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Lead out in cuffs posted:Ahahaha. I just had my first super happy fun time Craigslist spam/scam experience. Apparently there's a company called "The Rental Guide" in Vancouver that charges $120 for potential tenants to get access to their "exclusive database" of rentals (all culled from Craigslist and Kijiji but more out of date). And they post fake rentals ads to Craigslist as a way of harvesting phone numbers of potential customers. I just got the call from their pushy, evasive and manipulative sales rep, and welp, reported to the Competition Bureau. I even know exactly which ad it was, as it's the only one that I replied to with my phone number that didn't get a response from a real landlord. That's crazy. The only time I've ever had problems like that in Craigslist is while hunting for jobs. It turns out "personal assistant" is code for "join my pyramid scheme". The only shady housing ads I see around here are the "rent to own" places, which all look waaay too good to be true. We're talking like monthly payments roughly equivalent to a 1-bedroom apartment leading to ownership of a whole house after however many years.
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Oct 4, 2013 18:47
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In Boston it's pretty common to find bait-and-switch ads that are for a nice deal, but when you contact them they try and push a dozen other lovely properties on you. If you ask about that specific one, they'll say something like 'Oh, you just missed it'. Then you'll see the same ad reposted day after day for two weeks.
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Oct 4, 2013 18:55
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Ashcans posted:In Boston it's pretty common to find bait-and-switch ads that are for a nice deal, but when you contact them they try and push a dozen other lovely properties on you. If you ask about that specific one, they'll say something like 'Oh, you just missed it'. That guy I did have today, haha. He posted the ad like last night and when I called on my lunch break today he was all, "No, that one's already gone. But I do have this other one for $200 more per month  "
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Oct 4, 2013 19:05
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Putting my room together, it’s pretty small so I’m trying to maximize my space. I want a roomy desk and I intend on mounting both monitors to the wall. Here’s what I have so far. The desk will run under the shelf slightly to create a little alcove where I can tuck unused poo poo. The tabletop is technically for two people, but I like the shape and the ease of running cables through the back. I’ll get a bunch of clothes organizers and keep everything else in the closet; I don’t really need a dresser. -Bed Frame -Nightstand -Desk -Legs -Shelf If anyone has awesome ideas as to how I can maximize space and keep it looking clean (I like white) I’m all ears. Elderbean fucked around with this message at 02:11 on Oct 5, 2013 |
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Oct 5, 2013 01:38
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Sincere apologies for the double post, but I forgot to upload the image and imgur isn’t working for me.
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Oct 5, 2013 02:17
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Elderbean posted:Sincere apologies for the double post, but I forgot to upload the image and imgur isn’t working for me. How tall is the ceiling? If you want more storage space with that size room, you'll want to use more of the wall space and store upwards. I would suggest turning the LACK shelf so it hangs above the desk instead, for three reasons. First, it looks like you'd have a chance of bumping your head against it when sitting, unless you mount it so high it would be impractical to access. (Depending on your height standing vs. sitting.) Second, bu rotating it you simply use the space above the desk more efficiently. Most importantly, it frees up a bunch of space on the eastern wall and should then allow you to get a bookcase or similar. You can get something with doors or drawers if you want to conceal the contents to keep a cleaner look. If you turn the shelf it will of course hang over the other end of the table, leaving a vertical column of hard-to-use space below it. You could perhaps add a hook or two there for clothes, bags or whatever.
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Oct 5, 2013 02:39
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The ceiling is a pretty standard height; I don't have the exact measurements right now. If there's some miraculous way I can reasonably fit a full sized mattress in there I'm willing to have a smaller desk. I just want enough space for two monitors and some storage.
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Oct 5, 2013 03:00
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Budget Bears posted:I got a little shoe rack for my apartment's living room because everyone was always leaving their shoes all over the living room and it was bugging me, so now if any of the four people who live here take their shoes off in the living room, we all put them on the shoe rack. But now the problem is that this one area where the shoe rack is smells like feet and shoes all the time. Is there anything I can do to curb the smell other than individually deodorizing everyone's shoes? There's an outlet right next to the rack, should I just plug in an air freshener or something? Or put a little dish of baking soda nearby? Cedar bars for inside the shoes, and then some sort of scent sachet (we use a little pine one) underneath. My students have to switch shoes before class (yay Asia) and that's what I do to keep my classroom from smelling like feet.
