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CatStacking
Jan 9, 2010

~A Purely Preposterous Pussy~
I'm in the middle of a saga of issues with the water at my apartment.

Last week, my bath tub wouldn't drain and my toilet overflowed. Went into the basement, and the basin tubs/sinks in it had overflowed with sewage that was now all over my floor. Luckily, most of my stuff had been transferred to large tupperware tubs a couple months ago. The ONE cardboard box that had stuff on it was on an uneven part of the floor that made a little island for it.

So I called my landlord at 11 at night. The next morning, he had a plumber in who removed my toilet, did something clever with the line out to the city sewer and all was fine.

Until last night. I flushed my toilet, and the water kept cycling in the reservoir. Went out for dinner with my boyfriend and came back and it was still going, an hour and a half later. Now, when I flush the toilet, it keeps cycling and overflows the tank.

I have to get a hold of my landlord again to let him know. I'm lucky that we're on super good terms. Ever since the sewage incident he's been texting me to make sure everything at the house is okay/I'm okay. Which is nice. But at the same time, I feel bad to have to inconvenience him again.

I get it, it's his responsibility, not my fault, etc. but I guess I just feel bad about it.

I know what I have to do but I guess I just needed somewhere to rant about it.

That said, have you ever had the same issue with your toilet? If so, was it an easy fix? I've just been shutting the water to the toilet off after it's done flushing.

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Flash Gordon Ramsay
Sep 28, 2004

Grimey Drawer
Probably just a problem with the flapper and/or float. Shouldn't cost more than $20 to fix. You could do it yourself if you were so inclined.

Ashcans
Jan 2, 2006

Let's do the space-time warp again!

You should never feel bad about calling your landlord with building fixes. I mean if you just kept taking huge dumps and clogging the toilet and then calling him that would be one thing, but if the problem is something in the plumbing system then he needs to deal with it. No sane landlord actually wants a tenant to try to deal with that stuff themselves, because they will almost always cheap out/halfass it and make the thing worse in the long run.

I'm not sure I follow the current problem, though. Are you saying that after you flush, the toilet tank refills from the mains but doesn't cut off and just keeps filling until it overflows? If so, take the top off the tank and look in there. It could be something as simple as the float getting stuck so the tank doesn't know when it's full and keeps filling (which might be fixable just by unsticking it). If water is backing up somewhere in the toilet though, the plumber probably needs to come back.

CatStacking
Jan 9, 2010

~A Purely Preposterous Pussy~

Ashcans posted:

You should never feel bad about calling your landlord with building fixes. I mean if you just kept taking huge dumps and clogging the toilet and then calling him that would be one thing, but if the problem is something in the plumbing system then he needs to deal with it. No sane landlord actually wants a tenant to try to deal with that stuff themselves, because they will almost always cheap out/halfass it and make the thing worse in the long run.

I'm not sure I follow the current problem, though. Are you saying that after you flush, the toilet tank refills from the mains but doesn't cut off and just keeps filling until it overflows? If so, take the top off the tank and look in there. It could be something as simple as the float getting stuck so the tank doesn't know when it's full and keeps filling (which might be fixable just by unsticking it). If water is backing up somewhere in the toilet though, the plumber probably needs to come back.

I'm not very technical in terms of this sort of thing, so here it goes...the flappy thing that covers the hole that puts the water in the actual bowl closes the way it should. The black floaty thing that goes up with the water level does that, normally too. The little spout thingy that runs water into the tank just keeps going. And then it overflows.

And that was the most useless/embarassing paragraph I've ever written in my life.

skipdogg
Nov 29, 2004
Resident SRT-4 Expert

The black floaty thing controls a switch, when the water fills up to where it's supposed to be the black floaty thing should close the valve letting water into the toilet. It's not doing that. Try pulling up the black floaty thing and see if the water stops. If it doesn't, turn off the water at the valve next to the toilet (probably behind it close to the floor, should be silver) and call the landlord. It's a 20 minute job with a bucket, pair of pliers and a 20 dollar part kit from the home improvement store.

Ashcans
Jan 2, 2006

Let's do the space-time warp again!

