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There should be a clause in your lease that says that the landlord must give you 24 hours' notice before entering your apartment (or allowing someone to enter on their behalf).
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Jul 26, 2013 21:22
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Ashcans posted:Given that you have a dog, you should probably tell the landlord that you explicitly do not want anyone visiting when you are not there to ensure the safe handling and treatment of your animal, as this person was clearly and willfully incompetent about it. I have it in writing (email) about 3 times that I don't want anyone entering because of the dog... Very annoying. And luckily I'm not here for a month, I'm actually moving in 2 days. I'm just on the hook for the rent until the 20th because of the dumb 60-day notice of vacating thing. Thanks guys, I thought it was bullshit but wasn't sure. I've been calling the office every half hour for the past 2 hours but no one is answering yet. Man, I hate this complex.
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Jul 26, 2013 21:27
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drat Bananas posted:I have it in writing (email) about 3 times that I don't want anyone entering because of the dog... Very annoying. And luckily I'm not here for a month, I'm actually moving in 2 days. I'm just on the hook for the rent until the 20th because of the dumb 60-day notice of vacating thing. It's just dumb, no one wants to deal with a frightened/pissed off dog, not even burglars, I'd say it is more a gently caress up than anything else.
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Jul 27, 2013 00:45
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Does anyone have experience or advice for moving to a new location for a job that's a far distance? Currently I live in Delaware, but I am looking at a job in Juneau, Alaska. From the information I've gathered, housing availability is quite tight and I usually only ever see a handful of apartments listed (it's just single adult male me so I'd only need a 1 bed/1 bath). In one of my interviews when I brought up concerns over housing and they mentioned that one of the latest new hires had to live in a hotel (on the company's dime) for a month and a half before finding a place. They won't fly me out there for in person (the last interview will be through skype) and I don't exactly have the couple grand to make the trip myself to explore the area. Is this a situation that raises too many red flags? The company lists that they offer a $10,000 relocation for 2 year commitment deal, though I'm not sure on the specifics. The position isn't exactly a once in a lifetime opportunity and the pay will be only slightly more than similar positions around the country, but the higher cost of living will likely bite that down a little. I'm just desperate for a job after a year of struggling to find employment in my field after graduation and so far this has been the only place to show a lot of interest.
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Jul 27, 2013 03:46
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I had a similar relocation package except it wasn't Alaska... I had a bad experience moving from the west coast to the east coast without being able to fly out and check places out for myself first, even with help from a broker. I'd suggest doing the hotel thing with that 10k so you can be sure to find a place that works well for you.
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Jul 27, 2013 03:55
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Do apartment landlords often care about hanging stuff on the walls?
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Jul 27, 2013 04:10
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Rated PG-34 posted:Do apartment landlords often care about hanging stuff on the walls? You're usually cool as long as you spackle and paint over your holes at move-out.
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Jul 27, 2013 04:25
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deadwing posted:You're usually cool as long as you spackle and paint over your holes at move-out. I don't know if this is common but my last apartment office told me they'd get me the right paint if I got the walls respackled and showed them after I took down my TV wall mount. I did, they sent a guy to do the paint a day later, no problemo. (edit) Now that I think about it they'd probably prefer doing that to having some tenant paint a mismatch, so maybe it is common. 
Ciaphas fucked around with this message at 07:40 on Jul 27, 2013 |
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Jul 27, 2013 07:30
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Is there any such thing as a good futon? I browsed a few local furniture stores that had "sleepers", but they were all over $1000. I dont relish in having to fold the thing back up every night but nor do I enjoy the thought of having to lie in bed when I watch a movie or TV. I'm moving into a 3 bedroom apartment and I will be hiding away in my room most of the time I'm there. Perhaps I'm better off just investing in a decent bed and getting a loveseat to put in there as I have in my current room.
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Jul 27, 2013 17:37
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codo27 posted:Is there any such thing as a good futon?
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Jul 27, 2013 18:57
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A futon is going to be limited by it's nature; a really good mattress doesn't just fold up. Having said that, avoid any tube-based frames because they are poo poo. The best futons are ones that are either all wood or at least have the main frames in wood, with slats. Slats distribute the weight of the mattress much better, whereas tubes you end up feeling through a mattress because of the shape. I will also say that you should consider looking into a memory foam mattress topper thing. Our fold-out couch has a memory foam mattress, and it is ten times better than anything else I have had on a folding frame. Cugel the Clever posted:Or, for that matter, a good Murphy bed? The Venture Bros. resparked my interest but the only options I can find are ridiculously expensive beyond what seems necessary for a fold-up bed. I'm not seriously imagining acquiring one, more for future reference.
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Jul 27, 2013 19:44
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What about a day bed? All you'd have to do would be moving some pillows to transition between couch and bed. I think they only come in twin size which might be problematic if you bring anyone home to stay the night though. My fiance has a futon from Target and it only lasted a month before breaking, so I'd advise spending a little extra cash to get a decent quality of whatever you end up with.
