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Ashcans posted:How to get an apartment in Boston for the late summer: Back in the early nineties my brother was going to go to grad school in Boston. I was unemployed at the time and offered to drive out there with him from here in Los Angeles, help him find an apartment and move in and then fly back to L.A. We drove out in... September? From Los Angeles to Boston, no cruise control. Broke down in Green River, Utah but got back on the road after a day. We arrived in Boston and began apartment hunting only to find that there was nothing. Everything had been rented months earlier. The closest we came to finding him a place was a grotty studio that was stuffed with the prior occupant's property because they had disappeared. Wound up driving with him back to Los Angeles. What a goddamn trip that was. At least I got to see The Pru. 
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Jun 12, 2017 20:54
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Ashcans posted:How to get an apartment in Boston for the late summer: This is all 100% true and if you were in Boston the only prayer you'd have is to get into a roommate situation
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Jun 13, 2017 04:53
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Yeah, Boston is a really tough rental market that requires both careful planning and serious brass balls. I personally ended up calling off the apartment split plan, since I'm not really in a position to handle figuring out a new living situation - I have nowhere near enough time. I'll have to look again beginning of next year.
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Jun 13, 2017 19:07
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Ashcans posted:How to get an apartment in Boston for the late summer: I did exactly this about a year ago in Los Angeles. Currently month to month, taking my time to casually looking for an upgrade now  The only thing I would add is to limit Craigslist searches to "posted today" and try to be one of the first to contact for any listing that shows up, otherwise almost every post you contact will have already been rented.
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Jun 13, 2017 20:35
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Ashcans posted:How to get an apartment in Boston for the late summer: I lived in Boston for the last 10 years and good lord is this accurate. The rental market would be so much better there if it wasn't tied to the college students needing places for September. There's a Boston-based Facebook group titled "Rooms for under $900" that I used one year there and wound up meeting some cool people.
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Jun 16, 2017 23:47
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Come to the Boston thread in LAN, where we complain about apartment prices and students all year round!
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Jun 17, 2017 03:31
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I'm stumped here, I've asked the last 12 landlords and property managers I've spoken to about renting what I can estimate the utilities to cost and they give me "well I don't know everyone is different" or "that's confidential." I ask if I can speak to the current tenants or past tenants and get stonewalled as well. The utility company doesn't have anything for me either so I'm not sure where else to look.
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Jun 26, 2017 23:41
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Wrong thread I'm dumb
BigBallChunkyTime fucked around with this message at 01:34 on Jun 27, 2017 |
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Jun 27, 2017 01:26
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Azuth0667 posted:I'm stumped here, I've asked the last 12 landlords and property managers I've spoken to about renting what I can estimate the utilities to cost and they give me "well I don't know everyone is different" or "that's confidential." I ask if I can speak to the current tenants or past tenants and get stonewalled as well. The utility company doesn't have anything for me either so I'm not sure where else to look. Privacy is real, and even if it wasn't none of us really know/care what a tenant uses as long as we're not paying for it. Why do you think the info of what someone else did in a unit will help you at all? Not trying to be rude, I'm genuinely curious how you think this would work.
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Jun 27, 2017 01:49
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You would know whether it would cost like $100 or like $500 to heat or cool the place?
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Jun 27, 2017 02:02
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i like nice words
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Unload My Head posted:Privacy is real, and even if it wasn't none of us really know/care what a tenant uses as long as we're not paying for it. It's the law to have this information in Chicago.
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Jun 27, 2017 02:10
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Unload My Head posted:Privacy is real, and even if it wasn't none of us really know/care what a tenant uses as long as we're not paying for it. To compare how much its going to cost to rent. Some places include all utilities, some utilities or none of the utilities. Its weighing the place for 800$/month with everything except for electric included vs the 700$/month place with nothing included. To top this all off landlords are constantly asking for references so they should also be willing to provide references as well. If they can't name a single tenant they think would talk positively of them then I don't want to rent from them.
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Jun 27, 2017 02:35
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Yea, 'how much will this place cost to heat' is super important information. I remember viewing a weird loft space that was super cheap, and seemed great until the agent admitted that it was basically badly converted industrial space and had basically no insulation and a huge heater thing in the ceiling and would cost hundreds of dollars to heat in the winter. You don't expect this information to be perfect, but its completely reasonable to want some concept of the expense, at least on an order of magnitude.
