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When doing a walkthrough to check on the condition of fixtures, appliances, etc, are the items listed in the form provided by the landlord the only ones I need to document in terms of preserving so as to keep my deposit, or can he can he swing back around and say I needed to pay for something that wasn't on the list that was damaged?
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Aug 28, 2013 05:18
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Raar_Im_A_Dinosaur posted:When doing a walkthrough to check on the condition of fixtures, appliances, etc, are the items listed in the form provided by the landlord the only ones I need to document in terms of preserving so as to keep my deposit, or can he can he swing back around and say I needed to pay for something that wasn't on the list that was damaged? Any damage you see in the apartment should be noted.
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Aug 28, 2013 14:19
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Yea, document everything. Ask yourself this - if you actually destroyed something that wasn't on that list, would you expect the landlord to not charge you because it hadn't been noted as broken or not? Most of those lists don't include stuff like 'bathroom vent fan' or 'front door hinges', but you know that if you took a sledgehammer to those things, you would be responsible. What you should actually do is fill out the sheet in the most exhaustive detail possible, and make sure you keep a copy of it just in case the landlord 'loses' it. You should also take photos of every part of every room, with some way to mark the date (a paper, whatever.) Save all those photos with the copy of your list, so if there is any question you can break them out and show exactly what the condition was like. Maybe 75% of the time this isn't even necessary, but the time you get stuck with a lovely landlord who things he's going to turn the screws on you because you're a punk, you can get them to back off most of the time just by revealing you have all this on hand. Well worth it.
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Aug 28, 2013 15:15
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:Any damage you see in the apartment should be noted. Yup. Write everything and and take pictures and send the landlord the pictures. And get some kind of confirmation he/she got them. Email might not be enough. Print them off at a Kinko's or really any drug store that has those self-print stations and mail them with delivery confirmation. And yes, keep a copy for yourself, too. Just writing down something like, "Small scratch on outside of oven," might not be enough if the landlord decides that no no, that's clearly a BIG scratch, so you made it worse while you were there, you need to pay for a brand new oven. I got burned by this once. It wasn't even my first rental, it was my third, but the first time with a scummy, not-no-nice landlord. It was a split-level home that was converted into two apartments, that was then converted back to a full house. So the downstairs "basement" area had a sort of half-kitchen. She removed the old stove and fridge, but the cabinets and sink remained. We told her the cabinets were damaged a bit, and we never used them. Well, when we moved out, among all the other BS she tried to nail us for, she had down "repair of cabinets" because clearly when we said damaged, we just means a few small scratches, not doors on one hinge, missing hardware, etc... This was also the same landlord that tried to get us to pay for a door that was damaged in a severe wind storm. It tore down half the branches in an old oak tree in the yard, yet somehow she didn't believe us that it was able to slam the screen door up against the side of the house, ripping out it's little closer-bar-piston-thingy (just what in the heck do you call that thing?)
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Aug 28, 2013 15:41
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Thanks guys, I'll take a picture of anything that I see is damaged and hold a piece of paper with the date on it and email them to him at the very least, if its something big or likely to come back to bite me I'll mail him physical photos.
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Aug 28, 2013 16:29
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Mother fucker. I saw mouse droppings on my kitchen counter and a roach in there this morning. Pulled back the oven, unused sticky trap. Pulled off the bottom faceplate of the dishwasher BLAMMO NMS: some dead-rear end mice and roaches   So um, how can I seal up a hole that's got flexible cord and piping running through it? Because the exterminators at this apartment just throw in more bait packs and sticky traps. 
M42 fucked around with this message at 05:09 on Aug 29, 2013 |
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Aug 29, 2013 02:39
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Seal the openings around the cords with expandable foam. Just don't overdo.
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Aug 29, 2013 12:44
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They chewed through expandable foam to get there. I might try stuffing the holes with steel wool, apparently they can't really get through that easily.
