Update on Doktor Bert: - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Doktor Bert · #1 03-29-2006, 06:54 AM

Well...it certainly has been one hell of a year for us. I wanted to take a minute and explain my long absence to all of you and work towards answering so many unread private messages.

My fiancée and I were living in Visalia California in a rented home since November 2004. Shortly after we moved in, we began having problems with our landlord, the president of the College of Sequoias Teacher's Association, also located in Visalia.

At first, her actions were simply annoying, but as time progressed, they became more and more blatantly discriminatory in nature. Since my fiancée' (Tameka) is of African-American decent, this was especially troubling for her.

Neighbors would come to us and reveal that the landlord had entered our home while we were away. Often, we would return home to find things moved around on the kitchen counter and other evidence of unannounced visits. We began writing to the landlord and advising her she was in violation of the California Civil Code and requested she stopped immediately.

This would only make matters worse.

Before we go any further, keep in mind I am a 10-year veteran police officer, 4 times decorated for lifesaving, served as acting Lieutenant, Chief of Police and currently serve in the U.S. Naval Reserve as a Counter-Terrorism Specialist.

On the other hand, Tameka is a full time medical student and Explosive Ordnance Technician in the U.S. Naval Reserve.

This doesn't make us who we are, but it is simply an example of the kind of people and neighbors we are. We were well liked by neighbors and everyone told me they appreciated a patrol car parked on the block. We liked the location...close to the college where my 19 year old son would attend computer networking training in December 2005 and close to the Hospital where Tameka serves as an intern. Many plans would be shattered by the landlord.

We made a number of improvements to the yard and landscaped the area at our own expense, but the landlord complained continually that "We were using too much water." In fact, the City of Visalia is on a flat-rate for water usage and no meters exist. This fact was documented in court.

The heater was inoperable for several months, but we were not that concerned because it was spring/summertime, so we notified the landlord and gave her plenty of time to repair it. She never took any action to correct this matter.

On July 8 2004, our A/C quit working on a +100° day and we called the landlord to ask about repairs. She told us to call her contractor American Air of Visalia to correct the problem. They told us it would be several days before they could come out.

In desperation and with Tameka's asthma becoming critical, we called a local company to come out and examine the unit. They came right away and charged us only $75.00 to declare the unit beyond repair. On the 11th, American Air came out on behalf of the landlord and patched the A/C unit, but left the heater inoperable.

The A/C would run for a few minutes, and then stop blowing air. It would have to be shut off and restarted continually. American Air felt this was acceptable, so we called the previous contractor out for a second inspection. He found exposed wiring, burnt connections and a generally unsafe air conditioning unit, proof of which he provided us in writing.

We confronted the landlord in writing and deducted the $75.00 service fee from our $950.00 monthly rent amount on August 8th 2005. The next day, she served us with an eviction notice.

From August 8 until the matter went to court on October 13 2005, we have been locked into a very costly legal battle. Since she is a prolific member of the College of Sequoias Faculty, several Visalia attorneys’ we consulted told us, "We do not feel it would be in the best interests of our firm to take your case." Others claimed to have a political/financial interest in the college and declined. One attorney told me, "You will never win this case, so why don't you just cut your losses and leave?"

We were fortunate that the discriminatory actions of the landlord were brought to the attention of the NAACP. They provided us with a legal representative who guided us through the legal process of fighting the eviction.

At the date of trial, our attorney looked over all of our documents, letters to the landlord, letters from witnesses describing dates and times of unauthorized entry to the premisies, cancelled checks, bills, photos and statements from the air conditioning contractors. Everything looked good and we went to trial confident that the case would be tried fairly.

After about 45 minutes of testimony from both parties, the judge decided to take the case into consideration and render a decision in the next few weeks. We had been diligently paying the rental amounts into an escrow and all evidence was presented in our case. Even the landlord's acceptance of utility payments was brought out in court and immediately nullifies the eviction process under California law. However, there was to be no justice in this case.

On the witness stand, she admitted trying to influence us to move and when asked what her grounds were for the eviction she replied, "I just want my property back."

When the attorney showed the judge the photos of the exposed and heat damaged wiring in the A/C unit he said, "I'm not interested in any of that."

Following the October 13 2005 trial, we went back about our daily lives and waited for the verdict.

On November 9 2005, my 40th birthday, an employee of Southern California Edison arrived at our home to shut off the electricity, which has always been in the landlords name and we paid it as part of our rental agreement. When we explained the situation to him, he said, "No way am I going to turn off the power...man...that's bull****." He provided us with the disconnect order bearing the landlords name.

Since the landlord had been refusing to accept our payments, we kept putting the money into the escrow account as prescribed by law. Proof of this account was on file with the court. The battle would prove to be very costly indeed. Every time we filed a legal brief in Tulare County Superior Court it cost us a $289.00 filing fee. I lost countless hours of work preparing documents, interviewing neighbors and going to the court house.

