's the other landlord who hasn't returned our deposit after

    more than a month. Despite being named on the lease she seems to want to

    wash her hands of it, leave it to Terry, and keep our money.

    Richmond drivers who pull into the middle of an intersection when there is not

    enough room on the other side to cross completely through the intersection.

    This is illegal - and dumb. There is so little traffic here that other Richmond

    drivers don't seem to mind. No one honks at these intersection blockers. I do.

    Hopefully they become chagrined enough to not do it again.

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    WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2010

    Posted by Craig Larson at 11:15 AM

    Still Waiting for our Deposit

    We moved out of 821 W. 30th St. over a month ago. New tenants moved in two weeks

    ago. And Terry and Patti Shulman have still not sent our deposit back. Is that legal? I

    don't know. But it's certainly not right.

    0

    MONDAY, AUGUST 9, 2010

    Posted by Craig Larson at 1:45 PM

    The Neighbor's Tree

    I just got this picture from last

    week's storm. It's the tree

    from across the street at our

    rental house at 821 W. 30th

    St. I often wondered what the

    chances were if the even

    bigger tree in front of 821 fell.

    Wow. It could take out the

    whole house!

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    TUESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2010

    Posted by Craig Larson at 9:26 AM

    The Move-out Inspection Photos

    Here's the pictures from the move-out inspection

    of the house we rented from Terry and PattiShulman. You can see that it is very clean.

    Jeanine put in most of a day's work cleaning the

    place. The claim from Terry Shulman's email,

    mentioned in yesterday's post, is nonsense. The

    house was as clean or cleaner than when we

    moved in.

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    MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 2010

    The Move-out Inspection Email

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    Posted by Craig Larson at 9:16 AM

    The move-out inspection was July 6. On July 7, Terry Shulman sent me an email with his

    claims of what we supposedly did and would be paid for out of our deposit. Here are the

    claims:

    "1) Extensive animal damage to the outside corner wallpaper and plaster in upstairs

    master bedroom.

    2) Extensive removal of grass and weeds above lease-specified height.

    3) Additional cleaning of dirty floors, bathrooms, and kitchen counters"

    1. This claim is nonsense. The videos and pictures in the previous posts detail the overall

    condition of this very old wallpaper.

    2. This claim is also nonsense. The grass was recently cut. The height of the grass can

    be seen in the video; the lease specifies that "landlord shall be responsible for all other

    yard maintenance" (see Section 14).

    3. The house was left at least the condition as when we moved in. Jeanine spent all of

    Monday, July 5 cleaning. The cleanliness can be seen in the video. In fact the house may

    have been in better condition. There were extensive cobwebs when we moved in, and

    any place that was "out of site", for instance, under the wardrobe, was generally filled

    with dirt and dust bunnies.

    We still haven't gotten our deposit back. Based on this email, it doesn't look good that we

    will.

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    SATURDAY, JULY 31, 2010

    Posted by Craig Larson at 5:00 AM

    Good Luck to the New Tenants

    New tenants moved in to 821 W. 30th St. yesterday. Good luck to them. I hope they don't

    have any problems and that things turn out better for them.

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    FRIDAY, JULY 30, 2010

    Posted by Craig Larson at 10:21 AM

    The Move-out Inspection Video

    Here's the full video of themove-out inspection for the record, for the house we rented from Terry and Patti

    Shulman. As I mentioned earlier, it was kind-of irrelevant as they never did the required

    move-in inspection. That's Terry Shulman in the video. He blames us for a tear in the

    wallpaper. That's the only thing - in the video - that he says he plans to ding us for.

    0

    THURSDAY, JULY 29, 2010

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    Posted by Craig Larson at 11:25 AM

    Move-out Inspection, Part 1

    Here's an excerpt from the video

    of the move-out inspection at the house we rented from Terry and Patti Shulman. It was

    kind-of irrelevant as they never did the required move-in inspection. If there's no record

    of how it was, then the landlords can say whatever they want. That's Terry Shulman in

    the video. He blames us for a tear in the wallpaper. The wallpaper is super-old. As you

    can also see in the video it is peeling at every seam and has a number of tears. That's

    how it looked when we moved in. Of course, if there was a move-in inspection, we would

    have recorded all these things. Live and learn.

