|
Lando2 posted:What should my budget for utilities be if living with 3 other gamers like myself. The 4 of us have been looking at houses to rent and some brand new ones are available for August/September. We all play Xbox and 3 of us have PS3's for Blurays. Plus 3 Gaming PC's. And don't forget the TV's and monitors. I live in Ontario too. If you find a nice place that isn't utilities included, make sure your heat isn't electric. We moved in in February, and our first hydro bill was gigantic. But yes, turn everything off (put poo poo on a power bar, and turn that off), non peak hours, etc.
|
#
?
May 8, 2012 16:40
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 14, 2024 00:05 |
|
|
Is it normal for an apartment complex to want you to be able to show twice the amount of rent a month in income for all three people renting a place. What I mean is I have myself and two other roommates, we want to rent a 3 bedroom apartment. The rent for the place is 1200 or so. The management staff wants all 3 of us individually to show 2400 a month in income. Now we live in a place that is more expensive than this apartment now and have never had any issues paying rent, but verifying the income is going to be hard since we are tip based employees. They gave us a form to fill out and with some friends in management at my company it won't be hard to make it up, but is this common place now?
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2012 21:01
|
|
|
The Lazer posted:Is it normal for an apartment complex to want you to be able to show twice the amount of rent a month in income for all three people renting a place. What I mean is I have myself and two other roommates, we want to rent a 3 bedroom apartment. The rent for the place is 1200 or so. The management staff wants all 3 of us individually to show 2400 a month in income. I've never seen the requirement apply to each individual roommate, just the collective incomes of the people on the lease.
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2012 21:07
|
|
|
The Lazer posted:Is it normal for an apartment complex to want you to be able to show twice the amount of rent a month in income for all three people renting a place. What I mean is I have myself and two other roommates, we want to rent a 3 bedroom apartment. The rent for the place is 1200 or so. The management staff wants all 3 of us individually to show 2400 a month in income. In the area I went to college in this was used as a way of keeping out students. It wasn't something every place did by any stretch but it wasn't super unusual either, especially at nicer places.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2012 00:55
|
|
|
I went to break my lease I'd signed here today since I got my out of state job offer and won't need it anymore. The apartment complex will not let me break my lease unless I find someone to sublease the entire lease, or I could pay them $300 to find someone for me (and if they don't, and I don't imagine they'll try very hard, I'm on the hook for rent). Is this legal? I'm totally fine with paying a fee and losing my deposit and whatever, but it seems unnecessarily dickish not to let me just break it, especially since the move-in date is still three months away.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2012 01:25
|
|
|
Aquatic Giraffe posted:I went to break my lease I'd signed here today since I got my out of state job offer and won't need it anymore. The apartment complex will not let me break my lease unless I find someone to sublease the entire lease, or I could pay them $300 to find someone for me (and if they don't, and I don't imagine they'll try very hard, I'm on the hook for rent). If you signed a lease and have a copy of the contract you can probably see what the penalties are for breaking it. However, you are trying to break it the same day you sign it? I would suggest just saying you can't do it and wingeing a bit. Any reasonable company would let you break it, especially with the move in date three months away, but obviously yours isn't reasonable. Check if there are laws in your state allowing for 'buyers remorse' type contract breakages within a short time span. Nuntius fucked around with this message at 04:13 on May 9, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 9, 2012 04:05
|
|
|
Nuntius posted:If you signed a lease and have a copy of the contract you can probably see what the penalties are for breaking it. However, you are trying to break it the same day you sign it? I would suggest just saying you can't do it and wingeing a bit. Any reasonable company would let you break it, especially with the move in date three months away, but obviously yours isn't reasonable. Check if there are laws in your state allowing for 'buyers remorse' type contract breakages within a short time span. I think what they meant was "Today, I went in to break the lease I'd signed here in this state" at a presumably previous point. I would personally attempt to find a new renter for them, and have them sign a new lease with the company, NOT A SUBLET/SUBLEASE. If this is a no-go, tell them you are willing to pay a penalty in the form of your deposit, but otherwise you will consult a contract lawyer, and that any reasonable small claims judge will see a three month head start on finding a new tenant as more than reasonable.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2012 04:54