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Jul 27, 2013 21:10
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Futons are awful. My last one was a Walmart special that dumped you on the floor if you moved over too far to the side. Even a 'nice' futon suffers from the problem that during the day it's an uncomfortable couch, and during the evening it's still the world's most uncomfortable bed.
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Jul 29, 2013 04:51
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Initio posted:Futons are awful. My last one was a Walmart special that dumped you on the floor if you moved over too far to the side. Even a 'nice' futon suffers from the problem that during the day it's an uncomfortable couch, and during the evening it's still the world's most uncomfortable bed. This is exceedingly accurate. After destroying an Ikea futon in one year of use (they are so crappy) I "upgraded" to a "nice" futon that cost me as much as a cheap sofa... I think it was about $1000 after delivery and all that. It lasted for a couple years, but the mattress was terribly uncomfortable from the beginning and soon became extremely lopsided and impossible to sleep on after a few months of being sat on. The mattresses are just terrible in general, and there's no way around it. Basically, futons just suck for anything other than a college dorm. You'd be much better off with a couch with a pull out bed, because even though those beds suck at least the couch part will be comfortable. e: Wait, but if it's for your bedroom... just get a bed. Really, you don't want to sleep on a futon for extended periods of time. kedo fucked around with this message at 19:45 on Jul 29, 2013 |
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Jul 29, 2013 19:40
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I was going to post this in Biz/Fin, but I thought this might be a better place to start. My lease at my current apartment complex was supposed to end on August 22nd, with the stipulation that I was to give them 60 days notice about whether I was going to renew my lease or move out. Instead, I spent a little bit more time looking for apartments and a roommate and ended up giving them 45 days' notice that I will move out. The bad news is that this comes with a mandatory lease extension through September 7th. I will pay for the full month of August at my current rent price, and through September 7th at a higher rate. The good news is that I found a 2-bedroom for rent and a roommate, which means my rent and living expenses will be significantly cheaper. I will definitely come out ahead in the long run. I'll be moving into the new complex on September 1st. The interesting part is, renter's insurance is mandatory at my current complex, and when I filled out the paperwork saying I wasn't renewing my lease I was told that I'm still liable for renter's insurance. Since my insurance ALSO expires on August 22nd, that's 15 days without renter's insurance. Is it even possible for me to buy renter's insurance for 15 days? What sort of consequences might I risk if I choose to ignore my current complex's mandatory insurance policy? Has anyone else ever dealt with this sort of situation?
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Jul 29, 2013 21:44
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I have a futon that I bought at a mattress store for around $600 that has lasted me for almost a decade. It is very comfortable as both a couch and bed. For a year in college it actually was my bed. The cheapo wal mart specials are crap but if you spend as much as you would for a real piece of furniture you can get a a futon that is comfortable and will last.
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Jul 29, 2013 21:45
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DUNCAN DONUTS posted:I was going to post this in Biz/Fin, but I thought this might be a better place to start. Ask your current company for a fifteen-day extension of your current policy, see how much they say it will cost you.
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Jul 29, 2013 22:00
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Are you just changing policies, or are you planning to just not have renter's insurance? Because I seriously advise you not to jut abandon the insurance entirely because it is no longer required. Renter's insurance is stupid cheap, and it is an amazing protection for you in case you suddenly lose all your stuff. Most of it even provides some liability in case some dude falls over at your party and whacks his head. If I were you, I would talk to my insurance company and see what the situation is if you want to extend your coverage for the next year, but will be changing addresses during that time.
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Jul 29, 2013 22:24
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Thanatosian posted:Any penalties they can apply for something like that would have to be specified in the lease. What does the lease say is the penalty for not complying with the Renters Insurance portion of the policy? Thanks for the advice! I called the insurer, and it looks like it should be pretty cheap to extend the insurance policy by a few days. I'm really new to this type of thing, so I probably should have know that. Even if they end up ballooning the price for those 15 days, it will be worth it to not get in poo poo with my current landlord. quote:Are you just changing policies, or are you planning to just not have renter's insurance? Because I seriously advise you not to jut abandon the insurance entirely because it is no longer required. Renter's insurance is stupid cheap, and it is an amazing protection for you in case you suddenly lose all your stuff. Most of it even provides some liability in case some dude falls over at your party and whacks his head. If I were you, I would talk to my insurance company and see what the situation is if you want to extend your coverage for the next year, but will be changing addresses during that time. I was planning not to renew it after moving, but this is worth considering. I'm still on Mom and Dad's budget til I finish school, so I'll talk to them about it. We never bought it until I moved into my current place. DUNCAN DONUTS fucked around with this message at 22:27 on Jul 29, 2013 |
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Jul 29, 2013 22:24
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DUNCAN DONUTS posted:Thanks for the advice! I called the insurer, and it looks like it should be pretty cheap to extend the insurance policy by a few days. I'm really new to this type of thing, so I probably should have know that. Even if they end up ballooning the price for those 15 days, it will be worth it to not get in poo poo with my current landlord. Additionally, though I'm not super-experienced in renters insurance, I would guess that the two times claims are most common are moving in and moving out, so it's good to have the additional protection.
