Picky Vicky's Neat Mess: Tenants Rights-Implied Warranty of Habitability

Picky Vicky's Neat Mess: Tenants Rights-Implied Warranty of Habitability: During these pandemic times of the infamous Covid-19 virus�� more and more people are worried about how they are going to pay their rent and...

Tenants Rights-Implied Warranty of Habitability

During these pandemic times of the infamous Covid-19 virus😈 more and more people are worried about how they are going to pay their rent and the landlords are also worried about how they will pay for the mortgage.😧 However, there is one issue that is coming up that the tenants do not know how to fight against : 🏠Evictions.

I know that the Governor of California issued an executive order on March 16th that authorized local governments to halt evictions, slows foreclosures, and protects against utility shut offs effective until May 31. Now this does not mean that you do not have to eventually pay the rent or that your rent will be deferred, it is more like a forbearance 💲. Now currently people were starting to worry that the details of this was not clear enough and landlords were already starting evicting people. 

On March 26 he announced a 'Moratorium on Evictions' clarifying that the tenant must notify the landlord within 7 days after the rent is due that they are unable to pay the rent due to some sort of loss in respect to Covid-19. However once those 2 months are over those two months become due asap.💸 

Well we are here now, already a week into June, and I am sure that a lot of landlords are starting to attempt to evict its tenants for non-rent 🏠. However, if you are like most renters you are unaware of your rights and how to fight this in court, if needed. We know as tenants we need to pay rent in a timely manner, but vice versa landlords need to maintain the residence in a timely manner also. 

I have seen all too many ⛔"scum landlords" that just basically collect the money and never maintain the property the way they are supposed to. That is where Implied Warranty of Habitability comes in. 

Implied Warranty of Habitability: This states that a landlord is required to keep the property in a condition fit for the tenants. Landlords must comply with housing and building codes and standards that can have significant effect on a tenant's safety and health. You have the right to withhold the rent until any issue is addressed and fixed to standards. You will go to court and you must make sure to have proof of having the money on hand (A current bank statement)

There are both pros and cons to using this as a defense in court for "withholding rent" and they are as follow: 

✅Pros - Getting your home fixed to living standards, having the cash on hand to make the fixes and the landlord can reduce it from your rent and having a defense in court if they are a scum landlord that never maintains the property

❌Cons - The owner can sell the property if they cannot afford the changes and the new owners can decide if they want to keep the same tenants or if they need everyone out to make upgrades/improvements, and if the landlord in court can prove you have caused any of these poor living conditions the court will not side with you. (Also, whether your win or lose, if you take this to court you will have this on your tenant history and can make it hard to rent again) 

All in all, there are many landlords that will work with you and create some sort of pre court deal where it is a win win for everyone.💯 You have the right for an up to code safe and sanitary place to live and the landlord has the right to maintain their property as to protect their investments. 

Also be aware that most cities are 📃accepting applications for rent or mortgage assistance and also for utility assistance. Just look on your cities website and they should have it posted in the main page. 

 

 

Moving-From Preperation to Prepared

So recently we received notice that we need to move, because the owner wants to sell the property. Now at this point we have 1 of 2 options, request to purchase this home 🏠or start looking to move. We decided to start looking to move because as much as we like it here, the HOA is not up to par with the outside of the property. We did not realize how many people are in the market to move 😧until we started looking and competing for these homes for rent.🏡 You would not believe how many people go to view properties that are not prepared or that come like they have just rolled out of bed. So we started to apply to properties and We thought it was a good idea coming to these properties with all ready filled out applications, copies of our pay stubs, ID's, and even copies of our bank statements just in case.📋 We applied to 3 properties within the first week of looking and by the end of the next week we had 3 denials. 👎

Now at this point We were getting worried and we wondered why we were getting denied? (I mean the place we are at now we got approved for a year ago and our situation has gotten better, so what is the problem) Well what most people do not know but when someone runs your credit, you have the right to ask for a copy of the report and a reason for the denial in writing according to www.myfico.com. 💹 So the first property did not run our credit, but they went in a first come first serve direction and they just did not get to our application, so I asked for a refund of the application fee (you already have a no so it does not hurt to ask) and we were granted a refund. The second property went ahead and ran our credit and went through all the applications and did not choose us. (We are still waiting on the response for why🙉🙊). The last application is still pending and we will not know for a couple weeks (They have tenants still the property). So at this point we continued to look at homes and apply (as long as no application fee or it is refundable) 

So about a month into our 60 days notice we still do not have a place to move so I decided to at least start packing. Now the last time we moved to our current place🏠, we went in the back of a store 🏪and took some boxes that they were trying to throw out. However this time around (since now we have a baby 👶 and the kids are a little more aware of what we are doing-as they say "please mom don't get boxes from near the trash") I decided to do research on how and where to get free boxes. I found an article at www.thebalance.com that gives 12 places to find free boxes. A few places the author recommends are places online like Craigslist and web site called U Haul Customer Connect. I tried the latter option and within a day of requesting some free boxes I was at a starbucks meeting a lady that had just moved and want to just pass on her boxes to someone in need. I even asked her if she would like some compensation for the boxes and she simply said just make sure to keep the free boxes moving forward 🠞and give them to someone else for free.
 