It sounds like there is a problem with the flow valve. If the plumber had to move your toilet around something got rattled or jammed in the process. Usually there is a screw or similar way to adjust the valve at the top that could work, but it might just need to be replaced. Honestly it seems like you should probably just call the landlord and tell him what is going on - better to get it done properly than call him in two weeks to say the bathroom flooded because you've been sticking a screwdriver into the toilet to close the valve and it fell out one night (or whatever).

This is one of the benefits of not owning a house!

Flash Gordon Ramsay
Sep 28, 2004

Grimey Drawer
This is what you need to fix it. Plus an adjustable wrench and a couple of towels. It's a lot easier than it looks. It is, however, your landlord's responsibility to fix it, so don't feel like you have to do it yourself. But it really is a 20 minute/20 dollar job.

Sunshine89
Nov 22, 2009
I really hate bugs. I'm not going to bother with some useless "green" stuff that bugs laugh at. From what research I have done, the most toxic, lethal to anything that may dare invade my home poo poo appears to be Doktor Doom Residual Insect Spray. Does anyone have any experience with it? Also, I'm not a PCO and it says "available to licensed applicators only". Is that kind of like buying hair products from a salon supply place, or will they care enough to not sell it to me? It does mention agricultural applications too- would farmers typically need special licenses for stuff like that?

Sunshine89 fucked around with this message at 07:28 on Feb 6, 2013

Mocking Bird
Aug 17, 2011

Sunshine89 posted:

I really hate bugs. I'm not going to bother with some useless "green" stuff that bugs laugh at. From what research I have done, the most toxic, lethal to anything that may dare invade my home poo poo appears to be Doktor Doom Residual Insect Spray. Does anyone have any experience with it? Also, I'm not a PCO and it says "available to licensed applicators only". Is that kind of like buying hair products from a salon supply place, or will they care enough to not sell it to me? It does mention agricultural applications too- would farmers typically need special licenses for stuff like that?

I can't help you with the industrial stuff, but putting a layer of boric acid (borax) under every piece of furniture and across every window sill has effectively murdered every insect in residence, including ants and cockroaches.

bitchymcjones
Mar 23, 2006

Okay, your wiener, it's disgusting how it's all gnarled, it's like you stuck it in a hornet's nest!

vonnegutt posted:

This has been my experience as well. I've had friends get lucky with unique pieces (honestly, also large stuff - people don't want to have to hire a mover to get something out of their house, so it gets marked down). But for the most part, people selling furniture on CL have a vastly overinflated idea of how much a used piece is worth.

I window-shop at consignment stores and antique places a lot, and while there is a range, it's vastly lower than what a piece would be new, unless the piece is pristine or absolutely beautifully made. People selling their own furniture remember how much the piece cost new, and don't account for the depreciation of their crappy sofa they've farted in for the last fifteen years. Dealers have no such qualms and know the market better and price things to sell.

The thing about Craigslist is you can usually offer people for less than what they're asking. Anytime I've sold anything on there, I've gotten about 75% of my asking price. People are posting items there for three reasons: they're tired of looking at it, they're moving and can't take it with them, or they really need money.

Trilineatus posted:

I can't help you with the industrial stuff, but putting a layer of boric acid (borax) under every piece of furniture and across every window sill has effectively murdered every insect in residence, including ants and cockroaches.

Agreeing with this. Boric acid is all I'll use anymore.

Costello Jello
Oct 24, 2003

It had to start somewhere

bitchymcjones posted:

The thing about Craigslist is you can usually offer people for less than what they're asking. Anytime I've sold anything on there, I've gotten about 75% of my asking price. People are posting items there for three reasons: they're tired of looking at it, they're moving and can't take it with them, or they really need money.

There's still plenty of people who have no idea what things should cost though. I can't even count how many times I've seen people trying to sell 17" 4:3 Dell LCD monitors built in 2002 for like $150-200.

canyoneer
Sep 13, 2005


I only have canyoneyes for you

bitchymcjones posted:

The thing about Craigslist is you can usually offer people for less than what they're asking. Anytime I've sold anything on there, I've gotten about 75% of my asking price. People are posting items there for three reasons: they're tired of looking at it, they're moving and can't take it with them, or they really need money.

