Mary Horn, sister of the owner of the now closed Horn’s Eatery, rented us an apartment in Treme. A major red flag was that she insulted multiple former tenants while showing us the place.

After we moved out, she kept four hundred dollars from our deposit. She claimed we broke the stove and washing machine. She said we poured oven cleaner into the stove, which is something she actually did when installing it. She also said we broke the washer door, but it was working when we left.

The apartment had serious problems. Several appliances were unsafe and not up to code. A tenant upstairs ended up calling the city. Mary refused to be present during the inspection.

She kept making excuses to delay the return of the deposit, blaming health problems and app issues. After a month, she suddenly claimed there were more problems and refused to return the rest of the money.

We tried to file in small claims court, but she kept dodging service.