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Captain Bravo posted:Also, while it may or may not be true that the key factor was a homophobic maintenance man, the fact was that management was either unaware of, or letting you skate by on, something that most landlords absolutely would not allow. When someone allows you to do something against your lease for half a year, and then says "Ok, no more of this," the correct response isn't "gently caress you, you gay-bashing piece of poo poo!" It's "I understand, thanks for letting me get by for so long outside my lease, it really helped me out during a tough time." Yeah, the story got worse since I last posted here. We found out recently there was an alternative (having a cosigner) but the landlords absolutely refuse to allow them to do that. They're really just trying to get them out of here and not giving them any other option and attempting to screw me over in the process. This isn't helping me out during a tough time, this is literally "we're taking your tough time and making it worse." And, yeah, everything they are doing is perfectly legal which is why I'm taking the steps necessary to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else. Fact of the matter is they were not unaware of them staying here, so it was the "letting me skate by" situation, but why did that change as soon as they knew my roommates were gay? That's totally a dick move. And then to make it worse by purposely withholding information that would have helped me? I asked what my options were and they said there weren't any. Well, that's not what I'm being told from other landlords, so they're full of poo poo too. And to make matters worse I just recently found out two other things. 1. We're not the first people something like this has happened to. Plenty of gay people have been harassed by management for various things. One guy I talked to said when he announced that he had a new boyfriend to one of the landlords the next week he got constant letters pointing out lease violations that weren't true, his favorite being a noise complaint during a week he wasn't even home cause he was in Gatlinburg with his new lover. Another friend of mine told me when they found out she was dating a woman they reported her apartment for a bed bug infestation that didn't actually exist. It's pretty loving bad around here. 2. Meanwhile you can get away with murder here if you're straight. The people in building 24 are constantly having loud rambunctious parties. You can smell the weed half way across the parking lot and not even the courtesy officer gives a poo poo. People above me came out of their apartment the other day with equipment to make BHO, so yay living above us are drug cooks. That's awesome. Over in building 26 is a person with an ankle monitor. And those are just the nearby buildings. I dare to wonder what is going on in the other 24 buildings that I don't know about. These people don't even keep their lifestyles a secret, now how come they get to live here and my roommates don't? You're going to tell me the people who manufacture drugs have more right to be here than them? Yeah, gently caress that. I am taking this as a learning experience though, for sure. It's complete and utter total bullshit what kind of world we live in today and getting to experience discrimination first hand really pisses me the gently caress off.
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May 15, 2015 17:16
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Remember, not only are you hosed if this deal breaks apart because you have no where to live, he is equally hosed if this deal breaks apart and he has a vacancy. I can't see how any furniture that is attached to the house could be sellable separately. I'd respond with a cheerful "no thanks!" and see how he takes it.
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May 15, 2015 18:07
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Skunkrocker posted:And, yeah, everything they are doing is perfectly legal which is why I'm taking the steps necessary to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else. Find a payphone (or whatever people do in this day and age), drop a quarter in, call the complex, and say "I'm looking for an apartment but I don't have much credit. Do you accept co-signers?". If they say yes, you have a sort-of decent case to make that they should allow your roommates co-signers. If not, you have confirmed what they are telling you, which is that they don't accept co-signers.
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May 15, 2015 18:12
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When you first said built in furniture, I asumed you meant some bench seat or 90's era tv/bookshelf monstrosity. But this...pidan posted:The problem with that is that he might ....sounds like this guy thinks that the kitchen cabinets and counters are removable furniture. They are not. You should never be asked to pay for these things. Ever. That fact that this person thinks that this is how rentals happens means you should run like hell, even if he offers to leave them.
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May 15, 2015 19:55
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It is not unheard of in parts of Europe for people to bring their own cabinets. I assume by the use of the word "flat" and the not being outraged at this suggestion, this poster is in Europe.
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May 15, 2015 20:43
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Maybe he meant taking away the fridge / stove? Those things are often standalone in Europe.
