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Does anyone have experience with apartment complexes that split the water bill? My building has it set up where tenants evenly split 70% of the building's water costs. When we moved in, the managers indicated that each water bill typically be $50-60 per month. Since the first bill, it's been more like $80-90 per month. Does that seem high to anyone else? Is there a chance they're overcharging because they know there's no way to individually measure each unit's water use? OTOH our building is really old and has a lot of leaky plumbing. I always take care to make sure my faucets aren't dripping but I'm not sure about people in the other 19 units. I don't know if it's high because of that, or if we're getting ripped off, or what.
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Dec 31, 2012 21:53
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UnclePlasticBitch posted:Does anyone have experience with apartment complexes that split the water bill? Yep. There's incentive to be wasteful because a tenant in a 12 unit building can receive the full benefit of enjoying a 30 minute shower every day, while only paying for 1/12th of the water cost. You might ask to see the water bill and see how they are calculating everyone's split. It could be a mistake on their end, or it could be that whoever told you it would be $60/month was overly optimistic on average usage and billing rates.
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Dec 31, 2012 22:10
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I don't know if this is appropriate for this thread but I'll put it here: Having an HVAC problem in my two story house (renting): there's a staircase basically right at the door and all the heat from the lower level whooshes right up the stairs to the second floor as soon as it's dumped out of the vents. I'm in SC so the house is understandably built with cooling in mind, but it makes the two months where it's legitimately cold here unbearable to sleep / work in. Anybody thought of a good way to counteract this? I've tried just closing all the vents upstairs but they're pretty cheap and lovely so it has only helped a bit. There's like a 20-25 degree temperature gradient from my bed to my kitchen cupboards.
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Dec 31, 2012 22:26
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UnclePlasticBitch posted:Does anyone have experience with apartment complexes that split the water bill? There should be a system in place to measure each unit's water consumption. It could be as simple as someone having a leaky toilet because that can run the water bill up real fast. My normally $30-50 water bill skyrocketed to $90 when one of my toilets started leaking. You should bring it to the landlord's attention so they can check toilets and stuff. On the other hand, people who aren't held responsible for their own water usage will abuse the hell out of it. We include the water with the rent we charge only because if the tenants don't pay it it'll come back to bite us in the rear end (the town can put a lien on the property if town utilities go unpaid). This led to my roommate/tenant taking two showers and a bath every day and doing 5-6 load of laundry a week because she didn't have to pay for the water. As for my situation (if anyone cares), no one broke in while I was gone, but it looks like someone was snooping around my back porch. Stuff that was too heavy to be blown around was moved and my storage shed was open. I usually have to get out a knife and pry the storage shed door open (really warped would be an understatement) so it's not like it can just open by itself. There's no reason for maintenance to be poking around there either. Guess whoever it was was super disappointed that all I've got in there is a dryer 
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Dec 31, 2012 23:42
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Stew Man Chew posted:I don't know if this is appropriate for this thread but I'll put it here: First, take a looked at the cold air returns on the first floor, them(it) being clogged with dust could do it. Other than that you could try sealing the upstairs registers*. Pull them out and cover the bottoms with tin foil, making sure the foil is pinned between the floor and register, then poke or cut holes in them until you get the amount of air flow you want. Or you can buy inserts, but those are for people with more money than sense. This sort of question does pretty well in the DIY forum. *It's important to not completely seal a room, it's very dangerous to spend long periods of time in an inclosed space without air flow. Seriously, don't do that. Just thought of something else, if you can, look on the hot air vent coming off the furnace for a handle, if it's there, turn it. It'll be attached to a baffle in the vent that'll adjust where your air goes. Aggressive pricing fucked around with this message at 04:06 on Jan 2, 2013 |
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Jan 2, 2013 03:54
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I have 60 books and can only ship 20. A sad day... 
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Jan 3, 2013 21:56
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COUNTIN THE BILLIES posted:I have 60 books and can only ship 20. A sad day... You should look into shipping them using Media Mail with USPS. You can ship something like 50lbs of books in an oversize box for just $20 (I just ballparked this on their website from Chicago to Boston, using the downtown zipz). It's not even that slow to ship.
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Jan 3, 2013 22:14
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How dorky is it on a scale of one to ten that I get a thrill when Unfuck Your Habitat reblogs one of my before and after posts? 
