Originally Posted by FoxTrot

Actually I found out the hard way when I lived in Miami during 5th semester. It's actually illegal for a person set up "efficiences" in their home (blocking off a room from the rest of the house and setting it up with a gas stove, and giving it's own entry way (like the entry to efficiency coming from the back yard). I found this out when a cop came out for other unrelated reasons and saw the arrangement. So, if you signed a contract under those terms it's basically null and void according to dade county law.

Do not rent from a lady named SONYA who actually rents some properties from somebody and then rents out the same properties to other people like Ross students, she will take your deposit and not give it back.

Originally Posted by Bhoot

I will start to this thread, which I think is important. Miami has a big student rental market due to Ross and the U of Miami, the rents are very high, and bad landlords don't need a free ride! So...here is my contribution from a landlord you should avoid. If you add one, please add the reason.

SS (owner of Efficiency) - this efficiency, located at 4173 S. LeJeune, is a converted garage and porch area to the main house with its own entrance. I rented it for $640, for 2 rooms, one being the living area with a dining table, dorm fridge, and hot plate, the other with a TV and bed, and a bathroom. There was no kitchen sink or regular stove. This would be considered a very good deal in Miami if it weren't for the owner. The lease states that you are to turn off the air conditioner when leaving the apartment for the day. I did so, but found that both the owner and her mother (who live adjacent) came into my apartment on several occasions and turned off the ceiling fans, THEN sent me emails complaining about the electric bill. I followed the lease but they invaded my privacy in order to do this. In addition, the owners are very noisy and you can hear their conversations clearly in their part of the house. They also promised a couch in the living area, which was never put in, so there was no place to sit in the living area, basically making it useless space. The issue with this rental is the privacy. These owners WILL come into the place while you are out, so if you value your privacy do not rent at this address!!

Originally Posted by RentFromJudy

MERP Mansion: The Truth
Landlord’s response to false allegations posted by stangkillin99ss

1. regarding stangkillin99ss’ allegation of bugs –
In addition to having the house and carpeting thoroughly and professionally cleaned prior to occupancy by each incoming group of MERP students, the landlord has been providing regular, guaranteed service by a licensed exterminator. If any tenant ever reports this exterminator’s service to be unsatisfactory, the landlord will quickly switch to another service provider. So far, the exterminator who services MERP Mansion has been very conscientious. He initially explained to the tenants that they are now in a tropical climate and must not leave food out. In addition to those instructions, the exterminator posted a note on the door of the larger refrigerator, with his name and phone number, saying to call him with any questions or if they see any bugs. In utter disregard of the exterminator’s instructions, stangkillin99ss has been bringing snacks to his room and then leaving the plates there, with residual food sticking to the plates. Such behavior will invariably cause a bug problem where there was none previously. Another current MERP Mansion tenant declined exterminator service in his room, stating that he has not seen any bugs there.

2. regarding stangkillin99ss’ photo of a grasshopper at the track of the sliding glass door-
That can happen when doors are left open. The good news is that grasshoppers do not take up residency and breed inside homes. How many pest control companies have you seen advertising extermination of grasshoppers?

3. regarding stangkillin99ss’ allegation about the refrigerator-
A) The refrigerator repairman came twice and very promptly when notified that the larger refrigerator was not cooling sufficiently. Both times, he checked the refrigerator and found nothing wrong except that the temperature control was set on the warmest setting. The first time, he turned the knob to the proper setting and posted a note on the refrigerator door, directing the tenants not to change the settings. When the repairman came a second time in response to stangkillin99ss’ complaint, the repairman found that the control knob was again turned to the warmest setting. The landlord conveyed this information to the tenants and, in keeping with the exceptional quality of service for which she is known, she nonetheless offered to buy a new refrigerator. The tenants said that will not be necessary, and there has been no further report of the refrigerator not cooling as it should.
B) One of the tenants spoke with the landlord recently and said he clearly recalls the above facts regarding the refrigerator. More importantly, he also said that he never authorized his name to be listed on stangkillin99ss' derogatory post about MERP Mansion. Nevertheless, stangkillin99ss had initially put that individual's full name and phone number on his post entitled Warning about Merp Mansion PLEASE READ !!, making it appear that he is in agreement with the derogatory statements posted. On the contrary, he said that if anyone calls him, he will highly recommend MERP Mansion because he truly considers it to be a very good place.