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May 15, 2015 22:02
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Thank you for your answers! I am in Europe. Here there are essentially two ways to rent an apartment: You can rent empty, that means no kitchen. Most flats don't have closets or any fixed furniture apart from the kitchen. Ours has some cave-like wardrobe arrangement in the bedroom, but that's unusual. In this situation the renter builds their own kitchen. When they move out, the next renter can buy the kitchen off them, or they can take it with them. In practice, this city is a seller's market, so most people just ask you to pay something close to their buying price, and if you won't pay, you won't be renting that apartment. The other common option is that the kitchen belongs to the landlord. He can also include whatever other furniture he wants, but they're part of what you're paying your rent for. If all or most of the furniture belongs to the landlord rather than the renter, that has some legal consequences w/r/t the lease. Unheard of is the situation where you have to buy stuff off the landlord (rather than a previous renter). I guess we'll learn what he has in mind for that today when we sign that contract. It's possible he just wants us to buy the washing machine / fridge / stove, I'd basically be ok with that. If he wants us to pay for the kitchen cabinets / horrible bedroom I'll try the "say no" thing.
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May 16, 2015 06:59
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So I might be joining a lease with a few other people on a big house (Seattle, WA) that I already currently live in as an unsigned subletter. The lease signed by the last tenants, two of which are just now in the process of moving out, is up at the end of the month, and a couple of us are looking to pick up the lease and get some new roommates and soldier on. Out of curiosity (and responsibility) I read the lease they'd signed last year, which was mostly normal, but I found out why they weren't signing new roommates to the lease, and instead just letting them sublet lease-free, which is that there's a 200 dollar processing fee for each person who adds their name to the lease. I've never gone on a lease before, but I've never, ever seen a fee that high in any of the Craigslist ads I've looked at. It's not a security deposit, because that's talked about in the lease separately, it's just a straight-up $200 fee. Is that like, crazily excessive? It seems like a gigantic ripoff.
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May 17, 2015 03:33
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Yea, that is pretty crazy. I think the most I have ever seen/paid was around $50, which included the costs of a credit and record check. $200 seems like it's just gouging people for the courtesy of signing.
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May 17, 2015 03:56
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The idea is that it discourages the revolving door. The actuality is that it encourages unsigned sublettors.
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May 17, 2015 04:52
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photomikey posted:The idea is that it discourages the revolving door. The actuality is that it encourages unsigned sublettors. Which is exactly what happened, only two people who were on the original lease are left now (and are freaking out about the cost of cleaning services). The guy I took the room from wasn't even here for an entire week, and it wasn't until my second day I met one of the guys on the lease. Ashcans posted:Yea, that is pretty crazy. I think the most I have ever seen/paid was around $50, which included the costs of a credit and record check. $200 seems like it's just gouging people for the courtesy of signing. I kinda figured, yeah.
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May 17, 2015 05:04
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Magic Hate Ball posted:Which is exactly what happened, only two people who were on the original lease are left now (and are freaking out about the cost of cleaning services). The guy I took the room from wasn't even here for an entire week, and it wasn't until my second day I met one of the guys on the lease. Are u in the u district? There are some skeezy slum lords there.
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May 17, 2015 08:29
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I was changing a smoke alarm battery in the office. I had pulled it off the mount (but didn't unplug it). I changed the battery, and when I was twisting it back onto the mount, there were a bunch of sparks and some smoke, and it tripped a breaker. Did I gently caress up, or was it wired in a hosed-up way?
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May 18, 2015 19:32
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Thanatosian posted:I was changing a smoke alarm battery in the office. I had pulled it off the mount (but didn't unplug it). I changed the battery, and when I was twisting it back onto the mount, there were a bunch of sparks and some smoke, and it tripped a breaker. Did I gently caress up, or was it wired in a hosed-up way? I know this doesn't answer your question, but the idea of a smoke alarm spewing smoke greatly amuses me.