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Jan 6, 2013 23:19
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So I swore before we went on vacation that there was a weird smell in the bathroom. I had cleaned it really well and we left for the weekend. When we got back the weird smell was definitely still there. I think it is like sewage gas or something. My husband insists it doesn't exist and I'm imagining it. Is it possible I'm smelling sewage through my toilet or something? How do I fix it? ):
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Jan 7, 2013 06:08
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john mayer posted:So I swore before we went on vacation that there was a weird smell in the bathroom. I had cleaned it really well and we left for the weekend. When we got back the weird smell was definitely still there. I think it is like sewage gas or something. My husband insists it doesn't exist and I'm imagining it. Is it possible I'm smelling sewage through my toilet or something? How do I fix it? ): The smell may be coming from the trap in your under-sink S-pipe. This trap holds water preventing sewer gas from rising through your drain. There's also a trap under your tub drain. Pour some bleach down your drains and let it sit. If your tub or sink have been slow to drain, use Drano/Liquid Plumber instead of bleach. Don't mix bleach and other household chemicals.
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Jan 7, 2013 07:19
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Run some water for several minutes through all your drains. There is a water trap in the u-bend that prevents sewer gases from entering the building, but if the drain hasn't been used for some time (for example going on vacation) that water can evaporate and let in the sewer smell that you're picking up. Once there's some water in there the smell shouldn't be let in anymore.
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Jan 7, 2013 07:21
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UnclePlasticBitch posted:Does anyone have experience with apartment complexes that split the water bill? I think it's pretty common to have water included in the rent, which works out to the same thing, except that they adjust the charge for water once a year instead of monthly.
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Jan 9, 2013 18:16
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john mayer posted:So I swore before we went on vacation that there was a weird smell in the bathroom. I had cleaned it really well and we left for the weekend. When we got back the weird smell was definitely still there. I think it is like sewage gas or something. My husband insists it doesn't exist and I'm imagining it. Is it possible I'm smelling sewage through my toilet or something? How do I fix it? ): When that happened to us it was the pipe under the sink that was smelling. They replaced it and bam, smell gone.
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Jan 10, 2013 00:39
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john mayer posted:So I swore before we went on vacation that there was a weird smell in the bathroom. I had cleaned it really well and we left for the weekend. When we got back the weird smell was definitely still there. I think it is like sewage gas or something. My husband insists it doesn't exist and I'm imagining it. Is it possible I'm smelling sewage through my toilet or something? How do I fix it? ): The easiest thing to do first is make sure you have a plumbing trap under the sink. That's common sense, but I have once seen a house where some idiot didn't put one in. It's the S-shaped pipe that is under the sink's drain, that constantly holds water in bottom, in order for there to be a constant "plug" against sewer gas leaking back into the house. You could also smell the base of your toilet to see if it seems stronger there. If so, you may need to replace the wax ring under the toilet. That's very easy to do yourself. Or as kells said, it's possible you have some gross crud in the drainage pipe immediately under your drain.
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Jan 10, 2013 02:24
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I have a medium-sized one-bedroom apartment with old parquet floors, and I'm looking for a Persian-style rug to put in the living room so I can put down some floor pillows and make it a lounging-area, somewhere to sit on the floor while playing musical instruments, etc. I measuring-taped out the rough area I'm looking for and it lines up with the reasonably-common 6'x9' carpet size. Oddly enough, I've spent time in Afghanistan where they sell such carpets just all over the place, and bought a few as wall-hanging gifts for friends, but I never bought one for myself. But I'm not looking so much for those, since I'd be just as happy with something modern machine-made with durable synthetic dyes. Looking less for an heirloom and more something I won't get upset over spilling beer on, and cheap enough so giving it away won't suck if I move somewhere too far to ship it. I checked out a Overstock.com and a few similar sites, and the really cheap "Persian carpets" have bad reviews for poor construction, graphics fuzzier than in example pic, etc. I've gone on Craigslist and, setting aside claimed "hand-knotted vegetable-dyed silk from Isfahan" kind of stuff, I mostly see some rugs with the label of Western companies (IKEA, Pottery Barn), and then a number of sketchy ads from the same Persian families up in Northern DC where every single week they have new posts for $100 rugs ever week with: "We brought this over from Iran years ago, and it's been carefully stored rolled up in our guest room, but we need the space, so selling this for a song." Anyone have advice on how to cheaply get a 6x9 Persian-ish rug that's reasonably low-maintenance and under $150? Advice on how to avoid buying sketchy crap that will fall apart in a year?
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Jan 11, 2013 04:54
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:I have a medium-sized one-bedroom apartment with old parquet floors, and I'm looking for a Persian-style rug to put in the living room so I can put down some floor pillows and make it a lounging-area, somewhere to sit on the floor while playing musical instruments, etc. I measuring-taped out the rough area I'm looking for and it lines up with the reasonably-common 6'x9' carpet size. For that size and price range either give up on having a Persian rug and go for something ikea or go for a cheap knockoff from overstock. Very rarely will any good deals show up on Craigslist because people know they can get more for the style.
