Noticed a posting on CL while I was bumping my listings: "Don't Rent from (company name.) " It says:

Don't rent from these people. They refused to give us our security deposit back and they are basically slumlords. Their properties are not well taken care of there is mold and water damage where my family and I were living. They have upped their rent and they are pretty anal about everything and really rude. There are way better landlords out there. Just thought I would give everyone a heads up.

It also lists a specific rent amount. The only place I have that rents for that amount is the guy who just refused to move in - they never occupied the space. So pretty easy to tell who it is.

Today, I showed the place to a young couple and they said it was the best place they have looked at yet, so there's that. :)

I don't know if I want to post my company name here? Maybe I will privately email a few Mr. Landlord people and ask them to help?

Could this be a competing landlord who has nothing better to do? Or even an old disgruntled tenant who looked at your new ads online?

Just do as NE suggests and encourage friends and family to help get it removed. Even flagging it from different devices in your home and office.

Amy, no, I'm pretty sure who it is...and I almost saw it coming. :(

First of all, we don't have anyone to whom we have not returned MOST if not all of their deposit in many many months if not years except one guy from two years ago and he was evicted and went without fuss or fury.

We have one coming up but haven't sent the accounting yet, and even then, they will get most back.

Except the guy who posted this, whose wife was not happy with the place, mad at him for taking it, and refused to move in! Trust me, it's a nice clean decent townhouse. She was just expecting more, somehow.

And we would never REFUSE to return a deposit, we document damages and deductions and send itemized accounting.

NOBODY has ever complained about mold that I can remember so this is a dodge.

Such a shame, especially considering it isn't your fault they didn't move in.

I wasn't insinuating that your places were bad or anything; somebody always has to be a "victim"- just have nothing better to do, I guess.

Hopefully you can get it resolved quickly.

WMH,

CL 'use to be' a great place to post rental ads. Now, it is flooded with all types of multiple postings, usually from local apartment complexes.

W,

Welcome to the big time! This comes with the territory! If you're not getting a few complaints you're moving too slow!

Congrats for a good attitude.

I learned this the hard way: You cannto win the internet.

Don't try rebutting, it only feeds the trolls.

It's like the old phrase about newspapers - tomorrow it will be in the bottom of the bird cage...or wrapping fish.

COntinue being the best so people say "That poster was an idiot!"

My 30 something offspring are telling me Millennials don't worry about negative posts on places like CL.

When complainers toss in "mold" my eyes glaze over because I know they are lying.

BRAD

Thanks, GH/NC.

Brad, as soon as I saw mold I *knew* it wasn't even a former disgruntled tenant from maybe years past. We just haven't had that problem to begin with. But the guy from Boston who never moved in was looking for ANY excuse to justify not fulfilling his lease - I mean, a dusty floor in the utility closet under the water heater? So cooking up a non-existent mold problem would be par for the course.

First, that's not slander, it's libel.

Second, I would send a complaint to Craigslist. If you can find out who is responsible have your lawyer send them a letter.

There are certain jobs that you absolutely expect to get a bad rap. We are one of them......its just the nature of the game.

In my area, Craigslist is the bottom of the barrel where the most desperate of the desperate go. The big boy land lords over-post their ads there 10x a day, driving smaller LL's like yours truly to the bottom of the list within a few hours. Surprising, considering the "quality" of tenants one finds there, but I guess since they have paid folks on staff minding the phones they just have them keep posting when the call lines are slow.