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May 18, 2015 20:54
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but a smoke detector that runs off a battery generally isn't wired into the electrical system, right?
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May 18, 2015 21:15
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Captain Bravo posted:Correct me if I'm wrong, but a smoke detector that runs off a battery generally isn't wired into the electrical system, right? Wired detectors have backup batteries. And they will beep at you to replace said battery just as annoyingly as their non-wired counterparts.
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May 18, 2015 21:18
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Thanatosian posted:I was changing a smoke alarm battery in the office. I had pulled it off the mount (but didn't unplug it). I changed the battery, and when I was twisting it back onto the mount, there were a bunch of sparks and some smoke, and it tripped a breaker. Did I gently caress up, or was it wired in a hosed-up way? Aaaaaaand apparently it didn't just pop a breaker, as none of the breakers are flipped. But it does seem to have killed a circuit. Is it worth me loving around with the breaker box, or should I just wait for the electrician?
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May 18, 2015 22:29
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photomikey posted:I am in California and TransUnion tells me that I cannot release the credit report, but that I must report whether I approve or decline them, and if I decline them based on information in the credit report, they are entitled to a free one from TransUnion. http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/looking.shtml quote:If the landlord obtains your credit report after you've paid the screening fee, the landlord must give you a copy of the report if you request it. The credit report company my work uses makes me take a stupid online test every so often and this always comes up 
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May 19, 2015 01:18
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Thanks again to all the people who answered my furniture question earlier! Turns out he did want to sell us the electric appliances and threw in the actual cabinets for free. My partner insisted on paying market prices for them (about half a month's rent), but it could have been much worse. And knowing what this city is like, we'll probably get a good chunk of the money back when we move out. The landlord will also let us move in a week early, and renovated the place really nicely, so I really can't complain. ETA: ... and this is how we became the proud owners of a halogen stove, which cooks with the power of BLINDING LIGHT. pidan fucked around with this message at 17:48 on May 19, 2015 |
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May 19, 2015 17:43
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Thanatosian posted:Aaaaaaand apparently it didn't just pop a breaker, as none of the breakers are flipped. But it does seem to have killed a circuit. Is it worth me loving around with the breaker box, or should I just wait for the electrician? KoB posted:http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/looking.shtml
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May 19, 2015 18:48
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photomikey posted:Smoke might have had a breaker of its own. Also, could be wired in series and tripped the breaker on a different smoke alarm. Could be on a GFCI somewhere. Just brainstorming. You'll find it. ;-) This all falls well in line with my work motto of "nothing can ever be easy."
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May 19, 2015 19:27
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Does anyone know where I can find info on laws regarding disclosure of deaths in a rental? I know that it is a thing for buying a house, but was curious if that was something that could change a rental. We rented our place in 2013 and are just moving out in June of this year. Found out today from a neighbor that someone who lived here hung himself in like 2011, this was our first time hearing of it. Kind creeps me out.
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May 19, 2015 23:29
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It would be a state law. You should be able to find a state resource that has the real estate/landlord section of the code online. May find them referenced as "stigmatizing events."
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May 19, 2015 23:46
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Harry Privates posted:Does anyone know where I can find info on laws regarding disclosure of deaths in a rental? I know that it is a thing for buying a house, but was curious if that was something that could change a rental. I don't know if there's a law and I doubt any landlord would disclose that. If they died cleanly I wouldn't worry or care about it. My boss owns an apartment building and he said to be wary of any recently renovated units in a complex that isn't undergoing complex-wide upgrades because that usually means the previous tenant was either extremely filthy and/or died messily.
