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Rugs are also good for breaking up the beige monotony of apartments. I wouldn't dare paint a wall in a rental unless I had the landlord's permission in writing. I would go for colorful wall hangings instead.
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Jun 13, 2016 01:34
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Where do you live? The UK and Australia have weird rules iirc. In the US it's the norm to paint whatever as long as you repaint before moving out.
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Jun 13, 2016 01:39
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i like nice words
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That is definitely not the norm nationwide and many landlords will penalize you if they find out you did it even if you competently repaint
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Jun 13, 2016 01:48
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photomikey posted:if you're in an apartment with tan carpet, tan walls, and a white ceiling, I find painting something a color, really any color, helps immensely. I've seen apartments I like with tan walls, but it takes a lot of effort and a ton of stuff. Human Tornada posted:Look at lots of pictures to figure out what style you like and take it slow. Find pictures of rooms you like and save them on your computer and reference them frequently and try to recreate them with similar items. Apartment Therapy has a pretty wide range of styles and doesn't seem to be only catering to millionaires. My apartment sat bare for years because it took me a while to figure out what style I like, what fits my budget, and what works within the limitations of renting.
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Jun 13, 2016 04:04
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The pinterest suggestion was a good one. Note that most people omit height, i.e. all their stuff stops 3' off the floor, leaving the remaining 5' of height from waist-high to the ceiling bare, and they also omit dimension, i.e. the idea that everything on the wall is flat - posters, paintings, certificates, etc. Try a floating shelf with a plant on it, a bookcase, even stuff that hangs on the wall that has some 3D aspect to it.
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Jun 13, 2016 05:39
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The bedroom in my rental has a built in closet. The doors to that were a sad beige, but I got permission to paint them in another color. It really does help break up the room. I also like having a rug in front of the bed, as something nice to step onto in the morning.
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Jun 13, 2016 08:00
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photomikey posted:The pinterest suggestion was a good one. Note that most people omit height, i.e. all their stuff stops 3' off the floor, leaving the remaining 5' of height from waist-high to the ceiling bare, and they also omit dimension, i.e. the idea that everything on the wall is flat - posters, paintings, certificates, etc. Try a floating shelf with a plant on it, a bookcase, even stuff that hangs on the wall that has some 3D aspect to it. Listen to this poster. Bring the height of your decorations up to the ceiling if possible. Other things to consider: - Mount a curtain rod and hang actual curtains. You can color match to your art or your bedspread for a consistent look. Opt for blackout or thermal curtains and you get some functionality as well. - Choose 1 metal color and 1 wood color for your room. If you have a big, expensive piece of furniture with metal and wood, those are your colors. Match all the other wood and metal to those colors, and make sure you include your picture frames (your art is framed, right?) and try to match your computer hardware (or hide it). - Clean and declutter. Even a boring room looks better if its clean. Hide your computer cables, make your bed, etc. Making your bed makes a small room appear more put together, it's crazy.
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Jun 13, 2016 13:57
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This lessor wants to be co-insured on my renter's insurance and also have waived subrogation. Is this at all standard, or are they going nuts with covering their rear end at the expense of mine?
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Jun 13, 2016 14:03
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The last time I heard of something like that it was on the forums and I think it turned out to be someone grossly overreaching the reasonable standard. The only thing I have ever done is provide a confirmation that I have renter's insurance of particular value.
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Jun 13, 2016 14:22
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Ugh. I can't even get an insurance company to give me a quote on a policy with waived subrogation. One agent suggested the language was pulled from a commercial lease template, which explains a lot of the other weirdness. I'm finding it hard to imagine the lessor hasn't realized this was a problem before, unless tenants were just blatantly ignoring this requirement.
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Jun 13, 2016 18:53
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In my non-landlord business I have more and more clients asking me to waive subrogation. After a fair amount of research (and really no corroborated experience, I'm just making this up as I go along), I've started telling them no. So far, everyone has eventually given in (after a fair amount of "well then we can't hire you" posturing). There is no way I would even consider waiving subrogation on renters insurance. Really I'd not want to add the landlord as an add'l insured, because there's no reason to. I don't require renters insurance (I recommend it) and I haven't had it in 15 years, but as I recall, it just insures the stuff in the apartment. Even if you burned the building down and the landlord came after you for it, the renters insurance would only cover your DVD collection and your clothes, nothing inside the drywall regardless of fault. So why in the hell would the landlord want to be added as add'l insured? Tell them no. See what happens.