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Jun 27, 2017 02:50
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Azuth0667 posted:I'm stumped here, I've asked the last 12 landlords and property managers I've spoken to about renting what I can estimate the utilities to cost and they give me "well I don't know everyone is different" or "that's confidential." I ask if I can speak to the current tenants or past tenants and get stonewalled as well. The utility company doesn't have anything for me either so I'm not sure where else to look. As the landlord, if we don't pay the utilities, there's no way we'd know what it costs in a particular spot. I literally have no idea because I have never had utilities there. I might have owned the building for 50 years, but if I've never held utilities there, I can't tell you what it costs. In the letting process, things I say to you can be legally binding . If I say something like "I think they run between $100 and $500 a month" and then we have a cold snap over the winter, and instead of keeping the house at 68F like a normal human you keep it at 82F, and suddenly the utilities are $600, I am liable for the overage because I lied to you. In reality, I didn't lie to you - I gave you my best estimate for normal people in normal times. But that doesn't mean I can't be held liable for the overage. I also never answer "is this a safe neighborhood" for the same reason. Edit: I tell people to call the utility and get an estimate, but I honestly have no idea if they even do that. They can amalgamate data and give you a $/sf estimate for the area, but I don't know if they do that anymore, what with "privacy" and all.
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Jun 27, 2017 20:47
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There's nothing stopping you from knocking on a few doors in the building and asking the other tenants.
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Jun 27, 2017 21:17
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Anne Whateley posted:You would know whether it would cost like $100 or like $500 to heat or cool the place? The previous tenant's information doesn't help you a lick though. If it's $500 it could have been some idiot who kept it cranked to 78* during a cold snap. Like wise if it's $100 it could have been a G.I. who was there six months out of the year and slept in a sleeping bag with the heat off. (Lest you think I'm being silly, these are both things I have actually seen happen in a building.) Eponine posted:It's the law to have this information in Chicago. Interesting. How do they get around privacy laws? Does Ill. just not have any? photomikey posted:I also never answer "is this a safe neighborhood" for the same reason. TBF though, that question is always asked by some rear end in a top hat who is fishing for something you can't legally tell them anyway, so they can suck it in general. Unload My Head fucked around with this message at 04:39 on Jun 28, 2017 |
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Jun 28, 2017 04:35
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Unload My Head posted:TBF though, that question is always asked by some rear end in a top hat who is fishing for something you can't legally tell them anyway, so they can suck it in general.
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Jun 28, 2017 06:44
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Unload My Head posted:The previous tenant's information doesn't help you a lick though. If it's $500 it could have been some idiot who kept it cranked to 78* during a cold snap. Like wise if it's $100 it could have been a G.I. who was there six months out of the year and slept in a sleeping bag with the heat off. (Lest you think I'm being silly, these are both things I have actually seen happen in a building.) Sure it does though when you follow it up with "500$ how did it cost that?"
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Jun 28, 2017 14:56
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Just wanted to pop in and say the plastic shrink wrap stuff for moving is a loving godsend. In 24 hours I get to play Tetris in a Uhaul and this poo poo is making it so much easier.
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Jun 28, 2017 15:51
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Azuth0667 posted:Sure it does though when you follow it up with "500$ how did it cost that?"
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Jun 28, 2017 18:42
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photomikey posted:Right, but how is this any more useful than "I have no idea". I mean, the idea is that elec/gas is $40/mo if you keep the lights off all the time and never run the heat, or $500/mo if you burn all the lights and let the A/C blow until it's 65. You won't be doing either of those things - but only YOU know how you like it (hot in the summer/cold in the winter, or 72F constantly), and the answer to the "how much are the utilities" question is 100% reliant on that. It lets you know if the person you are talking to is a moron that decided to leave all their doors and windows open then crank the A/C down to 50 for the month. Or if they were reasonable and kept it at say 80F during the day while they were at work and put it at 72F when they got home only to come back to a huge bill because the place isn't insulated at all and the A/C had to run constantly to keep the temperature down. I get where you're coming from that its entirely subjective depending on who's renting the place but, unless the place is going to include some utilities it has to be asked so a good budget can be estimated.
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Jun 28, 2017 21:41
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You seem to think that you are going to talk the property manager into letting you interrogate the existing tenant or something, and woo buddy do I have news for you about this rental market.
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Jun 29, 2017 02:09
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Johnny Truant posted:Just wanted to pop in and say the plastic shrink wrap stuff for moving is a loving godsend. Yeah, it's useful stuff even if all I did with it was protect my TV when moving. It's annoying the kit they sell you says it has all you need, but doesn't contain a small amount of that stuff.