Protip: When searching for something, look at the really old listings. If something's been up for 6 weeks at a ludicrous too-high price, the owner at that point is probably just sick of looking at it and will take much less. After 6 weeks of zero interest from buyers, they're very likely to take your first offer.
Also, look for patterns of people re-posting stuff. If they have an item they keep re-posting every week or so (at a $XX price cut each time), call up and offer them two or three "price cuts" below their asking price.

Problem!
Jan 1, 2007

I am the queen of France.
I found a place that's identical to that place I posted about earlier that's available in April, only this one is available at the end of May :dance: Literally identical: same management, same floor plan, same builder, just a different (better!) location. I'm putting down a deposit as soon as I can, apparently this complex hasn't had any vacancies in two years so I'm jumping on it while I can.


I dug up my lease and it's up June 30th, not June 1st, so I'll have a month of overlap and I'm already contemplating the moving logistics. I don't know anyone here that I'd want to help me move, so I'm hiring movers/doing what I can by myself.

Option 1: Hire movers to move only the furniture/stuff that doesn't fit in boxes, then move the boxes over myself over the course of a weekend with a UHaul or a carload at a time after work over the course of a week or so. I think this would be cheaper since I only have a couch, bed, desk, a futon and kitchen table. It would probably take movers an hour, tops. My new place is about 10-15 minutes from where I live currently so taking a few boxes over every evening won't be too much of a drain on my time.

Option 2: Pack up everything and just have the movers do it in one go. This would take more of the movers' time and would be more expensive, but would be a lot more convenient.

Anyone been in a similar situation? What did you do?

Mocking Bird
Aug 17, 2011

Aquatic Giraffe posted:

I found a place that's identical to that place I posted about earlier that's available in April, only this one is available at the end of May :dance: Literally identical: same management, same floor plan, same builder, just a different (better!) location. I'm putting down a deposit as soon as I can, apparently this complex hasn't had any vacancies in two years so I'm jumping on it while I can.


I dug up my lease and it's up June 30th, not June 1st, so I'll have a month of overlap and I'm already contemplating the moving logistics. I don't know anyone here that I'd want to help me move, so I'm hiring movers/doing what I can by myself.

Option 1: Hire movers to move only the furniture/stuff that doesn't fit in boxes, then move the boxes over myself over the course of a weekend with a UHaul or a carload at a time after work over the course of a week or so. I think this would be cheaper since I only have a couch, bed, desk, a futon and kitchen table. It would probably take movers an hour, tops. My new place is about 10-15 minutes from where I live currently so taking a few boxes over every evening won't be too much of a drain on my time.

Option 2: Pack up everything and just have the movers do it in one go. This would take more of the movers' time and would be more expensive, but would be a lot more convenient.

Anyone been in a similar situation? What did you do?

Just have the movers do all your stuff - any savings on their time with furniture-only would be eaten up by the cost of renting a uhaul, and believe me, movers move quick - mine loaded up my full apartment of furniture and boxes in less than an hour.

fork bomb
Apr 26, 2010

:shroom::shroom:

Trilineatus posted:

Just have the movers do all your stuff - any savings on their time with furniture-only would be eaten up by the cost of renting a uhaul, and believe me, movers move quick - mine loaded up my full apartment of furniture and boxes in less than an hour.

Did you already have everything boxed up (like kitchen, books, clothes, bathrooms, etc)? I heard that if you're hiring movers, it's worse to pack poo poo in whatever assorted boxes you find behind the liquor store or whatever because they don't stack as well in the truck. Did you get boxes from the moving company?

Mocking Bird
Aug 17, 2011

fork bomb posted:

Did you already have everything boxed up (like kitchen, books, clothes, bathrooms, etc)? I heard that if you're hiring movers, it's worse to pack poo poo in whatever assorted boxes you find behind the liquor store or whatever because they don't stack as well in the truck. Did you get boxes from the moving company?

I personally used Rubbermaid tubs securely taped shut and standard sized boxes from Lowe's. The movers don't insure breakage for boxes they didn't pack themselves (super expensive) but I packed smart and nothing was broken and the guys were great.

Problem!
Jan 1, 2007

I am the queen of France.
I've requested a quote from the company I used when I moved before, they have an option to hire packers too.

