Need advice about apartment collection

[MCoryB]

Hi, all.

 

I've been following CB for a few months now and have made some major cleanups to all my reports thanks to the awesome advice here. Now I have just two baddies in each report, which I'd like to tackle somehow. One is a series of ten 30-day-lates in 2012 and 2013 on my American Honda Finance auto loan, and I've read many people say goodwill letters won't work with them, but here's the situation I feel sure I can clean up somehow, with your advice:

 

I left an apartment in late 2009 to move to another complex from the same owners and ended up owing them $1443 for carpet replacement and leaving the lease early. In 2010, they turned it over to a local collection agency here in Vegas called Sentry Recovery & Collections, whom I've heard are real a-holes. They've tacked on fees bringing my total up to $1627 but have not tried to contact me for quite a while (March 2014 was the last time they updated my credit reports). I'm not completely convinced I should wake a sleeping dragon, but I'd love to see this collection disappear.

 

Should I:

 

A — Try to PFD with the CA for less than I owe?

 

B — Try to pay the apartment complex either in full or a lesser amount *if* they'll clear up my record in whatever tenant tracking system they use AND ask the CA to delete the collection from my reports?

 

C — Something else?

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Cory

Edited December 27, 2014 by MCoryB

[HoustonLynne]

Congrats on the successes thus far! When you say "sleeping dragon" and I look at the date of the move, I have to ask if this is even still within SOL. What is the SOL in Nevada?

 

*Edited for my moronic inability to read the details.

Edited December 27, 2014 by HoustonLynne

[MCoryB]

Congrats on the successes thus far! When you say "sleeping dragon" and I look at the date of the move, I have to ask if this is even still within SOL. What is the SOL in Nevada?

 

*Edited for my moronic inability to read the details.

 

If this falls under written contract, which I assume it would, SOL is 6 years in Nevada.

[HoustonLynne]

By the options you listed, it appears you may be willing and (possibly) able to PIF. So waking a sleeping dragon is not terribly risky if you are able to feed it as soon as its eyes open. I'd assume your biggest challenge will be whether they'll consider a PFD, which is the only reason to pay at this late stage of the game.

 

Who owns it -- the CA or the property management company?

 

Has the debt been validated by the CA? And if so, have you checked your state's tenant and debt collection laws to be sure the fees they're charging are allowable? That's not my area of expertise, but I'm hoping someone can chime in who knows more about tenant law.

 

If it were me, I'd scrutinize the data being reported to be sure it's accurate and complete. But I'd tread lightly on any disputing of inaccuracies, since it's still within SOL.

 

And if any disputes weren't quickly successful, I'd approach whomever owns it and offer a PFD, starting with less than the claimed amount but knowing all-too-well that they aren't likely to take less, since they can still file suit.

 

Or...I'd wait out the SOL and then go Annie Oakley on their butts, knowing I was close to being able to dispute for an early obsolete deletion within a few moths thereafter.

[ICANHASMUNY?]

think it's 5 years in NV

 

NRS 11.070  No cause of action effectual unless party or predecessor seized or possessed within 5 years.

 

  No cause of action or defense to an action, founded upon the title to real property, or to rents or to services out of the same, shall be effectual, unless it appears that the person prosecuting the action or making the defense, or under whose title the action is prosecuted or the defense is made, or the ancestor, predecessor, or grantor of such person, was seized or possessed of the premises in question within 5 years before the committing of the act in respect to which said action is prosecuted or defense made.

 

 

[1911 CPA § 10; RL § 4952; NCL § 8509]

 

Did you have any security deposit or did you have a surety bond?

 

did you receive a full accounting of the damages?

 

 

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.

( Repair damages to the premises other than normal wear and tear.

 

© 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

( 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

( 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 ( of subsection 6, the court shall consider:

 

(a) Whether the landlord acted in good faith;

( The course of conduct between the landlord and the tenant; and

© 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)

[HoustonLynne]

I knew she'd rock the mic!

 

Hi, ICAN...!

[MCoryB]

By the options you listed, it appears you may be willing and (possibly) able to PIF. So waking a sleeping dragon is not terribly risky if you are able to feed it as soon as its eyes open. I'd assume your biggest challenge will be whether they'll consider a PFD, which is the only reason to pay at this late stage of the game.

 

Who owns it -- the CA or the property management company?

 

Has the debt been validated by the CA?

 

 

I could save up and PIF if I need to. The property management company hasn't tried to pursue me for it, and I even lived in another of their complexes for all of 2010, so I guess the CA probably owns it. I haven't tried to DV it yet because I don't want to be fresh in their minds until I know the best course of action.

 

think it's 5 years in NV

Did you have any security deposit or did you have a surety bond?

 

did you receive a full accounting of the damages?

 

I paid a security deposit upon move-in, which I'm pretty sure went toward what we owed upon move-out. And yes, I received a full accounting of the damages but have moved a few times since then, including cross country twice, so I don't believe I still have it anywhere in my files.

 

A little background on the situation: We moved into the apartment in Spring 2009 because the price was great and the apartment wasn't that bad, but we soon felt it was too small and wanted to move into a new complex the company had just built a little closer to my work. So we moved out in December, paying a month's rent extra to break the lease. We had an elderly female dog who had gone blind and deaf, and unfortunately she peed randomly on the carpet. (We soon had to have her put to sleep due to an enlarged heart and other issues). Although we shampooed the carpet each time she peed inside, and we left the apartment very clean when moving out, the manager decided to pull up a section of the carpet during final inspection and said it all had to be replaced again since it soaked through to the pad, so of course we had to pay for that. At the time, I guess I didn't care all that much about my credit. We moved into an apartment we loved, and I let it go to collections. Rarely did they ever really try to pursue it over the last few years. Now I'm about to turn 40 and have been actively working to rebuild my credit with the hopes of buying a house in a couple years, which is something I never expected to want to do. It's amazing how your thinking and priorities change as you grow older.

 

TU says this collection is expected to stay on my reports until 12/16. It was placed for collection 4/9/10 and last updated 3/9/14.

[ICANHASMUNY?]

once you're sure it's beyond the legal SOL, you could try for a PFD , don't ever let them know you're going to start house hunting or credit repair.

[AlmostDone]

I had extremely good results dealing with these people.I sent a pfd and it was accepted.i paid after getting it in writing and it was gone in 5 days.

 

Try this contact.

 

Isela "RC" Arce
Sales Administrator
Sentry Recovery & Collections
3080 S. Durango Dr. #203
Las Vegas, NV 89117
Direct (702) 944-4128
fax (702)933-4048
aisela@srcnv.com

[ICANHASMUNY?]

becareful about acknowledging a debt - you could restart the SOL.

 

there are sample letters in the ; Sample letter forum.

[MCoryB]

I had extremely good results dealing with these people.I sent a pfd and it was accepted.i paid after getting it in writing and it was gone in 5 days.

If you don't mind my asking, how much did you owe, and did you pay the full amount?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[AlmostDone]

I owed 677.00 paid in full