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May 20, 2015 01:17
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Is 1.5 months an ample enough amount of time to tell your roommates you're planning on moving out? I have 3 roommates, one who is going to be moving because of school in June(who let us know that a long time ago so that's not an issue), one who is apartment hunting right now with his girlfriend, and one who didn't know until this past weekend that the other two of us were apartment hunting. The fourth roommate confronted me yesterday and said that that small amount of time is cold, that I'm "loving with someone's life," that "this is how you make an enemy," and that he's "bitter toward you and (my other roommate)." He wants to stick around the apartment, I believe, mainly because he's a musician and our neighbors have taken no issue with his playing loud brass instruments or flute all day, and while he said that he had found some people to move in, he said that "July isn't a time when people are looking to move, they're usually looking in Sugust/September/October," which I disagree with. I know that the roommate who is looking with his girlfriend has been looking for a minimum of two weeks longer than me; I honestly wasn't even planning to move until a close friend of mine told me about an opening in his really nice apartment that is also only 2/3 the price of my current rent, so I obviously jumped on that. We talked about the issue yesterday and smoothed it over so my fourth roommate isn't bitter and resenting me at the moment, but he mentioned that the other roommate(with girlfriend) is potentially going to throw money his way because this amount of time is too small. I disagree and while I told him we'd figure it out, I don't think I'm under any obligation to throw him any money. We're on a month-to-month lease at the moment so I'm not breaching contract or anything. He was just really offended, and seems to be expecting me to compensate him for my portion of rent for at least one month, potentially more, which I do not think I am under any obligation to do, nor am I really inclined to do(he hasn't really been the best roommate).
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May 20, 2015 17:11
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1.5 months is legally just fine, but hunting and planning to move for awhile before telling him are rear end in a top hat moves, which is why he's mad. He's right that tons more people will be looking in Aug/Sept than for July 1, especially if you're in a college town, but even in big cities. The bottom line is you don't owe him any money, but it's not a surprise he's pissed and you can consider the bridge burned.
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May 20, 2015 17:19
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i like nice words
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I agree I would have told him right when you made the decision to start looking for another place to live because it is obviously going to impact where he might end up living. I would not feel obligated to pay your roommate anything, but I'd maybe help him find new roommates. Just pay your portion of the rent for the months you are there, including the full amount for your last month even if you are only there a few days of that month.
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May 20, 2015 17:26
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You could make a good faith effort to find someone to replace you. Put some flyers up, post on Craigslist, etc. Keep your room and the common areas presentable. Agree to meet renters and show them the place. Do you have a security deposit you're hoping to get back? You could offer to transfer a small portion of it to your replacement for incentive.
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May 20, 2015 18:13
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Anne Whateley posted:1.5 months is legally just fine, but hunting and planning to move for awhile before telling him are rear end in a top hat moves, which is why he's mad. He's right that tons more people will be looking in Aug/Sept than for July 1, especially if you're in a college town, but even in big cities. The bottom line is you don't owe him any money, but it's not a surprise he's pissed and you can consider the bridge burned. Mind_Taker posted:I agree I would have told him right when you made the decision to start looking for another place to live because it is obviously going to impact where he might end up living. I definitely agree that we should've told him when we began thinking about bailing out, that's definitely on me and my other roommate. He said he's got people lined up(or something to that effect...) so I think we're gonna sit down and just have a conversation about what everybody's thinking should happen and go from there. If he turns out to need help finding (a) new roommate(s) I'll definitely help him out there. goku chewbacca posted:Do you have a security deposit you're hoping to get back? You could offer to transfer a small portion of it to your replacement for incentive. I actually thought of something similar earlier, I think I'm just going to forfeit my security deposit to the roommate who's staying, I think that's fair.
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May 20, 2015 19:33
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One of my roommates moved out of here with just under 2 weeks notice, no help finding anyone, no deposit/money/whatever, so it could certainly be worse. I've had a string of crappy roommates, though.
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May 21, 2015 00:57
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Would it be weird if I paid my landlord in full for the year? Is this possible?
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May 21, 2015 15:21
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It might be possible, but why would you do that? Your rent is basically the best leverage you have on your landlord, giving it to them in advance basically removes a ton of your (already limited) power.
