A Richmond Rental Nightmare
I moved to Richmond in 2008 to become a member of the faculty of VCU. My wife Jeanine and I found a house on craigslist (821 W. 30th St., Richmond, VA 23225) to rent while we learned about Richmond neighborhoods and to save up for a down payment on a house of our own. Terry and Patti Shulman were the landlords. This blog is about our experiences, what happened to us, and our quest to get our deposit back.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Lead
Friday, November 11, 2011
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!
Friday, June 24, 2011
Off to Court
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Get your Money Back!: Patti & Terry Shulman Contact Information
Address
Patti and Terry Shulman
1226 Middle River Road
Staunton, VA 24401
Patti Shulman: patti@shulmancreative.com, pattishulman@gmail.com
Terry Shulman: terrytcs55@aol.com
Phone
Patti Shulman: (804) 426-9396
Terry Shulman: (804) 426-9396
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Terry Shulman & the Storefront, III
The Resolution
Hi Craig this is [the] husband. all went well we got our money back. What i did you may not be able to do were you live. I live in the same town Terry lives in just his luck I found out were he and his wifes farm is . I called him up and told him I was prepared to go to his address and I told him his address and also I had no problem showing up at the Store Front condo and let people know that there is a problem with how Terry conducts his business he agreed to meet me and give me CASH. But he still claimed that he had deposited our money in our account but never showed me any receipts that he claimed he had I was very firm and didn't give a damn what he had to say and demanded he give me cash. [...] because thanks to things I read on your blog and I did mention he will not screw me over like he did the people in Richmond he change him attitude. Best thing be firmer with him and tell him you did chat with me not a problem and that you will go to any lengths to your money and you have to bug that crap out of him. I think he thinks this is a game and he met his match with me. [...] I just think he will continue to take advantage of people but he does not have the balls to face someone like me because of the way I handled it. When I read your blog that just made me pissed about the money [...] good luck brother...
Friday, June 3, 2011
Terry Shulman & the Storefront Hotel, II
The Problem
I came across your blog while googling "Terry Shulman" and found it very interesting. While we have never rented from Terry or Patti, we did however make reservations for our one-year anniversary at The Storefront West. That's his newest addition to his conglomeration of scams. He requires a 14 day notice to cancel reservations, I knew this when reserving the loft. I called him 2 days into that 14 day period (2 days too late) to see if there was any way to get out of the reservation because we had found out that our family is planning a cruise and invited us to come along, so we needed to try and save up some spending money. He reminded me of the cancellation policy and I understood but asked if someone else comes along and wants the loft, could we get out of our reservations then. He said yes. He notified me on Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 1:04 AM that someone else wants the loft and our reservation is considered cancelled. YES!! We were so happy that this worked out so nicely. I emailed him back thanking him and told him we would most definitely keep The Storefront and/or Storefront West in mind for our future accomodations. I received a response saying "You're welcome. I mistakenly charged your card on the the wrong Monday - last Monday - but will credit the charged amount to your account tomorrow." This email was sent to me at 12:55AM on Thursday morning, May 26th. Keep in mind, he made this "mistake" on MONDAY but is just now coming around to letting me know. My husband and I have been trying to get our money back, money that he had NO RIGHT to take out of our account on that date. He, in essence, stole our money and will not return it! My husband just got off the phone with him and he claimed he credited my card but I see no pending transactions listed from him on my account. I think he's trying to scam us and after reading your blog in its entirety, I feel even more strongly that he's trying to rip us off. I just wanted to email you to let you know that you are not alone in your fight for money that is rightfully your own and trying to get Terry Shulman to do the right thing. This is the shortened version but I have all emails if you want to see them back and forth between me and Terry.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Terry Shulman & the Storefront Hotel
My husband and I were given a gift certificate to bedandbreakfast.com for Christmas from my sisters. We chose to stay at the Storefront because we did not want to stay at your typical bed and breakfast. We had a great time and were actually commenting on how we wanted to come back again; however, when we returned home, we found an unexpected extra charge of $100 on our credit card. When we spoke to the innkeeper, he informed us that we had violated the "no pet" policy. This was impossible, as we had not brought our dog. We did bring a blanket from home, which most likely had dog hair on it (we have a black lab and he tends to shed a lot). When I called the innkeeper to explain what happened, he refunded the money, but rudely told me that I was never welcome back. He told me that he had to wash the comforter because there was dog hair on it (shouldn't he be washing the comforter anyway???) The website clearly states that you don't have to clean before you leave. Had I known how picky they were going to be, we would have washed the sheets ourselves. We were very disappointed in the way this was handled. We were very glad to have the money refunded but were very upset by the rudeness of the innkeeper. Anyone who has a dog knows that a little bit of your dog always travels with you...
