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Drunk Tomato posted:No one can enter your home without permission or notice. So, even just that is bad. The rest.... Well, I don't envy you. That's not entirely true. Check your lease OP – lots of them allow landlords and/or workers to enter your unit in emergency/emergency repair situations. Whether or not these all qualify as emergencies is debatable. Other than that, yeah. Sounds like you live in a lovely building with lovely management. Probably wouldn't hurt to ask the legal thread about this. Half the posts in there are about crappy landlord/tenant situations. e: Item 1 is most definitely a water leak which in my experience with management companies qualifies as an emergency because it can screw up all sorts of stuff. They probably cut that hole to see if they could get to the offending pipe. You can't generally fix drywall if it's wet, so that's probably why they left it looking all hosed up. kedo fucked around with this message at 17:18 on Aug 20, 2013 |
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Aug 20, 2013 17:12
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Toshimo posted:Lots of stuff. Also, I don't think I've ever seen GFCIs in kitchen outlets; maybe that's just me, though. And personally, I think you have to suck up the food loss, there, since you were the one who wanted the GFCIs installed in the first place. Do you live in an unusually hot area that going without A/C for a few days in mid-May is a big deal? If not, I could see not prioritizing that. Though, having to come in three times is bullshit. It sounds like some of the stuff you've been dealing with has been fairly urgent, so the lack of warning can be understandable (especially the flood damage and electrical stuff). The lack of documentation or any sort of notification that someone was in your apartment and who it was, though, is also bullshit. As far as the exterminators go, that's not really the landlord/management's fault, and it sounds like they were doing what they were supposed to do (calling in an exterminator to take care of the problem in a timely manner, with plenty of lead time for you to get your poo poo together). Same with the washer repair. I think your big issues here are the complete lack of documentation, the sloppiness of the maintenance people's work, and the having to do without hot water for days at a time. Whether or not this constitutes grounds to break your lease will depend upon your lease and your local laws and ordinances. Reading your lease is a great first step, and talking to a lawyer or tenant's association is a good second step. You should also check on both what your local rules are and what your lease says regarding notice of maintenance and documentation of work done. If nothing else, though, you should definitely point this poo poo out to the management, and request a rent reduction or credit to your account due to having to put up with this bullshit. I would probably request notice/documentation for any maintenance via certified letter, so you have proof that it was sent and received (obviously, also save a copy of the letter).
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Aug 20, 2013 17:44
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Drunk Tomato posted:No one can enter your home without permission or notice. So, even just that is bad. The rest.... Well, I don't envy you. Nope, there are plenty of states that have no law against a landlord or someone working for a landlord entering their rental properties without permission. I just moved back to the city where my mom lives and I've been living with her until I can move into my own apartment on September 1st and this has been an issue. No less than 3 times her landlord has just waltzed into the apartment to do some poo poo. One time he didn't even have the loving decency to knock. Those are just the times that I've been home to catch him too.
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Aug 20, 2013 23:32
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Toshimo posted:Ok, so I need a sanity check on this: I don't know about the rest of it, but having a non GFI outlet within 6 ft of the outer edge of a sink is a violation of National Electric Code. A building inspector or fire marshall could declare your apartment uninhabitable until that is fixed. It is extreme but I have seen it happen.
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Aug 21, 2013 00:02
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Burger Crime posted:I don't know about the rest of it, but having a non GFI outlet within 6 ft of the outer edge of a sink is a violation of National Electric Code. A building inspector or fire marshall could declare your apartment uninhabitable until that is fixed. It is extreme but I have seen it happen. That wouldn't be grandfathered based on what the code was when it was built?
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Aug 21, 2013 00:06
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Modern Day Hercules posted:Nope, there are plenty of states that have no law against a landlord or someone working for a landlord entering their rental properties without permission. I just moved back to the city where my mom lives and I've been living with her until I can move into my own apartment on September 1st and this has been an issue. No less than 3 times her landlord has just waltzed into the apartment to do some poo poo. One time he didn't even have the loving decency to knock. Those are just the times that I've been home to catch him too. Well, thank goodness I live in a state with actual regard for renter rights then, because that's super lovely. Wow.