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Jan 11, 2013 14:59
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I thought about making a thread for this, but this thread seems appropriate. My girlfriend and I purchased a house as of yesterday, and we're planning on moving into it in March. We've been loyal customers of an apartment company for 4 years. Our lease is up at the end of February. We received a "courtesy" call today letting us know that our 60 day notice if we were not going to renew our lease was Dec 27th. What does this mean? That if we want to move out, we have to pay a "month to month" rate for the 11 days "overdue" that we are. This exorbitant month-to-month rate means that 11 days will cost us seven hundred dollars. What the gently caress kind of courtesy is that, telling us after we can't do anything? Even if we were planning on being out of the apartment by the end of February, which we are, we still have to pay this super high rate for that 11 days. Is there anything we can do to fight this? Help!
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Jan 11, 2013 23:42
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the posted:I thought about making a thread for this, but this thread seems appropriate. Call the property management company, explain the situation, and politely ask if you can stay the extra 11 days at your usual rate.
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Jan 11, 2013 23:48
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Dominoes posted:I'm assuming the problem is that you're moving into a new place 11 days after your current lease ends, and your property management company will let you stay the extra time but at a higher rate. No not quite. Our lease expires at the end of February. They're claiming that we are required to give them 60 days notice that we weren't renewing our lease. Which means we had to give them notice on Dec 27th. They called us *today* to "remind" us of that. Because it's 11 days or so after that Dec 27th date, if we want to not renew our lease we have to pay them a prorated rate for that 11 days, even though we're still moving out at the end of February.
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Jan 11, 2013 23:55
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the posted:No not quite. I've lived in a community that does that 60 day crap. It's bogus. In my case, it was written into the lease. Your only hope is probably going to be talking to a sympathetic human who can make the decision to waive that. I'd start with the GM of the property, and then move up to a central office if that doesn't work. They live and die by online ratings from websites that rate apartments, and the threat of having a 4 year tenant leave bad feedback or calling up the local news will terrify them.
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Jan 12, 2013 00:05
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I'll look into that. Here's the lease section FYI: quote:At the end of the initial rental term, this Agreement shall be automatically renewed on a month-to-month basis under the same terms and conditions unless ONE of the following events occurs: 1) You or We provide the other with a written notice of termination at lease 60 days prior to the end of the initial term or at least 30 days prior to the end of any month-to-month term, OR 2) We provide You with a written notice at least 60 days prior to the end of the initial rental term that any renewal term will be at a different stated month rent and/or with different stated terms and conditions, AND if within ten days after receipt of our notice, you provide us with a written notice of termination effective at the end of the initial rental term.
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Jan 12, 2013 00:08
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Read the rest of the contract carefully, I don't see their "punishment" written into what you quoted. Yes, they wanted you to give them 60 days notice, but they didn't say anything about charging you by the day for it. I really don't get how they think they should be able to get away with charging you higher rates for 11 days...that you already paid for. If they didn't spell that out, it definitely seems challengeable to me.
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Jan 12, 2013 00:19
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the posted:No not quite.
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Jan 12, 2013 00:31
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the posted:No not quite. You said you've been with them for 4 years right? Seems to me like your "initial term" has expired 3 years ago.
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Jan 12, 2013 06:31
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Dominoes posted:They're charging you a higher rate for a period within your lease that you've already paid for, that constitutes the time between 60 days prior to your lease end and the time you told them you will not renew your lease? Doesn't make sense. I think he means that since he has to give 60 days notice and it's already 11 days past the 60-days-until-end-of-lease mark, the best he can do now is give 60 days notice immediately and then (in March, after the lease ends) he'll have to pay for 11 days worth of rent at the month-to-month rate.