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Aug 29, 2013 14:49
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M42 posted:They chewed through expandable foam to get there. I might try stuffing the holes with steel wool, apparently they can't really get through that easily. You have to be pretty diligent about checking on steel wool, though. I had a mousehole in my childhood bedroom that we originally sealed up with steel wool, but the mice chewed their way through it and I woke up one night with a mouse on my bed, thanks to my wonderful, 8-year-old sense of cleanliness (piles of stuff, no food trash). After that we checked on it every month to keep the hole properly contained until the year my bedroom was painted, when my father basically stuffed the steel wool back into the hole and spackled over it.
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Aug 29, 2013 17:39
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Is my landlord allowed to come into my room, move my furniture and paint my walls while I'm literally inside, living my life? I didn't give him permission. I'm a sub-letter with virtually no lease. I signed some hocus-pocus document that was more like a pledge to keep things clean and not break anything. It likely would never hold up in court. Just wondering what options I have. I'm moving on the 1st. I hope this place burns to the ground and kills the landlord. Yesterday, he was installing insulation (from the inside) hit a wire and knocked out the electricity for one of the breakers. I have a lamp and my laptop plugged into a power strip, attached to an extension cord, which runs downstairs to an outlette on a different breaker. I can't loving wait to move. cname fucked around with this message at 19:06 on Aug 29, 2013 |
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Aug 29, 2013 19:02
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cname posted:Is my landlord allowed to come into my room, move my furniture and paint my walls while I'm literally inside, living my life? I didn't give him permission. I'm a sub-letter with virtually no lease. Are you subletting in his apartment? The answer is he probably can. If you're subletting from another leaseholder, then you have no recourse but the leaseholder might.
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Aug 29, 2013 19:04
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:Are you subletting in his apartment? The answer is he probably can. If you're subletting from another leaseholder, then you have no recourse but the leaseholder might. Subletting from another leaseholder. It's the landlord's unit, but I'm sure I have the same rights as the leaseholder, which are probably none, what-so-ever. I guess I could threaten to obliterate my bedroom, considering there's no security deposit to hold against me.
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Aug 29, 2013 19:06
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cname posted:Subletting from another leaseholder. It's the landlord's unit, but I'm sure I have the same rights as the leaseholder, which are probably none, what-so-ever. I'm not sure I understand. Does the landlord live in that unit? If he does, then he has full access. If not, then typically he would need to notify the leaseholder of his intent to come in and perform the work. If your agreement is with the leaseholder, then you have no contract with the landlord, and no recourse for this situation, but the leaseholder might. And a security deposit isn't a cap on damages. If you damage his property, he has the right to be reimbursed, regardless of whether or not he has a deposit from you. Or rather, the landlord will have the right to charge the leaseholder, and the leaseholder could seek reimbursement from you.
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Aug 29, 2013 19:26
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It's a two unit duplex. The landlord lives in the downstairs unit. The leaseholder used to live in my bedroom.
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Aug 29, 2013 19:39
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cname posted:Subletting from another leaseholder. It's the landlord's unit, but I'm sure I have the same rights as the leaseholder, which are probably none, what-so-ever. Depends on where you live. I know that most places (in the US,) have clauses in their tenant/landlord rights and laws that say something to the effect of: "Even in absence of a formal lease, if a renter has been living in a unit for X amount of time, they get most or all of the same rights as a formal lease signer." And usually, these rights include the fact that a landlord has to give advance notice (typically 24-48 hours) before entering the premises, except in cases of emergency (and no, painting or installing insulation is not an emergency.) Everyone should look up their state/province/national/whatever tenant/landlord rights and responsibilities. It's amazing the poo poo that most people let landlords get away with, because they don't know any better and it has "always been that way." Security deposits seem especially bad. I've known several people (IRL and just online,) who assume a SD is always forfeit, that all landlords keep 100% of them no matter what, and that they have no recourse to try and get it back.