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Aug 21, 2013 00:07
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:That wouldn't be grandfathered based on what the code was when it was built? Depending on building code, if there's any work done on the unit it might need to be replaced. I had to bug my landlord to fix an outlet near my sink because they redid a good chunk of the drywall but left the old sockets intact.
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Aug 21, 2013 00:09
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It is grandfathered as long as there is no remodeling or repair beyond painting. But if they came in and tore up the carpet from the flood damage the OP described or whatever is going on with that air duct in the ceiling, then grandfather laws no longer apply.
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Aug 21, 2013 03:04
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Since there were no objections I'll post my interior design dilema. Firstly, some pictures: http://imgur.com/a/zYpxD The first image is the current floor plan; the second image is a possible floor plan I've been toying with, and the remaining 3 photos are of the room. In a nutshell I want to make the space more intimate/cozy - the space is quite large as you can see. What I'd ideally like is a sitting/tv viewing area and visually separated dining area (I can't fit a table + chairs in the kitchen). The 2nd floor plan was an attempt at this but I feel like it might not be a very good use of space (see bottom left area). In short, I'm looking for suggestions regarding: - A good layout for having people over and entertaining (ie, sitting space with coffee tables/places for drinks, etc) - Some kind of visually separated dining area - Possible suggestions for a dining table and chairs - Feel free to suggest painting ideas. I haven't confirmed with the landlord if I can paint but lets assume I can - I'm renting, so I'm stuck with that beige carpet I'll mention that while the walls are bare I do have a fair amount of artwork; I just haven't put it up yet as I want to see how the furniture shakes out. Thanks!
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Aug 21, 2013 05:09
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Cyril Sneer posted:Since there were no objections I'll post my interior design dilema. Firstly, some pictures: What about leaving the red sofa where it is in the first plan, or maybe a little closer to the fake fireplace while the black chair thing goes elsewhere, and moving the brown sofa up by the kitchen, facing the red sofa. Would make watching TV a little more difficult but you could always shift the TV toward the fake fireplace and rotate it a little. Hard to get a sense of the dimensions from just the pictures and drawings so maybe it won't work, but worth a thought?
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Aug 21, 2013 05:16
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I would go with the TV where the red sofa is now, one sofa in the middle of the room in front of it, and one sofa against the wall in the corner. Maybe a little table between the two for drinks. It would leave room for a small table near the kitchen. In my experience, parties all end up on the couch or gathered around where the food is.
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Aug 21, 2013 05:35
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Landlords who list their apartment as having a washer and dryer, but then you get there and it's a shared, coin-op, W/D in the basement should get bitch-slapped.
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Aug 21, 2013 14:57
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That's the standard that I've seen when it's advertised that way. My first apartment had nothing at all though, so I had to haul my stuff down to the laundromat. What you want to look for is the In-Unit Washer and Dryer.
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Aug 21, 2013 16:37
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On that note, is it normal for a load of laundry to cost like...4 dollars? That seems ridiculous to me, but...yeah. 2.25 for the wash, 1.75 for the dry in my apartment.
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Aug 21, 2013 17:41
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Stuntcat posted:On that note, is it normal for a load of laundry to cost like...4 dollars? That seems ridiculous to me, but...yeah. 2.25 for the wash, 1.75 for the dry in my apartment.
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Aug 21, 2013 17:49
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Stuntcat posted:On that note, is it normal for a load of laundry to cost like...4 dollars? That seems ridiculous to me, but...yeah. 2.25 for the wash, 1.75 for the dry in my apartment.
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Aug 21, 2013 17:50
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Sounds about right to me. If you hit a good Laundromat they'll have those supersize ones that take the edge off. Laundry sucks because if you can't get your own machine you'll end up paying for the cost of one every year in quarters.
