38 replies to this topic

[mermaid38]

What is Hacienda? I rented from a gringa and she never returned my $300 deposit, siting damage I had done. According to the agreement, the owner was to provide an itemized list of any charges taken out of the security deposit. I did not ever get an itemized list of what repairs she had to do after I left. She is no longer returning my emails. $300 dollars is not "small change" to me either. As well, the principal of her not sending me an itemized list of repairs and just claiming there was $300 in damage is unfair and unethical. I would like to pursue this. How does one contact Immigration or Hacienda?

[virgogirl]

This is very interesting to note that the bank deposits hold no weight. I have been making those. The landlady's name is on the deposit slip. But obviuosly, any mexican owner is going to know the best operational advantage should push come to shove.When I asked her to pick up the money when i first moved in, she'd write me a receipt. Once I put the money in 2 payments in a given month to the bank and she argued i was 800 short on the rent, had to get the cosigner involved and we straightened it out. She wants it in one lump sum. Seems not an unreasonable request, really.BUT She said she couldn't tell who made the deposits.And obviuosly., the court looks at it this way as well. I will be noting all this for the next rental scene.

I have never been a housewrecker. I find it absolutely offensive to be on the up and up, do everything right and trust you will be treated with the same respect in the end. I appreciate this thread because it makes me aware that I want to start the discourse over my move out now. a couple months ahead of time. I have a 9 page lease. Que ridiculo! It's not a palace.
T

[nanwhar]

Deposit should have been returned already.
Utilities were turned of the day I left the house. I made sure of that, Landlady wanted me to let electric on (in my name) and she said she would pay bill from that point on! I said NO WAY, I felt she was not trust worthy. Do not ever leave utilities in your name and expect the other person to pay them.. Don take the landlords word that you will get your money back. She said "we were good friends" People like her give Mexicans a bad name.
I will from this point on always not pay the last months rent so the security deposit would have to apply to that months rent.
I would be happy to give any one her name and tell them not to rent her homes in Chapala Hacienda and San Juan Cosala (not sure of spelling)
I would rather pay a Lawyer the 6000.PZ then leave this crook have the money!
Thanks for the input
Shane

[Ajijic]

Hacienda is like the IRS or Revenue Canada. Whether the person is Mexican or expat they must report the income. If the landlord is an expat they must have a visa that allows them to earn income through a rental AND they must every month report the income and pay tax. If the landlord is out of the country the tenant must deposit approx 25% of the rent into a Hacienda bank account while paying the balance to the landlord.

This is why Spencer and others state if you do not get deposit back report them to Hacienda and when an expat as a landlord, report also to Immigration. I lost a deposit in Ajijic as the broker left the country. GIL could have cared less yet he was a member and the office remained open.

Immigration office is in Chapala where expats renew visas.

[virgogirl]

I followed this post and read it over a few times in light of the fact I was going to deal with the landlady soon on the notice. I met with her on Sunday, and all drama aside, I saw all these warnings come to light in my case. I realize that when you sign a lease, you are bound by this contract. However, in my opinion, if the renter has been a good one, which I had,I´d hoped that things could be a little more flexible. Anticipating that this lady was going to rip off my security deposit, I asked to use it for the last month´s rent. Everything went downhill from there. When all her manipulative tactics failed with me, she started accusing me of not paying several monthes rent due to the bank deposit slips that have only her name and not mine. At this point we got the co-signer involved and at least got that straightened out. I had always paid very early ahead of time so she used the dates on the slips to try to manipulate that there was a problem. In the end, she just decided to throw me out in a week and threatened to go to INM to get me deported. All bills will be left paid. The house was super dirty when i moved in and required paint scrapers and evil cleaning products to make the bathroom habitable. She stands there in my sparkling clean house scowling that I had better leave it clean. La mujer es fea.The entire neighborhood hates this woman who is rich and greedy. In the US I´d had many many deposits returned on the spot, or used for last month´s rent upon inspection of the property. No problem. I have learned alot in this experience, and YES crime pays when it comes to ripping off people´s securities. Someone had emailed me not to trust mexican landlords and I minimized this until now. I will avoid this. And the pressure of having a co-signer. Never again.