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Jun 13, 2016 19:04
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photomikey posted:In my non-landlord business I have more and more clients asking me to waive subrogation. After a fair amount of research (and really no corroborated experience, I'm just making this up as I go along), I've started telling them no. So far, everyone has eventually given in (after a fair amount of "well then we can't hire you" posturing). Generally speaking, when landlords refer to renter's insurance they're speaking of a policy with a liability component. A landlord that would require renter's insurance would require the liability component. They want to be an additional insured so they get notified if the policy lapses. Never heard of wanting you to waive subro though. The landlord would typically only be responsible for negligence, so it wouldn't ordinarily be an issue. I've never had a renter's policy successfully subrogate against me.
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Jun 13, 2016 19:14
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My limited research has suggested the whole thing's super loving weird, but this guy doesn't want to make changes to the agreement without consulting his lawyer, who's unavailable for two weeks. It's my understanding that waiving subrogation is just going to up my rates but not make me personally liable for anything more, and the rent's far enough below average for the area I'm willing to put up with that if it comes to it. My plan now is to put forth a good faith effort to find a policy under those terms, fail, and come back around with that as leverage to get him to drop that requirement. Maybe I'm putting up with too much, but it's by far the best-fit place I've found.
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Jun 13, 2016 19:27
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To me, subrogation is not just an additional cost but (bear with me here) a principal issue on the life I want to lead and the society I want to be a part of. So I don't do it anymore. Some day I may land a contract for a million bucks and they will want me to waive subrogation and I guess then we'll see where the rubber meets the road. For right now they are gigs I can live without, so I pass on them. If this guy is an indy landlord, he may curb if you threaten to leave, and he may stick with his principles. Hard to know. My $0.02, I wouldn't do it. At the very least, I( would call him back and tell him you can't find a policy that will allow you to waive subrogation, so you'll have to pass. Sometimes watching money walk away is enough to get people to do the right thing.
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Jun 13, 2016 21:51
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Crazyeyes posted:Will I get kicked out of the condo I'm renting if I use the garage as a workshop and keep/use a welder in there? The lease says no "hazardous materials", but I would argue it's just a tool and not inherently dangerous in that sense. Generally you have to separate the fuel tank and oxygen tank by at least 20 feet, or have a fire wall barrier. This is impractical in most condos/apartments. Local laws can have more strict requirements. Can you follow the local fire code with the space you have? Are you talking about OA gas or another type of welder?
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Jun 13, 2016 22:55
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I have never seen OA tanks 20 feet apart, in fact, I've never seen them anywhere other than chained to each other or sitting on top of the same cart. Even if they were 20 feet apart, don't you run a hose from each, eventually reaching the torch that you're holding in your hand?
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Jun 13, 2016 23:12
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lampey posted:Generally you have to separate the fuel tank and oxygen tank by at least 20 feet, or have a fire wall barrier. This is impractical in most condos/apartments. Local laws can have more strict requirements. Can you follow the local fire code with the space you have? Are you talking about OA gas or another type of welder? Mig/Stick welding. No OA.
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Jun 14, 2016 02:40
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Cugel the Clever posted:The last two apartments I've had, neither had any sort of ventilation working/installed in the bathroom, resulting in damage to the paint on the ceiling from all the moisture from showering. Landlords didn't ask me to pay for it or anything, but it just kind of boggles my mind that they prefer to fix the damages rather than address the root cause. The current one, in particular, had been remodeling the place with intent to eventually sell it, but hasn't touched it since we moved in.
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Jun 14, 2016 18:52
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Thanatosian posted:I see this all the loving time in Seattle. They had to redo my bathroom twice in one of the places I lived before they added a loving fan. I don't understand it, either; I really don't understand why you'd put in a bathroom without a fan in the loving first place in someplace as mold-prone as Seattle, but there you go. Had similar issues here in my now-former apartment. I'm pretty sure none of the plumbing had been replaced since the Eisenhower administration. Definitely no fan, mint green and black tile, etc. When the plaster started peeling and I alerted the landlords they turned it back on me and asked if I showered with the door open to provide ventilation. (As an aside, I actually did, because I have cats that like to poke around while I'm in there, but the kicker is that the crappy smoke detector was stationed right outside and any amount of steam made it go off, so I had to get rid of that every morning.) When they did get around to fixing it, they just slapped some more plaster up there and then got all snooty again a few months later when the problem reoccured. Have I mentioned I'm really glad I'm out of that place?
