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  • Locked thread
My Rhythmic Crotch
Jan 13, 2011

April posted:

Which is why there are options for reducing or eliminating medical debt for indigent patients. I'm not saying that the cost of medical care is in any way OK in this country, but something about "I don't like the price of this service I used, so I'm just not going to pay it" rubs me wrong.
If you can't see the difference between a car loan - which they could have lived without, and the amounts and interest rate were fully disclosed and agreed upon beforehand - and a life saving procedure that would be covered (to some extent or fully) in almost any other first world country on earth - then I don't know what to say. To say nothing of the decision to pay it back or not, there is a huge difference.

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Nur_Neerg
Sep 1, 2004

The Lumbering but Unstoppable Sasquatch of the Appalachians

April posted:

Which is why there are options for reducing or eliminating medical debt for indigent patients. I'm not saying that the cost of medical care is in any way OK in this country, but something about "I don't like the price of this service I used, so I'm just not going to pay it" rubs me wrong.

Seems to be more about how prices are inflated entirely arbitrarily on a service that you have zero choice about using along with a culture of misinformation propagated by the service providers. Accept an absolutely absurd amount of debt, enough to bankrupt most families, or die. Your choice. If the hospital legitimately gave a poo poo about their patients they wouldn't be hitting them with a hilariously massive bill the hospital KNOWS they can't afford, while providing their patients with absolutely zero information about any kind of financial services available to them. There's a reason non-profit hospitals are the highest profit-margin business in the US.

Old Fart
Jul 25, 2013
It's a pretty hot button topic, to be sure. Regardless, many of the avenues he could have taken are now closed off. It's a mess of bureaucracy, and you can't expect the average person to know the ins and ours of it and spend the time to go through it all, especially when he's dirt poor and just trying to make his ramen supply last the month.

This is one of the many problems with modern capitalism. The healthcare system is a casualty of it, and I dare say the cost of individuals skipping out on outrageous bills that insurance companies would never have to pay in the first place is built in to how they operate. It's ridiculous to needlessly cripple a family's life due to them happening to be born in this place and time. Because gently caress that system, it is wholly unjust.

SiGmA_X
May 3, 2004
SiGmA_X

Nur_Neerg posted:

Seems to be more about how prices are inflated entirely arbitrarily on a service that you have zero choice about using along with a culture of misinformation propagated by the service providers. Accept an absolutely absurd amount of debt, enough to bankrupt most families, or die. Your choice. If the hospital legitimately gave a poo poo about their patients they wouldn't be hitting them with a hilariously massive bill the hospital KNOWS they can't afford, while providing their patients with absolutely zero information about any kind of financial services available to them. There's a reason non-profit hospitals are the highest profit-margin business in the US.
I've always paid my medical bills, but I've often paid far less than list price. I have noticed that I could get a 40% cash up front discount in 2010, and in 2014 the discount went down to about 20%... Different providers, but I was able to get 40% off from multiple providers in 2010, and only 20% off from the one in 2014.

I was looking up tonsil removal pricing on my insurance carriers website. Without pulling the numbers, getting it done at a for-profit clinic had a negotiated rate of about $3300, while at a non-profit hospital it ranged up to 9k depending on which nonprofit hospital you picked. OHSU, the one who has the most profit per year, was the most expensive on the list. Something about that seems wrong to me. And honestly, from my cousins who work there as RN's, I think the conditions are probably worse than the for-profit clinic. The hospital shifts start at 12hr and go up vs the clinic maxing at 8hr, there are huge infection rates at the hospital, etc...

I hate American healthcare. But I think we should stop derailing this thread over America having horrid loving healthcare.

However, I would worry about the collection agency pulling KG's credit, seeing it has massively recovered, and then suing and receiving a garnishment in another 2yrs. I think I would have been tempted to file bankruptcy right after getting the car loan...

Inverse Icarus
Dec 4, 2003

I run SyncRPG, and produce original, digital content for the Pathfinder RPG, designed from the ground up to be played online.

April posted:

Couldn't you make the same case for the idiotic car loan he took out though? They allowed him to borrow way more than the value of the car at a predatory rate. Should he skip out on that bill as well?

You cannot be a savvy consumer when your appendix bursts. You're in deep poo poo, you often don't end up at a hospital of your choice, and you (or your family if you're unconscious or out of it) usually do whatever the doctors tell you is best.

Getting hosed on a car loan is something that was completely in his power to avoid.

Bugamol
Aug 2, 2006
I tried to read through the lines to get at this, but it's hard to tell. Is the medical bill on your credit score "in collections"? If it's currently "closed", but you know you owe the money, it's likely that once everything is settled and your debt gets sold a few times it will switch back to "in collections" and cause your credit score to drop 100-200 points.

At my last company I worked very distantly with the AR clerk who also did collections (small time stuff) and one of the metrics she would use to determine if someone is worth pursuing is current credit score. This is because typically people who are "rebuilding" their credit will go to extra means to protect their score. What I'm trying to say is that if on your current credit report that debt is considered "closed" it's probably "closed" because your debt was sold. When someone buys your debt, and then decides you're worth going after, it is going to come back on your credit score as "in collections".