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Jan 12, 2013 06:39
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john mayer posted:For that size and price range either give up on having a Persian rug and go for something ikea or go for a cheap knockoff from overstock. Very rarely will any good deals show up on Craigslist because people know they can get more for the style. Fair enough, I've been checking Overstock, Pottery Barn, IKEA, etc, and it's mainly Overstock that appears to have some decent stuff that's sold by an actual brand name and has a large number of good reviews. I did momentarily thing that getting a [url=]dhurrie[/url] (Indian flat cotton floor covering) might be cheaper but apparently they're not any more affordable than pseudo-Persian rugs. For my purposes, something to use to mark out a "lounging on the floor with pillows" area, any advice on which material I should go for? A lot of them are wool, but I somehow keep thinking those would be harder to maintain with a dustbuster, or feel scratchier to lie down on. Am I totally off there? For my purposes might it be better to get one made from cotton, polypropylene, nylon, or similar? Or is a wool rug going to be easier for maintenance and comfier than I'm imagining? EDIT: By happy coincidence I was at a friend's dinner-party on Saturday night, and he had a modern synthetic dhurrie very similar to the ones I'd been windowshopping. He humoured me as I checked out the pile/feel, and lifted a corner to check the label. Turns out it's the same Safavieh brand that gets such good reviews on Overstock (as in hundreds of reviews of 4-5 stars). Fab, Pottery Barn, and others carry the brand, but Overstock has some pretty solid deals, so I'll just shop that for a bit until something jumps out at me. TapTheForwardAssist fucked around with this message at 05:10 on Jan 14, 2013 |
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Jan 12, 2013 20:14
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Anyone know where to something along the lines of a Loftwall but cheaper?
Sunshine89 fucked around with this message at 13:34 on Jan 15, 2013 |
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Jan 14, 2013 05:46
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Sunshine89 posted:Anyone know where to something along the lines of a Loftwall but cheaper? Look for "room divider," "folding screen," "privacy screen," "panel divider" and similar. It's not the same but the same basic function. e: They can get pretty expensive too, so you may have to dig. Try Wayfair. Eggplant Wizard fucked around with this message at 16:06 on Jan 16, 2013 |
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Jan 16, 2013 16:03
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Our current apartment has a bit of a mold problem, and I'm not sure what to do about it. The landlord replaced the shower enclosure a few months ago and I noticed a lot of black mold on the wall, and there were some mold spots on the bathroom ceiling that got painted over. We keep getting sick, and think it may be because of the mold. Should we get one of those home testing kits and press the matter with the landlord, or buy an air purifier and try to suffer through until we move in June?
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Jan 19, 2013 02:37
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serewit posted:We keep getting sick, and think it may be because of the mold. Should we get one of those home testing kits and press the matter with the landlord, or buy an air purifier and try to suffer through until we move in June? I would get both a testing kit and an air purifier, and press the landlord to have the mold professionally removed. Maybe try to get out of the lease early if it's making you seriously ill.
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Jan 19, 2013 03:38
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Black mold can kill you, serewit. Your landlord has to get the mold professionally removed and ideally set you up in another apartment during the cleaning process, or pro-rate your rent so you don't have to pay for the time you lived there while it is technically "uninhabitable".
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Jan 20, 2013 21:33
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serewit posted:Our current apartment has a bit of a mold problem, and I'm not sure what to do about it. The landlord replaced the shower enclosure a few months ago and I noticed a lot of black mold on the wall, and there were some mold spots on the bathroom ceiling that got painted over. We keep getting sick, and think it may be because of the mold. Should we get one of those home testing kits and press the matter with the landlord, or buy an air purifier and try to suffer through until we move in June? Whoa, you people are freaking out a bit much. There are many species of mold that come in a rainbow of colors. Not all mold that is colored black is the famous "black mold" and there are varieties of mold that are not black that can make you just as sick. Get a testing kit or call in an expert to do it if you're absolutely worried about it. If its something dangerous obviously the land lord is responsible for it. Before doing that I'd probably just try to clean that poo poo up with some bleach water first, there's no need to make a mountain out of a molehill by demanding professional removal for what sounds like normal, crappy apartment with poor ventilation bathroom mold.
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Jan 21, 2013 07:21
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And also recognize that (the dangerous) mold becomes dangerous at high concentration rates. It's already all around you. Which is why if you leave something wet laying around, it will grow mold, because the mold is already in the air. If a kit just confirms the presence of mold it's not doing anything other than telling you what you already know. The only useful mold test is one that compares interior and exterior concentrations.
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Jan 21, 2013 15:28
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Is there a general ball park estimate of how much it cost to furnish an apartment, or even better a list of "forget-me-nots?" I'm going to move in with my  GIRLFRIEND when possible who recently received a degree in Guidance Counseling. She doesn't have an existing job because of internships and from being a graduate assistant (to get a free masters degree). Finding a job in the winter for Guidance is tricky, and all of her sub jobs seem to have dried up. Shes a bit gunshy about getting a temporary retail job just to move out of her folks place, so I may have to wait a bit longer.I'm asking because we both have different ideas on the cost of actually moving. I've been reading all the resources in the thread and I've got about 6,500 bucks saved and a decent income. I think thats probably enough for in the very least a barebones apartment, since I already have a computer, a TV, a desk, and some kitchen stuff. She think it's going to cost more than I think it is, but neither of us really know for sure.