    0

    WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 2010

    Posted by Craig Larson at 9:22 AM

    Master Bedroom Wallpaper

    The wallpaper in the nook at 821 W. 30th St.

    was old and crackly and peeling at the seams. It

    had weird tears and was probably 20-50 years

    old. Here are the pictures I took after we moved

    out and cleaned the place up. Unfortunately

    there are no move-in photos of the wallpaper.

    And there was no move-in inspection - Terry and

    Patti Shulman did not do one. This wallpaper

    would definitely have been reported on themove-in inspection.

    0

    TUESDAY, JULY 27, 2010

    Posted by Craig Larson at 3:01 PM

    No Move-in Inspection? It's Virginia Law

    Virginia Law requires a move-in inspection. See p. 18 of the Virginia Residential Landlord

    and Tenant Act. Terry and Patti Shulman did not provide one when we moved in. I did not

    expect this to be an issue, as I want to believe that people are generally good. They are

    not uniformly. If you are a renter make sure you get the move-in inspection. Cover

    yourself.

    0

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    THURSDAY, JULY 15, 2010

    Posted by Craig Larson at 7:17 AM

    The Best of Richmond, 2008-2010

    We moved to Virginia in 2008. It's a different place from Houston and Huntington Beach.

    We've had some great - and terrible - experiences. Here's by list so far (in no particular

    order).

    Virginia Commonwealth University. This is a great University, with good

    people, and attractive facilities. The VCU Math Department is uncommonly

    collegial - a great place to work.Richmond restaurants: Millies, Juleps, La Milpa, Tex (the Texas BBQ guy),

    Picollas - mmm... all good, can't wait to go back.

    Virginia History - a lot of things happened in Richmond - it's neat to be able to

    go and see these places.

    Respect for and Preservation ofOld Buildings -I love that so many old

    buildings have been preserved here. VCU has a bunch of them - they are

    now used for various academic departments and administration.

    Woodland Heights and Forest Hill neighborhoods- there are great

    friendly people here.

    Richmond Ballet - this is a fantastic regional company - I'm really impressed

    with everything we've seen from them.

    Richmond traffic - it's basically non-existent compared to LA and Houston!

    Humpback Rock - this is a great short hike with an incredible view at the end.

    The James River Park System. There's great hiking along the river, and

    Riverside Drive is exceptionally scenic for a city drive.

    The Byrd Theater. This is a gorgeous movie palace from 1928 that still shows

    movies every nite.

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    WEDNESDAY, JULY 14, 2010

    Posted by Craig Larson at 4:44 AM

    Move-in Inspection

    There will be things wrong with any place you rent. Get a move-in inspection. Record

    these things. Otherwise at the time you move out, these can be attributed to you. I

    generally believe that people are good and act in good faith. They are not. Here's a

    move-in inspection form.

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    TUESDAY, JULY 13, 2010

    The Landlords

    Over 23 months we paid Terry and Patti Shulman $28,750 in rent, always early,

    sometimes weeks early. We contacted them 4 times for issues about the house. Here's

    what happened. We contacted them:

    When the microwave broke.1.

    When wasps appeared in the house day after day and we couldn't figure out

    where they were coming from.

    2.

    After several nights of hearing animals running around the attic. What were they?

    Rats? I went up in the attic to check a couple of times but they stopped when they

    heard me and saw the beam of the flashlight.

    3.

    When the dryer broke and the dryer plug fused to the outlet. The melting plastic

    made the whole house smell like a chemical factory.

    4.

    What did the landlords do?

    Nothing. We ended up buying a new microwave. After that I was always worried

    that the refrigerator or the AC would break. Then what?

    1.

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    Posted by Craig Larson at 6:08 AM

    Nothing. I sprayed wasps as I saw them. Jeanine worried about the baby. They

    eventually stopped.

    2.

    Nothing. Well, they recommended that I plug any holes in the attic. I didn't see

    any. Jeanine worried. The animals only came back a couple of more times.

