From the Front Page - Apartment Complex to Tow a Guy's Car Over a Dent

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678) 01/03/2019 at 16:59 • Filed to: None

0

16

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

That seems pretty nutso to have a blanket statement like that within a lease. And then to actually enforce it for things like two tone paint and paint chipping as mentioned in the article. I guess they would have a field day towing my Miata. I mean technically it doesnt have any dents but my lack of paint sure would get it towed ASAP.

I wonder how far this goes. I have some tiny dents on my Subaru, I guess that would get towed! Maybe they need to tow it because I dont have the wing anymore too. And I bet they dont even flatbed tow, just come by with a wrecker and break your diffs.

Shit like this is infuriating to me. Sure, you can say read the lease before you move in. But this is insane to enforce it to that degree. Within the spirit of it? Sure, that is fine. Tow someone who got rear ended 5 years ago and never fixed the car and there is a tailight missing. Tow the pickup that broke in half because the frame rotted through. AHHH.

atfsgeoff > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 01/03/2019 at 17:17

2

I t is unfathomable to me, to sign a lease agreement that gives this much power to fashion police, so they can tow your car because they don’t like the way it looks.

Manny05x > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 01/03/2019 at 17:24

0

What if he just puts a car cover on it? 

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > atfsgeoff 01/03/2019 at 17:32

0

Well yeah just seeing something like that in the lease agreement would have me running for the hills. But this also could have been something added in a lease renewal. Like if he had lived there for years and it was never part of the lease. Then when he went to renew, they just sneak it in there. Are you really going to read every word every year? And even if you did, it is hard to decide to move just because of lease wording.

Or the same thing that happened at my apartment. The lease had a “no maintenance” clause but the old owners never cared. So long as I wasnt doing engine swaps in the parking lot, it didnt bother anyone to change brakes and other minor stuff. But new owners came along and went full strict enforecement on it. You open your hood, you are getting yelled at! It’s why I just look forward to the day that I can just own my own space, no matter how much it costs.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Manny05x 01/03/2019 at 17:35

0

That seems like it would be a fair solution. It is outdoor parking anyways so it should just be covers required for everyone. But who puts a cover on a $2000 car that you picked up for basic transportation? It just seems way too classist to put people down who just dont have the money for a pristine new car. Cars get dents, that is just part of life. As long as it doesnt impact the safety of the vehicle and is cosmetic only, then no sense in fixing it if you dont have the means. 

atfsgeoff > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 01/03/2019 at 17:43

0

Like if he had lived there for years and it was never part of the lease. Then when he went to renew, they just sneak it in there. Are you really going to read every word every year? And even if you did, it is hard to decide to move just because of lease wording.

Contracts are a two way negotiation, I would simply strike out the pertinent section, initial next to it, and hand it back. If you pay your rent on time without hassle and don’t destroy your apartment, I don’t think many landlords would refuse to renew your lease based on that small modification.

nermal > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 01/03/2019 at 17:55

2

I would absolutely hate to live in an area bound by an HOA or similar.

That said, I would love to be the dictator of an HOA and unleash my wrath on all who dare to cross me. 

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > atfsgeoff 01/03/2019 at 17:55

1

What, there is no way an apartment would allow lease modifications. I’d definitely be told, dont want to agree? Then move out. There are plenty of other people willing to pay instead. I guess I have never tried but that is how I feel it would be answered. But you are showing me a whole new world if that’s a thing.

atfsgeoff > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 01/03/2019 at 17:59

1

A s an existing tenant, you are a known quantity vs an unknown new tenant they would have to replace you with. On top of advertising the apartment and having to run background/credit checks, etc.

You do have some leverage.

And yes, striking out clauses and having both parties initial next to the struck section is a standard practice in written contract negotiations.

WiscoProud > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 01/03/2019 at 18:00

1

i get why they have the policy, as I absolutely scrutinized the cars when ever i was looking for a rental, but they’re taking it a bit too far. Not to mention, it sounds like their trying to hide the “quality” of their tenants. 

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > nermal 01/03/2019 at 18:04

1

I think dealing with an HOA is 1000x worse than silly apartment leases. At least an aparment is just a rental that is intended to be short term (in terms of lifespan) anyways. I can put up with anything if it has an end date. Willingly being part of an HOA could potentially be a lifetime of suffering at the whim of others. 

His Stigness > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 01/03/2019 at 19:00

1

HOAs would be fine if they fucking enforced the rules fairly.

BUT NOOOOOO.

You get fuckers like mine who send the property management and the property owner a letter saying we have a dog (we don’t) shitting on lawns. We didn’t. They couldn’t tell us and we could have told them to fuck off, we don’t have a dog.

But how about all the residents parking on the street, and storing their fucking cars? That’s a clear violation of the HOA rules. Whereas I play musical cars with my four cars in the garage, and in my god damn driveway.

So yes, fuck HOAs.

jimz > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 01/03/2019 at 19:25

0

Like if he had lived there for years and it was never part of the lease. Then when he went to renew, they just sneak it in ther e. Are you really going to read every word every year?

unfortunately, as Steve Lehto points out every so often, if you sign a contract the law presumes you have read it.

ranwhenparked > nermal 01/03/2019 at 19:35

0

That’s pretty much what my grandfather did when he moved to Florida after retirement. Pretty sure everyone in the neighborhood hated him, but they kept on reelecting him anyway - either nobody else wanted the job, or they really liked the idea of iron fist rule. 

facw > atfsgeoff 01/03/2019 at 20:05

0

You might have some leverage, but I’d bet these big property management companies are much more willing to empower their office staff to give you discount on your lease than they are to let them change the text of the lease. Doing that latter seems like a disaster waiting to happen unless you are going to have your legal team review every single modified lease.

facw > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 01/03/2019 at 20:09

1

The apartment feels that people who feel that living around people who don’t have the means to repair their car is unappealing and forces them to take lower rents. Having lived in TX, I can assure you that a great many I knew would have agreed, probably in way that was at least somewhat racist (maybe Dallas is better than Houston in that regard but I have doubts) . I don’t really think we can expect for-profit companies to be great champions of fairness though.

Manny05x > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 01/03/2019 at 20:53

0

If he doesn’t have the means for the repair of the car i think the car cover is going to be the cheapest option.