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Jul 29, 2013 22:50
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Thanatosian posted:I would guess that the two times claims are most common are moving in and moving out, so it's good to have the additional protection. Ah, that wouldn't surprise me, either.
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Jul 30, 2013 00:17
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Ashcans posted:Are you just changing policies, or are you planning to just not have renter's insurance? Because I seriously advise you not to jut abandon the insurance entirely because it is no longer required. Renter's insurance is stupid cheap, and it is an amazing protection for you in case you suddenly lose all your stuff. Most of it even provides some liability in case some dude falls over at your party and whacks his head. If I were you, I would talk to my insurance company and see what the situation is if you want to extend your coverage for the next year, but will be changing addresses during that time. Seriously this is likely your only protection and it is stupid cheap. It's like a weekly deal around here for an apartment to catch on fire and there be people with no insurance that lose everything, not to mention water leaks, break-ins and liability. Can you afford to replace everything you own without major financial hardship? If the answer is no keep the stupid cheap insurance that also likely protect you for stupid accidents that you could be liable for.
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Jul 30, 2013 00:42
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The caveat to futons is that real futons are amazing. (Japanese ones, which don't involve a stupid wooden deck)
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Jul 30, 2013 02:45
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ntan1 posted:The caveat to futons is that real futons are amazing. Seconding this. I've never slept as well as I have on a real futon. I moved to a bed because I wanted something big, but the minute I find a queen-sized futon I'm switching.
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Jul 30, 2013 03:08
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Three Olives posted:Seriously this is likely your only protection and it is stupid cheap. It's like a weekly deal around here for an apartment to catch on fire and there be people with no insurance that lose everything, not to mention water leaks, break-ins and liability. Yeah we got robbed a couple months ago and while the amount the insurance company ended up giving us was nowhere near the actual value of the stuff that was taken, it's still more than we ever paid into the policy. It's like a hundred bucks a year. Absolutely 100% worth it. While we are talking about this take some advice from someone who has just had to deal with a buncha bullshit: everybody get your serial numbers on all of your electronics, and get pictures of any smaller valuables (like jewelry). Save your list of serial numbers and photographs somewhere online where you can access it when/if your computers/phones/lockbox etc get stolen (like in an email or a Dropbox folder). Biggest regret is not doing that. Not only will it make filling out the insurance paperwork so much easier, but at least in Arkansas the pawn shops are all connected with the police departments via a database. The pawn shop owners are required to enter the serial numbers of all the electronics they receive into this database. You'll have a much better chance of recovering your stolen property if you have serial numbers saved.
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Jul 30, 2013 17:16
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Randomity posted:Yeah we got robbed a couple months ago and while the amount the insurance company ended up giving us was nowhere near the actual value of the stuff that was taken, it's still more than we ever paid into the policy. It's like a hundred bucks a year. Absolutely 100% worth it. *Save your receipts. Sounds difficult, really isn't, especially for things you order online. If you're running GMail, just create a "Receipts" tag, archive them all. Alternatively, print to PDF (Chrome does this really well) and save the PDF to your Google Drive or Amazon Cloud or Dropbox or other cloud storage of choice. *Once every six months or so, walk through your home and take a video of all the relatively expensive stuff you own. That way, even if you don't have a saved receipt, you have some sort of proof of ownership. *Do you own a lot of tools? Document them extra-well, especially if you're paying cash for them. And if you're using them for commercial purposes, insure them with a commercial policy. Insurance companies hate paying out on unsubstantiated tool claims.
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Jul 30, 2013 17:30
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How do people determine how safe a neighborhood is generally? Between apartment reviews and police logs I've started to get the paranoid sense that every place on earth is a dystopian wasteland.
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Jul 31, 2013 12:32
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RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:How do people determine how safe a neighborhood is generally? Between apartment reviews and police logs I've started to get the paranoid sense that every place on earth is a dystopian wasteland. I use Spotcrime to work out what has been going on in a neighborhood. It seems to be a generally decent aggregator and is easier to check back and forth beteen places than using police blotters, etc. You are right that once you start digging in basically any area that has more than two people per square mile, it can seem pretty scary. I find the easiest way to balance this is to think of a place I have already lived that I felt was safe or friendly, and reference that. It'll probably turn out to have more crime than you thought. Then you can use that as a benchmark to evaluate other areas.