I'm not recommending you actively try to pursue the debt and go into repayment, but as others have mentioned don't be surprised if you check your credit score one day and it's only 450 or 520 or something because that debt went into collections. However if it's already in collections you're probably relatively protected.

Knyteguy
Jul 6, 2005

YES to love
NO to shirts


Toilet Rascal

n8r posted:

Been gone a week - amazing how many posts / b.s. there is to catch up on.

Your family might get pissy about cheap gifts (which is totally WTF if they are adults) because on the surface - the new car / new place / etc you're doing great financially. Ironic because things are not going well.

Why are you unable to track your spending from your credit union into mint? There is not excel export? You're a computer dude, I bet you can figure something out. If you want to be all analog about it, just start saving receipts and putting them into mint/excel/etc.

What is your current budget? Have you been able to stick with a set amount of money spent per month for the past few months? It seems like the BFC threads can devolve into minutia very quickly. What is your monthly savings goal? Have you been meeting that goal?

I don't understand why you keep worrying about the shell game portions of your budget. Why can't people discuss your total amount saved vs. total amount spent. If you come up with a reasonable number, who cares if you spend a little more on groceries one month vs. the other. When was the last time you looked at your budget on the macro level? I've ready every page of this thread, and I still have no real idea what your net incomes are and what you are trying to save per month.

The reports from Mint will be about the same as YNAB, just less accurate. Just gotta give it time to get good data. We've been exporting our bank statements into YNAB and wow is it easier and more accurate. It loses the up front "every purchase is 100% know and felt", but YNAB isn't on Windows Phone anyway so it hardly felt that way anyway. We still categorize by hand however.

No budget for Feb yet. This upcoming Saturday will be the day of final planning and preparation for the baby. I feel pretty good about everything. We'll be doing our taxes this weekend as well, since we have everything we need (1099s, W-2s from all works, etc). Worst thing will be the business taxes. I just signed up for Quickbooks Online and a little app on there that imports eBay sales automatically, so tax season going forward should be a little easier. The business is profitable enough to handle these fees.

Our savings goal numbers per month aren't very set in stone. We generally just save as much as we can. Setting an absolutely minimum couldn't hurt though.

Net monthly income currently is:
Me
$4238
Wife
$1083 (~$500/paycheck, (paycheck * 26 / 12) method)

But I'm not totally sure on hers; our sample size is small since she's only gotten 2 paychecks that are pretty radically different, and both have holiday pay on them, after the HSA contribution dropped. $13.50/hr 37 hours minimum is probably the safe number we should use.

Bugamol: The hospital account is currently closed in collections. It was sold off sometime in 2012 from the original creditor.

Just to prepare everyone: February our net worth is going to tank considering the baby will be here along with the bills, and our tax bill being due (we'll just pay it ASAP). Gotta say goodbye to the DINK lifestyle. Really looking forward to paying off this car.

Knyteguy fucked around with this message at 00:52 on Jan 27, 2015

Nocheez
Sep 5, 2000

Can you spare a little cheddar?
Nap Ghost

Knyteguy posted:


Our savings goal numbers per month aren't very set in stone. We generally just save as much as we can. Setting an absolutely minimum couldn't hurt though.


That's not a good goal. A good goal is measurable, and it would be a good idea once you settle into your new routine post-birth to sit down and figure out some concrete goals.

n8r
Jul 3, 2003

I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar
Come up with a set amount to save every month. Build your budget around the set amount. Having the set savings amount will be the single easiest way to actually restrict your spending month to month. I've only posted about this multiple times, and I don't understand why other people aren't behind this concept. If you take the money out and put it into a savings account, this prevents you from getting to play the shell game that you've been doing every month.

Also - people please stop telling KG to buy things to help save money. He definitely doesn't need fancy pyrex food containers. The dude needs to spend less money.

All the food budgeting/prep stuff seems to me to just be a microcosm of KG's issues with money in general. Poor planning results in 'running out of food' which begets eating out and buying food at gas stations (who does this?). Your food budget isn't working because you're handling food shopping just like you do the rest of your life. You aren't planning ahead enough, and when you 'run out of food' instead of just going to the grocery store like a normal person, you blow up your budget by eating out.

Knyteguy posted:

Here's my discretionary break down this month:
Food: 40.20
Home Goods: 22.38
Fun: 88 (1 night out with food an drinks, couple drum supplies I wanted)

I can't believe nobody said anything about this. Drums? DRUMS? Really? Do you see how people think you're just trolling?

Knyteguy
Jul 6, 2005

YES to love
NO to shirts


Toilet Rascal

n8r posted:

I can't believe nobody said anything about this. Drums? DRUMS? Really? Do you see how people think you're just trolling?

It's within my discretionary budget. I don't care what people think about what I spend my budgeted discretionary budget on.

ExtrudeAlongCurve
Oct 21, 2010

Lambert is my Homeboy

n8r posted:

I can't believe nobody said anything about this. Drums? DRUMS? Really? Do you see how people think you're just trolling?

To be fair, he was told a while back to pursue cheaper hobbies and he realized he should start drumming again since he already had drums and enjoys it.