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Jun 14, 2016 19:46
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My bathroom also doesn't have a vent fan. This is the first place I've lived without one so I didn't even think to check when I was looking at the place. 2 out of 3 bathrooms have fans but of course the master bath is the one without. We just keep the door open when we shower and try to avoid pooping in that particular bathroom. The house was built in the 70s and "renovated" and looked nice on the surface but once we moved in we realized that none of the renovations were done professionally and were pretty shittily executed and I'm pretty sure part of that was taking out the bathroom vent fan and installing a light in the shower instead. In addition to that the owners seem to have done a half-assed job of trying to make it handicapped accessible as well, an example of this is installing a huge wheelchair accessible shower. Except they installed it in the basement. Where you have to go down a flight of stairs to access it. 
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Jun 14, 2016 23:30
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Alright, I'm not sure if this is the best place to ask for apartment advice, so if it's not I'll gladly delete this post. I'm moving about six hours away in August, and as of today I have two good options for apartments. One is a single room, okay-ish condition, shared bathroom, kitchen, and living room with two other people, washer and dryer in the building (I believe there are nine people in the building). It's about a three minute walk to the bus, and it's ~21% of my income, including utilities but not factoring in taxes. My other option is a single room and a private bathroom, good condition, shared kitchen and living room with three other people, plus a lot of amenities (like gym, pool, etc.). It's ~41% of my income. It should be pretty obvious which one to pick looking at the numbers, but the more expensive one is also significantly more convenient re: location. I don't have a car (or a license, working on it), so I'm reliant on buses... but the more expensive apartment has a shuttle every ten minutes to the school I'm starting my PhD at. The shuttle also goes downtown so I can pick up groceries, etc. It's only one mile away, so I could walk it if need be-- the cheaper apartment isn't a walkable distance. I'd be a lot more comfortable about taking the bus everywhere from the cheaper location if I was more familiar with the area, but I'm not.
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Jun 15, 2016 01:06
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Good news: Not having a car gives you more wiggle room with housing costs. Bad news: I'm not sure more convenient transit is worth an extra 20% of your income. If the cheaper apartment isn't an insane commute(>30-40 minutes) away from your school, you should probably go with that. Learning your way around a new bus system sucks, but it's going to happen no matter which apartment you pick.
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Jun 15, 2016 01:54
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Honestly, having a private bathroom is kind of a big deal, though. Think about what it would be like if you got sick. And also I would pay a premium to have a shorter commute, every time. I'm assuming that you don't know any of these people, right? Are these places apodments? If money is an issue, apodments are usually not very economical; i.e., you could almost certainly get a better deal renting out a single room of a house, or a 2-3 bed apartment.
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Jun 15, 2016 02:23
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Haifisch posted:Good news: Not having a car gives you more wiggle room with housing costs. Bad news: I'm not sure more convenient transit is worth an extra 20% of your income. Thanks for the advice. Looks like it's about a 25 minute commute (not counting walking times and getting to the bus stop early). I guess worst case if I miss a bus, I can take an uber until I get used to the transit up there. Drunk Tomato posted:Honestly, having a private bathroom is kind of a big deal, though. Think about what it would be like if you got sick. And also I would pay a premium to have a shorter commute, every time. Huh, didn't even consider that about having a private bathroom. I think the shorter commute would be something like two minutes versus twenty five, so that's also a benefit. I managed to get in touch via email with one person in the cheaper apartment, but how someone is in email can be pretty different from how they are in person. What's an apodment? Looking it up just gets me some weird site.
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Jun 15, 2016 03:15
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Private bathroom is worth the extra cost IMO. I spent a few years in a 3 bedroom apartment where each bedroom had its own en suite and it was the most peaceful roommate situation I've been in since it removed one of the biggest sources of roommate conflict. When you have your own bathroom you don't have to sit around for 45 minutes while your roommate and her boyfriend have sex in your shared shower while you really have to pee.
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Jun 15, 2016 03:35
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:Private bathroom is worth the extra cost IMO. I spent a few years in a 3 bedroom apartment where each bedroom had its own en suite and it was the most peaceful roommate situation I've been in since it removed one of the biggest sources of roommate conflict. The last place I lived, one of my roommates would lock the bathroom door, turn the shower on, strip naked, then sit on the toilet playing hearthstone.
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Jun 15, 2016 04:12
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In the end I got the subrogation clause dropped on the back of a bunch of insurance agents saying "What the hell?" Thanks for the advice, everyone. Finally time for my first functional adult housing.