|
|
|
The Lazer posted:Is it normal for an apartment complex to want you to be able to show twice the amount of rent a month in income for all three people renting a place. What I mean is I have myself and two other roommates, we want to rent a 3 bedroom apartment. The rent for the place is 1200 or so. The management staff wants all 3 of us individually to show 2400 a month in income. I guess the individual income thing is so that if two of you bail, the rent is still covered? Even though when I had a (on the lease) housemate who wasn't making rent, the landlord told me to not cover for him and that he could deal directly with them. So yeah.. maybe it's just a way to keep out kids and riffraff.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2012 05:18
|
|
|
Backstory: I got a job offer in the area back in February, signed a lease at the end of February to move in in July (college town, have to do things mad early), stuck out this job for 4 months and decided I hated it, got a new, better job in Texas, need to break my lease that I signed back in February that doesn't even start till July since I'm moving to Texas in June. I can pay a $300 fee and they will re-rent it to someone new. But the leasing office lady copped an attitude and added "IF we find someone. If we don't find someone you're still responsible for rent" so I'm worried they'll purposely not find someone and dick me over. I can pay $100 and find someone else myself to sublet. I'm consulting the campus legal services tomorrow to see what they say. In the meantime I'm gonna dig out the lease I signed and see what that says. I've posted an ad on craigslist and have sent out a couple emails to people looking for housing. Hopefully I can get this done as painlessly as possible.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2012 05:22
|
|
|
The OP says you should start looking for an apartment up to 3 months before. Will places actually wait for you that long to move in if you express interest? Current lease ends on June 30th. If I started now and find a place I want, will the landlord not waste their time with someone who wants to move-in so far in the future?
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2012 07:26
|
|
|
Raimondi posted:The OP says you should start looking for an apartment up to 3 months before. Will places actually wait for you that long to move in if you express interest? Depends on the complex. If you go in saying you can't move in till June 30th, they can see if they have any current tenants with leases up around then. You wouldn't be able to see the actual unit though since people will still be living in it. As for my issue: I re-read the lease and there's a tiny paragraph hidden in the middle of a ton of legalese that basically says "we won't break this lease for any reason ha ha sucks to be you if you need to get out of it" so I guess I'm screwed unless I find myself a replacement. Back to dealing with craigslist idiots who can't read ads.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2012 14:07
|
|
|
Raimondi posted:The OP says you should start looking for an apartment up to 3 months before. Will places actually wait for you that long to move in if you express interest? Depends on your location. In Western bumblefuck they will rent apartments way in advance because a month or two of lost rent isn't a lot of money and it may be hard to find a new tenant. In major cities with very low vacancy rates, the norm is to start looking for apartments a few weeks in advance, anticipating a movein date no less than in one month (such as starting your search in early/mid June for a July movein). In a city it's not a problem because you have a hundred or more buildings to choose from, but if it's a small town there may only be a few apartment complexes so you can't rely on there being multiple apartments of the size/layout/price you want available at any time.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2012 14:36
|
|
|