I mean, if it was a small amount I can accept that. It's better than KG impulse buying a PS4 because he "has no hobbies he wants to pursue." Then again, you're gonna have no time for any hobbies or much fun very soon, buddy!

Colin Mockery
Jun 24, 2007
Rawr



n8r posted:

I can't believe nobody said anything about this. Drums? DRUMS? Really? Do you see how people think you're just trolling?

His problem is breaking his discretionary budget, not buying dumb things. Yeah I'm not sure how that's going to work with a baby (garage?), but he can buy whatever he wants if it's in-budget by the end of the month.

Knyteguy
Jul 6, 2005

YES to love
NO to shirts


Toilet Rascal

Horking Delight posted:

His problem is breaking his discretionary budget, not buying dumb things. Yeah I'm not sure how that's going to work with a baby (garage?), but he can buy whatever he wants if it's in-budget by the end of the month.

We have a second detached garage. It kicks rear end and it's silent inside the house.

I had these posted before, but it was crashing my work browser (and assumedly making it crappy for others), but I resized them this time.





The garage isn't finished yet though, and it's been too cold for me to want to mess with it too much.

I've been playing the drums for 10 years, and I've played instruments since I was 10. On top of that it was only $13.

Knyteguy fucked around with this message at 03:47 on Jan 27, 2015

Nocheez
Sep 5, 2000

Can you spare a little cheddar?
Nap Ghost
gently caress the haters, that's what discretionary spending is about. YOU choose what to spend it on.

Hawkperson
Jun 20, 2003

I'm biased since I'm a musician too, but that was an incredibly cheap purchase, and should more than pay for itself in "Knyteguy is drumming so he isn't out buying new poo poo" time. Also, if it's new drumsticks like I'm guessing, when the kiddo is old enough to grip he can learn to be a drummer too. :3:

Knyteguy
Jul 6, 2005

YES to love
NO to shirts


Toilet Rascal

Nocheez posted:

gently caress the haters, that's what discretionary spending is about. YOU choose what to spend it on.

No problem. I figure that everyone has something that some people think is dumb to spend money on. But yea I definitely don't want to have to justify my discretionary spending if it's within budget.

Hawkgirl posted:

I'm biased since I'm a musician too, but that was an incredibly cheap purchase, and should more than pay for itself in "Knyteguy is drumming so he isn't out buying new poo poo" time. Also, if it's new drumsticks like I'm guessing, when the kiddo is old enough to grip he can learn to be a drummer too. :3:

Yep a pair of sticks (maybe two - can't remember), and a drum key. I definitely would love it if my son wants to pick up an instrument.

Knyteguy fucked around with this message at 05:29 on Jan 27, 2015

Old Fart
Jul 25, 2013
KG, I am completely jealous of your back garage. I used to live in a house with that, which also had a bathroom, and it became my lounge. I hosted multi-table poker games a couple nights a week, board game nights, a Go salon, my projector, my piano... Good times, man, good times.

n8r posted:

Come up with a set amount to save every month. Build your budget around the set amount. Having the set savings amount will be the single easiest way to actually restrict your spending month to month. I've only posted about this multiple times, and I don't understand why other people aren't behind this concept.
I'm behind this concept. We take 25% minimum off the top, every month. This is the line that is not crossed. We have never drawn from it.

Not when the cats had huge vet bills.
Not when the car needed a few grand in repairs.
Not when I lost my job.

This poo poo is for serious long term. We use it to max out RRSP, and to pad a true emergency fund. But it is an absolute last resort. Other savings goals, okay, we'll borrow from those. They're not as locked down. But this one does not budge.

We'll probably stop contributing as much to it for my wife's year of mat leave, especially if I can't find some work in the interim (I'm going to be stay at home dad after that, so no sense pursuing career jobs), but since we also built up a nice baby savings specifically for this purpose, I don't think we'll need to draw from the emergency fund.

And to think, two years ago we were total assholes about money, and about $12k in the hole. This poo poo works. Take it off the top, first thing. It does not exist for any other part of your budget.

n8r
Jul 3, 2003

I helped Lowtax become a cyborg and all I got was this lousy avatar
I hope that KG actually uses the instruments he's spending money on. A lot of people into music are into it for the gear far more than for the playing. It is a bit ironic that you're buying drum kit stuff prior to having a kid.

Waiting to see the February budget. I'd like to see KG setting some numbers that at least attempt to stay realistic for a month. I'm still not seeing why the budget has to change so constantly month to month.

Knyteguy
Jul 6, 2005

YES to love
NO to shirts


Toilet Rascal

n8r posted:

I hope that KG actually uses the instruments he's spending money on. A lot of people into music are into it for the gear far more than for the playing. It is a bit ironic that you're buying drum kit stuff prior to having a kid.

Waiting to see the February budget. I'd like to see KG setting some numbers that at least attempt to stay realistic for a month. I'm still not seeing why the budget has to change so constantly month to month.

