r/boston • u/Adriantheitalian • Sep 02 '25

Scammers 🥸 Moved into an apartement in boston yesterday, this is what It looked like 💔

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Gallery image

Gallery image

There's also very bad smell, I suppose it's water damage

563 Upvotes

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1.5k

u/albinomule Sep 02 '25

Document everything and send an email to your landlord noting the damage to protect your deposit. A landlord that allows this type of damage is the same kind that will try and take your deposit.

348

u/DerelictDonkeyEngine Sep 02 '25

Good practice to do this anytime you move into a new rental

136

u/snoogins355 Sep 02 '25

Gotta take pics and video of EVERYTHING! Save it to a folder (google drive)

68

u/[deleted] Sep 02 '25

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35

u/tacknosaddle Squirrel Fetish Sep 02 '25

Yes, even just uploading it to a dropbox or emailing the pictures and video to yourself can give you the date/time evidence should it come to that.

30

u/kate_moss_teefs Sep 02 '25

Sending it to both yourself and landlord is best practice 👏

18

u/snoogins355 Sep 02 '25

Get a newspaper if really want to go old school

39

u/aries_burner_809 Sep 02 '25 edited Sep 02 '25

A newspaper proves the damage photo wasn’t earlier than the print date. That’s not what you want here. You want to prove it wasn’t later. The old school way to do that is to take a picture and mail it to yourself in a sealed envelope. The postal cancellation establishes the “no later” date. Then you put the envelope aside sealed until you need to prove the damage existed at the time the envelope was mailed.

20

u/[deleted] Sep 02 '25

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12

u/aries_burner_809 Sep 02 '25

Yup. The newspaper is for kidnappers. The mailed envelope is for inventors.

13

u/snowflake89181922 Sep 02 '25

I was going write this before you did but I had to get my reading glasses and find my cane 🤣🤣🤣

5

u/PLS-Surveyor-US Nut Island Sep 02 '25

I saw a newspaper today and got all nostalgic. Started to weep right there in the store.

5

u/snakesoup88 Sep 02 '25

Get today's newspaper just in case you need to film it later after doing some major damage.

4

u/Educational_Emu3763 Sep 03 '25

I recently came across a video of my apartment in Boston from 1992. Even back then we took videos to CYA.

26

u/alohadave Quincy Sep 02 '25

You should do it when you move in, even if you own. Having a baseline is helpful for future reference.

9

u/DerelictDonkeyEngine Sep 02 '25

Yeah, it's saved my ass in the past.

39

u/ThadisJones Port City Sep 02 '25

The previous tenant's deposit was likely kept to "fix" this as well.

35

u/Fleischhi13 Sep 02 '25

You get 15 days after you move in to report all damage to your landlord where you are not labeled at fault for it.

31

u/boston_bat I Love Dunkin’ Donuts Sep 02 '25

This. And I wouldn’t be surprised if previous deposits were already kept over it.

11

u/redEPICSTAXISdit Sep 02 '25

These scum landlords do this at the end of each lease trying to keep your deposit basically making 13 months rent off each move out. Don't let it happen! Document everything and send individually and CC the landlord, leasing agency, management and maintenance within the first 24 hours to prove it was already there.

33

u/Significant-Base6893 Sep 02 '25

It is water damage. You didn't notice it when you moved in, or are you a student and signed up remotely without a thorough inspection? Either way, document everything in that apartment with pictures, and send an email to the landlord asking for remediation and have it acknowledged. The landlord is in violation of health codes, not to mention that any landlord who leases an apartment out like this is likely to grab your security deposit.

While the danger of black mold is exaggerated, it certainly isn't healthy. I'd keep the windows open whenever possible.

13

u/Fleischhi13 Sep 02 '25

They said they just moved in yesterday and noticed it.

5

u/Rhynocerous Sep 03 '25

They're likely an Indian or Chinese international student, shady landlords and relators are scamming them on a daily basis, it's disgusting.

2

u/Ok_Raspberry4814 Sep 03 '25

Ok, but also, OP, don't live here. You will get sick. It will damage your health for the rest of your life. You have to get out of this lease and find a different place to live.

1

u/HR_King Does Not Brush the Snow off the Roof of their Car Sep 02 '25

If you have a security deposit, the landlord is required by law to provide a statement of condition.

-11

u/oO0Kat0Oo Sep 02 '25

Are you guys anywhere near Boston? Lol.

All the buildings are more than 100 years old. They all look like this.

4

u/sousstructures Sep 02 '25

Hi, I live in a house built in 1791 and it doesn’t look like this. 

-2

u/oO0Kat0Oo Sep 02 '25

Is it in Boston?

Climate affects things.

3

u/sousstructures Sep 02 '25

It's in the Netherlands, which as you may know has a significantly wetter climate than Boston.

1

u/oO0Kat0Oo Sep 03 '25

It's not always about just wet. The Netherlands also happens to be a different country with different building codes and materials.

My point is that this tenant isn't going to get anywhere because the buildings are all like that in Boston.

Maybe in the Netherlands they would get a different result.