On November 22 2005, we were notified that the judge ruled against us, but no official opinion was listed. We were ordered to pay about $2,000 in rent and the landlord's filing fees and ordered to move out no later than November 27 at 6:01 am.

I am not at liberty to fully disclose some of the associated factors in this case, but there are some rather unusual circumstances at work in this matter.

Later on the afternoon of November 22nd, an employee from SCE came out and said, "I have to turn off your power because your landlord is giving my supervisor trouble. I am so sorry."

We spent Thanksgiving night sleeping on the floor, with no heat or lighting.

The local police department (I work in another county) said there was nothing we could do about it since shutting off utilities is a violation of the California Civil Code and not technically a 'crime' under California law. Instead, it is a 'tort' which carries with it only a fine of $100.00 per day for each day the power is turned off. Even unauthorized entry into your home while you are away is not a crime, but a 'tort' punishable by a fine and you must sue in civil court, bearing 100% of the cost yourself, in order to have any hope of justice.

We would discover the legal process is genuinely biased towards the property owner, even in the face of wrongdoing.

Since we had lawful possession of the property until November 27 by lawful decree, the landlord's actions were in fact unlawful. This fact was confirmed by the attorney in our defense. However, we were denied an appeal in the matter because nothing that took place after the initial hearing could be admitted. It would require us to file a civil lawsuit. Since we didn't have any more money to launch a lawsuit, we had to abandon the case and try to survive.

We managed to move out by 2:30 am on the morning of November 27 2005, but Tameka was forced to give up her dog and 2 cats. We were virtually without a place to stay on such short notice and as a result of impending eviction proceedings; we could find no one to rent to us. I spent $300.00 on rental trucks and $250.00 a month on a storage.

We cleaned the house to perfection before leaving. Our next door neighbor took a battery of photos of the interior and exterior of the home to prevent the landlord from damaging her property and seeking compensation from us.

Fortunately, some mutual friends at the local Naval Base took us in for a few weeks and we were able to put up a camp trailer in the RV park there until we can recover financially and put a down payment on a home.

On top of all this, my Naval Reserve Unit was notified of an impending deployment to the Middle East in the near future.

The good news is, the Department of Fair Housing has filed suit against the landlord for her discriminatory actions, but the legal battle could take several years to resolve. In the meantime, I am trying to get our life back together again.

To those of you who may have wondered where I have been hiding, you now know the whole story. I will try to catch up on all the private messages and I also owe at least one member payment for a part that got lost in this shuffle.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to vent about this matter.

Hope everything is going well with all of you...Bert

rs899 · #2 03-29-2006, 07:06 AM

Robert

I am so sorry to hear about all of this. I hope you get your lives back to "nornal", whatever that may be. Thanks for all the coaching on my W116 300SD last year- she is back on the road and doing pretty well. I hope you have the time to participate here- you have been missed.

Rick
Deltona, FL

t walgamuth · #3 03-29-2006, 07:11 AM

to hear of your turmoil.

as a landlord i find it amazing that your landlord didnt want to accept your rent.

my problem is more likely to be a tenant that DOESNT want to pay rent.

tom w

Doktor Bert · #4 03-29-2006, 09:16 AM

Walgamuth: In California, once the eviction process is started, any monies accepted by the landlord immediately nullifies the eviction. She accpeted utility payments, but not rent. Although this voids the eviction, we had a much less than sympathetic judge who either overlooked this fact and/or did not have sufficient experience in real estate law.

Department of Fair Housing received statements from neighbors that the landlord, "Had not rented to anyone but white people in the past 20 years." While this is not damning in and of itself, it does affect our case.

Our former landlord, is quite the socialite in the community, frequently seen driving her White Rolls Royce Silver Wraithe around town. Almost every attorney we spoke to knew who she was and wanted no part in defending us.

Interestingly, she never met Tameka when I sat down to sign the rental contract. The original meeting took place between she and I. Several weeks after we were moved in, we met to sign the next months contract, since she preferred renting on a month-to-month basis. When she opened the door and saw Tameka, her mouth flew open and it was non stop harassment from that point onward.

I really have to watch myself with this case. There is so much I would love to share with you, but I must wait for DFH to try the case.

Rick!!!!

The 722.120 is working well again!!! Great news...Thanks for the well wishes. I hope to post from time to time as family and work permits.

The very best of luck to all of you in your endeavors...Bert

boneheaddoctor · #5 03-29-2006, 09:27 AM

Wow....real sorry to hear about all of this...its pretty bad you had to go through that...I had been wondering what had become of you.