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Aug 29, 2013 20:57
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My past post is pointless, now. I'm all moved out, living in a kickass new place and don't have to deal with that landlord's nonsense. I might go post about him in some "bitch about your living situation" thread, but aside from that, it's over. The simple things in life... -Walking around barefoot without having to worry about dirt clinging to my feet. -Leaving the bathroom door open, while I poo poo/shower. (Roommate at work) -The smell. Oh god, the smell! Murphy's oil and fresh laundry! Not some strange middle-eastern spice smell. -Doing dishes I know have only been there for a few hours. Being able to scrape cheese off plates, without having to get a paint chipper. This place is heaven, but I still don't have internet. Is there a thread for cable/internet packages? I'm totally blind. I plan on calling around, tomorrow but I trust the actual internet over internet service providers.
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Sep 4, 2013 02:17
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cname posted:This place is heaven, but I still don't have internet. Is there a thread for cable/internet packages? I'm totally blind. I plan on calling around, tomorrow but I trust the actual internet over internet service providers. I think cable/internet packages depend so heavily on where you live that you're kind of on your own to do your research. Lots of places have cable company monopolies (COMCAST  ) and you don't get a choice. I'd ask around your friends/coworkers and see what they have and if they're happy with it.
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Sep 4, 2013 02:31
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If you want to go internet-only, there is a thread for Cutting Cable. Outside of that, DSLReports can maybe provide some guidance as to what, if any, choices you may have in your area.
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Sep 4, 2013 17:11
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cname posted:
Maybe check the LAN forum? If the area you live in has an active thread, you could probably get some good advice there. http://forums.somethingawful.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=241
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Sep 4, 2013 23:13
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Please help me guys. I am going crazy. My building has six parking spots, two for each of us, with no street parking. My husband and I need both of ours, which was never a problem until this lady "moved in" next door. She doesn't actually live there. She just runs her shady hair cutting business out of the place. When I get home from work, she always has four or five cars around. I'm at wit's end. I've tried asking her nicely to move cars. She has a huge attitude about it and takes forever (like until she's done cutting that person's hair since it's not like there's anywhere else for them to park and come back). I've tried asking rudely. I've complained to our landlord. The first time, he put up a tow sign but doesn't enforce it or tell us how we can enforce it when asked. The last two times I've complained he has sent out reminders that we each just get two spots. One of her crazy clients even dented my car with their door a few weeks ago. Someone give me an idea on how to deal with her so I don't end up setting fire to all these goddam cars. 
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Sep 5, 2013 01:12
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john mayer posted:Please help me guys. I am going crazy. My building has six parking spots, two for each of us, with no street parking. My husband and I need both of ours, which was never a problem until this lady "moved in" next door. She doesn't actually live there. She just runs her shady hair cutting business out of the place. When I get home from work, she always has four or five cars around. If not, hang up your own signs that say "Clients of Crazy Neighbor: If you park here, YOU WILL BE TOWED." Alternatively, if you can safely do it (i.e. without blocking a driveway/other parking spaces) start double-parking behind the people taking your spaces. Force them to come to you when they want to leave, then just take your time about it. Yet another alternative is to call your landlord and start bugging him/her for a rent reduction, since you're not getting the use out of your parking spaces that's supposed to come with your apartment. You need to give him/her a financial incentive to follow through with the towing threat. Finally, you could go after her bureaucratically; zoning is usually pretty easy for an apartment building-based business (i.e. there's a good chance it's illegal for her to run a business out of there). There are also some fairly heavy-duty regulations on hair stylists in a lot of places; you could find out if she's licensed & certified to be doing the work she's doing. And of course, there's always the health department; give them a call, see what they say about someone cutting hair in an apartment building. Ham Equity fucked around with this message at 01:26 on Sep 5, 2013 |
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Sep 5, 2013 01:15
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Thanatosian posted:Do the tow signs not have a phone number on them? I've actually already tried the cosmetology licensing board and the zoning dept for my city. Last time we double parked they drove over the parking barrier to get out and I'm terrified they'll just hit my car. I'm going to bug my landlord about a rent reduction though. That's a great idea.