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Jun 15, 2016 13:00
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Is it normal for a rental application to need your SSN and bank account number? I don't remember if my last application did, but that was with a well known company with a bunch of rentals across the town. This is a private property owner, and while she's a little old lady, it still concerns me that I'm giving her all the information she would need for stealing my identity.
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Jun 18, 2016 19:29
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I don't think SSN is that unusual for a background check, but I wouldn't give out my bank account number, particularly to an individual landlord and not a company. It's not like you can do much with just an account number (it's on your check book), but I don't see a reason why they would need it.
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Jun 18, 2016 19:37
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In the old days (like when this little old lady bought this place) you could call the bank and ask how much money was in the account, and how long it'd been since they had a bounced check and stuff. Today if you did that they would send the FBI to your house to find out why you're a terrorist. I would not give it to her, except for the fact that you're almost certainly going to write her a check for the application fee, deposit, or first month's rent, and the account number is literally printed across the bottom of the check. So, end of the day, I'd just suck it up and give it to her. She needs your SSN to run a credit check on you.
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Jun 18, 2016 20:01
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Yeah, the bank account seemed like something she could get immediately, it was just weird to me. I guess using the SSN is pretty common. Dumb that it's common, but that's the way it is.
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Jun 18, 2016 20:57
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22 Eargesplitten posted:Yeah, the bank account seemed like something she could get immediately, it was just weird to me. I guess using the SSN is pretty common. Dumb that it's common, but that's the way it is.
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Jun 19, 2016 00:16
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Totally normal, but I haven't had any issues just leaving my account number off of applications either. Don't sweat it too much either way. Unrelated, this made me laugh in an otherwise bleak apartment hunting experience: 
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Jun 19, 2016 13:41
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If you rent a house and a tree on your property falls onto a neighbors property and causes damage, is that something the homeowner's insurance covers? Or does it fall under renters insurance? I'm not actively in this situation but the house I'm renting has a few huge trees that are badly in need of trimming and the landlord is ignoring my requests to get a tree guy out to trim them. We had a huge branch fall during a storm a month ago and thankfully it didn't do any damage but we may not be so lucky next time.
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Jun 19, 2016 16:04
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Totally your landlord's problem and not yours at all.
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Jun 19, 2016 16:24
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I moved in to my current apartment in LA last fall. It doesn't have any AC, so I've been able to get by throughout the past year but now Summer has arrived and I'm looking to install a window AC unit. My minor setback is that I have jalousie windows. I see that many of the other units in my building have AC hanging out their windows but I don't know how much cost/effort it is for that installation compared to a portable unit that I exhaust out of a window instead. Anyone have any insight for methods to stay cool? Landlord said when I moved in that I could install a unit but it would be at my cost. If it's too expensive then I'll just say gently caress it because I'm looking to move in ~6 months anyway.
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Jun 20, 2016 16:55
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Buy a window unit. If it needs a shelf/brace buy/make one (I've also seen ac window safety nets to do the same thing) and if need be pay to get it installed if DIY makes your nervous vs getting a portable unit. All the noise an air conditioner makes can either be outside your window or inside the room with you, portable units are less efficient as they generate heat and cold inside then trying to vent that heat through a tube to outside vs the heat generated by the window unit already outside where nobody cares. I have a portable unit and its a necessary evil since my city has stupid regulations, something about not having them visible from streets or something equally dumb. The last place I lived nobody on the second floor had an AC unit because only the first floor windows were below the fence-line and thus out of sight. I only use it when its unbearably hot.
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Jun 20, 2016 17:16
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:If you rent a house and a tree on your property falls onto a neighbors property and causes damage, is that something the homeowner's insurance covers? Or does it fall under renters insurance? In my experiences, it generally works like this: Your tree falls in neighbor's yard: Was the tree dead? If so, it's your problem, and your liability insurance will deal with it. If not, it's the neighbor's problem. Your tree falls in your yard: Did the tree land on your house/improvements? If so, your insurance will cover removal and of course repairs. Did it land in the yard, or even on your fence? Have fun removing it at your expense. But that all applies to the owner of the house. If you rent there, it's not your problem.
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Jun 20, 2016 18:29
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I rent and the neighbor most likely to incur damage also rents. I foresee this being a giant shitshow if we do lose a tree but I did my due diligence in letting the landlord know their trees needed work so not my problem I guess.
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Jun 20, 2016 18:35
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If the trees are near overhead powerlines, you can usually call the power co and they will trim the parts that are near the lines for free. It won't be pretty, but at least you wont lose power in a storm.
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Jun 20, 2016 20:15
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