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May 21, 2015 15:29
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Equine Don posted:Would it be weird if I paid my landlord in full for the year? Is this possible? It's likely allowable. Your landlord should keep it in his escrow account and draw it down as it becomes due. And while I don't agree that rent is useful as leverage (in all but a few cases, withholding rent is not allowed and likely only to get you hit with late fees, etc.), should things go south and you have to move, getting the rest back could prove difficult. I would only do it if it was a requirement to get approved for residency (which is sometimes the case if there's thin/no credit, or no job).
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May 21, 2015 15:39
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Ashcans posted:It might be possible, but why would you do that? Your rent is basically the best leverage you have on your landlord, giving it to them in advance basically removes a ton of your (already limited) power. Makes sense. I will probably just put it into another account and withdraw it slowly.
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May 21, 2015 15:47
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I need advice on how to hang some curtains. This is exactly what my window looks like How do I mount curtains to/around that? The closest I've come is some infomercial slide on brackets that are for small windows only if the pictures on their website are any indication. I emailed them to confirm that just in case. I cant seem to find anything similar for larger (~100" wide) windows unless theres a proper name for "slide on bracket" that I haven't come across. The only other thing I've found so far is using stick-em type wall hooks to hold the curtain rod which there are mixed reviews about. Tension rods don't seem possible unless I completely remove the blinds. I am probably missing an incredibly obvious option here. I'd prefer not to drill holes into my apartment walls, but I really want to install blackout curtains. There's nothing in my lease about not installing wall mounted stuff, its just a personal preference since its one less thing to deal with and potentially lose some security deposit over. I've lived here 18 months and don't plan on moving, so I'll just get over it and drill a couple tiny holes if nothing else.
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May 27, 2015 06:03
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Any advice for cool summer comforters for someone who sleeps warm? I usually keep my apartment at 72-75ish degrees in the warmer months and the cheapo ($20) comforter I have right now is just too warm. I'm looking to spend around $100 or less.
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May 27, 2015 12:42
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So a bit ago I was asking about hanging record sleeves as decoration, and I didn't get any replies. I figured I'd just toss this here in case anyone else was in the same position: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IBZ1CDK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I just hung four of these, and so far they're pretty good. The size is adjustable (it's basically two plastic pieces that slide together with a screw and nut) and they're really affordable. One thing to note is that they pop out a bit from the wall, so if that bothers you then this option may not be the best for you. https://www.dropbox.com/s/obnmrlo7dt9uyd7/2015-05-27%2011.27.24.jpg?dl=0 What I've hung so far. These work well with command hooks too, so if you can't/don't want to drive holes in the wall, I can recommend these. Not including the records, the above cost me about $31 with shipping. If you buy from the above link, the shipping will increase by one dollar for every unit above one, so be aware of that.
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May 27, 2015 17:37
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ladyweapon posted:I need advice on how to hang some curtains. This is exactly what my window looks like
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May 27, 2015 17:59
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Really, just go for brackets and a curtain rod. That window is so wide that no tension bar will be able to hold the weight of blackout curtains (not that it probably could, anyway, those things are heavy) and landlords don't really care about small drill holes. If you're really worried about it, spackle and a putty knife are like $10 and take five minutes to fill any drill holes. Probably less time than scraping mounting glue off your walls, anyway.
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May 28, 2015 13:19
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vonnegutt posted:Really, just go for brackets and a curtain rod. That window is so wide that no tension bar will be able to hold the weight of blackout curtains (not that it probably could, anyway, those things are heavy) and landlords don't really care about small drill holes. Plus, in the case of my landlord, he was so darn pleased that someone had taken the time and effort to fit brackets and a curtain rail on the ridiculously huge bedroom window that when I was moving out he gave me £20 to leave them behind for the next tenant. Suited me fine, wasn't like I was going to use them again. Now he was a super-cool, efficient and kind guy, so I'm not saying you'll get money back from your landlord, but I shouldn't think they'll be displeased that someone's improved the place.
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May 28, 2015 13:56
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