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Sep 5, 2013 02:06
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Does your lease prohibit running a business out of your apartment? Almost every apartment I've lived in has had a clause that you cannot have a business located in the apartment that requires clients coming and going. Although if your landlord knows and doesn't care that probably won't get you anywhere. You could try buying some traffic cones or some other large object and putting them in your spot when you leave. It's super passive aggressive but it might make them think twice about taking your spot if they have to get out of their car to move something before they park in your spot. This is how people where I used to live claimed spots they dug out of snow in the winter so no one else would take them while they were gone. You'd see spots with everything from traffic cones to lawn chairs in them.
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Sep 5, 2013 04:09
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:Does your lease prohibit running a business out of your apartment? Not just the lease, every city has zoning laws too, she could rat this woman out for big fines, potentially.
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Sep 5, 2013 05:13
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Pet question: When we got the place we've been living in for about 3 months now, the realtor and advertisment said cats were A-OK. I definitely glazed over that part of the lease, because it says Cats are ok with written permission form the landlord... which we haven't gotten. Whats the best way to approach the landlord about this? I don't have the old ad, or an email from the realtor about cats. My plan was to email her and ask about getting permission for a cat, but I'd hate to get denied considering the cat already lives with us. E: I have a friend who is a landlord who said it's best to just not say anything. Unless the pet is a big nuisance to the neighbors it wont be an issue. Also I've seen other cats poking there heads out windows, so this may never become an issue. Bread Set Jettison fucked around with this message at 17:29 on Sep 5, 2013 |
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Sep 5, 2013 14:27
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So I'm moving into a new apartment soon.  In the process I've sold an old hand-me-down mattress and box spring of dubious age and am in the market for a new one. An Ikea raid is likely to happen and I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts on their mattresses and bed frames. I know that with all things you get what you pay for; I'm not looking for top-end, but I'd rather spend the money and get something that will last a long time rather than cheap out for something that'll wear out in just a few years. Any opinions?EDIT: VVV Good find. I'd prefer something like that where the structural support is made of metal rather than wood or particle board, given the choice. Thanks! GFBeach fucked around with this message at 20:33 on Sep 5, 2013 |
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Sep 5, 2013 17:01
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GFBeach posted:So I'm moving into a new apartment soon. It's cheap as hell (price wise but not cheap quality-wise) but this metal box spring/bed frame is BAD rear end. It's probably the best thing I've ever purchased as far as furniture goes and I'm not exaggerating. It replaces both the box spring and the frame, it's like a hundred bucks and the best part is - it comes apart and folds up so you can actually move it easily by yourself without a truck. http://www.amazon.com/Sleep-Master-...etal+box+spring And there's so much space underneath. I love this stupid thing.
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Sep 5, 2013 19:31
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GFBeach posted:So I'm moving into a new apartment soon. My wife and I have this bed frame from Ikea: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S99849961/ and it is one of the best $99 we ever spent. We did buy the wooden slats that can help with support, but they weren't that much extra.
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Sep 5, 2013 20:55
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I've wanted to do this with my Malm for a while: http://www.heathashli.com/2010/08/ikea-hack-malm-w-storage-boxspring/ I've got the frame, I'd just need to get the storage box.
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Sep 5, 2013 23:16
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razz posted:It's cheap as hell (price wise but not cheap quality-wise) but this metal box spring/bed frame is BAD rear end. It's probably the best thing I've ever purchased as far as furniture goes and I'm not exaggerating. It replaces both the box spring and the frame, it's like a hundred bucks and the best part is - it comes apart and folds up so you can actually move it easily by yourself without a truck. Seconding this req, I have it right now, and it's loving AWESOME. It doesn't slide around, it offers good support, it's really light, and wicked easy to put together (like 5-10 min tops no tools needed). Only caveat, it ships in a large rectangle box that can be a little hard to carry. Nothing that making some makeshift tape handles can't fix (or just lifting it onto your shoulder or with another person).
