stoney26 Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 To make a long story short I cosigned for an apartment for my mom last summer. I knew this was a bad idea considering my mom is the most irresponsible, ungrateful person Ive ever met but it was either me cosign or her live at a shelter bc she is always broke. So not only did I cosign, but I paid for her to get in the damn apartment. Like almost 3k after deposits and first months rent and taxes. So I get home on Tuesday from work and I get a bill from the apartment complex. Apparantly my mom had been evicted. She hadnt paid her rent for like 4 months. This is the first Ive heard of it. The bill is over $10,000 with past due rent, eviction charges, late fees, etc. Needless to say I dont have and extra 10k laying around. This is the first Ive been in contact with the apartment complex since I moved her in. Arent they supposed to give me some sort of notice that my mom isnt paying the rent if Im a cosigner?? As far as I knew everything was fine. All of the sudden I get a 10k dollar bill?? WTF?!?! My mom had been lying to me for the past 4 months. If they needed rent paid, why wouldnt they call me or write me a letter. Anybody done property management before that could give me some advice?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wantarace17 Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 First off get a lawyer, second off your kinda screwed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinz4Life12 Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 i doubt they are legally binded to let you know if your mom is behind on her rent. i'm sure they notified her many times about it and she just lied to you. this is the pitfall of co-signing because its now all on you since you vouched for your mom. i dont know what to tell you b/c you are def. gonna have to pay that 10k. you were in a tough situation though. how were you expected to let your mom go live in a shelter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forehead Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I'm not in property management, but so far as I know, being a co-signer doesn't guarantee you any rights from the apartment complex. It's basically as you described it, it puts you on the hook for anything the other person (in this case your mother) does. I know hindsight is 20/20, but you shouldn't have agreed to cosign in the first place, mother or not. If she's as irresponsible and ungrateful as you describe, I'd have been especially worried about doing so. You may be stuck here, but you may be able to work something out with the apartment complex. Might not be a bad idea to consult a lawyer just for information purposes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoney26 Posted March 26, 2009 Author Share Posted March 26, 2009 Thanks guys and please, I dont need anyone telling me it was a bad idea to cosign. I know that now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drop Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 good luck figuring it out. this is a tough situation. it's a shame that your own mother would do something like that to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 First off get a lawyer, second off your kinda screwed. Yep, if you have money try to reach a lower settlement. If not it might be worth the credit hit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoney26 Posted March 26, 2009 Author Share Posted March 26, 2009 Yep, if you have money try to reach a lower settlement.If not it might be worth the credit hit Im going to go up there and talk to them tomorrow to see if I can lower it by talking to the rental office. Know its probally not going to happen. The only thing I have in my name is my car. Can they go after that?? Can I go to jail for this if I dont pay??? Or is my credit just going to be ****ed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOF44 Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Can I go to jail for this if I dont pay??? Or is my credit just going to be ****ed? No, no jail. The worst that can happen is your credit get hit and they can garnish your paycheck or freeze bank accounts to collect the funds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IbleedBnG83 Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Damn bro, I just feel bad for you. That is a tough situation with your mom. I was raised just by my mother. I couldn't imagine having the burden of taking care of her so young. I really hope things work out for you both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoney26 Posted March 26, 2009 Author Share Posted March 26, 2009 Damn bro, I just feel bad for you. That is a tough situation with your mom. I was raised just by my mother. I couldn't imagine having the burden of taking care of her so young. I really hope things work out for you both. Thanks man. Yeah....shes full retard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Im going to go up there and talk to them tomorrow to see if I can lower it by talking to the rental office. Know its probally not going to happen. The only thing I have in my name is my car. Can they go after that?? Can I go to jail for this if I dont pay??? Or is my credit just going to be ****ed? Probably just a mark on the credit and debt collectors calling, but it depends on the state laws. Possibly a judgment and wage garnishment if they take it to court..again state law reigns They would need to win a suit to do anything regardless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurd Cudins Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 As others have said, you need a lawyer. More importantly, you need to have that lawyer with you at your meeting tomorrow. Property managers will lie through their teeth and try to intimidate you with threats of credit trouble, etc. They won't do it if there is a lawyer there. Lawyers can be pricey, but it will be well worth it. Also make sure you have a copy of the lease so the lawyer can look over it before the meeting. If you can't find a lawyer by tomorrow, reschedule the meeting. It is IMPERATIVE that you have a lawyer present. If you are desperate, PM me and I will talk to my lawyer to see if he can do it. He's always done right by me and is relatively cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimmySmith Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Anybody done property management before that could give me some advice??Before you get a lawyer, make a settlement offer. Try 3-4K. Sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoney26 Posted March 26, 2009 Author Share Posted March 26, 2009 Thanks again fellas much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOF44 Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 If this place has their stuff together they will only enter into a settlement conversation after they have received a judgment. If and again sometimes a big if, they have their paperwork together they pretty much have you dead to rights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoney26 Posted March 26, 2009 Author Share Posted March 26, 2009 If this place has their stuff together they will only enter into a settlement conversation after they have received a judgment. If and again sometimes a big if, they have their paperwork together they pretty much have you dead to rights. Ughhh...fmylife. :doh::doh::doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVille_Skins Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 any updates you would like to share about how this was resolved??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoney26 Posted April 28, 2009 Author Share Posted April 28, 2009 Not really. Why would you bump this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljs Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 realize this is a month old...my suggestion would be to try and work out a deal with the apt complex. Typically, as long as they don't send you to collections, you won't see this hit your credit report. I had a similar situation years back. Long story short, I already owned a house, but an apt complex in town gave great deals to law enforcement. 3 br apt for $99 per month. So I rented it out and let a friend live there, with me always having access. (My home was 45 min from town, so it was nice to have a place in town). We did this for about a year and everything was great. Except 2 things. The electricity was in my name, had to be. I just found out last year, that my "friend" never paid the last utility bill, so it went to collections. I ended up paying the $100 for it, but took a hit on my credit. #2- a couple months after said friend moved out, I get a bill from the apt complex for about $400. This was after they sent my entire deposit back to me. They told me that they had to replace the carpets cause her cat pissed. And since it was in my name, they were coming after me. Thankfully I had a good rapport with the apt manager, and they actually qwuashed the bill. (did I just make up a word?) so, let us know how it went. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MVille_Skins Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Not really. Why would you bump this? I'm writing a 50 page paper for my law class, and I could have used this as a source/case review, and I wondered how it turned out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dictator Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Not really. Why would you bump this? don't post your personal life and people wont have a need to bump it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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