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Jun 29, 2017 02:18
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Azuth0667 posted:It lets you know if the person you are talking to is a moron that decided to leave all their doors and windows open then crank the A/C down to 50 for the month. Or if they were reasonable and kept it at say 80F during the day while they were at work and put it at 72F when they got home only to come back to a huge bill because the place isn't insulated at all and the A/C had to run constantly to keep the temperature down. I get where you're coming from that its entirely subjective depending on who's renting the place but, unless the place is going to include some utilities it has to be asked so a good budget can be estimated.
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Jun 29, 2017 07:56
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photomikey posted:1) What on earth does it matter whether the last person who lived in your apartment was a moron or someone of good sense, 2) if you want to know how well it's insulated, just ask 3) if the landlord makes the tenants pay the utilities, how on earth would the landlord know how much the utilities cost? It lets you know whether the information you got from them about the utilities is good or not. I've rented places where the landlord gets the bill then hands it to the tenant hence why I ask.
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Jul 2, 2017 00:38
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Cross-posting this in a couple of places: So I have a one bedroom New York apartment, which means space is at a super premium. I'm looking for a corner workstation-type desk to fit in my bedroom. Needs to accommodate a 24" monitor (just one though!) and have a place for a tower computer somewhere. I like the design of the IKEA Micke (http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/0189064_PE343559_S5.JPG) but it only fits up to a 22" monitor. Anyone have any suggestions for something similar that might work? I have nice high ceilings so I can definitely go high with the desk, but I'd prefer not to take up too much more horizontal space than the Micke does since I also have to fit a Queen mattress in the same space.
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Jul 4, 2017 18:26
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Consider if it necessarily has to be a corner desk, and not just a regular desk, so you look into one wall rather than into the corner: Stand your computer on the floor against the corner. Place some low boxes on the table and stand your monitor on top of the boxes. That both gives you some additional storage, and lets you raise the monitor higher, which can be an ergonomic advantage. Finally, install shelves on the wall above the desk.
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Jul 4, 2017 21:06
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photomikey posted:In the letting process, things I say to you can be legally binding . If I say something like "I think they run between $100 and $500 a month" and then we have a cold snap over the winter, and instead of keeping the house at 68F like a normal human you keep it at 82F, and suddenly the utilities are $600, I am liable for the overage because I lied to you. I'm sorry, this loving cannot be true. That's not how leases work.
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Jul 9, 2017 05:20
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The question is never whether or not anything is "true", the question is whether you have time to sit around in small claims arbitration all day and then end up with a tenant that you can't evict because it's going to be considered a reprisal. Cover your rear end and live.
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Jul 9, 2017 07:03
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WampaLord posted:I'm sorry, this loving cannot be true. That's not how leases work. It's as true as "we can't give away expired food because we'd get sued." Which is to say it's something people use to justify being a dick, even though there's literally not a single documented case of it ever happening.
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Jul 9, 2017 08:01
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Unload My Head posted:The question is never whether or not anything is "true", the question is whether you have time to sit around in small claims arbitration all day and then end up with a tenant that you can't evict because it's going to be considered a reprisal.
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Jul 9, 2017 08:05
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Thanatosian posted:It's as true as "we can't give away expired food because we'd get sued." Which is to say it's something people use to justify being a dick, even though there's literally not a single documented case of it ever happening. Again, you're confusing a completed "documented" case with the threat of nuisance lawsuits in small claims court, which happens constantly in this country and is a common tactic for people who have a lot of time on their hands to extort money and/or harass people. In photomikey's hypothetical he is being threatened with a suit for $100 in small claims court. He has to take two days off of work to defend himself (one day for arbitration, one day for proper court). Assuming he is gainfully employed at a median wage of $60k/year he is going to lose $500 in income defending himself against this poo poo. So he just gives the tenant the $100 and waits 11 months to boot them at the end of the lease. It sucks but sometimes capitalism actually does work for the small guy. A fun story: In the state of Washington the arbiter you see before you get a date for small claims court cannot force either party to drop the suit. It's still a good system as it prevents people who sue but no-show and people with easy talk-it-out issues from wasting the judge's time, but it can totally be abused. We had a tenant sue us and my (then) boss went to the arbitration. When the arbiter asked the tenant what he wanted to settle for he said "Nothing, I'm just here to waste *landlord's* time." The arbiter can't stop him so he's forced to schedule a court date. We appear and the tenant, of course, no-shows. Fun times!
