State Specific Question About: INDIANA (IN)

Clarise,

Charge the amount you paid to replace the damaged carpet.

If he does not pay, you can take him to small claims court if you have his new address.

Make CERTAIN you send out the written DEPOSIT SETTLEMENT within 45 calendar days from the date he left.

Next time, NO MORE CARPET and you will not have to try to get money from someone who has moved out, plus your turnover costs will be lower.

It is my understanding that the Courts will depreciate a carpet over 8 years. So if this one was already 8 years old, the Court would probably not allow you any deduction at all.

Clarise,

My my 36 years of LLing in Indiana, 250+ evictions thru court, and 6 different judges, NOT ONE was concerned about the age of the carpet or depreciation.

Gotta know YOUR judge. Mine says "if there was stain free carpet at move in, there should be stain free carpet at move out."

Stains is NOT wear and tear, it's abuse.

Stretch ripples just means you need to re-stretch it - a maintenance issue, not an age issue. Ripples do not create stains or mean the carpet is dead.

Residents who stain carpet are not likely to argue about it's age. When presented properly (professionally on paper with photos) most ex-residents agree.

Also know that very deposit disputes actually go to court and even out of the ones that do, many residents do not show up, giving you an instant win.

Charge for what you can prove. If the res disagrees, let him prove HIS point.

PS: all deposit settlements should be written in anticipation of them going before YOUR judge. Sounds like this one will due to the high costs.

Court is not fair. It is not about being fair.

It is not about compromise. It is not about being nice.

Your job is to WIN, not build friendships.

It is about the "rules of court" (how the court operates) it is NOT about real life or logic.

It is about YOUR judge and his/her idiosyncrasies. Some totally ignore the law as demonstrated in recent posts.

If you think otherwise, that leases and right vs wrong and logic and common sense should make the decision) you will get creamed in court.

You MUST start HIGH and support your claim with pics, bills, etc well organized.

Your job is to support YOUR business, NOT to help the evictee/housebeater. THEIR job is to defend themselves.

The Black Letter of the Law on Property Damages:

The measure of damages for property damage is the reasonable cost of repair, or, if the property has been almost or completely destroyed, it’s Fair Market Value at the time of the accident

To imply a Judge should ignore the law and use replacement value versus FMV, that judge will be overruled by the appellate division and sanctions could be leveled as well, if the judge continues to ignore the law

Now in small claims/landlord tenant court or as my law professor called it Kangaroo court, certain judges ignore the law, but those tend to be older judges who have no prospect of advancement because their decision are materially flawed base on the letter of the law

Let’s be frank, judges do not aspire to spend their entire career in small claims/ landlord tenant court, so those who toil in the kangaroo courts are the bottom of the barrel when it comes to legal intellect

Rick: But there is grey area even there. At first, you say that the "measure of damages is the reasonable cost of repair" or, if destroyed, it's "Fair Market Value." But he IRS would say that the FMV of 8 year old carpet is $0 -- because they would have already depreciated it to nothing since the "life" of carpet is 5-7 years.

So, what is the "letter of the law" in that case? Let's say a tenant "completely destroys" a carpet that was in decent condition when they moved in -- but happens to be 8 years old. Does the letter of the law say that the FMV of that carpet was $0 anyhow and, therefore, the tenants should pay nothing?

Do you think a judge that would award something to a LL for that is "ignoring the law" and has made a "materially flawed decision based on the letter of the law"?

Now, I agree with you that MANY small claims or LL/Tenant judges are "bottom of the barrel" -- but I think you still need to realize that there is grey area involved. Therefore, LLs often have to argue about the value of things (be it FMV or replacement value) to try to get what would be "fair and proper."

- John...

Yes, they law awards FMV, but contract law can help LLs in this situation.

If your lease says they must pay to have the home restored to move-in condition, you can charge for that.