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Jul 31, 2013 14:56
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I have rats in my garage. I emailed my landlord going "hey there's rats in the garage, might be time for an exterminator visit". She responds that she won't get one because of people's "allergies" and told me I had to take care of it myself out of my own pocket. I'm only 2 months into a 12 month lease and I'm not some slob that leaves food out everywhere to attract vermin. I feel like the landlord should at least provide traps or something. Her reasoning is that rats should be expected since I live "out in the country". I live in a suburban neighborhood next to a major highway that happens to have farms nearby. Hardly "country". Mice, I could understand. Rats, no. I can't put out poison since I have dogs, what's the best way to get rid of the rats?
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Jul 31, 2013 18:01
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Ashcans posted:I use Spotcrime to work out what has been going on in a neighborhood. It seems to be a generally decent aggregator and is easier to check back and forth beteen places than using police blotters, etc. That's not a bad idea, but I've spent most of my life in semi-rural places which skews things a lot. Aquatic Giraffe posted:I have rats in my garage. I emailed my landlord going "hey there's rats in the garage, might be time for an exterminator visit". She responds that she won't get one because of people's "allergies" and told me I had to take care of it myself out of my own pocket.
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Jul 31, 2013 18:14
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RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:How do people determine how safe a neighborhood is generally? Between apartment reviews and police logs I've started to get the paranoid sense that every place on earth is a dystopian wasteland. My totally not scientific 1st order method is to look at the cars parked in view. Are they as good or nicer than my reasonably well kept up Corolla? Then the neighborhood is probably worth looking more into.
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Jul 31, 2013 18:21
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For rat guy: Check your state laws as already mentioned. In some cases you are legally allowed to withhold rent until the problem is fixed.
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Jul 31, 2013 18:51
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:she won't get one because of people's "allergies" Did she explain this? Because I am very curious about what she means.
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Jul 31, 2013 19:23
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Tell your landlord you're allergic to rats, that'll set her head a spinnin'. Rat traps are actually pretty cheap. However you're not going to make any progress unless you hire an exterminator to help you determine where they're getting into your garage so you can block it, you'll just be killing a lot of rats.
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Jul 31, 2013 19:32
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Ashcans posted:You are right that once you start digging in basically any area that has more than two people per square mile, it can seem pretty scary. I find the easiest way to balance this is to think of a place I have already lived that I felt was safe or friendly, and reference that. It'll probably turn out to have more crime than you thought. Then you can use that as a benchmark to evaluate other areas. Yeah, on top of that it is important to look at the type of crime. I live in a nice part of town, very little violent crime, it's extremely safe to walk around but if you look at the crime reports it looks incredible sketchy you have to dig in to see that it's mostly car break ins on idiots that leave valuables in clear view, people trying to pass fake scripts at drugs stores, drunken bar assaults, etc but we are very low in crime that would keep you up at night.
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Jul 31, 2013 19:55
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I think she thinks I'm confusing mice and rats because I'm from a city. I'd be OK with a couple mice but rats are a whole different ballgame. And yes I do know the difference. My plan is to catch one in a trap and send her a picture going "SEE? RAT." and see what happens. Re: finding a safe neighborhood: drive around during the day on a workday. Does it look like most people are gone at work or are there a bunch of people hanging around? The quality level of cars is also a good indicator.
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Jul 31, 2013 20:29
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Car break ins happen in pretty much every apartment complex parking lot. Lots of cars in one place at night, no one really know's whether someone walking around the parking lot lives there or not, and the way lots are spread out make it hard for security to watch everywhere at once. Wherever you live, don't leave valuables in plain sight in your car. Take your gps in with you if you have one. Tools and electronics seem to be the favored items by the smash and grab types.
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Aug 1, 2013 14:43
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:Car break ins happen in pretty much every apartment complex parking lot. Lots of cars in one place at night, no one really know's whether someone walking around the parking lot lives there or not, and the way lots are spread out make it hard for security to watch everywhere at once. Wherever you live, don't leave valuables in plain sight in your car. Take your gps in with you if you have one. Tools and electronics seem to be the favored items by the smash and grab types. Yes, even you people with gated parking/parking garages. I've heard a million whines by people that had stuff stolen from their "Secure gated parking garages" who are furious at the apartment management because they left their work bag with laptop in the backseat of their car.
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Aug 1, 2013 16:25
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How do I fill out my rental history on an application if I've been subletting (possibly illegally?) for the last couple years?
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Aug 1, 2013 17:04
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I'm trying to purchase a house in the cutthroat Riverside-San Bernadino area, where each house summons thirty investors with cash for me and my lowly VA loan to compete against. I offered at +25k over asking, offer rejected, competing offer was accepted, house went into "pending sale," and arrived back on the market at a 10k higher list price that's still 15k under my offer. Should I be concerned about foul play?
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Aug 2, 2013 05:59
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