If it's not absurdly expensive, I'm going to get packers. Because gently caress packing.

Ashcans
Jan 2, 2006

Let's do the space-time warp again!

One thing to look at is whether movers have a minimum charge; many of them charge hourly but will have a two-hour minimum because it's not worth their time to come out and drive a couch down the street. If that's the case, you may as well get them to move everything and be working for the time you're paying, rather than spend time and money on a Uhaul and then have the movers work less than their minimum.

If you are at the stage in your life where you are hiring movers, I strongly recommend buying boxes from Lowes or Home Depot or whatever. They're good solid boxes, designed to stack, and will do much better than almost anything you scavenge. Liquor boxes are fine if you are packing stuff like books that aren't going to suffer from some wonky stacking.

The only boxes I think are worth scavenging are the boxes that you get paper in - if you work in an office you probably go through one of these a week. They are really tough, very durable, and stack very well. We used them to move books (like 400 books) and just made sure the movers new that enormous stack was all books for weight/packing reasons.

Sunshine89
Nov 22, 2009

Trilineatus posted:

I can't help you with the industrial stuff, but putting a layer of boric acid (borax) under every piece of furniture and across every window sill has effectively murdered every insect in residence, including ants and cockroaches.

I'm paranoid about bed bugs too (moving out in a few months, reading up on resources), and I know boric acid doesn't kill them. If I could legally acquire DDT, I'd soak my baseboards in the stuff. I want the most powerful residual killer I can get, toxicity be damned. Also, would it put up any red flags to a prospective landlord, if during a viewing, I asked to see behind the fridge and lightswitch covers?

Carbon Thief
Oct 11, 2009

Diamonds aren't the only things that are forever.

Sunshine89 posted:

I'm paranoid about bed bugs too (moving out in a few months, reading up on resources), and I know boric acid doesn't kill them. If I could legally acquire DDT, I'd soak my baseboards in the stuff. I want the most powerful residual killer I can get, toxicity be damned. Also, would it put up any red flags to a prospective landlord, if during a viewing, I asked to see behind the fridge and lightswitch covers?

Maybe spread (food-grade) diatomaceous earth instead of borax? Pretty sure that's good for bedbugs, without being super toxic to you.

Ashcans
Jan 2, 2006

Let's do the space-time warp again!

Sunshine89 posted:

I'm paranoid about bed bugs too (moving out in a few months, reading up on resources), and I know boric acid doesn't kill them. If I could legally acquire DDT, I'd soak my baseboards in the stuff. I want the most powerful residual killer I can get, toxicity be damned. Also, would it put up any red flags to a prospective landlord, if during a viewing, I asked to see behind the fridge and lightswitch covers?

Honestly I think you sort of have a problem. I mean I realize that bedbugs are a huge pain in the rear end and being bitten is a pain, but you realize they don't actually do anything, right? Like they don't carry any diseases and there is no inherent risk from being bitten. The fact that you would be willing to soak your living space in an industrial toxin (which would definitely have health impacts, even when DDT was used widely no one drenched their houses in it) is a terrible trade-off.

If you are really worried about bugs, go ahead and call a professional exterminator who will have access to all the pesticides you might want and also be trained in their use and application (so as not to poison you). Trying to buy restricted stuff off the internet and apply it yourself seems like a good way to get sick.

Asking to look behind appliances is probably fine provided they can be easily moved (if they're set into the cabinets or something and a pain to move they might refuse) but I doubt anyone is going to open switch covers for you to inspect on the fly, and would probably get you cut if they have any other non-crazy applicants. If I was a landlord the last thing I want in a tenant is someone who feels motivated to start opening up electrical access before they even rent the place.

Anne Whateley
Feb 11, 2007
:unsmith: i like nice words
If you look in the bottoms of cabinets (especially under sinks), you'll probably see what's up without looking like a big weirdo.

And just to be obvious, you definitely don't want to jump to the strongest insecticides right from the start -- especially preventatively -- because that's exactly what creates resistance. Life is going to suck if you have a herd of roaches running around, but it's going to suck way worse if those roaches are immune to the worst poisons we have.

Haifisch
Nov 13, 2010

Objection! I object! That was... objectionable!