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Oct 5, 2013 10:29
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Elderbean posted:Sincere apologies for the double post, but I forgot to upload the image and imgur isn’t working for me. Your arrangement looks reasonably given the space (although I agree about shuffling the shelf, and if you do that you could something like a bookshelf on the wall at the foot of the bed. I would suggest getting some under-bed storage. You can just buy some big flat rubbermaids cheap, and stuff them under there. A bed is a huge footprint, so squeezing more use out of it is important.
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Oct 5, 2013 12:05
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Elderbean posted:If there's some miraculous way I can reasonably fit a full sized mattress in there I'm willing to have a smaller desk. If you put the bed in the SE corner, along the S wall (I'm going by N = up here), and put the desk in the NW corner, along the W wall, you could fit a double bed in there. It would be tight with the desk you're currently looking at (only about a 2' gap between desk and bed for about 2'), but maybe you could go for a smaller desk, or a corner desk? You could also look into getting a 3/4 size bed.
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Oct 5, 2013 22:21
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I'll probably just leave my computer in the family room, time to be an adult. Other than IKEA, does anyone offer nice looking and functional computer desks? I'm looking at all my options here.
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Oct 6, 2013 00:37
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The MALM is low enough that you can't really fit anything underneath it. They make a Storage MALM that's a bit higher off the ground but I think that only comes in a queen size.
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Oct 7, 2013 19:47
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FISHMANPET posted:The MALM is low enough that you can't really fit anything underneath it. They make a Storage MALM that's a bit higher off the ground but I think that only comes in a queen size. The Malm is also an awful bed. It's at exactly the right height to seriously bruise your shins, mattresses are very difficult to change sheets on, and with an Ikea mattress it compresses it and makes the whole mattress bend a bit. Please get any other bed than this one, I want to smash it every day
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Oct 8, 2013 00:24
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Good to know, thanks. I might just go the super-poor "buy a metal stand" route since I'm trying to save money.
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Oct 8, 2013 03:49
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Elderbean posted:Good to know, thanks. I love my Malm, but for you I would recommend this.
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Oct 8, 2013 04:24
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I have a Malm as well and while it's definitely not an awful bed, it's not the best either. I can fit flattened duffle bags and shoes under it, but that's about it. However they do make some sliding drawers that fit behind the headboard (which also gives you about 8-10 inches of space to put books or lamps or whatever right next to your head) which aren't too shabby. Do not buy an Ikea mattress unless you hate yourself.
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Oct 8, 2013 14:43
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Also, who sells nice desks? I'm looking for something with a fair amount of storage and space for two monitors.
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Oct 8, 2013 15:33
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Elderbean posted:Also, who sells nice desks? I'm looking for something with a fair amount of storage and space for two monitors. My personal preference is to look around for local stores that sell unfinished pine furniture. You tend to be able to get a nicely constructed pine desk with room to spare for far less than the ikea equivalent. Another option is to look on craigslist in the nicer areas of town, I see plenty of nice furniture for sale from my local rich people, and often desks are the first thing to go as folks convert offices into nurseries and such.
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Oct 8, 2013 18:11
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What's the best way to deal with the guy who has a loud tv above me?
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Oct 8, 2013 19:36
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Tab8715 posted:What's the best way to deal with the guy who has a loud tv above me? 1) Stick a polite note under his door asking him if he wouldn't mind turning down his TV. If that doesn't work, 2) Knock on his door and ask him in person if he wouldn't mind turning down his TV. If that doesn't work, 3) Call your building manager and ask them to ask him to turn down his TV. If that doesn't work, 4) CALL THE MOTHERFUCKING COPS.  Bonus points if you get to step 4, wait until you hear him listening to an action movie, and call the cops saying "I hear gunfire coming from upstairs!"
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Oct 8, 2013 20:02
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Elderbean posted:Also, who sells nice desks? I'm looking for something with a fair amount of storage and space for two monitors. It would be helpful if you could give more specific criteria, such as budget, size, materials, etc. The Ikea desk you listed is just a simple tabletop. Just get a table. Something expandable like the Bjursta would be even better (see page 68 of this thread). For storage, how about something like this: http://www.cb2.com/tps-white-file-cabinet/f5961 cb2 has a "go-kart" desk that's really cool; it's metal and on casters. If you read the reviews you'll see that people use it all over the house for different functions; this will come in handy if/when you move.
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Oct 9, 2013 01:07
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kedo posted:1) Stick a polite note under his door asking him if he wouldn't mind turning down his TV. If that doesn't work, I quickly looked up local theres a max of 55db and he's a few over. I'll go with the first way.