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Sep 6, 2013 00:06
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FISHMANPET posted:I've wanted to do this with my Malm for a while: That's pretty awesome! We've already got some storage bins that fit under the bed, though, and as it looks like that Sultan Alsarp boxspring sits on the floor that'd knock out the ability to use said bins. Still, something to keep in mind! Anyone have any thoughts about Ikea's mattresses? Obviously we'll go take a look at them when we're at the store, but we're mostly concerned with how well they hold up over time.
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Sep 6, 2013 02:42
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GFBeach posted:That's pretty awesome! We've already got some storage bins that fit under the bed, though, and as it looks like that Sultan Alsarp boxspring sits on the floor that'd knock out the ability to use said bins. Still, something to keep in mind! I have the basic ikea mattress. I've only had it for a year but it's fine so far, no issues (no sinking, etc). Only thing is you may want a mattress pad to make it a touch softer, but I like firm mattresses, so ymmv.
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Sep 6, 2013 03:04
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Hi, I'm Troy McClure. You may remember me from such posts as http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3411978&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=64#post418616955 or from such educational films as "Two Minus Three Equals Negative Fun". Picking up where that left off, it turns out that the Electricians were in our apartment with not a note left a bunch of times and just kept randomly leaving breakers off or something. At least, that's my working assumption. They eventually sent out an electrician a couple of Saturdays ago who replaced a breaker, but said he couldn't find any issues. He explicitly told me if any more breakers blew, to not reset it, and instead call the emergency maintenance number and have them come out, document it, and call the electrician. That moves us forward to last Sunday. Run the washer and dryer and the breaker blows. Call maintenance. Wait ~5 hours for them to finally show up, go "yup its blown", and promise to call the electrician. In the meantime, I review the electrical situation and deduce that my 12 amp Dryer, 5 amp Washer, and the rest of the outlets on that side of the kitchen, including the microwave, are all on one 20 amp breaker. Even just the W/D is clearly cutting it too close. So, I get to Wednesday and I've heard nothing. I call the office at 11am (they are 9-5 and I had to make time during work). I get Marshall. gently caress. I explain about the breaker, the emergency maintenance, and that I need to know what's going on with it so I know when we need to unplug our stuff cause PS3s/Xboxen can be a bit temperamental with power cycling and I don't want our UPSes draining for no reason. He asks me to hold. Comes back a few minutes later and tells me "All the electrical work in your building should have long been completed." gently caress. No, Marshall, you disregarded everything I loving told you. Here. Let me repeat it all again. You rear end in a top hat. Now, he says that maintenance is all out of the office and he will get with them and call me back. 4:30 rolls around and he calls me back. Now that everyone is ready to leave for the day, he wants to "let me know that the maintenance supervisor said that all of the electrical work in my building should have been completed." Holy poo poo. What is wrong with you, Marshall. Proceed to tell the whole story a 3rd time to the same person on the same day. "So, you are saying this is a new incident." I hate him with every fibre of my soul. He says that he'll have maintenance look at it in the morning. Interlude: In addition to the electrical problems, someone shattered something large and made of glass in our parking lot over the weekend. I mentioned that there were large hunks of glass all over the parking lot and in the lobby/stair area of the apartment building when I called Marshall. He told me on the 4:30 call that maintenance had cleaned it up. Got home ~5:30. Glass still everywhere. Today (Thursday). I call and leave a message for Heather to call me ~10am. About noon, having heard nothing, I call back and leave a message for either Heather or Diana to call me. Shortly thereafter, Diana calls. I explain the entire sordid affair, electric and glass. For good measure, I mention that one of the treadmills in the Fitness Center is broken. She promises to get to the bottom of all of it and call me back. At the time, she says that maintenance is currently in my apartment working on the issue and that there was "a bad element". I'm stupefied, but roll with it. She gets the entire lowdown on Marshall. Again. Unknown to me, my roommate stops at the Leasing Office a few minutes later to pick up a UPS package. He mentions all the issues and they let him know very clearly that they have heard everything from me and are working on it. I get off work at 5. Decide gently caress da police and swing by the Leasing