[Bandol]

Wouldn't it be wonderful if there were two registries; one for evil landlords and one for evil tenants? We would then be forewarned as to what we might expect from the other on a person by person basis. In the absence of such registries we are obliged to deal contractually and it seems quite reasonable to me that each party should live up to its promises. After all, no-one is forced to enter into a lease agreement whether as landlord or as tenant.

[More Liana]

I sympathize with your experience, Virgogirl, but I gotta tell you that it is not always everyone's experience. I've had several landlords in Mexico, all Mexican but one, and the only one who ever gave me any kind of grief was the woman from the United States.

Three Mexican landlords later, I have nothing but high praise for all of them. They took care of any necessary maintenance, worked with me to resolve any kind of problem in the property, went to bat for me with the CFE, and returned my rental deposit promptly.

In many places in Mexico (including Mexico City), it is impossible to rent without an aval (a co-signer) and first month up front plus security deposit. Just for information: in Mexico City, the co-signer must be a mortgage-free property owner within the Distrito Federal. If you fail to pay your rent, the person who co-signs is responsible for the full amount of your lease and his/her property can be confiscated if he/she fails to pay up.

[PV Kids]

Wouldn't it be wonderful if there were two registries; one for evil landlords and one for evil tenants? We would then be forewarned as to what we might expect from the other on a person by person basis. In the absence of such registries we are obliged to deal contractually and it seems quite reasonable to me that each party should live up to its promises. After all, no-one is forced to enter into a lease agreement whether as landlord or as tenant.

Agree, perhaps I am in error and if so mea culpa, but it sounded like the poster was breaking her lease and trying to justify it by the fact she was a great tenant. If true, beware any future landlord.

[virgogirl]

Like I said before, I think there is merit in being a good tenant. I think there is merit in helping each other on a reasonable basis. When I first rented , the place was a wreck and I made it nice. All I wanted was to use the last month´s security for the rent. I have done that many times with reasonable people. Haven´t always had to ask for the favor. But i did this time and I don´t feel bad about that. If that makes me a bad renter, then keep tracik of me so you can eliminate me from your options. I believe reasonable people can be felxible. I doesn´t just go one way.

[jacaranda]

I have a situation where my rental, a short one, is coming to an end. I signed a rental contract where all utilities and other agreed services are included in the monthly rent, i.e. the agent does not have to wait for any bills for me to pay. Yet, I was informed by e-mail only a day ago that my deposit, US 500.00, will be returned, if all is well with the property, in 30 days.I find it just another pretext how to avoid giving me back my money.There are further financial discrepencies where the agent is overdue to re-pay me expenses I inccured and where I was overcharged for certain services, which I paid extra for above the monthly amount.
There is nothing in the rental contract, which by the way is structured completely in favour of the landlord and the agent, that states when the security deposit will be returned.
The agents are gringos, not mexicanos just for the record.
Could anybody comment?
By the way, I do find this forum most helpful and thank everyone for sharing their experiences and ideas.

[HRC]

I have a situation where my rental, a short one, is coming to an end. I signed a rental contract where all utilities and other agreed services are included in the monthly rent, i.e. the agent does not have to wait for any bills for me to pay. Yet, I was informed by e-mail only a day ago that my deposit, US 500.00, will be returned, if all is well with the property, in 30 days.I find it just another pretext how to avoid giving me back my money.There are further financial discrepencies where the agent is overdue to re-pay me expenses I inccured and where I was overcharged for certain services, which I paid extra for above the monthly amount.
There is nothing in the rental contract, which by the way is structured completely in favour of the landlord and the agent, that states when the security deposit will be returned.
The agents are gringos, not mexicanos just for the record.
Could anybody comment?
By the way, I do find this forum most helpful and thank everyone for sharing their experiences and ideas.