If it were a problem you guys would have known about it by now. Of course I play. One of the first instruments I ever got was an antique ukulele from my great grandfather when I was 6 years old. My cousin has been playing the drums for 25 years, my father played the guitar for 30, my second cousin is a professional country singer and guitarist, my great grandparents used to have family band nights often back in pre World War II times, etc.

Minus the initial cost of the drums which was about 5 years ago, drumming is one of the cheapest hobbies I have. There's some wear and tear on the replaceable parts, but it all works well enough for now since I'm not in a band or anything.

Old Fart posted:

KG, I am completely jealous of your back garage. I used to live in a house with that, which also had a bathroom, and it became my lounge. I hosted multi-table poker games a couple nights a week, board game nights, a Go salon, my projector, my piano... Good times, man, good times.

I'm behind this concept. We take 25% minimum off the top, every month. This is the line that is not crossed. We have never drawn from it.

Not when the cats had huge vet bills.
Not when the car needed a few grand in repairs.
Not when I lost my job.

This poo poo is for serious long term. We use it to max out RRSP, and to pad a true emergency fund. But it is an absolute last resort. Other savings goals, okay, we'll borrow from those. They're not as locked down. But this one does not budge.

We'll probably stop contributing as much to it for my wife's year of mat leave, especially if I can't find some work in the interim (I'm going to be stay at home dad after that, so no sense pursuing career jobs), but since we also built up a nice baby savings specifically for this purpose, I don't think we'll need to draw from the emergency fund.

And to think, two years ago we were total assholes about money, and about $12k in the hole. This poo poo works. Take it off the top, first thing. It does not exist for any other part of your budget.

Thanks. Yes I love that garage. I'm disappointed, because I know we're going to have to eventually move out, and probably to a place without a second garage. My "wish" right now is that we're able to stay here for 5 years, and maybe we could get a chance to buy the place. It has a ton of potential. But realistically I doubt that will happen. We'' just have to enjoy it in the meantime. I want to finish cleaning the place up this Spring.

Hm alright we'll evaluate putting a set % of income saved for February. It'll have to be a conservative estimate, because who knows what the baby will actually end up costing.

Congrats on being able to offer your wife a year of maternity leave. That's awesome.

Old Fart
Jul 25, 2013

Knyteguy posted:

Hm alright we'll evaluate putting a set % of income saved for February. It'll have to be a conservative estimate, because who knows what the baby will actually end up costing.

Congrats on being able to offer your wife a year of maternity leave. That's awesome.

She's the one with the good job, so it's all on her. Also, Canada, which while it sucks with mat leave payment benefits compared to Europe, still beats the poo poo out of the US.

But really, it just came down to setting goals and using YNAB. We wanted to have a set amount saved (outside of the emergency and retirement funds) before having kids, so we projected out (on a spreadsheet) how far ahead we were going to start trying to get pregnant, set some basic "worst case, best case, medium case" scenarios, and made it happen. Looking back at my old spreadsheets, we were pretty close to our projections.

But a big key is saving FIRST. You know the saying how work expands to fill the time slotted? It's the same kind of thing. We set a percentage of income and it is a line we absolutely can not cross. At all.

Cicero
Dec 17, 2003

Jumpjet, melta, jumpjet. Repeat for ten minutes or until victory is assured.
Toddlers love drumming. Don't bother buying actual drums for them though, they prefer pots and pans.

Knyteguy
Jul 6, 2005

YES to love
NO to shirts


Toilet Rascal
Taxes filed - $2673 was the total. There was $19 penalty fee for underpaying.

I was hoping to get to the February budget tonight, but that's an if right now.

Knyteguy
Jul 6, 2005

YES to love
NO to shirts


Toilet Rascal

quote:

NRS 118A.240  “Security” defined.
1.  Any payment, deposit, fee or charge that is to be used for any of the following purposes is “security” and is governed by the provisions of this section and NRS 118A.242 and 118A.244:
(a) Remedying any default of the tenant in the payments of rent.
(b) Repairing damages to the premises other than normal wear caused by the tenant.
(c) Cleaning the dwelling unit.
2.  “Security” does not include:
(a) Any payment, deposit or fee to secure an option to purchase the premises; or
(b) Any payment to a corporation qualified under the laws of this State as a surety, guarantor or obligator for a premium paid to secure a surety bond or a similar bond, guarantee or insurance coverage for purposes of securing a tenant’s obligations to a landlord as described in NRS 118A.242.
(Added to NRS by 1977, 1334; A 1981, 1184; 1985, 1414; 2009, 488)

