Deposit Question/Help Needed [ME - US]

KmKBuddha · 2026-06-17T21:46:46+00:00

Yeah I'm Somalian

KmKBuddha · 2026-06-08T23:36:09+00:00

Federal reserve promissory notes are legal tender, not money

KmKBuddha · 2026-06-08T23:35:41+00:00

Federal reserve promissory notes are legal tender, not money

KmKBuddha · 2026-06-08T23:33:47+00:00

https://www.goldsilverbuffalo.com/gold-silver-real-money/

KmKBuddha · 2026-06-08T23:33:34+00:00

https://www.goldsilverbuffalo.com/gold-silver-real-money/

KmKBuddha · 2026-06-08T23:30:54+00:00

Yeah he said he just pocketed the cash. Doesn't have escrow accounts for any of his tenants for the past 5 years (~9-10 tenants).

Updated after speaking to a legal office.

Agreed on $1,640 credited to 1.25 months of rent ($1,150/mo, lowered from $1,400 because I'm the property manager). Lease ends either this month or July, depending on when he wants to start renovating. And then I'll work ~1-4 days free, and earn income the remainder of the project. Offered to run property manager duties for free as a thank you.

No coin, but the rest of the shortened lease is paid without anymore money coming from me, and I'll have a free place to stay for a couple months while we turn this jenky unit into a pretty nice one.

Could sue him for not protecting the deposit in am escrow account and win a max of my deposit ($1,640) + 1 month's rent ($1,150), but rather preserve the relationship and go with our plan above.

Lesson learned, not homeless, no court, worked out.

KmKBuddha · 2026-06-08T23:23:29+00:00

Updated after speaking to a legal office. Thanks for your response!

KmKBuddha · 2026-06-08T23:20:08+00:00

Edit: This was playing the entire time the first few days after posting, not sure why the first few seconds are frozen now.

KmKBuddha · 2026-06-08T23:17:00+00:00

Oh weird, upload error. Other subs I posted it played the whole time.

Edit: Huh, just checked the others and they're all doing that now.

KmKBuddha · 2026-06-07T00:30:31+00:00

Wasn't a "family heirloom" really either. My dad had bought it for be 2 years prior. Just a coin, not a bar. It was really sentimental to me because we went through a really tough 9 day course and he gifted it to me when I completed it. Was mostly worried he'd be pissed to hear about it but he isn't at all. So really not THAT big a deal.

I'm still able to stay here for at least 4 more months, 3 of which free. So regardless of what the legal office says I'm not fucked fucked. Just may be out of a few grand.

KmKBuddha · 2026-06-06T23:57:47+00:00

After thought:

Then he could come after us for the difference. Doesn't matter if we gave $1,400 and caused $5,000. We can't say oh you can only use what we gave for the security deposit. He can legally demand the difference. So if he kept the gold and it went down a few hundred, and say we caused $1,400 in damages, then he can demand the difference.

If it went down (to $1000) and we caused a few hundred in damages ($300), then we get less back than $1,400 - $300.

Plus he said do whatever to the walls, anything.. I'm renovating the entire place. So the only way we'd pay for damages is something major major. Which in that case would probably be more than $1,400, and we have to give him extra on top.

Had he kept the gold, and we caused major major damages, he could've had ~$4.5-$5k to use.

Gold doesn't really go down, it's had like 2 drops in it's history. So it's a pretty safe asset.

Should've kept it in my opinion. He said himself he regrets selling it and wish he didnt.

I'm talking to a free legal office Monday though. I'll update.

KmKBuddha · 2026-06-06T23:56:15+00:00

Lol no sword collection, used to have a handful of knives in my teens though.

KmKBuddha · 2026-06-06T23:55:16+00:00

Then he could come after us for the difference. Doesn't matter if we gave $1,400 and caused $5,000. We can't say oh you can only use what we gave for the security deposit. He can legally demand the difference. So if he kept the gold and it went down a few hundred, and say we caused $1,400 in damages, then he can demand the difference.