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Aug 21, 2013 17:51
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Stuntcat posted:On that note, is it normal for a load of laundry to cost like...4 dollars? That seems ridiculous to me, but...yeah. 2.25 for the wash, 1.75 for the dry in my apartment. gently caress you. In NYC it costs like 12 for wash and dry.
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Aug 21, 2013 18:00
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Kingnothing posted:gently caress you. $1.25 for wash, $0.25/8min in the dryer. The dryers are large and the washer is not, so I can usually dry for $0.75 if I'm careful. Unfortunately, we currently have one washer for the entire (admittedly small) complex. There is a laundromat across the street, I just hate going.
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Aug 21, 2013 18:30
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I think I might have to give up my dream of getting a place with a W/D in unit, or even just W/D hookups. The rental market here is terrible, especially if you're trying to get a place by yourself. It's not that the places with W/D or hookups cost more on average than ones without, it's just so hard to find them that I'm basically ignoring like 75% of all the rentals out there I could afford.
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Aug 21, 2013 19:00
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Yup, it's like that in Boston. Tons of the houses are old and were not built with washers and dryers in mind, so if you want one in-unit it has to be somewhere that was renovated enough to squash one in (probably replacing your pantry). The most common alternative is either a BYOA hookup in the basement, or a coin machine down there. We lucked into a unit with dedicated machines for each tenant in the basement, but it kills a lot of the property to search that way.
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Aug 21, 2013 19:12
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Having my own washer/dryer in unit was an absolute "must have" during my search. I rented a washer/dryer for $45/month at my old place then bought a set when I moved. Between that and having pets my search was pretty limited but I eventually found something.
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Aug 21, 2013 20:00
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:I rented a washer/dryer for $45/month Whoa, that's insane. I regularly see working washer/dryer sets on Craigslist for < $250.
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Aug 21, 2013 20:05
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hailthefish posted:What about leaving the red sofa where it is in the first plan, or maybe a little closer to the fake fireplace while the black chair thing goes elsewhere, and moving the brown sofa up by the kitchen, facing the red sofa. Errm, I don't think this would work. If I bring the sofas close enough together to share a coffee table then I'm wasting a bunch of space between them and the walls. If I keep them flush with walls then there's a large void between the two, I'd have to get separate end tables for each. Zaftig posted:I would go with the TV where the red sofa is now, one sofa in the middle of the room in front of it, and one sofa against the wall in the corner. Maybe a little table between the two for drinks. It would leave room for a small table near the kitchen. In my experience, parties all end up on the couch or gathered around where the food is. This could work, though playing around with it I think the table would fit better along the window wall, rather than the kitchen wall. It doesn't provide a whole let of visual separation, although the addition of some rugs would help. Here is a layout someone on reddit suggested: http://i.imgur.com/z9r69s.jpg I like it because the eating area is blocked off by the accent chair (and could be further dilineated with a rug) however it does mean throwing out a couch. Hmmm.