NRS 118A.242  Security: Limitation on amount or value; surety bond in lieu of security; duties and liability of landlord; damages; disputing itemized accounting of security; prohibited provisions.
1.  The landlord may not demand or receive security or a surety bond, or a combination thereof, including the last month’s rent, whose total amount or value exceeds 3 months’ periodic rent.
2.  In lieu of paying all or part of the security required by the landlord, a tenant may, if the landlord consents, purchase a surety bond to secure the tenant’s obligation to the landlord under the rental agreement to:
(a) Remedy any default of the tenant in the payment of rent.
(b) Repair damages to the premises other than normal wear and tear.
(c) Clean the dwelling unit.
3.  The landlord:
(a) Is not required to accept a surety bond purchased by the tenant in lieu of paying all or part of the security; and
(b) May not require a tenant to purchase a security bond in lieu of paying all or part of the security.
4.  Upon termination of the tenancy by either party for any reason, the landlord may claim of the security or surety bond, or a combination thereof, only such amounts as are reasonably necessary to remedy any default of the tenant in the payment of rent, to repair damages to the premises caused by the tenant other than normal wear and to pay the reasonable costs of cleaning the premises. The landlord shall provide the tenant with an itemized written accounting of the disposition of the security or surety bond, or a combination thereof, and return any remaining portion of the security to the tenant no later than 30 days after the termination of the tenancy by handing it to the tenant personally at the place where the rent is paid, or by mailing it to the tenant at the tenant’s present address or, if that address is unknown, at the tenant’s last known address.
5.  If a tenant disputes an item contained in an itemized written accounting received from a landlord pursuant to subsection 4, the tenant may send a written response disputing the item to the surety. If the tenant sends the written response within 30 days after receiving the itemized written accounting, the surety shall not report the claim of the landlord to a credit reporting agency unless the surety obtains a judgment against the tenant.
6.  If the landlord fails or refuses to return the remainder of a security deposit within 30 days after the end of a tenancy, the landlord is liable to the tenant for damages:
(a) In an amount equal to the entire deposit; and
(b) For a sum to be fixed by the court of not more than the amount of the entire deposit.
7.  In determining the sum, if any, to be awarded under paragraph (b) of subsection 6, the court shall consider:
(a) Whether the landlord acted in good faith;
(b) The course of conduct between the landlord and the tenant; and
(c) The degree of harm to the tenant caused by the landlord’s conduct.
8.  Except for an agreement which provides for a nonrefundable charge for cleaning, in a reasonable amount, no rental agreement may contain any provision characterizing any security under this section as nonrefundable or any provision waiving or modifying a tenant’s rights under this section. Any such provision is void as contrary to public policy.
9.  The claim of a tenant to security to which the tenant is entitled under this chapter takes precedence over the claim of any creditor of the landlord.
(Added to NRS by 1977, 1334; A 1981, 1184; 1985, 1414; 2009, 488)

So am I reading this right? I can dispute charges within 30 days? We got an itemized notice on the 6th, I think. My wife is going to ask for invoices today on these repairs, but today is their arbitrary deadline. It looks like a written notice may be the best way to go about this. If we do that, then by law it looks like they can't send us to collections unless a judgement is made.
118A.242 clause 5 and clause 8 is what I'm looking at.

Edit: also this:

quote:

NRS 118A.450  Abandonment of dwelling unit by tenant: Remedies; presumption.  If the landlord has notice of the fact of abandonment by the tenant, the landlord may dispose of the tenant’s personal property as provided in NRS 118A.460 and recover possession of the premises as provided by NRS 118A.480. In the absence of notice of the fact of abandonment, it is presumed that the tenant has abandoned a dwelling unit if the tenant is absent from the premises for a period of time equal to one-half the time for periodic rental payments, unless the rent is current or the tenant has in writing notified the landlord of an intended absence.
(Added to NRS by 1977, 1341)

We notified them of an intended abandonment and it's in our paperwork.

quote:

Abandonment

If the tenant has abandoned the rental premises, the landlord is not obligated to evict. While it might seem to most that a reasonable person can determine whether the rental premises has been abandoned, there are some special considerations of which landlords should be aware before reclaiming possession of the premises.

When is a property considered to be abandoned?

For residential property, it is presumed that the tenant has abandoned a dwelling if he is absent from the premises for half of the time for which he pays rent (that is, the tenant pays rent by the month and is absent for half of the month) UNLESS:

1. The rent is current; or
2. The tenant has notified the landlord in writing of an intended absence. See NRS 118A.450

What can the landlord do if he knows that the property has been abandoned?

If the landlord has notice of the fact that a residential dwelling has been abandoned, he may dispose of the tenant’s personal property (although he must safeguard it for 30 days after the abandonment) and may recover possession of the premises.

What can the landlord do if he believes that the property has been abandoned?

If the landlord does not have notice that the property has been abandoned, a landlord of either residential or commercial property may serve the tenant with a written notice of his belief that the property has been abandoned if:

1. The landlord reasonably believes that his tenant has abandoned the property, and
2. The tenant is in default in the payment of rent. NRS 118.195


What are the requirements of an abandonment notice?

The notice, which must be served like an eviction notice, must specify:

1. The address or other location of the property;
2. The date upon which the property will be deemed abandoned and the rental agreement terminated; and
3. An address for payment of the rent due and delivery of notice to the landlord.


What may the tenant who receives an abandonment notice do to prevent the property from being deemed abandoned?

The tenant must pay the rent due and provide the landlord with a written notice stating his intention not to abandon the property, and setting forth an address at which the tenant may be served with legal process. NRS 118.195.

What is the tenant’s liability for abandoning a rental property?

The landlord must make reasonable efforts to re-rent the property. If he makes such efforts, he can recover his actual damages. If does not make such efforts, he is limited to the actual damages that occurred before he had reason to believe that the property was abandoned. NRS 118.175.