Taco Defender

Ashcans posted:

Honestly I think you sort of have a problem. I mean I realize that bedbugs are a huge pain in the rear end and being bitten is a pain, but you realize they don't actually do anything, right? Like they don't carry any diseases and there is no inherent risk from being bitten. The fact that you would be willing to soak your living space in an industrial toxin (which would definitely have health impacts, even when DDT was used widely no one drenched their houses in it) is a terrible trade-off.
To be fair, a few people have hideous allergic reactions to the bites. Nothing like discovering your bed bug problem by getting huge welts that make you look like your skin is attempting to become a seperate lifeform(:nms: Not me, but I lost the few pictures I had of my horrible bed bug welts). There can also be psychological effects from knowing that hundreds of tiny insects are feeding on you at night, and you can't stop sleeping in your bed because that'll just make them follow you & infest someplace else. As far as I'm concerned, the lack of disease transmission is the only small mercy of those fuckers.

But honestly, unless one of your neighbors has them(unlikely, but also hard to detect since bedbugs don't tend to hang around places unless they have a person to feed on) or unless you bring in infested items yourself(unlikely in this case given how paranoid Sunshine89 is about them), you're pretty much safe from bedbug infestations. Other bugs are relatively easy to keep away if you keep your living space clean(so they don't have food to munch on) and uncluttered(so they don't have as many places to hide). Basically, don't freak out about insecticides until you have an actual, verifiable insect problem - at best you'd be wasting your money, at worst you're creating resistant insects.

Problem!
Jan 1, 2007

I am the queen of France.
So I found this

Is this a legitimate thing? Enough boxes for a 3 bedroom apartment plus packing supplies for $100? I could barely buy 15 large boxes for that price when I was moving last time, much less all the bubble wrap and packing paper and tape. It's sort of setting off my "too good to be true" senses but drat that's a good deal. Maybe they're just really lovely boxes or something?

Iron Crowned
May 6, 2003

by Hand Knit

Aquatic Giraffe posted:

So I found this

Is this a legitimate thing? Enough boxes for a 3 bedroom apartment plus packing supplies for $100? I could barely buy 15 large boxes for that price when I was moving last time, much less all the bubble wrap and packing paper and tape. It's sort of setting off my "too good to be true" senses but drat that's a good deal. Maybe they're just really lovely boxes or something?

Just go to the mall and ask for boxes, retail will be more than happy not to have to lug them out to the compactor. You'll mostly get the small to medium boxes, but if you're there on a shipment day you could nab some large ones too.

U-haul sells tape dirt cheap, and scissors work well enough if you don't have the tape gun. you can also get the packing stuff there too.

Problem solved for under $20.

Ashcans
Jan 2, 2006

Let's do the space-time warp again!

Aquatic Giraffe posted:

So I found this

Is this a legitimate thing? Enough boxes for a 3 bedroom apartment plus packing supplies for $100? I could barely buy 15 large boxes for that price when I was moving last time, much less all the bubble wrap and packing paper and tape. It's sort of setting off my "too good to be true" senses but drat that's a good deal. Maybe they're just really lovely boxes or something?

I just did a quick price check online and you can do better than that at Home Depot (6 large boxes, 30 Medium Boxes, 15 small boxes, 100ft bubble wrap, 110 yards of tape) for $80. So it very likely legit, because you're actually paying a premium for the convenience of a 'package' and having it delivered to you. I don't know where you are or how convenient it is to get the depot, though.

Problem!
Jan 1, 2007

I am the queen of France.

Iron Crowned posted:

Just go to the mall and ask for boxes, retail will be more than happy not to have to lug them out to the compactor. You'll mostly get the small to medium boxes, but if you're there on a shipment day you could nab some large ones too.

U-haul sells tape dirt cheap, and scissors work well enough if you don't have the tape gun. you can also get the packing stuff there too.

Problem solved for under $20.

Problem is, I drive a Mini Cooper coupe. I physically can't fit that many flattened boxes in it, which is why I was looking at box delivery. Off the top of my head I can't really think of anyone I know who drives a big car that I could borrow, but I could ask around. The thought of coming home from work one day to a pile of boxes waiting for me without having to go get them/awkwardly carry the big ones around/get blown around by the wind in the parking lot is appealing I must admit.