Raimondi posted:The OP says you should start looking for an apartment up to 3 months before. Will places actually wait for you that long to move in if you express interest? I'm a little bit of a sperg and I like to spend hours on craigslist/the rest of the internet figuring out price ranges and what to expect in terms of amenities:dollars. I usually start doing this about 6 months in advance (I am insane, seriously). I also live in a place where there are a lot of renters (college town) and apartments tend to go quickly. If you want a good place then and to have a lot of options, you have to start early. In my last apartment I had to give three months' notice if I was planning to move out, and I doubt my area is the only one where this is the case. A month in advance is like the minimum here. On the other hand, I've heard that in e.g. the San Francisco area (and this could be wrong; it's hearsay) it's actually normal to start looking about a week in advance of moving. That would make me hyperventilate. Basically, it totally depends on the area. When you call complexes, tell them you're planning to move around whateveritis, and ask when they'll know if they have units available. Some places only know a month in advance, some two, some three. Smaller properties like houses or small buildings sometimes don't advertise until rather close to their move-in date, however. It really depends. Look on CL and see what the norm is for your area.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2012 14:59
|
|
|
Low Carb Bread posted:Depends on your location. In Western bumblefuck they will rent apartments way in advance because a month or two of lost rent isn't a lot of money and it may be hard to find a new tenant. In major cities with very low vacancy rates, the norm is to start looking for apartments a few weeks in advance, anticipating a movein date no less than in one month (such as starting your search in early/mid June for a July movein). In a city it's not a problem because you have a hundred or more buildings to choose from, but if it's a small town there may only be a few apartment complexes so you can't rely on there being multiple apartments of the size/layout/price you want available at any time. This isn't always true though, it's very dependent on your location. In Boston, for instance, a huge number of the leases start on September 1 because of the college crowd. Because of the huge amount of turnover and demand at that point, it's not unusual for landlords and tenants to be making arrangements months in advance. You can already find plenty of craigslist ads for 9/1 dates now. If you started looking only a few weeks in advance, you would basically be stuck with whatever apartments had their tenants fall through at the last minute. If you're not familiar with the area, it's never a bad idea to start looking as early as you can. In the worst case, you'll find that there is nothing available for your start date, but you'll get a sense of the what is out there. Best case, you'll find that you're in a place where stuff rents months in advance and you won't be left hanging.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2012 15:44
|
|
|
Is there a good website to get moving quotes without having to give them every single piece of contact information ever? I just wanna get a ballpark estimate without giving them my name, email address, three different phone numbers (seriously), current address (all I want is an estimate from zip code to zip code, assbutts), mother's maiden name, first born child, virgin sacrifice, etc.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2012 21:02
|
|
|
From my experience, no. I think the only thing you will be able to get without giving that much information is the cost of renting a truck or something similarly straightforward. Related to this, if you are actually getting movers, you shouldn't put any faith in a quote that isn't based on an actual visit to your house or, at worst, a full description of the move. Any company that is willing to give you an estimate without finding out if you live on the fifth floor and collect pianos is going to be just throwing some totally wild number at you.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2012 21:12
|
|
|
Ashcans posted:Related to this, if you are actually getting movers, you shouldn't put any faith in a quote that isn't based on an actual visit to your house or, at worst, a full description of the move. Any company that is willing to give you an estimate without finding out if you live on the fifth floor and collect pianos is going to be just throwing some totally wild number at you. Good point. I think I'll hold off on talking to movers till I have a definite move date and address to move to. I don't have anything too ridiculous to move, and I'm only moving one piece of furniture, personal belongings/clothes, and the contents of my kitchen so it shouldn't be too bad.
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2012 22:23
|
|
|
Aquatic Giraffe posted:Good point. I think I'll hold off on talking to movers till I have a definite move date and address to move to. I don't have anything too ridiculous to move, and I'm only moving one piece of furniture, personal belongings/clothes, and the contents of my kitchen so it shouldn't be too bad. Yeah, you absolutely want them to do an in-home estimate (and apparently some states actually legally require moving companies to do so rather than giving you a ballpark and calling it good). I had one company try to ballpark me at $2500 to move a bedroom's worth of furniture and about 25 boxes ~150 miles. A second company, the one I went with, came out and did an in-home estimate and came out 1k cheaper (and the actual mover guys did a great job, no furniture damage, etc.)