The moral of my story is to don't give up on being prepared, don't be afraid to ask why (you already have the NO so what do you have to loose, and do your research on free ways to move.

Getting the Kids involved in staying organized

This past baseball/softball season, I found myself struggling to keep up the daily chores of my home. Things were starting to get unorganized and I had to stop and look for things instead of having them in the right place to be found. I got an idea from one of the parents on my kids team to get the kids involved in keeping up the home. However, instead of making it like a chore, make it more like a way to earn money. So I make a job board and I wrote on a bunch on sticky notes different jobs that needed to be done around the house. I told the kids if they wanted to make some ice cream money or weekend fun money they had to pull jobs off the board and then turn in the sticky note back to me when they completed the job. I would them keep a running total of all that they have earned and come Friday of that week I would give them their "paycheck". It sort of started as a way to get the kids to want to help out around the house and then I found that I can teach them the value of money afterwards. Therefore I decided that after payday every Friday I would charge them "rent" of $5 for the both of them and they had to decide how to split that between the two of them. My eldest decided she should pay $3 and her little brother pay $2. Whatever they had left over would go into their piggy bank and they can use it on whatever they wanted (within certain guidelines from me of course). So far it has worked well and now when my kids ask for money I refer to the job board and they are willing to help out around the house. I am also noticing that they are saving their money in order to get bigger things than just an ice cream.  

The start of my 2013 Revelations not Resolutions

So with the new year came resolutions and without a doubt I had some in mind, but instead I just made a goal of tackling one aspect of my home, life or work that bothered me or that I wanted to change. Therefore I came up with my 2013 revelations. Its time to find my place in this huge world and say to it, this is me and I whatever I set my mind to I can take on.

This is the first of my list and I hope this inspires you to make a list of your own:

1. Organize closet - There where so many days last year that I was struggling to find an outfit or something that I even thought would at least match. This year I decided, ever since I finally bought a washer and dryer, that I should keep my clothes better organized. I have gone and already organized my kids clothes and not just simply matching a shirt with some pants but also putting a jacket that matches with each (especially since my daughter has a jacket to pretty much match every outfit she owns). I also went ahead and did this to my sons clothes and I plan to work on my closet next.

Organizing Tips and Tricks

So I have had a lot of people ask for tips on organizing and staying organized. Here are a few I have found very helpful.

1. A place for everything and everything in its place- Its usually hard to find something if its always in a different place all the time. I also like to put things back right after I use it. For instance, keeping a hanging tool next to your bedroom door to hang your keys or keeping all your hair supplies in one drawer in your bathroom. Any little thing will help expecially when you need to find that one that really quickly.

2. Any little bit helps- Even if you have a big room to tacking in organizing, its ok to start in one area at a time. Even just a little bit of organizing will make you feel acomplished and give you more ideas for other parts of the room.

Organizing 101

I would like to give a few tips and tricks I have learned when it comes to organizing:

1. Start one place and work your way around. If you come across something you don't know where it should go, put it aside or away for know. A little "out of sight, out of mind" would benefit you in the end. Once your first project is completed and you have a change to look back at what you set aside, you might have later thought of a better place for that stuff.

2. Don't be afraid to use what you already have. My first organizing project was gonna get delayed, had I not convinced the owner to clear out some of the boxes they already had to make room for other things to put in those boxes. With a little duct tape and separating things we were able to get everything separated into boxes and labeled like they wanted without buying more boxes.

3. Make sure you have accomplished what you wanted. I understand when your organizing a whole room it takes time. However, when looking a a big picture, you need to look at the smaller pictures first. Go into a project knowing what you want to be done at least by the end of your first day. I went into my first project saying we should at least have two bags of trash and separated everything we want to sell/donate.

These are just a few tips/tricks I utilize myself and in my projects I complete. I will post more as they come along with what I do. Hope they help and as well if you need help with any tough project feel free to email me anytime.

VMR

The picture are in order of the work in progress. The first picture you could not even walk into the garage, the second one shows the things that were cleared out and the third show the end of the day and there is a path to get to things and everything on the left is whats for sell and donate. This project should be done by the end of the week, with time permitting.