I dunno what do you guys think? Should I challenge this rent due? It looks like because they had notice of the abandonment (which I have proof of), they don't have much of a leg to stand on. I'm going to challenge at least part of the cleaning fee, because they left dust everywhere after the repairs (everywhere) and refused to clean them. I have pictures showing dust.

Knyteguy fucked around with this message at 19:23 on Jan 28, 2015

Nocheez
Sep 5, 2000

Can you spare a little cheddar?
Nap Ghost
You have nothing to lose by challenging it. If you fight tooth and nail for 10 hours, what will the benefit be if you win? I don't remember the total cost, but if it's $500 then you're getting paid $50 an hour. Doesn't that seem worthwhile?

My Rhythmic Crotch
Jan 13, 2011

Yeah of course I would challenge. What is your plan here though? Like who do you plan on talking to and what do you plan on saying?

Knyteguy
Jul 6, 2005

YES to love
NO to shirts


Toilet Rascal

Nocheez posted:

You have nothing to lose by challenging it. If you fight tooth and nail for 10 hours, what will the benefit be if you win? I don't remember the total cost, but if it's $500 then you're getting paid $50 an hour. Doesn't that seem worthwhile?

$485 is the cost I want to challenge, plus the partial cleaning fee. Again the whole place was caked in dust for a long time from their plumbing repairs, and their cleaner came and said "no she's not cleaning it" so they were aware of the issue. I could probably go after them for the property removal bill (because they never gave us notice they were disposing per law), but that's fine we were abandoning it anyway.

I figure they can take me to court for those charges if nothing else, as they are no longer legally valid charges unless a court judgement says so, after disputing. I'm doubting they'll do that over the small fees, but if they want to do that then so be it I could use a day off.

So I guess the next step is to in writing challenge the $485 rental charge, and half of the cleaning fee. My wife works across the street so she's going to take it in on her lunch.

I'm also consulting Rocket Lawyer (free trial, I have a reminder set to cancel tomorrow) for more information.

I'm not sure how we proceed afterwards though. Do we pay the rest of the undisputed charges in full today? Like the lease break fee?

Knyteguy fucked around with this message at 20:05 on Jan 28, 2015

Knyteguy
Jul 6, 2005

YES to love
NO to shirts


Toilet Rascal

My Rhythmic Crotch posted:

Yeah of course I would challenge. What is your plan here though? Like who do you plan on talking to and what do you plan on saying?

Just hand a notice in writing to the apartment complex today that we're disputing the validity of the charges. They will be unable to report the charges due to any credit agency unless a court says so, if we follow this.

My only concern is proof. We need to get this to them today, and we can't do a verified delivery. Should I draw up a document also acknowledging the document's reception? Document with pictures instead?

My Rhythmic Crotch
Jan 13, 2011

Free trial lawyer? Holy poo poo man. Cancel that poo poo right now, don't wait!

Knyteguy
Jul 6, 2005

YES to love
NO to shirts


Toilet Rascal

My Rhythmic Crotch posted:

Free trial lawyer? Holy poo poo man. Cancel that poo poo right now, don't wait!

1 business day max to get the reply, and the trial is 7 days. I just want to make sure they get back to me on what I asked first.

https://www.rocketlawyer.com/ask-a-lawyer.rl is the service

Knyteguy
Jul 6, 2005

YES to love
NO to shirts


Toilet Rascal

quote:

January 28, 2015

APARTMENT, or MANAGEMENT COMPANY
ADDRESS

Dear Apartment Management,
This is a notice from KGUY, and KWIFE, formerly of apartment ### that we are disputing the following charges per NRS 118A.242 that were itemized and delivered to us on the 6th of January, 2015:

Apartment rent fees after property abandonment totaling $485.00

Per NRS 118A.450, and the lease, we did give 30 days written notice of our intent to abandon the property and terminate the lease. We had no way of entering the property past the 15th of November, despite our lease ending on the 30th of November. Again per NRS 118A.450 we argue that it is reasonable to assume that the premise was abandoned far before the date of entrance on the 17th of December as quoted in the itemized deduction.

Lease Dates: DATE1 - DATE2. Written notice was given on the DATE3 as per the copy of the document provided by your company.

You may reach us at our current residence:
CURRENT ADDRESS

or by Email: EMAIL

Sincerely,
KGUY

e2: version 2

quote:

January 28, 2015

APARTMENT, or MANAGEMENT COMPANY
ADDRESS

Dear Apartment Management,
This is a notice from KGUY AND KWIFE, formerly of apartment ### that we are disputing the following charges per NRS 118A.242 that were itemized and delivered to us on the 6th of January, 2015:

Cleaning fees: 1/2 of the quoted value (NOTE: I'll fill this in with the actual value)
Apartment rent fees after property abandonment totaling $485.00

Per NRS 118A.450, and the lease, we did give 30 days written notice of our intent to abandon the property and terminate the lease. We had no way of entering the property past the 15th of November, despite our lease ending on the 30th of November. Again per NRS 118A.450 we argue that it is reasonable to assume that the premise was abandoned before the date of entrance by your company on the 17th of December.