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2012 04:47
|
|
|
Ashcans posted:This isn't always true though, it's very dependent on your location. In Boston, for instance, a huge number of the leases start on September 1 because of the college crowd. Because of the huge amount of turnover and demand at that point, it's not unusual for landlords and tenants to be making arrangements months in advance. You can already find plenty of craigslist ads for 9/1 dates now. If you started looking only a few weeks in advance, you would basically be stuck with whatever apartments had their tenants fall through at the last minute. I could see that with Boston (~4% vacancy rate). When I think of major cities I have Manhattan in mind which hovers at ~1% vacancy. Most other US cities are in that 4 to 6% range, especially outside of the most desirable areas.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2012 17:31
|
|
|
I'm beginning this process however it's going to be much shorter and quicker than what some of you have discussed as it'd be for a job that starts very soon (I'd most likely be starting by the 21st though that's not guaranteed yet.) Just a few quick questions I may have missed the answers to: Is there an average wait time on hearing back about an apartment? Also any members in the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area have suggestions on apartment complexes/areas? Luckily I quite literally will have everything I own in my car (3 suitcases and a 19" TV) and have enough money to purchase the bare essentials once I find a place. Thanks
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2012 18:35
|
|
|
I can't say I've ever really had any wait time on hearing back from a complex I contacted. They've always been eager enough to rent their units that they've given me details and arranged visits almost immediately.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2012 19:30
|
|
|
The longest part of any apartment rental process I've ever had to deal with is the credit report and background check and thats entirely dependent on what company the property goes through for that. It should still take less than a couple days though.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2012 19:36
|
|
|
xeria posted:I can't say I've ever really had any wait time on hearing back from a complex I contacted. They've always been eager enough to rent their units that they've given me details and arranged visits almost immediately. 2508084 posted:The longest part of any apartment rental process I've ever had to deal with is the credit report and background check and thats entirely dependent on what company the property goes through for that. It should still take less than a couple days though. From what my brother said when he moved from his Army base to a civilian place 4 years ago was it took like 4 days, but I was just trying to figure out if it takes that long across the board or if its just dependent on the leasing office or something. Thanks for the answer, I can stay in a hotel but clearly don't want to stay in one for an extended period of time. Mekchu fucked around with this message at 19:44 on May 10, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 10, 2012 19:41
|
|
|
Yeah it took about 4 days or so for the credit/background check to clear for my current complex. I've also moved into one where I checked out the apartment on a Wednesday and was moved in by Saturday. That's the fastest turnaround I've ever had, I think. Question of my own -- I just moved into the apartment I'm in now and since the first day I've had issues with the toilet to where I've had to put in multiple maintenance requests with the office for someone to come out and look at it. They've already plunged it and snaked but that lasts for maybe one flush before it's seemingly clogging up again with no provocation. I know there were young kids living in the unit before me so it's possible one of them jammed something down in there that's just not quite getting dislodged, I guess. At what point, in their continued inability to fix something like this, can I actually demand/request either a different unit entirely or to be allowed to break the lease with no penalty and find an apartment elsewhere? Has this ever happened to anyone else before (where repeated maintenance requests aren't actually getting a major issue corrected in the unit)? I've had weird maintenance issues like this with a previous apartment but that was with the AC, something I could make do without if necessary (obviously not the case with a toilet) but no matter how many I put in a maintenance request and had someone come out and look at it, they never actually managed to fix it.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2012 20:04
|
|
|
xeria posted:(and apparently some states actually legally require moving companies to do so rather than giving you a ballpark and calling it good)
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2012 05:22
|
|
|
xeria posted:At what point, in their continued inability to fix something like this, can I actually demand/request either a different unit entirely or to be allowed to break the lease with no penalty and find an apartment elsewhere? Has this ever happened to anyone else before (where repeated maintenance requests aren't actually getting a major issue corrected in the unit)? What does your lease say about times the tenant can break a lease?