Friday, May 20, 2011
Wasps!
These wasps kept appearing in the house for several days. I never figured out where they were coming from. My best guess is that they had a nest in a vent somewhere. I called and emailed Terry and Patti Shulman more than once about this, but they never came out or sent anyone to investigate. Did I mention we had a little baby?!?!? That made me a little nervous... Good luck future renters and homeowners.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Move-In Inspection, II
Monday, May 16, 2011
Terry Shulman's Pattern of Behavior
Hi Craig,
A friend of mine recently turned me on to your blog about you awful experience with 821 W. 30th. I was a tenant at 821 W. 30th during the year of June'05 to May'06. Many of the experiences you speak of were similar with my experiences with Terry Shulman. In fact some of the house issues mentioned were there during our tenancy and I know friends who lived there before me who created some of the damage mentioned in your blog. It was very frustrating to us but most of my roommates were students and didn't have the drive to go any further with reclaiming our deposit since it was split between 4 of us. I just didn't like the way Terry treated us after all was said and done and consider it a lesson that landlords(just Terry) aren't that nice despite the many good experiences I've had with other landlords.
I don't know how far a long your fight with Terry to reclaim your security deposit has gone, but I'm hunting for a letter Terry sent us about all the damages he was claiming our security deposit with. I can't promise anything due to the passage of time but I will check with my roommate at the time as well. We made the mistake too of not having an initial walkthrough. The letter accuses us of some of the said damages you were accused of and I find it ridiculous he would use that on your family to withhold your deposit.
I will try to email you later this week on the status of said letter. I don't know if any of this helps.
Take care,
Friday, September 3, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Screened Windows
The house that we rented from Terry and Patti Shulman (821 W. 30th St., Richmond, VA 23225) had OLD windows with no screens. Many of the windows were painted shut. But if you opened the other ones mosquitoes would be on their way. Yuck. That's the old house on the left.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Trembling!
Please direct all further correspondence to my attorney, Lucy Ivanoff, at:
Lucy Ivanoff Esq.
9 South Augusta Street
Staunton VA. 24401
Terry and Patti Shulman simply did not return a security deposit that was due to their previous tenants. Perhaps this is their M.O.? In any case, we'll get it back. We have the pictures and evidence. They are welcome to bring an attorney. It won't change the facts of the case!
Friday, August 27, 2010
On to Court?
Dear Terry and Patti Shulman,
I have received the check you sent for the $5 you have returned of our security deposit. I plan to take the issue to court unless you return the remaining $1245.
According to the receipt you sent, you
1) charged us for torn wallpaper. This wall paper is extremely old and peeling at every seam. We are certainly not responsible for this. The move-out pictures show this.
2) charged us for cleaning. The house was spotless. The pictures show this. No mention was made about any needed cleaning at the move-out inspection, or in the move-out video.
3) charged us for yard work. The grass was cut as required in the lease. The lease leaves other yard work to the landlords.
The pictures and move-out video can be found on my blog (just google "Terry and Patti Shulman").
The court will be interested in the above points, together with
1) the fact that there was no move-in inspection, as required by Virginia law,
2) the fact that the receipt was written by Niche Properties to Terry Shulman, that is, from Terry Shulman to himself - but apparently trying to disguise this fact.
If you do not send a check for $1245 immediately you should both prepare to address these points in court.
