Building ownership has changed hands - what to do?
March 31, 2011 5:04 PM Subscribe
Property mgmt company just bought the building where I am a tenant. What does this mean for me? What do I need to keep a sharp eye out for here in order to protect myself?
I came home last night and tacked to the wall in the foyer was a letter addressed to all residents of the building (about 10 of us) notifying us that as of that day, the building had been sold and acquired by a property management company. Previously, there was a single independent landlord who was a lawyer by trade. As a result, all of the paperwork I initially signed (lease, walk through inspection, key deposit, security deposit, etc) were, to my untrained legal eye, all very well drawn up. I have gone over the MA landlord tenant laws and found a passage that states the old landlord must turn over my security deposit to the new landlord within 45 days of the sale of the building. That I know about and will make sure it happens. But what about the things I don't? I couldn't find much more about new ownership in the law book. Anyone experience this, especially in MA? I'm sick of getting screwed over later when I could have been progressive and vigilant about matters now. Basically, what shenanigans should I be on the lookout for? What do I do NOW to protect myself later.
I came home last night and tacked to the wall in the foyer was a letter addressed to all residents of the building (about 10 of us) notifying us that as of that day, the building had been sold and acquired by a property management company. Previously, there was a single independent landlord who was a lawyer by trade. As a result, all of the paperwork I initially signed (lease, walk through inspection, key deposit, security deposit, etc) were, to my untrained legal eye, all very well drawn up. I have gone over the MA landlord tenant laws and found a passage that states the old landlord must turn over my security deposit to the new landlord within 45 days of the sale of the building. That I know about and will make sure it happens. But what about the things I don't? I couldn't find much more about new ownership in the law book. Anyone experience this, especially in MA? I'm sick of getting screwed over later when I could have been progressive and vigilant about matters now. Basically, what shenanigans should I be on the lookout for? What do I do NOW to protect myself later.
Hopefully you documented the state of the apartment when you first moved in and still have that documentation It is possible the new landlord could decide to fund for the next round of renovations by trying to take it out of the security deposits of the current tenants. They could easily lose all the paperwork from the old landlord and pretend that everything was in brand new condition at the start of your lease.
It wouldn't hurt to do another round of documentation and picture taking, just to be safe.
posted by ChrisHartley at 5:54 PM on March 31, 2011 [2 favorites]
It wouldn't hurt to do another round of documentation and picture taking, just to be safe.
posted by ChrisHartley at 5:54 PM on March 31, 2011 [2 favorites]
It's no different than another individual buying the property. Both want to make money on the property, and both will most likely try to take as much from you as they can.
What I would look out for though is any attempted changes to policies, and trying to take a good amount from your deposit. I'd go around and take pictures, but if you didn't when you moved in then it may be too late.
Good luck, I'm going through the same thing right now and I'm waiting to see what happens
posted by zombieApoc at 6:45 PM on March 31, 2011
What I would look out for though is any attempted changes to policies, and trying to take a good amount from your deposit. I'd go around and take pictures, but if you didn't when you moved in then it may be too late.
Good luck, I'm going through the same thing right now and I'm waiting to see what happens
posted by zombieApoc at 6:45 PM on March 31, 2011
Can you check maybe Yelp reviews for the management company to see what, if any, complaints are out there for them, and be proactive?
I had the same thing happen a few years ago, and it turned out the new management company was in fact much better than the old landlord -- rent went up a little, but they cleaned up the building, renovated common areas, were more, ah, selective with new tenants, *returned* all our security deposits and with new tenants just started charging much lower move-in admin fees, and generally improved the place heaps. They now have all 5-star yelp reviews, from several of us grateful, happy tenants. :)
That doesn't exactly answer the question, but maybe it's a ray of hope?
Or, to be more helpful, what ChrisHartley said (even if it's just photos of you *in* your place which also happen to show the condition, bless the digital date stamp) , plus getting to know your property manager quickly and getting the read on them, if you can, making sure they know who you are, and raising any questions with them directly. If you've been paying on time by check or cc, you should be legally bulletproof, no?
posted by OompaLoompa at 7:55 PM on March 31, 2011
I had the same thing happen a few years ago, and it turned out the new management company was in fact much better than the old landlord -- rent went up a little, but they cleaned up the building, renovated common areas, were more, ah, selective with new tenants, *returned* all our security deposits and with new tenants just started charging much lower move-in admin fees, and generally improved the place heaps. They now have all 5-star yelp reviews, from several of us grateful, happy tenants. :)
That doesn't exactly answer the question, but maybe it's a ray of hope?
Or, to be more helpful, what ChrisHartley said (even if it's just photos of you *in* your place which also happen to show the condition, bless the digital date stamp) , plus getting to know your property manager quickly and getting the read on them, if you can, making sure they know who you are, and raising any questions with them directly. If you've been paying on time by check or cc, you should be legally bulletproof, no?
posted by OompaLoompa at 7:55 PM on March 31, 2011
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posted by jbenben at 5:53 PM on March 31, 2011