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2012 20:44
|
|
|
I have a few questions for you guys regarding apartments, and securing jobs when moving out of state. Here's the situation: Due to some family issues I won't get into, I need to be moving back to Florida in the next few months. When I stayed there previously, I was able to live with my girlfriend and her grandparents, but that isn't going to be an option this time. I'm currently living in Illinois. I'm probably going to have to be staying by myself for an indeterminate amount of time. The people I would normally have gotten as roommates are going to be unavailable. I need to know what my cheapest and/or best options are for having a place to stay in the area. I am looking to move to Jacksonville. I have never lived on my own, so this is absolutely terrifying to me. Here are the details: - I'm male, going to be 26 in 2 months. - I own my own car. - I have no debt, but I also have no credit cards or anything of that nature. I know absolutely dick about credit, let alone my own credit. - I have my 2-year degree and would like to get my 4-year. I'm not sure how feasible this would be. I don't want to pay out-of-state tuition, and I believe you have to have lived in the state for at least 6 months in order to avoid that? I may be wrong, but that's how I've understood it. - I'm currently employed by a nation-wide organization that has a branch in Jacksonville, but there aren't many positions open at that branch and since it's in a different region I'm not entirely sure how much working in the Illinois region counts in my favor. This would be my first choice in jobs as I would like to continue working for this organization. I feel like it would be best to have at least something lined up before I actually get down there, but I have no idea how I could go about that except for just applying at places and hoping they won't mind me not being physically there for the interview. I could really use some help here, as having employment lined up is my biggest source of anxiety right now. - I'm not sure how much money I'm going to need to have saved up. Currently I'm saving everything I can from my paychecks and selling off large portions of my video game collection (  ), which I think I can get a good $2000-$3000 from after everything is said and done. I know the general wisdom is "at least 3 months rent/utilities/food, best case scenario 6 months" but as I've said this would be my first time living on my own and I'm not sure just what the ballpark range of figures that is. Also, I'm sure it varies widely depending on the living space, roommate situation and utility usage. - I have some furniture in storage in Jacksonville, mostly a few chairs, a desk and shelves, but no bed. I am willing to sleep on a futon or whatever, as long as it isn't the floor. - I'm not sure how soon I would even be able to move into a place within the time frame of getting down there. I'd like to not have to stay in a motel or whatever for any longer than I absolutely have to. How long does the apartment hunt-negotiation-credit check-move in process usually take? I'm an extremely anxious person by nature so of course I'm sweating over the details of every dumb thing but I think that I'm generally pretty low-impact when it comes to spending. I only drink water and can survive on pretty little food, I don't watch TV and pretty much just read books, and I still have a Jacksonville library membership, which is more than enough for me to remain entertained on. I do have friends in the area too, but they're all pretty much broke and/or already in a living situation that would prevent me from taking them up as roommates. My ideal situation would be to not have to get a roommate, at least for a while, but I don't know how likely that's going to be. I'm not terribly comfortable with moving in with someone I don't know, but if it comes to that I'll bite it. I just have to be down there at least by the end of the summer, and I'd like to make sure I'm ready so I don't fall on my rear end.
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2012 20:39
|
|
|
Heath posted:
We are here to help, friend. My first suggestion would be to go to creditkarma.com and check your score, as well as going to annualcreditreport.com and checking at least one of your free full credit reports. The shape those are in will help determine how easily you can rent your own apartment without a co-signer or roommate. Most apartments I've applied to consider good to be above 600. Second, consider your score and then consider applying for a credit card. I reccomend a credit union, but because you are moving interstate, perhaps a larger bank like Citi or Capital One would be a good choice. An emergency card can be a life saver while traveling, and in life in general. UNLESS you know that you are bad with money, in which case, disregard this! Third, apply for related jobs in the area. You are absolutely right that having a job set up there first will make everything easier. Many apartments will ask to see your contract/pay stubs to meet the income requirement to move in, and wont accept your old job in another state as proof that you aren't a deadbeat. There are, however, exceptions. Fourth, rethink roommates. Temporarily renting a room from someone (or a bunch of college students subleasing) during the summer is a great way to enter an area with unknown credit, unknown expenses, and unknown job situation. It allows you to live cheaply while going to interviews and also negating things like six month leases. Move-ins depend on the area, but take about 2 days to arrange to see a place, about three days to approve you, and between that day and two weeks to move you in depending on when the last lease runs out, tenants move out, and cleaning is done. Remember: SAVE UP A DEPOSIT! To calculate how much money you need to save, you need to know how much rent you expect to pay and how little you can live on. For me, if my rent is $800, and I know I can live on $500 a month, I will save up 3x$1300 minimum, preferably as much more as I can manage. Remember to include: utilities, car insurance, cell phone, minimum payments on credit cards, netflix account, and other monthly bills, not just gas and food. Good luck!
|
|
#
?