Best,
Craig Larson
Thursday, August 26, 2010
$5 back. $1245 to go!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
The Demand Letter has Arrived
Saturday, August 21, 2010
From Terry Shulman to Terry Shulman
Friday, August 20, 2010
What is Niche Properties?
Thursday, August 19, 2010
The Moment of Truth
Here's what Terry wrote:
1) Repair animal damage to upstairs wall corner bead in bedroom. Four hours labor at $65 per hour = $260 + $25 materials = $285
2) Additional cleaning done to remove food stains on dining room floor and upstairs back bedroom; removal of tenant-added shelf, re-plaster holes and repaint. Four hours labor at $65 = $260
3) Remove overgrown weeds, trees, and vines covering fences, established trees, borders, and sides of house in front and back, remove debris pile. Fourteen hours labor at $50 per hour = $700
One interesting thing is that when Terry Shulman does wallpaper he charges $65 per hour, but he only charges $50 an hour for yard work. Wow, that's a good deal. (Nice work if you can get it).
Item (1) is the wallpaper. This was extremely old and peeling at every seam, as discussed below and can be seen in these pictures.
Who knows what item (2) is? The house was spotless as can be seen in the move-out pictures. Terry did not mention any of these things in the move-out video.
Item (3) is also nonsense. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the lease only says that lawn care was the tenant's responsibility. Other yard care was the landlord's.
What Terry Shulman and Patti Shulman are doing here is wrong. They should return our money.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
The Worst of Richmond
- 821 W. 30th St. This is the house we rented. I posted about it earlier.
- Richmond Department of Public Utilities - my Houston water bills were around $15, here they start at $64 - before you've even turned on the faucet!
- Richmond City Public Schools - there are a couple of good ones - but most are really horrible - and the RPS seems to actively prevent any attempts to offer Richmond kids better options.
- Terry Shulman. He's one of the landlords who hasn't returned our deposit after more than a month. According to his wife Patti he's "in charge of the rental business". They have other businesses.
- Patti Shulman. She's the other landlord who hasn't returned our deposit after more than a month. Despite being named on the lease she seems to want to wash her hands of it, leave it to Terry, and keep our money.
- Richmond drivers who pull into the middle of an intersection when there is not enough room on the other side to cross completely through the intersection. This is illegal - and dumb. There is so little traffic here that other Richmond drivers don't seem to mind. No one honks at these intersection blockers. I do. Hopefully they become chagrined enough to not do it again.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Still Waiting for our Deposit
Monday, August 9, 2010
The Neighbor's Tree
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
The Move-out Inspection Photos
Monday, August 2, 2010
The Move-out Inspection Email
"1) Extensive animal damage to the outside corner wallpaper and plaster in upstairs master bedroom.
2) Extensive removal of grass and weeds above lease-specified height.
3) Additional cleaning of dirty floors, bathrooms, and kitchen counters"
1. This claim is nonsense. The videos and pictures in the previous posts detail the overall condition of this very old wallpaper.
2. This claim is also nonsense. The grass was recently cut. The height of the grass can be seen in the video; the lease specifies that "landlord shall be responsible for all other yard maintenance" (see Section 14).
3. The house was left at least the condition as when we moved in. Jeanine spent all of Monday, July 5 cleaning. The cleanliness can be seen in the video. In fact the house may have been in better condition. There were extensive cobwebs when we moved in, and any place that was "out of site", for instance, under the wardrobe, was generally filled with dirt and dust bunnies.
We still haven't gotten our deposit back. Based on this email, it doesn't look good that we will.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Good Luck to the New Tenants
Friday, July 30, 2010
The Move-out Inspection Video
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Move-out Inspection, Part 1
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Master Bedroom Wallpaper
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
No Move-in Inspection? It's Virginia Law
Thursday, July 15, 2010
The Best of Richmond, 2008-2010
- Virginia Commonwealth University. This is a great University, with good people, and attractive facilities. The VCU Math Department is uncommonly collegial - a great place to work.
- Richmond restaurants: Millies, Juleps, La Milpa, Tex (the Texas BBQ guy), Picollas - mmm... all good, can't wait to go back.