    3.

    Nothing. We ended up doing our laundry at a friend's place. A couple of times we

    used the washing machine and then hung the laundry to dry all around the dining

    room. What if the refrigerator or AC broke? Then what? Fortunately we moved

    before either of those issues arose.

    4.

    0

    MONDAY, JULY 12, 2010

    821 W. 30th St

    821 W. 30th St, Richmond, Va 23225.

    View Larger Map

    This is the Google Maps picture of the house we rented. It was "good enough". The

    house itself is a mess, but it is close to a lot of parks, close to the city, and has great

    neighbors. Terry and Patty Shulman put this house on the market in February. That was

    a pain, especially with a little baby. People walking through your house when you're not

    there, people walking through on the evenings and weekends when you are there, trying

    to arrange walk-throughs at times when the baby isn't napping... Terry was even walking

    people through himself when the baby was very sick. It's one real downside of renting.

    The house was originally offered for $282,000. It eventually went down to $258,000, but

    never sold. It is assessed for $230,000. Zillow.com's "zestimate" for the house is

    $216,000. We would not have bought the house even for $216,000. Among the many

    things wrong with the house included:

    The house was incredibly drafty. Every visitor commented on this. There is a

    large gap under the front door. We stuffed that up - but it wasn't the whole

    story.

    There's no tub. And no place to put a tub. The upstairs bathroom is very

    small. The existing shower is cruise-ship sized. We bathed the baby is a

    portable tub in the kitchen. That got old very quickly. Jeanine insisted on a tub

    in our next house.

    The door to the baby's room didn't close at all. Several doors were

    "challenged". The house was built in 1920, the house has moved quite a bit,

    and the doors are probably all original.

    The baby's room is crazily slopped. I often had the sensation of being at sea

    when I walked around that room. The furniture we put in that room did not

    stand on all 4 legs.

    The columns on the porch are slanted. I guess they've moved with the

    foundation. It makes it look a little like a haunted house.

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    Posted by Craig Larson at 9:42 AM

    The mortar between the bricks in the basement and on the porch is

    crumbling. It leaves a fine powder. Wiping it up doesn't do, as it keeps

    crumbling.

    The grout is crumbling in the downstairs bathroom. Cleaning the bathroom

    floor was always an adventure. You had to strike the right balance between

    scrubbing hard and knocking more tiles loose.

    The basement is wet. The dryer in the basement broke while we were there

    and the dryer plug fused to the outlet. The outlet area seemed very wet to

    me. I'm not an electrician - but this may have been part of the problem.

    There were 2 episodes of wasps appearing in the house for several days in a

    row. They may breed in the ventilation system. We were never able to figure it

    out.

    Several times we heard animals running around the attic at night. They

    seemed to be about the weight of a small cat. I guessed rats or possums. We

    still don't know. I don't think possums run as fast as these guys ran. Because

    of the baby in the house, Jeanine was very nervous about this.

    The wallpaper in the entryway is horrible. The wallpaper in the upstairs

    bedroom was old - very old - and peeling from the top, at the seams, and was

    torn. It crackled to the touch. It could have been anywhere from 20-50 years

    old. I'll post pictures later.

    The kitchen counters were some old plastic-y linoleum-y stuff. I don't know.

    What was irritating is that even after you cleaned the counters, they still feltsticky. Yuck. There was a burn-hole in the kitchen island. I often wondered if

    someone put out a cigarette there.

    The door to the basement is partially blocked by the kitchen counter. That

    was a real pain for trying to get laundry up and down. For bigger items - like

    our tub of holiday decorations - you had to go out the back staircase into the

    yard, and then up through the backdoor.

    0

    SATURDAY, JULY 10, 2010

    Posted by Craig Larson at 2:43 PM

    Terry and Patti Shulman

    If you googled "Terry and Patti Shulman", "Terry Shulman", "Patti Shulman", "The

    Storefront" B&B in Staunton, VA, or "Shulman Creative", you are at the right place. They

    were the landlords, and these are their businesses.

    0

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