May 13, 2012 01:53
|
|
of a man in need of a xanax
|
You can setup renting your apartment ahead of time. When I moved from Arizona to Texas, I rented my apartment sight unseen and handled everything over the phone, fax or fedex. It wasn't really an issue. Just tell them you are relocating for work. I really question your financial ability to make this move.. but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. I would recommend saving as much as possible. 6,000 dollars would probably be a good number, but might not be feasible for you. Also you're 26 years old... it's time to learn about credit and start using it wisely.
|
|
#
?
May 13, 2012 05:53
|
|
|
skipdogg posted:Also you're 26 years old... it's time to learn about credit and start using it wisely. Get a credit card, something with a reasonable limit - $1000. Stop using your debit card or cash for any purchases and purchase everything on your card. Pay it off in full every single month. By doing this you are a) building a great credit score, b) getting the extra value of a credit card (such as guarantees, cashback etc), c) not actually paying a dime in interest or credit charges. You'll need the credit score in years to come to get a mortgage. Unfortunately explaining that you don't have credit cards because you are opposed to using credit won't convince your bank manager you are safe to loan to.
|
|
#
?
May 13, 2012 08:15
|
|
|
Applying for a credit card has been one of my concerns. Is there a specific brand I should go with? I belong to a credit union here in IL that my parents started some 20-odd years ago. They're pretty local, though, so would it be wise to go through them if I'm moving out of state?
|
|
#
?
May 13, 2012 13:39
|
|
|
Heath posted:Applying for a credit card has been one of my concerns. Is there a specific brand I should go with? I belong to a credit union here in IL that my parents started some 20-odd years ago. They're pretty local, though, so would it be wise to go through them if I'm moving out of state? You can get a secured credit card if you want to go as safe as possible. Here is a thread to ask all your financial questions in: Newbie Personal Finance Thread. I'd check out the budgeting thread if I were you, too. If you're a podcast person, I really like Marketplace Money for personal finance information & stories & advice, and a lot of people swear by Dave Ramsey for budgeting & debt reduction (very conservative politics but solid advice). Eggplant Wizard fucked around with this message at 13:56 on May 13, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 13, 2012 13:54
|
|
|
Heath posted:Applying for a credit card has been one of my concerns. Is there a specific brand I should go with? I belong to a credit union here in IL that my parents started some 20-odd years ago. They're pretty local, though, so would it be wise to go through them if I'm moving out of state? Credit unions have shared branching so they have credit unions that can access your account when you give them the information. You can check here to see who your CU has shared branching with in your new city.
|
|
#
?
May 13, 2012 14:11
|
|
|
Nuntius posted:Stop using your debit card or cash for any purchases and purchase everything on your card. While there may be other added benefits to using a credit card (points, etc), I'm pretty certain transactions used with a debit/VISA card are protected the same as a regular credit card, but that I am only half sure of. Everyone who is staking out on their own should visit the personal finance thread in BFC so you are aware of how to build good credit because you will absolutely need it no matter how you feel about it. Without credit, and if you accidentally give yourself bad credit because you didnt know maxing out your card and paying minimums was a bad idea (hi, 19 year old me!), you are going to be screwed on getting anything you cant pay for in cash, like apartments or homes. In theory you could probably pay cash for a home, but if you have the financial restraint to save 100k+, you probably have the good sense to read BFC and learn how to use a credit card responsibly. Always go with a credit union over a bank! That is the only piece of advice I can 100% give on the subject. Some credit unions only require you to prove you live in your city/county to get an account. Oh and make sure if you do go the secured route that you get one with a bank/CU that reports to the credit agencies. A lot of banks don't (unless thats changed in the last few years). I have a secured card through US Bank to help improve my credit and they do actively report it to all three major bureaus. ladyweapon fucked around with this message at 15:08 on May 13, 2012 |
|
#
?