Sunshine89
Nov 22, 2009
I realize how paranoid I sound now (what sounds reasonable at 2am doesn't at 8 30am), which is probably a result of reading too many horror stories saying that the fuckers will get in, ruin all your stuff and are impossible to get out. Then again, it is the internet, so you get all of the "there is cocoroches so I put the poison but the cocoroches comes back" type stories too. I also realize that breathing in poisonous and caustic substances is a bad thing. I'm a neat freak, which makes things easier to keep clean.

I'd probably treat with boric acid in the kitchen cabinets (non-poisonous, persistent so long as it stays dry and bugs don't know what it is so it keeps killing) and diatomaceous earth elsewhere, and make sure to caulk cracks.

As for the Doktor Doom, it shouldn't be a problem. It's safe to spray on livestock, and the commercial grade one can a) Be ordered from garden supply places; it's just harder to get because it's made by a small company in Alberta and b) Has the same active ingredient (permethrin, a pyrethroid) as the consumer grade stuff, just in a higher concentration.

I just don't want it to be a problem, and deal proactively rather than reactively. If the bastards ever got in, I'd call in a PCO to heat and pesticide treat the place ASAP.

EDIT: Upon consideration, I'd skip the pesticide sprays altogether. Making resistant superbugs and wasting money by spraying around pesticides are really not things I want to do, let alone ingesting the stuff. If there actually is a problem, the PCOs know what they're doing and I'll leave it to them. Can't let something that isn't a problem become one in my mind. Oddly enough, I think I worry so much because at school I had an awesome landlord, and I know that they all can't be as good as he is- hell, I paid 8 months of 12 month leases and got to store my stuff for free over the summer, got a free PVR when he got rid of the landline nobody used, and was a great dude to live with too.

Sunshine89 fucked around with this message at 07:24 on Feb 11, 2013

wide stance
Jan 28, 2011

If there's more than one way to do a job, and one of those ways will result in disaster, then he will do it that way.
So I'm moving and having surprisingly good results selling my stuff (even my bikes) on Craigslist despite the horrible weather here. One thing I can't get rid of though are all my video/ethernet cables. What's the best way to dump these either for minimal cash or recycling?

canyoneer
Sep 13, 2005


I only have canyoneyes for you

wide stance posted:

So I'm moving and having surprisingly good results selling my stuff (even my bikes) on Craigslist despite the horrible weather here. One thing I can't get rid of though are all my video/ethernet cables. What's the best way to dump these either for minimal cash or recycling?

Craigslist free section or donate to a place like Goodwill.
People will take literally anything in the Craigslist free section. Put an ad on there with 'curb alert' in the title, and leave it in a labeled box by your curb with your approximate address.

Problem!
Jan 1, 2007

I am the queen of France.

canyoneer posted:

Craigslist free section or donate to a place like Goodwill.
People will take literally anything in the Craigslist free section. Put an ad on there with 'curb alert' in the title, and leave it in a labeled box by your curb with your approximate address.

I put a mini fridge that didn't work and burst into flames any time you plugged it in on the free section of Craigslist. I stated this in my ad.

It was gone within 24 hours. The free section of Craigslist is magical.

bitchymcjones
Mar 23, 2006

Okay, your wiener, it's disgusting how it's all gnarled, it's like you stuck it in a hornet's nest!

Aquatic Giraffe posted:

I put a mini fridge that didn't work and burst into flames any time you plugged it in on the free section of Craigslist. I stated this in my ad.

It was gone within 24 hours. The free section of Craigslist is magical.

It still had metal that could be sold for scrap. When one my white trash cousins was between jobs, he would pick up every single free Craigslist item that had recyclable metal he could get his hands on to have a little extra cash.

CatStacking
Jan 9, 2010

~A Purely Preposterous Pussy~
The flooding of sewage in my basement happened. The the toilet thing last week.

What does this week hold for me?

...My eaves trough fell down.

Thank god my landlord is taking it all in stride and not being like "wtf, problem tennant?!"