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Oct 10, 2013 03:16
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I'm not sure if this is the right thread for this, or the personal finance thread. I am having a hell of a time finding an apartment on account of my bad credit (chapter 7 bankruptcy this past summer), and my grandparents (most direct relatives alive) are uncomfortable with the language on modern cosigning papers. I still have a few weeks to look, but I've been passed over for like 5 places so far. I'm starting to run out of places that aren't "we'll rent to anybody! Come live where the crime rate is super elevated! I hope you don't value your car windows!" Do ya'll think I'll have better luck if I go to the complex I lived in 2 years ago? I wasn't super satisfied with that place's heating issues, but I left on good terms and got my whole deposit back. I just want to get out of the structurally unsound, moldy flophouse that I had to move into while I was delivering pizza for a living.
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Oct 10, 2013 14:30
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You can certainly try applying at your old place, your prior history would help but I have no idea if it would outweigh your situation. The worst that can happen is they reject you. The problem here is that people are looking at your history, seeing that bankruptcy, and deciding (not without cause) that you are too much of a risk. This isn't really unreasonable on their part, so you have to do something to counteract that fear. First off, why did you declare bankruptcy? You don't have to tell us, but think about whether the situation is something worth explaining when you apply for an apartment. You might write up a short explanation of what happened and why it won't happen again, and that can help convince people you're not actually a horrible risk. This only really works if there is some good reason for what happened, though. If you were injured or sick and then lost your job and ended up in a huge mess, for instance. Or someone in your family had problems and you ended up running up debts trying to help them. If you declared bankruptcy because you got as many credit cards as you could and bought everything you wanted and ended up smoking cigars in a ball-pit full of expensive crap, this isn't going to help you. The other thing you can do is show that you have actual reserves on hand to pay the rent. Many states won't allow you to pre-pay rent, but if you can show someone a bank statement where you have a 3-6 month reserve, that will help put their mind at ease. Obviously this requires that you actually have that, so you might need to suck it up while you save. Ultimately, you will probably do better if you look or individual landlords rather than a managed property or company. A company that manages dozens of units isn't going to see past their numbers, and very likely the person processing applications doesn't have much leeway, either. An individual landlord may actually engage with you as a person and look past your numbers. This is what we did - we were looking for a place with a lower income than usual, and because the landlord was a guy I could talk to directly about this and show him that we took our budgeting and finances seriously, he decided he'd trust us to pay. And he had the authority to do that.
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Oct 10, 2013 16:29
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Ashcans posted:You can certainly try applying at your old place, your prior history would help but I have no idea if it would outweigh your situation. The worst that can happen is they reject you. Yeah  The TL;DR is that I made a lot of really naive decisions while I was with my ex-fiance three-to-five years ago, and then was too broke to deal with them in the intervening time. I'm looking at a pretty decent looking sub-let tonight from a private landlord, so hopefully that will go somewhere. The ad was posted 17 hours ago, so I'm hoping I will be able to just say "here is my security deposit, I write software now :O", and they will just be glad somebody is subletting the old tenant so fast. deadly_pudding fucked around with this message at 16:38 on Oct 10, 2013 |
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Oct 10, 2013 16:34
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deadly_pudding posted:The ad was posted 17 hours ago, so I'm hoping I will be able to just say "here is my security deposit, I write software now :O" What you mean is, you're a software ENGINEER. (Old people love that word).
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Oct 11, 2013 20:30
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If I decide to get a bedframe, where should I look?
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Oct 12, 2013 06:19
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Elderbean posted:If I decide to get a bedframe, where should I look? If you just want a standard cheap bedframe you can usually haggle for a free one when you buy a mattress from a mattress store.
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Oct 12, 2013 16:44
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Elderbean posted:If I decide to get a bedframe, where should I look? Standard answer, ikea. Poor person standard answer, craigslist for second hand ikea. Slightly better off person answer, CB2, West Elm, local furniture stores of the swedish and European persuasion. Rich person answer, I don't know where rich people shop, Restoration Hardware? Does Apple make bed frames?
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Oct 13, 2013 05:32
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Trilineatus posted:
Rolex.
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Oct 13, 2013 07:44
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Ethan Allen. Or anywhere else where you buy a bedroom set that is all nice wood and runs 5 grand. That's for traditional style, at least. For modern, probably pieces bought at a design showroom.