May 13, 2012 15:02
|
|
|
2508084 posted:
Oh, true things in here. Credit cards can be used, but they should be paid off every month in full. Don't carry a balance. That's like paying 120%+ of the price on everything you buy.  You don't need to use the CC all the time, but I believe after four months it will go inactive and not count for credit scoring as much as an active card would, so you might want to use it like once a month. I use one of mine to pay for cat food (every couple months) and one for my cellphone bill (every month). That way they stay active, I pay them off in full, done. I actually pay my cards more than once a month because I like to make sure I never get late fees and it's easier to remember to pay them right after I make a purchase than wait till the end of the month. For all things cards, read carefully. Look for annual fees and penalties. And 2508084 is right- I suggested a secured card, but you definitely need one that reports to the agencies or it doesn't do you any good.
|
|
#
?
May 13, 2012 16:21
|
|
|
How many months does it take before any credit actually starts building on my report, generally? I went to creditkarma and entered my info and it said I have a "thin file" (which is to be expected) and it recommended me a few card options that (I assume, I have to look deeper yet) will actually go toward improving my credit. Regarding credit card expenditure, I've always heard that it's a bad idea to buy everything on the card, but that the best option is to buy some small things and pay the balance immediately. I used to listen to Clark Howard on the radio all the time and I think he recommended only making (reasonable) "lifestyle"-type purchases on the card (like grocery) while paying monthly bills in cash. This makes sense to me since it seems like paying monthly bills on a credit card is simply transferring debt from one place to another.
|
|
#
?
May 13, 2012 16:59
|
|
|
Heath posted:How many months does it take before any credit actually starts building on my report, generally? I went to creditkarma and entered my info and it said I have a "thin file" (which is to be expected) and it recommended me a few card options that (I assume, I have to look deeper yet) will actually go toward improving my credit. skipdogg posted:The utilization factory doesn't have a history. If one month you're at 80% utilization, and next month your down to 10, your score can and will change dramatically. It's not like making a late payment where the effects gradually go away over time, it's pretty much instant.
|
|
#
?
May 13, 2012 17:30
|
|
|
What is utilization? Is that just the amount of credit that I use of my total limit or the amount that I've accrued and paid off?
|
|
#
?
May 13, 2012 17:44
|
|
|
Heath posted:What is utilization? Is that just the amount of credit that I use of my total limit or the amount that I've accrued and paid off? It's how close you are to your limit. So if your card is limited to $5000, and you've only charged $100, you have very low utilization. If you have charged $4000, however, you'd have higher utilization. eta: Oh yeah, there's a credit card thread in BFC that is useful.
|
|
#
?
May 13, 2012 18:24
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 14, 2024 00:05 |
|
|
I have a question about some stuff a former tenant left at my house. This guy lived in my house last summer, but left a few things that he said he'd move to his new place later, and then a few months after he moved out, he went batshit and we had a huge falling out. Or rather, he had a huge falling out with me and my friend/housemate and has since been avoiding us like the plague. This includes not ever getting his stuff from my house. I'm not going out of my way to remind him (because I'd rather not deal with him), but I'd be happy to give him his stuff if he said something. We're moving in a couple months, and it would be nice to unload some of this stuff that I don't want sitting around in our new place. I've poked around some PA property abandonment laws, but it doesn't seem to cover issues like stuff getting abandoned in your care and whether you can legally take possession over it if the original owner never recovers it after a certain period of time - what I'm finding seems to apply to real estate property and such. Does anyone have knowledge about this sort of situation or at least know where to look to learn about it?
|
|
#
?
May 16, 2012 20:47
|
|