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Aug 21, 2013 20:33
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:Having my own washer/dryer in unit was an absolute "must have" during my search. I rented a washer/dryer for $45/month at my old place then bought a set when I moved. It started as a must have for me, but Christ, it's so hard finding something I can afford in the first place, then to add that qualifier. The rental market here is one of the worst in the country, relative to the population. Here's a quote from a recent article that was sort of about rental properties: quote:In many ways, Burlington can be seen as a landlord’s dream town, and the number of rental units — which account for more than half the total of 17,000 households — supports that theory. A reliable supply of college students combined with a shortage of housing for year-round residents results in a vacancy rate typically less than 2 percent — among the lowest in New England. It also means landlords can charge $750 or more per bedroom in apartments that won’t be featured in Martha Stewart Living. The less they spend improving their properties, the more profit they make. And another article has this to say: quote:But renting is another story. Just this week, the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition released a report on Vermont’s rental market, and the picture isn’t pretty. Bear in mind that's a state-wide average. For the Burlington-Metro-Area, the average hourly salary is about $20/hour. And that $750 per bedroom figure they quoted really only applies to 2+ bedroom units. 1 bedroom units are typically in the $900 - $1200 range, though you can find studio/efficiencies or complete shitholes for less, maybe $750 - $850. I realize compared to places like NYC, Boston, or LA, that's not considered bad at all, but for a city this size, and with the average salaries people get around here, it's bad. And when you compound that with my crippling student loan payments (almost $600/month,) and it's quite depressing. It'd make more sense financially to get a roommate, but there are issues there. 1) My current roommate's girlfriend moved into our condo. The place is barely big enough for two, and with three, it's absurd. There's no storage, save a tiny "crawlspace" type area under the stairs. Tiny kitchen, so even two of us in there trying to cook dinner at once is cramped, and with 3 there's elbows hitting elbows. He is a big stick in the mud and expressed no interest in any way of moving out into a three bedroom, or at least a larger two bedroom ("I have three fish-tanks! How will I ever move them and not kill all my fish?!") 2) I don't know anyone currently looking to move, and every time I've gotten unknown roommates, it's been a disaster. From drug addicts who stiffed me on rent for almost three months, to a woman I sub-let from who literally vanished for three weeks out of the blue, with none of the rest of us in the house being able to get a hold of her, until literally a day before the rent was due (bear in mind, we sub-let from her and she paid the landlord,) her mom shows up at our door telling us she was committed to the psych ward. Thankfully, her mom paid her share of the rent and had the address to send our checks to. The only "upside" to my apartment search is that while our lease is up at the end of August and I didn't re-sign, he and his GF did, and told me I can basically sub-let from them for a while until I find a place. DrBouvenstein fucked around with this message at 19:58 on Aug 23, 2013 |
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Aug 21, 2013 20:38
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razz posted:Whoa, that's insane. I regularly see working washer/dryer sets on Craigslist for < $250. At that point I didn't know if I was going to stay in town or not, I didn't want to buy a washer and dryer that I'd have to move later. I also wanted a nice set that'd last a while so I needed to wait till I recovered from the financial hit of moving cross country so renting them made sense at the time. When I signed the lease for my new place I bought a set and had them delivered the same day I moved in. My laundry room is adjacent to my bedroom so I just use the washer as a hamper. It's great. Then again I don't live in a city so I can afford to be picky.
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Aug 21, 2013 21:32
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:Having my own washer/dryer in unit was an absolute "must have" during my search. I rented a washer/dryer for $45/month at my old place then bought a set when I moved. Of the 60+ units here, about 12 have washers and dryers in them. They cost $30 a month more in rent but so worth it. I remember how much it sucked when I had to hit the laundromat every week on my day off. The "complex laundry room" (which has 3 washers and 3 dryers for everyone to share) are $4 for each load to wash and $4 per load to dry. I was thrilled to be able to grab one of the few units with a w/d.
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Aug 22, 2013 00:11
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Alright, I love my new place and have it mostly furnished except for one thing that's really going to matter to me as the temperature finally starts dropping - my patio. I've got a very decently sized, screened in patio overlooking conservation land that I'd really like a two chair and table setup for. Any recommendations for a place to find a reasonably priced set - I'm not looking for top of the line here and the patio is completely covered from the elements.
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Aug 24, 2013 05:21
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deadwing posted:Alright, I love my new place and have it mostly furnished except for one thing that's really going to matter to me as the temperature finally starts dropping - my patio. I've got a very decently sized, screened in patio overlooking conservation land that I'd really like a two chair and table setup for. Any recommendations for a place to find a reasonably priced set - I'm not looking for top of the line here and the patio is completely covered from the elements. I found some REALLY nice sets on Craiglist now that summer is winding down and people would rather sell their stuff rather than put it back in storage. Also, ikea is breaking down their patio displays and I've seen a lot of nice patio furniture in their Clearance/As Is section.