Office on my way back. Marshall sees me and retreats into an office. When I find Diana, she doesn't realize who I am until I speak to her. Her face almost hits the floor. She begs off that today was the last day for rent and that she hadn't had time to call me back. But she promises everything is fixed. I get home. Glass all over the parking lot. Noticeably less glass inside. Find the hang tag. Maintenance dude "replaced the heating element on the hot water heater". I have no idea why he though this was relevant in any loving way. The same 20 amp breaker is still on the same lines. We find that he didn't bother to get the air out of any of the pipes. All the sinks and showers spit for several minutes. Now the washer won't complete a cycle. It had done this occasionally before, but now it won't work at all. Pretty sure it's from the air in the pipes after the water heater was unhooked. gently caress. So, I have two things I guess I have to do tomorrow: 1- I took pictures of the outlet and dryer exhaust. I previously called Code Enforcement and they said the dryer can't vent inside, even if it is electric. I'm going to send them the pictures and confirm that Code is being broken. 2- I'm going to figure out how to reach Anita, the property manager. And I'm going to compile everything into a big long mega-email and drop it on her. Because, clearly, Diana isn't getting it done. "gently caress." - Jimmy McNulty
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Sep 6, 2013 06:18
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Jet Set Jettison posted:Pet question: If you're in NYC, iirc after 3 months of the pet living there and you not attempting to hide it the landlord HAS to allow it.
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Sep 6, 2013 06:39
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Toshimo posted:2- I'm going to figure out how to reach Anita, the property manager. And I'm going to compile everything into a big long mega-email and drop it on her. Because, clearly, Diana isn't getting it done. Don't make a big long mega-e-mail. Be concise. List your problems and what you want done at the very beginning. Nobody wants to sit and read a wall of text.
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Sep 6, 2013 06:42
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Yea, the property manager probably has better things to do than read a huge ranting email (or at least things they consider more important), so your plan should be to condense as much as possible for them to absorb quickly. I would also recommend that you focus on big issues that scream 'liability' or 'legal problems', because that will motivate them to get poo poo solved. They don't actually care about you, so four paragraphs about how someone is a jerk and never calls you back is a lost cause. Instead mention that you have had numerous issues, but highlight the big stuff and point out how the on-site staff has failed to handle it. Broken glass probably falls into this category (are there any families or kids in the building? Pointing out that the building will be liable if a kid cuts themselves on uncleared debris is a good idea). So does things like code violations and fire hazards (such as the stupid arrangement overloading a breaker).
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Sep 7, 2013 07:24
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If anyone is in the market for cheap kitchen plates, I highly recommend anything from IKEA. My IKEA plates are about 5 years old and have withstood four years of college student abuse and a cross country move with only a single bowl as a casualty. The other day I dropped a cast iron skillet on a stack of them, NONE broke. Then a few days later I knocked a glass one off the countertop onto the tile floor. Didn't even chip. I'm pretty sure they're forged with some sort of Swedish magic.
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Sep 8, 2013 04:13
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I'd say the opposite. Ikea makes loads of great stuff for cheap but crockery isn't it. All of my ikea crockery has excessive scratch marks from ikea cutlery, I've chipped a bunch of stuff just putting it into the dishwasher, and don't even get me started on the glassware as it all dies from thermal shock (ie hot water). But we all have different luck
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Sep 8, 2013 04:26
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:If anyone is in the market for cheap kitchen plates, I highly recommend anything from IKEA. This is so true. I will add though that their glasses are indestructible and really heavy. We replaced ours after they broke toes on two separate occasions.
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Sep 8, 2013 04:27
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I was hoping somebody could give me some information and/or link me to somewhere that does about subletting. I may be, in the near future, taking a gig on a cruise ship so I would be away in three-six month stints. Thanks!
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Sep 8, 2013 18:20
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