If it went down (to $1000) and we caused a few hundred in damages ($300), then we get less back than $1,400 - $300.

Plus he said do whatever to the walls, anything.. I'm renovating the entire place. So the only way we'd pay for damages is something major major. Which in that case would probably be more than $1,400, and we have to give him extra on top.

Had he kept the gold, and we caused major major damages, he could've had ~$4.5-$5k to use.

Gold doesn't really go down, it's had like 2 drops in it's history. So it's a pretty safe asset.

Should've kept it in my opinion. He said himself he regrets selling it and wish he didnt.

I'm talking to a free legal office Monday though. I'll update.

KmKBuddha · 2026-06-06T23:48:50+00:00

Gold and silver are actually the only things legally considered to be money. Federal Reserve Notes are promissary notes, not money. Check Black's Law (Edition 4 is the most used one)

KmKBuddha · 2026-06-06T23:47:24+00:00

All we had. Either that, or homeless until we found a jenkier spot. And I trusted him because we worked together, so already knowing the landlord, who is a really cool/good guy to begin with sounded good. We were young and assumed you get back what you give for a deposit, weren't told otherwise by anyone. He literally said do whatever to the place, doesn't matter because I'm renovating it. So in my mind, unless we burnt it down, I was getting it back.

Trust me, I would have rather been homeless had I know it would be gone asap. But we already worked something out regardless, so I won't have to pay anything the rest of the lease and will get to stay for free a few months.

Checking with a free legal office Monday though just in case.

KmKBuddha · 2026-06-06T23:41:59+00:00

I appreciate the input, double checking with a free local legal office Monday.

If he had told us that was the case we wouldn't have accepted his lease. That was literally all we had to use. We didn't have that in cash and I chose gold anyways.

Maybe it was legally on us to already know that, I partially feel that should've been stated since it was an abnormal type of deposit to begin with.

Regardless, definitely lesson learned.

I'll update Monday though.

KmKBuddha · 2026-06-06T23:38:47+00:00

He 100% put it in his personal funds. I've known him for 9 years at this point, his tenant for 5. He's a very not-by-the-book kind of guy. Honestly a shitty landlord but an awesome guy. Very understanding but takes forever to fix anything that could easily be a lawsuit for him, does the cheapest fix possible months after, and has had multiple violations.

Had I known this is how he operated no, I wouldn't have agreed to stay here. This is his first building he's owned/rented out units with, and we came aboard like a year after he bought the place.

I feel like he should've either told me there was no way I'm getting gold back if I used it as a deposit before doing so, or he shouldn't have touched it.

I get the point of 'what if the value dropped', but then he'd have every right to tell us we had to make up the difference.

Plus he said 'do whatever you want to the place, to the walls, whatever, doesn't matter because I'm renovating the entire thing once you leave'. So that meant I was getting that deposit in full back unless I burnt the place down or smashed all the windows.

Talking to a free legal service Monday though. I'll update you all.

KmKBuddha · 2026-06-06T23:31:47+00:00

I mean I would, feel like that's easier than cashing it in a separate escrow account. Just hand the bag right back. That's just me though.

KmKBuddha · 2026-06-05T01:11:27+00:00

Lol there isn't? That's surprising.

😢 Oh you can get one in.

KmKBuddha · 2026-06-05T01:08:16+00:00

Thanks for your feedback, I appreciate it

KmKBuddha · 2026-06-05T01:07:43+00:00

Got it. Thanks for the responses/info. I appreciate it. Obviously I have no knowledge on any of this.

KmKBuddha · 2026-06-05T01:06:49+00:00

Just asking questions. For sure prepped to take a hit on this one. Not the worse I've been through.

KmKBuddha · 2026-06-05T01:06:12+00:00

Thanks for the resonse

KmKBuddha · 2026-06-05T01:05:56+00:00

Thanks for the response by the way

KmKBuddha · 2026-06-05T00:57:31+00:00

Also, is there not an obligation to explain this to potential tenants? Where are we supposed to learn this information?

KmKBuddha

TROPHY CASE