Which Way To The Exit?
As luck would have it, that same weekend I ran across an apartment for rent only two minutes away from my job (my commute from San Jose had been 45 minutes). It literally fell out of the sky and called to me, “Live here!” I quickly got a moving truck re-packed whatever I had unpacked, threw down another $2000 and was on my way. The only catch of course was that the owner of the house was supposed to give me a full refund of the $2000 I had given him per our “verbal” agreement. He said that he would have it when I move out. Moving day came and he did not have it.

Apparently he used the money to make part of his $5000 mortgage payment on the house, and he said he’d have it for me the following weekend. By this time, I knew that not having anything in writing was a problem, but perhaps I did not think far enough. I told him “Write me a check for the amount and I’ll cash it next weekend just so that I have some sense of security in knowing that you are good on your word.” So he agreed. Using a check with his company name on it, he wrote me a check for the full amount and I gleefully took it and sped off to my new home. The next week came and went; I deposited the check and didn’t think twice about it.

Two weeks later the check bounced. I was livid! I was angry! I wanted to hunt him down and pound him out a new face, but I didn’t it. I called him, politely, asked him what happened, and he apologized. He did not have the money. What kind of shady character is this? Give me my money damn it!

Halfway There
A month later, I still did not have my money and my mom was in town visiting. I told her what happened and she was livid too. Being the shrewd type that she is, she wanted to give the guy a piece of her mind. We went to his house and she let him have it… bad. Geez, even I felt bad, the unrelenting wrath of my mother is swift and painful. She told him that at least if he did not have all of the money he should give me some of it, and she made him write him a promissory note with the details of his debt to me. The next week I had $1200 cash! Woo hoo! Halfway there –

Three months, 5 excuses, and 8 promises later, I still don’t have the latter $800 he owes me. The last time I spoke with him he promised to give me an additional $400 for making me wait. He also said that he was refinancing the house and would pay me when he gets that money back from the bank. I considered suing him at small claims court, but according to my lawyer friends having him arrested for larceny by check is the best way to deal with this. He’s telling me now that the bank hasn’t given him his money from the refinancing yet, and that I have to wait another two weeks.

–and that freaking house is still haunting me.

Lessons learned: always get money-related matters in writing (I knew that!), never rent from someone that doesn’t give you a written lease, … if it looks creepy it is creepy… and many more..

–Eh, so maybe you have an idea on how to get my money back. If you do let me know in the comments below…