4. regarding stangkillin99ss’ allegation of false advertising with regard to bi-weekly cleaning-
Each semester, a new MERP Mansion housing flyer is prepared for the purpose of providing incoming students with current information regarding MERP Mansion prices and services. No flyer or rental agreement for the July-October, 2007 MERP class mentions bi-weekly cleaning services. Each tenant signed a written agreement listing all the services that are included in the rent.

5. regarding stangkillin99ss’ allegation of interruption of internet service due to non-payment-
At no point in time has internet service or any service at MERP Mansion ever been cut off for non-payment. Comcast provides both Cable TV and high speed internet service to MERPMansion under one account. If the bill were not paid, both services would be cut off simultaneously. Cable TV service at MERPMansion worked without interruption while the internet service was down due to technical difficulties affecting all Comcast internet customers in the neighborhood. Comcast apologized and issued a credit in the amount of $9.93 for the time their service was interrupted. The landlord is more than willing to give each tenant their 1/6 share of that refund.

6. regarding stangkillin99ss’ allegation that the septic tank was clogged and that the tenants paid $250 to unclog it-.
That, too, is false. On Sunday, September 16th, a plumbing stoppage was reported. The Landlord called Roto Rooter. Roto Rooter came promptly and found that a wad of paper towels was clogging the pipeline, not the septic tank. That distinction is important because tenants are responsible for damages resulting from anything inappropriate they may flush down the toilet, while the landlord is responsible for maintaining the septic tank. The Roto Rooter man removed the wad of paper towels from the pipeline and the stoppage immediately cleared. The tenants paid the bill because they were responsible for clogging the pipeline. The total bill from Roto Rooter was $220, not $250 as misstated by stangkillin99ss. Per an agreement signed by all 6 tenants, the $220 charge was to be split equally among the 6 of them at a cost of $36.67 each.

Five days later, on Friday evening, September 21st, a tenant called Roto Rooter to come back because the toilet bowls were flushing with less than full force. Roto Rooter sent a different man out, not the same one who had cleared the paper towel clog. The second man did not re-snake the line, despite Roto Rooter’s 30-day guarantee, issued just 5 days earlier. Instead, the second Roto Rooter man told the tenants that the septic tank needs to be pumped out, even though he never looked at the septic tank. In fact, he wrote on the work order that the septic tank needed to be located and pumped. As soon as the Roto Rooter man left, one of the tenants phoned the landlord and asked for the septic tank to be pumped out as soon as possible. The landlord did not hesitate to comply, since the tenant told her that the Roto Rooter man had already made the determination that this was needed, and it was presumed that the Roto Rooter man knew his business. The landlord spent most of the next day, her birthday, searching for the septic tank that Roto Rooter had not been able to locate. She located the tank in the afternoon. Then, based, upon a preference expressed by the tenants, she had the tank pumped out early the following day, which happened to be a Sunday. Had she waited until Monday, the cost would have been cut in half. She did not hesitate to pay the higher cost of providing the best and fastest service possible for her tenants.

When the septic tank company arrived on Sunday morning to pump out the tank, they found that it did not need pumping. What they found instead was that a small amount of toilet paper was hung up on the “baffle” and, within a split second, the man flicked it off with a twig. The toilet paper he flicked off the baffle had reduced the force of the flush, a symptom that would have resolved itself as the toilet paper disintegrated, as it is designed to do. Flushing the toilets could have caused the paper hung up on the baffle to disintegrate more rapidly, but the tenants did not flush in light of Rotor Rooters mistaken diagnosis that the tank was full. Nevertheless, the landlord paid the high-priced cost of a weekend pump-out because she had ordered that service and the man had come out on a Sunday to provide it. Contrary to the information posted by stangkillin99ss, the tenants paid no portion whatsoever toward that very large expense, nor were they asked to do so.

7. regarding stangkillin99ss’ allegation that the landlord “has agreed to pay anyone $100 if we can get people in the house.” -
That is absolutely false. Nobody has ever been paid for referring anyone. Many past occupants have recommended MERPMansion, and they were not paid to do that. One of the current tenants represented himself as having a real estate broker’s license and asked if he could be compensated for referring tenants. Referral of tenants is a standard remunerable service offered by licensed real estate people. Because of his license, he was told that the landlord would be willing to pay a $100 referral fee for each eligible tenant he referred. He was told to keep in mind that MERPMansion will only accept serious students whose focus is on learning and who feel they would benefit from living and studying in a group setting with other like-minded students. He was also reminded that occupancy is strictly limited to 6 students per semester.