- Virginia History - a lot of things happened in Richmond - it's neat to be able to go and see these places.
- Respect for and Preservation of Old Buildings -I love that so many old buildings have been preserved here. VCU has a bunch of them - they are now used for various academic departments and administration.
- Woodland Heights and Forest Hill neighborhoods - there are great friendly people here.
- Richmond Ballet - this is a fantastic regional company - I'm really impressed with everything we've seen from them.
- Richmond traffic - it's basically non-existent compared to LA and Houston!
- Humpback Rock - this is a great short hike with an incredible view at the end.
- The James River Park System. There's great hiking along the river, and Riverside Drive is exceptionally scenic for a city drive.
- The Byrd Theater. This is a gorgeous movie palace from 1928 that still shows movies every nite.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Move-in Inspection
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
The Landlords
- When the microwave broke.
- When wasps appeared in the house day after day and we couldn't figure out where they were coming from.
- After several nights of hearing animals running around the attic. What were they? Rats? I went up in the attic to check a couple of times but they stopped when they heard me and saw the beam of the flashlight.
- When the dryer broke and the dryer plug fused to the outlet. The melting plastic made the whole house smell like a chemical factory.
- Nothing. We ended up buying a new microwave. After that I was always worried that the refrigerator or the AC would break. Then what?
- Nothing. I sprayed wasps as I saw them. Jeanine worried about the baby. They eventually stopped.
- Nothing. Well, they recommended that I plug any holes in the attic. I didn't see any. Jeanine worried. The animals only came back a couple of more times.
- Nothing. We ended up doing our laundry at a friend's place. A couple of times we used the washing machine and then hung the laundry to dry all around the dining room. What if the refrigerator or AC broke? Then what? Fortunately we moved before either of those issues arose.
Monday, July 12, 2010
821 W. 30th St
- The house was incredibly drafty. Every visitor commented on this. There is a large gap under the front door. We stuffed that up - but it wasn't the whole story.
- There's no tub. And no place to put a tub. The upstairs bathroom is very small. The existing shower is cruise-ship sized. We bathed the baby is a portable tub in the kitchen. That got old very quickly. Jeanine insisted on a tub in our next house.
- The door to the baby's room didn't close at all. Several doors were "challenged". The house was built in 1920, the house has moved quite a bit, and the doors are probably all original.
- The baby's room is crazily slopped. I often had the sensation of being at sea when I walked around that room. The furniture we put in that room did not stand on all 4 legs.
- The columns on the porch are slanted. I guess they've moved with the foundation. It makes it look a little like a haunted house.
- The mortar between the bricks in the basement and on the porch is crumbling. It leaves a fine powder. Wiping it up doesn't do, as it keeps crumbling.
- The grout is crumbling in the downstairs bathroom. Cleaning the bathroom floor was always an adventure. You had to strike the right balance between scrubbing hard and knocking more tiles loose.
- The basement is wet. The dryer in the basement broke while we were there and the dryer plug fused to the outlet. The outlet area seemed very wet to me. I'm not an electrician - but this may have been part of the problem.
- There were 2 episodes of wasps appearing in the house for several days in a row. They may breed in the ventilation system. We were never able to figure it out.
- Several times we heard animals running around the attic at night. They seemed to be about the weight of a small cat. I guessed rats or possums. We still don't know. I don't think possums run as fast as these guys ran. Because of the baby in the house, Jeanine was very nervous about this.
- The wallpaper in the entryway is horrible. The wallpaper in the upstairs bedroom was old - very old - and peeling from the top, at the seams, and was torn. It crackled to the touch. It could have been anywhere from 20-50 years old. I'll post pictures later.
- The kitchen counters were some old plastic-y linoleum-y stuff. I don't know. What was irritating is that even after you cleaned the counters, they still felt sticky. Yuck. There was a burn-hole in the kitchen island. I often wondered if someone put out a cigarette there.
- The door to the basement is partially blocked by the kitchen counter. That was a real pain for trying to get laundry up and down. For bigger items - like our tub of holiday decorations - you had to go out the back staircase into the yard, and then up through the backdoor.