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Jul 9, 2017 17:41
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Well, if you don't want to deal with all that, don't be a loving landlord. It's hard to have sympathy for rent seekers.
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Jul 9, 2017 17:43
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WampaLord posted:Well, if you don't want to deal with all that, don't be a loving landlord. He says in the middle of a massive housing crisis. Good thinking. WampaLord posted:It's hard to have sympathy for rent seekers. Why? Serious question. Property is a margin game. You don't have a good enough credit score to buy a house. Your landlord does. You make a payment to him, he makes a slightly smaller payment to the bank. He provides a service to you (basically, the ability to pay a small fee to ride on his credit). Why do you hate him providing you with this? Unload My Head fucked around with this message at 17:49 on Jul 9, 2017 |
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Jul 9, 2017 17:44
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Unload My Head posted:In photomikey's hypothetical he is being threatened with a suit for $100 in small claims court. He has to take two days off of work to defend himself (one day for arbitration, one day for proper court). Assuming he is gainfully employed at a median wage of $60k/year he is going to lose $500 in income defending himself against this poo poo. So he just gives the tenant the $100 and waits 11 months to boot them at the end of the lease. It sucks but sometimes capitalism actually does work for the small guy. This is all besides the point of *if I don't pay the utilities, there is no earthly way I would know how much the utilities cost*.
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Jul 9, 2017 19:15
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guys photomikey is right on this one. Ask the landlord how good/new the windows are, whether the heat is gas, electric or oil, and do your best estimate. If it's a real hardship then get one of those year-round amortization plans with the gas company
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Jul 9, 2017 20:45
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photomikey posted:This is particularly true when the tenant gets free legal aid from any number of groups, and the landlord gets to pay to defend themselves. Hi there, I used to work with legal aid groups, they don't take frivolous cases, in fact, they don't take anywhere remotely close to all the perfectly valid cases. Don't be a slumlord. Unload My Head posted:Again, you're confusing a completed "documented" case with the threat of nuisance lawsuits in small claims court, which happens constantly in this country and is a common tactic for people who have a lot of time on their hands to extort money and/or harass people. Like this guy.
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Jul 9, 2017 23:19
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Unload My Head posted:Why? My rent went up 10% last year. It's going to go up 10% again this year. The landlord is going to wait until the absolute last possible legally allowable moment to inform me of this (and may even wait until after, since he knows I'm unlikely to try to fight it since I don't want to lose the place I live). Are his costs going up 10% a year? No way in loving hell. The last place I lived I had to move out of because they increased my rent by 80% over the course of 7 years. Did their costs go up by 80%? Abso-loving-lutely not. And then after driving me out of my place, they had the nerve to try to retain my security deposit, after their property manager told me "I think you're good to go, just make sure there's nothing to haul away" when I requested a walk-through. But pretty obviously they just retained everybody's security deposit, and then hoped that no one would have the nerve/tenacity to sue them (which is a pain in the loving rear end to do if you don't work for a goddamn law firm). In addition to jacking up their rents to optimum cockbag levels, said landlords will then turn around and use that money to lobby against their tenants' interests, fighting density and anything that could possibly drop their overinflated property values in the slightest. Landlords get a bad reputation because most of them are terrible people. I look forward to the day my investment in guillotine futures pays off.
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Jul 9, 2017 23:28
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Thanatosian posted:Yes, God knows the landlords only provide housing out of the goodness of their heart. Those poor, put-upon job creators, whereas the renters are the true leeches on society, taking advantage of the property owners' goodwill! I think investing in arms is a more secure option, it's not limited to executions but can be applied to that market as well 
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Jul 10, 2017 10:19
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IRQ posted:Hi there, I used to work with legal aid groups, they don't take frivolous cases, in fact, they don't take anywhere remotely close to all the perfectly valid cases. Don't be a slumlord. Really though, if your tenant has to call legal aid you've utterly hosed up as a landlord. Mostly because if you rented to someone who can't afford an attorney how did you expect them to pay you? But also because no one calls legal aid first, and it's guaranteed you dropped the ball somewhere. But it never ceases to amaze me how people gently caress up simple stuff. Like, we had to create the Fair Housing Act to explain to dumbshit landlords that if a black person shows up and gives you money you should take their money. Mind boggling.
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Jul 10, 2017 15:36
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