Bob Whitman Properties

I really liked Bob. The guy who helped me move in thought Bob was my dad, he just had this caring way about him. Vint takes pretty good care of his properties, fixes things within a few days of complaining. For one problem they had to send the mechanic over multiple times until they finally accepted that the thing had to be replaced; but it was replaced eventually. They do inspections of the property 2x/​year. I didn’t really care. They just make sure your smoke detectors are working & you don’t have your bed too close to the wall (I have never heard of this being a problem, not even when I lived on the damp, moldy coast), etc. I had a complaint once, that my bed was a little too close. They moved it, I left it, no big deal. All throughout my tenancy I was told they were glad to have me and I was a great tenant. I thought we had a good relationship.
But then I moved out. I’ve always gotten all my security deposit back, my landlords have always loved me. I am a good tenant. But they took ²⁄₃ of my deposit. Here’s the not-​so-​happy end to my story:
It turned out the walk-​through paperwork we did together when I moved in was not in my packet of lease-​related things. I asked for a copy as I was preparing to move. The one provided was not the one we had completed together: things I’d pointed out were missing, my signature wasn’t on it, everything was marked «great» or «like new,» disregarding a large stain in the bedroom, a few dents in the walls, scratches down cabinets obviously left by a cat, dirty cupboards. I thought oh well, I took good care of the place, it’s not a big deal.
They repainted the entire apartment… I guess because I put some pushpins in the wall? That’s overboard. There was absolutely no reason to repaint some of the rooms (no pushpins or anything), but I was charged for it anyway.
They charged me for things I had to clean when I moved in (cupboards, fridge, etc), never messed up, made sure was clean when I left. When I moved in, I had to clean the bathroom sink drain. It was crazy slow. I should’ve called Vint, but I thought how bad could it be? Years worth of strangers’ hair, parts of a necklace they broke into the sink & never bothered to retrieve… it was disgusting. I had to clean the cupboards. The hood vent was covered in fish-​smelling grease — something a vegetarian doesn’t enjoy dealing with.
I didn’t demand they deliver a clean & fully functioning apartment because I didn’t want to be a bother. Not only did they not have the decency to appreciate that, they scalped me. My tiny grad student budget has a large, unjust dent in it, and I have a blemish on my otherwise perfect rental record.
I will say that I don’t know how much of this is Bob, and how much is his daughter Victoria. She’s taking over the business, much to the renters’ detriment. She is a ditz and a snake, with a bad reputation in her other career (real estate). When I was moving she called me with less than 24-​hours’ notice because she wanted to show the place, then got mad when I didn’t return the call (I was in the middle of nowhere at a conference w/​o cell service). As soon as I was back to civilization (but nowhere near home), I tried to be as flexible as possible, but still had to deal with a snotty attitude for not being available the minute she needed to talk to me.
So, I don’t know. They have some nice places, they take decent care of them. I suppose you don’t have to be a good tenant, because they’ll take your deposit either way. If being a slob is more important to you than money, this is the family to go with.
Or, go the legal route:
Be sure that you have all the copies of everything you signed, get them the day you signed them.
Be very critical in the walk-​through, take pictures & find a way to timestamp them.
Take pictures & video when you move out. They won’t do a move-​out walkthrough with you, so it’s up to you.
Don’t steamclean the carpet because it’s (buried) in your lease (in tiny writing) that they’re taking $ 50 to clean it no matter what. Though, by law they are only allowed to do that if they steamcleaned it before you moved in. If you’re smart, demand a receipt for that when you move in, to see if they can justify the $ 50 at the end of your tenancy.
Oregon law is on the side of landlords, like *whoa*. Cover your ass no matter where you live, read up on the few rights you have, get renters’ insurance, keep documentation, and the fight after move-​out shouldn’t be too bad.
I learned my lesson. My poor new landlord was put through the ringer: he agreed in writing to make certain fixes before I moved in, I asked him about every little thing, we rewrote the lease together, I have pictures of every little thing in the apartment… don’t be a trusting moron like me, kids.