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Aug 24, 2013 05:45
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Today has been an interesting day, full of firsts. It was supposed to be simply the first time I used my oven in my new place, but a few more firsts piled on like, "first time calling 911" and "first time using a fire extinguisher". As someone who has never used a kitchen with a gas oven before, the idea that the drawer under the oven could be anything but a place to store stuff was completely absent from my mind. Luckily I had a couple friends over and we were all cool under pressure: 911 was called, extinguisher was acquired, fire was put out before the truck arrived. They ended up just blasting the smoke with a high-powered fan for awhile (after they realized they had it backward for about a minute). No fire damage beyond the oven, not really sure what state it's in on the interior. A fine dust of slightly corrosive monoammonium phosphate everywhere that could potentially wreck my desktop computer. Sleeping elsewhere for the evening. Anyone have experience to know if renters insurance covers damage from extinguishers, and whether the oven would still be usable after a thorough cleaning? Afterward, we marveled at the fact that, despite the overabundance of entirely superfluous safety labels on everything, the broiler had zero indication of what it was to someone who wasn't already familiar with that sort of thing. Had we not acted promptly to control the flame, things could have been a lot worse.
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Aug 25, 2013 06:43
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Cugel the Clever posted:Oven Fire The second night I moved into my first place in Canada, the fire alarms went off and all the units in the building evacuated. I went outside to see: 1. A german couple running in and out of the building taking everything they owned out ('the printer!, my drink!') 2. A spanish couple trying to herd their army of screaming children 3. A girl crying that everything she owned was inside that building 4. All of the above ignoring the fire extinguisher literally placed between them. I got it ready, went upstairs into the apartment with the smoke, turned off the oven, opened it and unleashed the entire canister into it. She had done exactly what you did, and had stored oven gloves in the broiler drawer at the bottom. The only reason I had not done the same thing was that I hadn't unpacked yet. There is no indication that that drawer is not just storage (there is one on my current electric oven that is for proving bread and only gets warm) and so you are not the first person to do this and you won't be the last. Fire extinguisher dust is an absolute pain to get gone - try a vacuum. If the oven didn't burn through itself it will be fine after a heavy cleaning.
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Aug 25, 2013 19:44
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Not all gas ovens have the broiler there, either. The one my family used for 12 years had it at the top of the actual oven, and the bottom drawer really was for storage. Made the same mistake you did three days ago at my new apt. Thankfully realized it pretty early on.
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Aug 25, 2013 20:01
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How feasible is it to arrange for an apartment rental without traveling to the place before moving in? It's something I'm somewhat paranoid about, as I'm now pretty mobile, but I don't really know much about renting a place. (For instance, renting a place in California while currently living in New York--would I want to fly out, do apartment hunting while staying at a hotel, then fly back after arranging things with a landlord?) I mean, I assume with that sort of restriction I'd probably have to avoid slightly-skeevier places like Craigslist.
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Aug 26, 2013 03:34
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Is there some sort of idiots guide to finding a place? I posted before that I get SSDI to the tune of $909 a month and the only places I can find that are available to someone such as myself are a bunch of godforsaken rooming houses. I have already done the rooming-house thing and I just don't want to do it again unless the only other option is a nice cozy bit of pavement somewhere. I noticed the only bit of advice I got was to get a roommate. I really can't do that. Being able to shut out everyone for longer than a room mate would tolerate helps me get through my rough patches. One thing that really fucks me over is that even the cheap rear end apt complexes require you to make 3x the rent which I simply do not and can not. They will not bend on this in the least and I can't just go down to the SS office and say 'It isn't enough, this stipend that you're offering me'. Frankly I'm grateful to have it but I am having a hell of a time finding respectable shelter with it. This is in Memphis, BTW. I am currently still in Chester Co with grandma, feeling I've overstayed my welcome. Memphis is my hometown, rough place that it is, always want to go back there for whatever reason. I used to know a landlord there who rented a bunch of buildings on N. Willett next to the Home Despot and unfortunately I don't have any connections like that anymore. Been here since Nov. '11 Making grandma take her pills and I really really need some space to call my own pretty soon. My stress levels are through the roof as of late and I need to go be by my self somewhere. Thanks, Goons. I'm a bit of a basket-case I realize, but I am trying not to be so hosed up. 