Eggplant Wizard
Jul 8, 2005


i loev catte
My bedroom door used to close. Recently it started getting kind of 'sticky' and you had to really push to get it into the frame. Today it does not close at all. There is a crack in the wall angling up from one corner of the door frame (and a little baby crack on the other side). I am unfortunately not sure if the crack has changed while I've been here. Anyway, I think my building is slowly falling down. Know what's great? Not owning it. :woop:

LevelC
Feb 20, 2011
So I'm a first time apartment hunter and have my first set of tours set for tomorrow. I realize that this is pretty last minute, but any advice you want to toss out at me I'd more than appreciate. I'll keep you guys updated on the search status and any freak shows I witness if you'd like.

vonnegutt
Aug 7, 2006
Hobocamp.

Eggplant Wizard posted:

My bedroom door used to close. Recently it started getting kind of 'sticky' and you had to really push to get it into the frame. Today it does not close at all. There is a crack in the wall angling up from one corner of the door frame (and a little baby crack on the other side). I am unfortunately not sure if the crack has changed while I've been here. Anyway, I think my building is slowly falling down. Know what's great? Not owning it. :woop:

It's probably just variations in heat/humidity making your doors swell. I know mine do. If you want to fix it, first, check if there is crusted up paint on the door. If it's a cheap apartment, it's likely, since painting between each tenant is sort of standard. If there is, coarse grit sandpaper on the sticking parts should take care of it real quick. Be careful not to sand through paint, but you can sand away paint to your heart's content.

Ashcans
Jan 2, 2006

Let's do the space-time warp again!

LevelC posted:

So I'm a first time apartment hunter and have my first set of tours set for tomorrow. I realize that this is pretty last minute, but any advice you want to toss out at me I'd more than appreciate. I'll keep you guys updated on the search status and any freak shows I witness if you'd like.

Well, the OP has a pretty good run down on this stuff. Besides what is listed there, there are a couple of things I would suggest:

1) If you are touring a complex, make sure that you clarify whether you are looking at the apartment you will have, or one they have vacant for showing - if you aren't looking at the actual unit, make sure they confirm any differences in size, arrangement, or amenities.

2) Check in all the rooms. This can be a little weird if someone is still living there, but you don't have to poke through their stuff - but you should walk in and make sure you know what the size/features of every room.

3) Ask to test the taps in the kitchen and bath. You want to know beforehand if a place has terrible water pressure and you'll be bathing under a trickling tap.

4) If it is an apartment or shared space, ask about the other people living with/around you. Another good question is why the previous tenant left. If you are feeling ballsy, you can even ask for a reference. My current landlord gave us the contact info for the outgoing tenant so we could talk to them.

Problem!
Jan 1, 2007

I am the queen of France.

Ashcans posted:

1) If you are touring a complex, make sure that you clarify whether you are looking at the apartment you will have, or one they have vacant for showing - if you aren't looking at the actual unit, make sure they confirm any differences in size, arrangement, or amenities.

A lot of the time complexes will have a model unit they have all set up with swanky furniture and nicer light fixtures/carpets/painted up all nice/etc than the regular units. If they show you a model unit ask if you can see any vacant tenant units they have. If they say no, that's a potential red flag. A complex I was looking at when I was moving had a really really nice model unit set up and I almost signed a lease right there but ended up not going with that complex. A coworker ended up moving into that complex later and I went over to her apartment and it was a lot shittier than their model unit. The model unit had nice berber carpet, fancy light fixtures, granite countertops, and stainless steel appliances. Her place had regular lovely white apartment carpet, average light fixtures, regular formica countertops and plain black appliances. Not that that's really bad per se, but their model unit was incredibly misleading.

Also the fact that they offered up the fact that monthly pest control was included in rent sent up huge red flags. I don't want to live in a place that needs monthly pest control. One of my friends who lives there had crickets falling out of her ceiling vents, the cricket infestation was that bad.

Bread Set Jettison
Jan 8, 2009

I was looking at apartment listings on Craigslist and found one I wanted for the right price. Unfortunately I'm gonna pass over it because the landlord thought it was a good idea to write "no drama" in the listing.

Im gonna go ahead and say thats a huge red flag. Am I correct in avoiding a place like this? It seems like the sort of thing a really awful landlord would say.

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the littlest prince
Sep 23, 2006


It's kind of weird but they probably just don't want people who are going to tear the place apart.

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