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Oct 13, 2013 14:13
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I got my bedroom set from The Roomstore before they all went out of business. Got a drat good deal since they were trying to liquidate all their inventory. The rest of my furniture that isn't from Ikea is from Ashley and Macy's. Basically any furniture store chain that advertises a lot on TV will have decent quality stuff at generally affordable prices. More expensive than Ikea, but cheaper than high end places. I'm a big fan of Haverty's, my old apartment had a couch from Haverty's that was awesome.
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Oct 13, 2013 17:56
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smackfu posted:Ethan Allen. Or anywhere else where you buy a bedroom set that is all nice wood and runs 5 grand. That's for traditional style, at least. For modern, probably pieces bought at a design showroom. Design Within Reach. That name is such a cruel mockery.
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Oct 13, 2013 17:58
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We've started looking at houses to rent in the city we're moving to next year (Omaha, NE) and it appears that all of the houses in our price range (sub $1200/month) within a reasonable commute to work and downtown are OLD AS poo poo. Meaning the most "modern" ones were built in the early 60s with many being built in the 20s. I found one that looks almost identical on the interior as my parents' house before they remodeled which kind of gave me a  nostalgic feeling, then I thought of all the old house problems that led to the remodel and it made those warm fuzzies evaporate immediately.What are some things we should look out for when looking at renting old houses? Edit: And what's with all these stupid floorplans? FIVE bedrooms and ONE bathroom? Really? A closet you can only access via the bathroom? Good luck getting dressed if your SO is taking a poo poo I guess. Problem! fucked around with this message at 19:15 on Oct 13, 2013 |
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Oct 13, 2013 19:06
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:Edit: And what's with all these stupid floorplans? FIVE bedrooms and ONE bathroom? Really? A closet you can only access via the bathroom? Good luck getting dressed if your SO is taking a poo poo I guess. My roommates and I looked at an old Victorian. The bath tub and sink were in separate but adjacent rooms, right off the kitchen. The sole toilet was down a hallway, on a small former porch with a sloped floor.
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Oct 13, 2013 19:33
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Check for updates in specific places: Windows. Are they still single pane? Heating. Central? Wall? Radiator? How old is the furnace? Wiring. Updated since the time of knob and tube? Plumbing. What is the water source, well or city? Sewer or septic? Roofing. Eyeball it and ask the last time it was updated or repaired.
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Oct 13, 2013 22:56
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Once you hit a certain threshold you can get custom furniture made locally out of wood to you specifications. This is the smart rich persons choice. The stupid/indifferent/super rich person pays stupid "designer" premiums that make no loving sense. Those who might want something a step up from Ikea but can't pay the 2500ish+ to get custom there's; http://www.bludot.com/modern-bedroom-furniture/modern-beds.html http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/product/detail.do?productGroup=19060&catalog=filter&menuCatalog=room&menuCategory=191&menuSubcategory=135 Aquatic Giraffe posted:Basically any furniture store chain that advertises a lot on TV will have decent quality stuff at generally affordable prices. More expensive than Ikea, but cheaper than high end places. I'm a big fan of Haverty's, my old apartment had a couch from Haverty's that was awesome. Possibly, but I hope you like the overstuffed chair look, ugly (in my eyes I tend to like wood to have it's natural color) stains and general traditional styles. Aquatic Giraffe posted:What are some things we should look out for when looking at renting old houses? Heating/cooling costs. Duck and Cover fucked around with this message at 23:21 on Oct 13, 2013 |
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Oct 13, 2013 23:14
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You're talking about renting an old house -- 99% of possible problems are the owner's responsibility. Just check all the things you normally check when renting: the space, utility bills, water pressure, signs of pests, outlet placement, etc. And get renters' insurance.
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Oct 13, 2013 23:16
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i like nice words
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Anne Whateley posted:You're talking about renting an old house -- 99% of possible problems are the owner's responsibility. Just check all the things you normally check when renting: the space, utility bills, water pressure, signs of pests, outlet placement, etc. And get renters' insurance.
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Oct 13, 2013 23:59
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Thanatosian posted:They're the owners' responsibility, but they're the renters' problem. It's good to go in with both eyes open. Exactly. I don't want to move in somewhere that's been neglected by the owner and we have to hound them about fixing things they should have addressed through regular upkeep and maintenance that aren't super obvious during an initial walkthrough like wiring and heating/cooling and whatnot. We'll be moving in the spring so we won't be able to see the houses during any temperature extremes which is my biggest concern to be honest-- signing a lease in the spring/early summer then winter rolling around and the house being drafty as hell.
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Oct 14, 2013 01:55
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