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Aug 26, 2013 10:41
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How hard have you looked? I went on the Memphis Craigslist housing page for less than one minute and found a 1 bed/1 bath for $325/month and another 1 bedroom place for $275/month. It's not the most upscale place but in your situation you can't really afford to be picky. If you want to live in downtown Memphis you're going to need a roommate. There's no way around it on your budget. Why exactly can't you tolerate a roommate? If it's because you need your own space/alone time, there are apartments that have floor plans that are conducive to never, ever seeing your roommate if you so choose. My old apartment had an en suite bathroom in each bedroom, so if you find something like that (or just claim the master bedroom in a 2-3 bedroom place) and get yourself a minifridge and microwave you can theoretically hole up in there for days Djeser posted:How feasible is it to arrange for an apartment rental without traveling to the place before moving in? It's something I'm somewhat paranoid about, as I'm now pretty mobile, but I don't really know much about renting a place. (For instance, renting a place in California while currently living in New York--would I want to fly out, do apartment hunting while staying at a hotel, then fly back after arranging things with a landlord?) It's possible, but its a million times easier in person especially in high-demand areas. Doing it all via email and phone takes away your ability to immediately whip out your checkbook and go "I'll take it!" and you run the risk of someone walking in in person to put a deposit on it before the landlord even sees your email. You've also got the problems of pictures online being incredibly deceptive. The apartment complex could be ultra ghetto and run down in real life, but if the complex's website uses pictures from 20 years ago you won't know that till you get there.
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Aug 26, 2013 14:50
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I figured in person was probably a better idea, but I was just worried whether it's doable at all. On a completely different tack, if I'm looking for a place to rent in a city I haven't been to, would it possibly work to just drive there, rent a hotel room for a few nights, and try to get set up in an apartment as soon as possible? I know it's better to plan ahead, but I've got plans that can change on very short notice.
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Aug 26, 2013 17:09
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If I was in your shoes I'd get a room at an extended stay hotel when you get there for a month or so to use as a home base while you house hunt. It'll buy you more time to find a good place instead of trying to find a move in ready place in less than a week.
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Aug 26, 2013 17:27
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:If I was in your shoes I'd get a room at an extended stay hotel when you get there for a month or so to use as a home base while you house hunt. It'll buy you more time to find a good place instead of trying to find a move in ready place in less than a week.
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Aug 26, 2013 17:32
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Can anyone vouch for any good cable/internet deals in Massachusetts (Malden)? I don't need cable, but if there's a deal that kicks rear end, I might as well take it. So far, the best I've found is RCN TV/Internet for $60 a month, with 1 year contract. I can do a 1 year contract, at most. cname fucked around with this message at 21:22 on Aug 26, 2013 |
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Aug 26, 2013 21:18
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gently caress places that don't have off-street parking.  Around here, that's standard. If the time it took me to find a spot just to go look at the apartment is any indication, it would not be an enjoyable experience to do that day-in, day-out. On top of that, when there's a parking ban because of the snow, I have to fit my car into the "back yard" area...the "back yard" area that itself could have a foot or more of snow in it? So...I'm just expected to upgrade to an SUV with a large clearance, all-wheel drive, and knobby tires? Sucks, too, because otherwise it had everything I need. W/D in the unit, basement for storage/beer aging, decent sized rooms, full bath... 
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Aug 26, 2013 23:08
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