Hopefully there is such a thing as Karma and it will come back to vist your landlord ten-fold.

barry123400 · #6 03-29-2006, 09:27 AM

Dr Bert, my appology as a landlord. I will be mentioning a few old expressions that have rermained basically true over the years. This woman has a mental problem combined with not even the smarts to know what side her bread is buttered on. As Tom mentioned to have a stable tennent relationship with the rent flowing normally is in our best interest. We experience otherwise unfortunatly from time to time. In my case I even keep rental rates a little below market trying to get stability. As for not fixing things as soon as reported that is preposterious. It does not cost any more to have the repairs done on the same day reported. On those rare occasions like we had last month with service wires shorted the hydro could not string new wires till the next morning. That was an exception. As for property invasion when tennants are out believe it or not I would want my tennants to charge me as is just like break and enter in my mind. No basic difference to me coming home and finding they were in my house to add perspective. Tennants really do possess the property when renting it. You just got a really rotten rotten apple. You drew a rotten judge as well it appears. Predjuces always will be irrational in my opinion too. Anyways get on with life and perhaps it almost forces you to buy a house of your own if possible and that is not a bad thing. The expression of not even owning the key to the door while renting is unfortunatly true. The financial thing is believe it or not easier than in the old days plus if even a risk factor is a better deal than renting long term in my opinion. Nothing ventured nothing gained is true as well. Rent is never recoverable and can be endless. You absolutley loose any inflationary component that would otherwise flow your way as well. Ownership does tend to speed the point at which you can call it a day and concentrate on your interests. Five years from now your viewpoint may change on this episode. You could oddly enough find it was the catalyst that made you purchase something. Hope so and best of luck. Oh yes this was about as bad of a tennent/landlord relationship problem I think I have ever heard of. Glad you are back on site. Your knowledge is invaluable and I personally missed it.

R Leo · #7 03-29-2006, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doktor Bert

Our former landlord, is quite the socialite in the community, frequently seen driving her White Rolls Royce Silver Wraithe around town.

I wonder if she'd be driving that Rolls after someone squirted a syringe full of butyric acid into the door.

Doktor Bert · #8 03-29-2006, 10:26 AM

Thanks to all for the kind words. This has been very frustrating for us and nearly broke us up more than once from the sheer strain alone.

All our holidays were ruined by this, not to mention my 40th birthday. As a result of losing the house, my 19 year old son Robert must drive 35 miles to college everyday in our horrible Tule Fog. The house was less than 3 miles from the college. I was really bummed by all of this.

On a lighter note, the 300SD is doing very well and seems to like 10,000 mile oil changes on 15w40 Shell Rotella T.

Things can only get better!!!...Bert

ConnClark · #9 03-29-2006, 11:30 AM

Damn......

And I was dissapointed when the new management of our appartments said we couldn't work on our cars there any more.....

I feel for you.

t walgamuth · #10 03-29-2006, 11:33 AM

please igonre the post re squirting acid.

the way it usually works, like fouls in sports, is that the retaliator gets called for it.

tom w

R Leo · #11 03-29-2006, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

please igonre the post re squirting acid.

the way it usually works, like fouls in sports, is that the retaliator gets called for it.

tom w

please ignore tom w, he has no sense of humor.

t walgamuth · #12 03-29-2006, 12:19 PM

but how am i to know?

lots of crazy stuff posted different places.

guess i should have guessed with the poodle trim subname. or do you actually do them?

tom w

R Leo · #13 03-29-2006, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

i should have guessed with the poodle trim subname. or do you actually do them?

tom w

With a chain saw....

Actually, that's an inside joke. I wear so many hats, I once joked about having cards made that listed everything I did; my pal James suggested that, in addition to illustrating, web design, business management, appliance repair, car repair, carpentry et al...that I take up dog grooming to earn some extra money.

Doktor Bert,
I'm appalled by the actions of your bigoted ex-landlord and, by the ludricous judicial decision as well. You are better off with out them screwing with your head. I truly hope that your next home is stress-free and can be the refuge from life's storms that a home should be.

Welcome back to the forum...meanwhile, take care, and if you are ever visiting central Texas, give me a shout (you too, tom w).

Brian Carlton · #14 03-29-2006, 02:49 PM

Bert,

As a landlord for 20 years, I, too, am appalled at the actions of this landlord. Unfortunately, it's all too common in this business..............the Landlord holds all the cards and usually has the winning hand.

Personally, I've tried to uphold my end of the bargain with all my tenants and it was been successful with most.............unsuccessful with some...........but, that's part of the business.

In your specific case, the judge really had no other choice. In a month to month tenancy, the tenancy can be terminated by either the tenant or the landlord with a maximum of 30 days notice. Only a proper lease agreement allows tenancy for a specific period of time and it more difficult to break.

I wish you the best in your next living arrangement. Not all Landlords are POS like this one.

t walgamuth · #15 03-29-2006, 03:22 PM

i am relieved to hear i am holding all the cards!

it has often felt otherwise in my landlording experience of 28 years.

if i had all the money i have received useless judgements on i could buy a pretty nice benz...and pay cash!

tom w