First question is how did you pay the deposit and your monthly rent? Example: Check, cash, money order. Second do you have a copy of the lease agreement?  As far as you paying from the first until you moved the landlord is entitled to that,but it should be at a prorated basic which is the amount you paid for rent divided by number of days in month. I say you send her a certified letter stating that she can take the 500.00 out of your deposit of 975.00 and send you a payment for 475.00. As to your belongings I can assume all day as to why you left them there in the first place and what happened but if the landlord didn't change the locks you still had access to get your stuff which would be your fault if the landlord changed the locks and the property wasn't accessible to you then it is her fault and you are entitled to some compensation which will raise a question about the 500.00 she is talking about. Bottom line don't pay her anything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Until you clarify what is going on with your deposit, and if she takes you to court welcome i. Hope this helps!!!:) Sorry for the issue this can be very frustrating I know from a tenants point of view myself as well as a landlord!!

 My first question to you is did you give notice that you would be vacating the property? If you did so then as long as you did not leave the place in a ruin that would be equal to the amount that was your deposit, then you should get your money back. As for your stuff if you moved out and did not take all your stuff or did not get a written agreement from your landlord about how long you have to get the rest of you things then she can charge a storage fee, or a dumping fee each day that she kept your stuff there. If in fact she kept it at all.There is many things that she could say on her behalf of why she has not given you your deposit back and if she can back up what she says in the court of law then you will have a hard time getting anything back.I only know this much because I talked to a lawyer when the same thing happened to me, so hopefully you followed the 30 day notice and also have a signed letter stating she would give you x amount of days to get your stuff.Good luck!