As for the cleaning fees: the apartment was left extremely dusty after the lengthy repairs caused by a faulty pipe under the concrete slab. We were verbally informed by a claimed head of apartment maintenance that a cleaning crew would be sent to clean up the apartment caused by the repairs. While a cleaning "crew" was sent (one woman), we were informed that the apartment walls, our kitchen, and our living room would not be cleaned of this dust, due to time constraints caused by the necessity of preparing an apartment for another tenant. When informed that we would call the office, this employee said verbatim, "I do not care, call the office if you want." Upon informing the office of such information, the apartment was still left dusty for the remainder of our lease. While we did take extensive efforts to clean all of this dust, we argue that the amount of cleaning charged to us is invalid due at least to some of this dust. We also took steps to ensure that the linoleum floors were broomed and cleaned at moveout, despite the large amount of dust caused by the aforementioned repairs.

We do not dispute any further fees in the itemization document.

Lease Dates: DATE1 - DATE2. Written notice was given on the DATE3 as per the copy of the document provided by your company.

You may reach us at our current residence:
CURRENT ADDRESS

or by Email: EMAIL

Sincerely,
KGUY

I know there's more fun things going on in BFC right now, but if someone could lend a second set of eyes before I 1) Email this, 2) Fax this, and 3) Hand in a letter of this I would really appreciate it. I don't think I've written such a formal letter since probably freshman year of high school.

e: found a typo

Knyteguy fucked around with this message at 22:24 on Jan 28, 2015

My Rhythmic Crotch
Jan 13, 2011

Most of us are at work and may need a couple hours to review. Please don't tee off on them just yet.

Knyteguy
Jul 6, 2005

YES to love
NO to shirts


Toilet Rascal

My Rhythmic Crotch posted:

Most of us are at work and may need a couple hours to review. Please don't tee off on them just yet.

Thanks. The longest I'll be able to wait is roughly 2:30 PM PST (as of this posting it is 1:00 PM PST). Their office closes at 5:00pm, and my wife gets off work at 5:00pm. Her lunch is about the latest we can wait which is at 2:00.

If no one can get back to me by then though I still appreciate the help. I'm kind of hoping they'll see that we're willing to fight it and just write it off, since going to court would probably cost them more than the fees, and we do have a perhaps shaky legal ground here so it's not like it's an open and shut thing for them.

Other than that we're going to just write a check for the rest of the expenses today, instead of making payments. It's a show of good faith I think, and if it does go to court I think that could be considered an action in our favor.

So our assets are going to drop by another ~$1100 today. But we'll also be removing (at least temporarily) $1485 worth of debt, ~$1100 of which is guaranteed removal. That's if they accept the lesser payment though - we'll document what happens either way.

Bugamol
Aug 2, 2006
Why does this need to be done today? I'm confused, but didn't read your entire posts as they were enormous.

Knyteguy
Jul 6, 2005

YES to love
NO to shirts


Toilet Rascal

Bugamol posted:

Why does this need to be done today? I'm confused, but didn't read your entire posts as they were enormous.

Maybe legally, we don't?

From above:

quote:

5.  If a tenant disputes an item contained in an itemized written accounting received from a landlord pursuant to subsection 4, the tenant may send a written response disputing the item to the surety. If the tenant sends the written response within 30 days after receiving the itemized written accounting, the surety shall not report the claim of the landlord to a credit reporting agency unless the surety obtains a judgment against the tenant.

But the itemized list they gave us listed today as the cut off date before they send this stuff to collections. We got that itemized list around the 6th or the 8th of January (gonna find out when I talk to my wife in an hour).

I dunno what do you guys think? My concern is that they'll send us to collections for the $1,100 (lease break and the fair cleaning charges) since we're not meeting their bill date. I was just going to say screw it and pay the stupid fines since there's about a hundred other things going on right now, but I got a wild hair up my rear end suddenly at work today and decided to go for it.

April
Jul 3, 2006


Knyteguy posted:

I got a wild hair up my rear end suddenly

New thread title?

Rurutia
Jun 11, 2009
If you're not sending it by registered mail etc, make sure you have a copy for yourself where they can sign saying that they received the original.

Bugamol
Aug 2, 2006
Do you plan, in advance, anything in your life?

When you buy groceries is it because you're completely out and so you go that night right before making dinner (or you eat out that night and go the following night)?

You just always come into this thread with these "THIS DECISION HAS TO BE MADE TODAY!" type attitudes when realistically you've had line of sight for a long time. I think I'm getting more insight to your problems with "budgeting" because you seem to be more of a "reactor" than a "planner".

Shats Basoon
Jun 13, 2013

If i remember right, the issue was they didn't go to the apartment to collect the key because it stipulated in the lease you had to return it to the front office. You had left it in the apartment, no?

quote:

NRS 118A.420  Failure of tenant to comply with rental agreement or perform basic obligations: Damages; injunctive relief.  Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the landlord may recover damages and obtain injunctive relief for failure of the tenant to comply with the rental agreement or perform his or her basic obligations under this chapter.