Why not give the name of the agent so we all know who to avoid,

[Bisbee Gal]

I have a situation where my rental, a short one, is coming to an end. I signed a rental contract where all utilities and other agreed services are included in the monthly rent, i.e. the agent does not have to wait for any bills for me to pay. Yet, I was informed by e-mail only a day ago that my deposit, US 500.00, will be returned, if all is well with the property, in 30 days.I find it just another pretext how to avoid giving me back my money.There are further financial discrepencies where the agent is overdue to re-pay me expenses I inccured and where I was overcharged for certain services, which I paid extra for above the monthly amount.
There is nothing in the rental contract, which by the way is structured completely in favour of the landlord and the agent, that states when the security deposit will be returned.
The agents are gringos, not mexicanos just for the record.
Could anybody comment?
By the way, I do find this forum most helpful and thank everyone for sharing their experiences and ideas.

We rent vacation homes all over the world; when choosing one, we give more serious consideration to landlords who agree to inspecting the property the day of departure and refund the cash deposit on the spot. Otherwise, you may indeed encounter interminable waits and excuses. We have always had depostits returned, but have had to be persistent at times. The slowest deposits for us have been from gringa-owned houses in Mexico (SMA, actually)!. And, yes, these were houses where all utilities were included in the rent. The most commonly offered 'excuse' has been, "well, we wanted to be sure you didn't make a lot of long distance calls" or, "there was a death in my family."

Frankly, I'm not sure how/if we could get a deposit back if the landlord/agent is indeed unscrupulous; is there really a way to report the person to Hacienda; even if there is, could/would they get the deposit back for you??. We often rent long distance via VRBO.com; once we contacted them and they did indeed intercede and bug the landlord to return the deposit after an extreme delay.

[Oncesubtle]

We include utilities with our rentals, have never asked for a deposit or last months rent, we have no contracts, our renters use cell phones and in 6 years we have had no problems. Renters just want a fair shake, give them that and your rentals will stay full and be respected.

[Ajijic]

Jacaranda tell them to refund the deposit immediately, assuming no damage, or you will report them to Hacienda to determine if they as a business are paying the required tax on rental income. Also, if owners are expats, you can report them to Immigration to determine if they have a "working" visa allowing them to collect rent.

[jacaranda]

Thank you for all comments. I did write to them and asked that the deposit be returned immediately, upon inspecting the property and returning the keys. Got an arrogant, threatening reply in an imperial tone. This pair has obviously lots of experience with unhappy tenants and lawsuits. But I will not give up. If no satisfactory resolution, will take the next step.
The irony of it is that I came here for peace and quiet, as all of us probably did, except some unscrupulous, money grabbing individuals. Even in Paraiso there must be a serpente. It sure is a painful lesson in dealing with gringos agents.
Thanks again for your advice and experiences. Most helpful.

[otbdiane]

One time I waited almost a year for the return of my deposit and then there were deductions for "repair and cleaning". NOT...The only reason I got anything back is because I am stubborn and a nag! Usually you have to pay 1st and last month rent and THEN also a security deposit. Unless it stated exactly what can be deducted from that amount by the landlord and when the deposit is to be returned, good luck!

[joco69]

In the states, by law, at least in NJ, security deposits must be returned within 30days. Why doesn't the poster ask the landlord when it will be returned? What was the oiriginal agreement? Security deposits ARE returned by reputable owners. My advice is to have a clear understanding what the terms are and if they are not met, get someone involved. As a landlord, there are many good reasons to collect a deposit before move=in.

We are in Mexico not in NJ, things are done different here, period.

[joco69]

Thank you for all comments. I did write to them and asked that the deposit be returned immediately, upon inspecting the property and returning the keys. Got an arrogant, threatening reply in an imperial tone. This pair has obviously lots of experience with unhappy tenants and lawsuits. But I will not give up. If no satisfactory resolution, will take the next step.
The irony of it is that I came here for peace and quiet, as all of us probably did, except some unscrupulous, money grabbing individuals. Even in Paraiso there must be a serpente. It sure is a painful lesson in dealing with gringos agents.
Thanks again for your advice and experiences. Most helpful.

Your story sounds familiar, its unfortunate but it happens all the time. I have helped out friends many times to get their deposits back, its not easy but you can succeed. Don't forget that tenants are well protected, you might have to play this card to scare them into paying you your money back!

[Chooch57]

Well thanks solajijic that makes perfect sense.