Published 21:00 IST, October 29th 2020
Instagram Influencer squats at Montauk house after not paying $14K rent, owners file suit
Instagram Influencer Marisa Hochberg decided to extend her stay in a rented home in Montauk, and didn'y pay half of the rent. Owners file lawsuit.
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Instagram influencer and Purist executive sales director Marisa Hochberg has stiffed Cheryl Schechter and Matthew Schechter who are the homeowners of a beautiful Montauk home. According to a report by the New York Times, Marisa had rented the house in June and here lease ended on August 8. She didn’t just extend her stay even after the owners denied but also hasn’t paid half of the rent amounting to $14,450 as mentioned in the lawsuit filed by the couple. Read along for more details.
Marisa Hochberg's stay in the Montauk house and details
Marisa had leased the house in May and agreed to pay $31,750 as rent to the couple for the three-bedroom, two-bathroom house at Fairview Avenue. Her lease started from June 1 and ended on August 8, 2020. The 32-year brand consultant paid the first half of the rent and failed to pay the other half of $14,450 that she owed, as per the court files.
However, she kept posting pictures from around the house on her now-private Instagram account. Not just this she added hashtags like #myownhome on her posts. As her move-out date of August 8 was just around the corner, Marisa’s father called up the Schechter’s to ask if his daughter could stay longer. The answer from the homeowners was in the negative, but the couple also mentioned that they would help Hochberg find herself a new place.
After being denied an extension, Marisa used for her defence the Cuomo Government’s suspension of evictions during COVID pandemic. She messaged the Schechter’s asking if they were going to ask a 91-year-old to leave their house in the middle of a pandemic, referring to her father who is listed as an occupant on the lease, as reported by the New York Times. She then went on to stay at the Montauk home till October 12 and avoid eviction by saying that she had contracted the Coronavirus.
After doing everything possible to make her move out, the couple chose to file a law-suit against Hochberg in the Suffolk County Supreme Court and asked for a judgement to be passed that makes Marisa leave their premises. They have asked her to pay the pending rent along with interest and also bear another $35,300 that they have lost on as they could not lease it to someone else due to Marisa’s extended stay. The lawsuit is still pending.
21:00 IST, October 29th 2020