the law at work
My best friend moved from Boston at the end of May, after dropping out of law school and breaking his lease two or three months early. Luckily, the landlord was able to re-rent the apartment, so my friend and his partner only had to pay a few days' rent until the new tenants moved in. Before leaving, my friend did a walk-through with a rep from the management company, and she signed a paper saying there was no damage. Two months later, my friend still had not received his security deposit back and called. It turned out that the woman who was dealing with his case left the management company, but someone said they'd take care of it. A few weeks later, my friend finally received his check. Out of $1550, he got only ~$400 back. Half was for a re-rental fee (to pay a broker), and seemed reasonable. Then there were ~$300 in "redecorating fees". We scoured the internet and looked up statutes. The redecorating fees didn't seem legit; there definitely is a statute on the books that says such fees have to be itemized in great detail. But even better, there is a statute that says the landlord must return the security deposit within 30 days of the termination of the lease or s/he must forfeit the money. So my friend wrote a very straightforward yet stern letter pointing out the statute and enclosed the uncashed check.

Two weeks later: CHA CHING, a check $1550 arrived in the mail.

Law is fun!

Today is a day for steaming vegetables in my shorts. Thankfully I spent it at the gym -- there were about five of us and we were there for about 5 hours, climbing, hanging out, playing volleyball. Then we ate burritos and chips and salsa and drank soda. Yumm. What a nice day. I'm pooped, though.