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Jan 22, 2013 22:02
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http://www.squawkfox.com/2008/09/04/printable-first-apartment-essentials-checklist/ It'll always cost more than anticipated, because nobody ever stops to think about buying a plunger and a scrub brush for the toilet. Got an extra wide window? Well, now you need a third panel and a longer bar for the drapes. The plastic mat that goes between your computer chair and the carpet. The $5/month to rent the modem from the internet provider. Coin laundry, the welcome mat, a basic tool kit, a small vacuum cleaner, bleach, Windex, paper towels, at least two spatulas for when the first one is sitting in the sink dirty and you're feeling lazy. And I don't even know how much we spent on baking ingredients, spices and condiments--you don't think about pepper, olive oil or basil until you cut open that first tomato and have nothing to garnish it with. I think $700 should get you started. Go pester your family and see if anyone's got a set of utensils or plates in their basement, ugly 1980s floral dishes aren't so bad when they're free.
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Jan 22, 2013 22:30
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I don't really have any advice other than actively estimating costs with your girlfriend. I personally feel like moving can cost as much as you want, depending on what you're willing to pay for/are able to pay for. Some costs you might accrue: -Security deposit/other apartment crap: depends on the apartment -Moving costs: are you renting a truck, storage unit, buying boxes/tape/padding? Are you paying for movers? -Hardware store trip: you probably need some stuff like picture hangers, pans for the stovetop (if it's that style), cleaning supplies, key copies -Costs from living out of a suitcase for however long it takes you to move (eating out, hotels, whatever) Then there are the furnishings. Budget-wise, it's difficult, because you really can be very cheap about this, or very spendy. I would try to come up with some situations with your girlfriends to see how you both feel about these kinds of hypotheticals. -What do we absolutely need to buy for our new apartment? (A bed?, A shower curtain? A trash can?) -What do we need to buy in the next month? (A kitchen table? A microwave?) -What are some long term things we'd want? (Sofa? Rug? Decorations?) -Are we OK with picking up stuff off the curb? If so, are there conditions (hard furniture only, no uphoulstered items?) -Are we OK with buying things at Goodwill or the Salvation Army? -What's the MOST we'd be willing to pay for [item]? You might just be really mismatched in terms of expectations, or forgetting some stuff.
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Jan 22, 2013 22:39
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Jet Set Jettison posted:Is there a general ball park... Garage sales can be life savers for this sort of thing, don't get any soft furniture but odds are you can get a ton of kitchenware and basic necessities at great prices.
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Jan 23, 2013 05:48
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Jet Set Jettison posted:Is there a general ball park estimate of how much it cost to furnish an apartment, or even better a list of "forget-me-nots?" It really depends on you. If you go out and buy all new furniture, that 6500 will disappear fast. Worry about the basics and then pick stuff up as you can. I can tell you from experience though, the first things you should bring with you to a new apartment is a pack of toilet paper, a plunger, your bath/shower supplies and a shower curtain. You don't want to drop a massive dook in an unfamiliar toilet and then realize you don't have a plunger when it starts backing up. You also don't want to be running to Walmart at 3AM after a long day of moving because you don't have a shower curtain for your bathroom.
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Jan 23, 2013 17:27
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If this is your first time living alone/together, I seriously recommend going the route of Goodwill/Thriftstore stuff and buying things pretty much as you need them (barring the essentials like the above). If you go into bed bath and beyond and start picking stuff up prospectively its easy to end up with a ton of expensive crap that you don't actually use. Once you have some basics its much better to just buy a pot when you realize that you need one. Plus, I mean, if you guys end up breaking up you won't have a ton invested in shared property. Obviously you're not thinking about that now, but its something that could happen and its easier to walk away from $500 in thrift store stuff than $6000 in high-end furniture.
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Jan 23, 2013 18:12
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If you're moving in together, have one of you listed as the primary resident on the lease and the other as a resident so one of you can GTFO in case of a breakup. When my fiancé (then boyfriend) and I moved in together, I was the primary and he was a resident. We had been together for a while and were pretty serious, but I was still hesitant to tie myself financially to him until I had a ring on my finger. Just my two cents. Some jackass left their grill in front of my unit and now I'm getting nasty calls and letters from management telling me to move my grill. I've told them repeatedly its not mine but I don't think they believe me. If they slap me with a fine I will be most unhappy. One more reason not to renew my lease in a few months. I've discovered I can rent a whole house for not much more than I'm paying now for a townhouse, is there anything additional/different to do when looking at houses vs apartments?
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Jan 24, 2013 01:26
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