(Added to NRS by 1977, 1341)

NRS 118A.470  Holding over by tenant.  If a tenant remains in possession without the landlord’s consent after expiration of the term of the rental agreement or its termination, the landlord may bring an action for possession and for rent and the landlord may also recover his or her actual damages. If the landlord consents to the tenant’s continued occupancy, the tenancy is from week to week in the case of a tenant who pays weekly rent, and in all other cases the tenancy is from month to month. Such occupancy is otherwise on the same terms and conditions as were contained in the rental agreement unless specifically agreed otherwise.


My argument if I'm the landlord is you didn't fulfil the duties you agreed to in the signed rental contract that stated you would return the key to the rental office as soon as the apartment was vacated. Without doing this, the landlord had no way of knowing if the premises was actually vacated. You said you were moving out 30 days from XX/XX/XXXX and without the key, they had no knowledge that you actually vacated the premises on that date. In their eyes, the lease converted to a week-to-week tenancy until they could check the apartment after 15 days. I didn't read anything in the statues that said the landlord HAS to check the apartment on the date you vacate

quote:

If the landlord has notice of the fact of abandonment by the tenant, the landlord may dispose of the tenant’s personal property as provided in NRS 118A.460 and recover possession of the premises as provided by NRS 118A.480. In the absence of notice of the fact of abandonment, it is presumed that the tenant has abandoned a dwelling unit if the tenant is absent from the premises for a period of time equal to one-half the time for periodic rental payments, unless the rent is current or the tenant has in writing notified the landlord of an intended absence.

your argument should have be that you gave 30 days notice, which satisfies the abandonment statue and the landlord would be lawfully admitted into the premises the day following the 30 day notice. Since they knew you were leaving on a set date, they should begun the process of preparing a new tenant to rent the building immediately following the date you intended to move. You could argue they owe you a duty to mitigate their damages but IDK

As for the cleaning charges, unless you have a recorded or written statement from the cleaner that they wouldn't clean the building, then you have no way of proving what you said actually happened. If you have the name of the cleaner, it may help to add his/her name but i doubt it.

I am not a lawyer so this is probably all bullshit but If I were you, I would tell them to kindly go gently caress themselves and to take you to court of they want the money that badly. I would go in to the ordeal assuming you are going to lose but there really isn't a reason not to fight it.

Shats Basoon fucked around with this message at 23:03 on Jan 28, 2015

silicone thrills
Jan 9, 2008

I paint things

Bugamol posted:

Do you plan, in advance, anything in your life?

When you buy groceries is it because you're completely out and so you go that night right before making dinner (or you eat out that night and go the following night)?

You just always come into this thread with these "THIS DECISION HAS TO BE MADE TODAY!" type attitudes when realistically you've had line of sight for a long time. I think I'm getting more insight to your problems with "budgeting" because you seem to be more of a "reactor" than a "planner".

I wonder if reading Rich Dad Poor Dad would be beneficial for him? Growing up poor usually gives you this mind set with money. I had this problem for a short while after moving out on my own because my parents were that way. My mom would spend every dime she got her hands on as fast as she could and my dad the same.

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Knyteguy
Jul 6, 2005

YES to love
NO to shirts


Toilet Rascal

Rurutia posted:

If you're not sending it by registered mail etc, make sure you have a copy for yourself where they can sign saying that they received the original.

Done. I added a line for a copy.

Shats Basoon posted:

not a lawyer but if i remember right, the issue was they didn't go to the apartment to collect the key because it stipulated in the lease you had to return it to the front office. You had left it in the apartment, no?


My argument if I'm the landlord is you didn't fulfil the duties you agreed to in the signed rental contract that stated you would return the key to the rental office as soon as the apartment was vacated. You said you were moving out 30 days from XX/XX/XXXX and without the key, they had no knowledge that you actually vacated the premises on that date. SInce they didn't know if you left, they legally had to wait 15 days to enter the premises and retrieve the key. Sounds shady, but I didn't read anything in the statue that said they HAVE to enter the apartment.


your argument should have be that you gave 30 days notice, which satisfies the abandonment statue and the landlord would be lawfully admitted into the premises the day following the 30 day notice. Since they knew you were leaving on a set date, they should begun the process of preparing a new tenant to rent the building immediately following the date you intended to move. You could argue they owe you a duty to mitigate their damages but IDK

As for the cleaning charges, unless you have a recorded or written statement from the cleaner that they wouldn't clean the building, then you have no way of proving what you said actually happened. If you have the name of the cleaner, I would put that on there but it still may help.

I am not a lawyer so this is probably all bullshit but If I were you, I would tell them to kindly go gently caress themselves and to take you to court of they want the money that badly.

Alright thanks for the insight. That's what I'm thinking too. As far as the key goes, that would be a "surrender". At least according to what I was reading earlier. I'm also fairly certain that we got billed for > 15 days, but again I'm waiting on paperwork.

I'll take out the cleaning stuff. The fee is small enough, and they may be more likely to take me to court here out of spite.

Yea no worries I am assuming "I am not a lawyer" on any help here.

Bugamol I'll get back to you later on that.

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