8. regarding stangkillin99ss’ allegation as to cable-
If there was a problem with cable, it is strange that no tenant ever notified the landlord about a problem with cable. Comcast is the provider of both cable and high speed internet service to MERPMansion. The basic cable channels were set and working fine when the house was prepared for this current group of students. It’s possible they reset it by fiddling around with the remote control. All they had to do was let the landlord know and it would have been corrected immediately.

9. regarding stangkillin99ss’ allegation as to water pressure-
As soon as stangkillin99ss reported a drop in water pressure, the landlord had the system inspected. A miniscule leak in the cold water supply line was found and repaired. Stangkillin99ss was told to let the landlord know if he had any further problems. Some time later, he left a message that the pressure was still lower than it should be. Immediately, that same day, another man was sent to check out the system. He saw that the pressure switch could be raised to a higher setting, and he set it up to the maximum. Stangkillin99ss subsequently left another message, still complaining about the same problem. The landlord immediately called a third company that promptly came and determined that the bladder in the pressure tank had ruptured and that the tank needed to be replaced. She immediately left the project on which she was working in another city to go to the supplier to pick up a new pressure tank. She delivered the tank to MERP Mansion that same day in order to expedite installation by the plumber. The plumber returned the next day, September 27th, to install the new pressure tank. Before leaving, he confirmed that the water pressure was perfect throughout the house. Stangkillin99ss acknowledged that the pressure was very good. Nevertheless, instead of thanking the landlord for correcting the problem so expeditiously, Stangkillin99ss posted a list of false and libelous statements about MERP Mansion and its landlord on ValueMD just an hour after the repair was completed.

10. regarding stangkillin99ss’ allegation that water and bugs come into his bedroom when it rains
Stangkillin99ss has acknowledged that he and his roommate broke the French doors. They did not realize that the doors were sealed to keep rainwater from getting in, and they forced the doors open. The landlord had the doors repaired and resealed at her expense, and has not since received any report of water coming in. The tenant has a duty to promptly notify the landlord of any problem. The agreement signed by stangkillin99ss and all MERP Mansion tenants specifies dual notice, by phone and by email, to insure that the landlord is made aware of any problem. If water has really been coming in as stangkillin99ss claims, the landlord should have been notified so that she would know to have the doors resealed again and so that she could immediately implement proper drying methods to prevent the carpet from being ruined.

Stangkillin99ss’ story about rainwater and bugs coming into his room through those doors just doesn’t ring true. If rainwater had really been coming through the French doors or under the French doors, the carpet abutting the threshold would be noticeably damaged by now. The carpet was steam cleaned and in perfect condition immediately before stangkillin99ss took occupancy. If the carpet hasn’t been ruined by water, then water has not been getting in, and if the seal is good enough to keep rainwater out, how could bugs get in?

11. regarding stangkillin99ss allegation that he and his housemates pay $10K in monthly rent-
Stangkillin99ss’ claim that the total rent for the house amounts to $10,000/mo is patently false. More importantly, no tenant was ever charged differently than what had been quoted and agreed. Because MERP Mansion is a million dollar house on a large piece of very valuable Pinecrest property, the overhead, property taxes and insurance are higher than that of other places offered on the Ross housing website. Even so, most students can stay at MERP Mansion for a cost that breaks down to $1350 per month, including everything except food and linens. Only two of the six spaces are available at a higher rate. For some folks, that isn't too much to pay for the safety, comfort and convenience of a quiet, high end, non-flooding neighborhood, within a 5-minute walk of shops, restaurants, Dadeland Mall and the Metro Rail. No other area offers the security provided by the 24/7 patrolling of Pinecrest’s own police department to keep the neighborhood safe.

12. Regarding Stangkillin99ss allegation that he had to stay at a hotel “3 times due to the shower not working or the house flooding due to the septic tank overflowing.”
The septic tank has NEVER overflowed. It wasn’t even full! Furthermore, Stangkillin99ss claimed to have no part in the paper towel clog referenced in #6 above, on the grounds that he was “out of town” when the stoppage occurred. Yet, in his post, Stangkillin99ss’, makes it appear that he went to a hotel because of the plumbing stoppage and the septic tank overflowing.

Stangkillin99ss knows, but failed to mention, that the landlord made immediate provisions for all MERP Mansion residents to have open access with guest room and bathroom privileges in the beautiful 5 bedroom, 4 bathroom house, right next door to MERP Mansion. Stangkillin99ss’ response was, “And what if I don’t want to use those facilities?” Other tenants thanked the landlord and used the bathroom facilities she so quickly and conveniently provided while the plumbing issue was being resolved.