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Low Carb Bread posted:Depends on your location. In Western bumblefuck they will rent apartments way in advance because a month or two of lost rent isn't a lot of money and it may be hard to find a new tenant. In major cities with very low vacancy rates, the norm is to start looking for apartments a few weeks in advance, anticipating a movein date no less than in one month (such as starting your search in early/mid June for a July movein). In a city it's not a problem because you have a hundred or more buildings to choose from, but if it's a small town there may only be a few apartment complexes so you can't rely on there being multiple apartments of the size/layout/price you want available at any time. This isn't always true though, it's very dependent on your location. In Boston, for instance, a huge number of the leases start on September 1 because of the college crowd. Because of the huge amount of turnover and demand at that point, it's not unusual for landlords and tenants to be making arrangements months in advance. You can already find plenty of craigslist ads for 9/1 dates now. If you started looking only a few weeks in advance, you would basically be stuck with whatever apartments had their tenants fall through at the last minute. If you're not familiar with the area, it's never a bad idea to start looking as early as you can. In the worst case, you'll find that there is nothing available for your start date, but you'll get a sense of the what is out there. Best case, you'll find that you're in a place where stuff rents months in advance and you won't be left hanging.
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May 9, 2012 15:44
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From my experience, no. I think the only thing you will be able to get without giving that much information is the cost of renting a truck or something similarly straightforward. Related to this, if you are actually getting movers, you shouldn't put any faith in a quote that isn't based on an actual visit to your house or, at worst, a full description of the move. Any company that is willing to give you an estimate without finding out if you live on the fifth floor and collect pianos is going to be just throwing some totally wild number at you.
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May 9, 2012 21:12
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I am not sure about the UK, but in the US a general guide is that you shouldn't be spending more than 30% of your take-home on rent, and you are pretty much on that line. Which is ok, but maybe not ideal. Now, that is obviously not a hard and fast law - if you are poor, you can easily be stuck paying more than that simply because there is an absolute lower bound on housing. Is it reasonable to get something for less than £500 that you could actually live in? You say that you and your boyfriend have ever really worked out budgets before. Well, this is a great time to start! When I moved in with my girlfriend (now wife) we had to reconcile the way both of us thought about and used money. Which involved getting a household budget together. You have actually already done some of the work here! Income: £1550 Rent: (£500) Council Tax: (£150) Transit: (£200) Utilities: (£275) Internet: (£30) Food: (£50) Pets: (£50) Subtotal: (£1255) Total: £295 Now, as written you are going to end the month with almost £300 left over. Great! But, there are a bunch of things I don't see in your budget. Do you have phones? What do the plans cost? Is that £50 for 'food' supposed to cover household expenses like dish soap, toilet paper, etc.? Do you guys go out for food, have some drinks at the pub, go to the movies? How about general spending like buying some clothes or getting yourself lunch? All these things need to be included in one way or another. Honestly, you should look in on the personal finance thread and budget thread. As a sidenote, never count on money on the horizon. Your income might be £2000 in a couple months? Great, adjust your spending when that happens, don't live like you are making that money and definitely don't commit to anything like a lease depending on it!
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May 16, 2012 21:28
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SleeplessInEngland posted:As for eating out & cinema trips etc. I think we'd basically resigned ourselves to not going out much until we have a bit more money coming in! We don't go out much as it is because we're both usually skint but I'm sure we'll inevitably end up spending some money on that sort of stuff. One additional piece of advice. Even if you don't plan on going out or doing much that costs money, make a little space in your budget for it. At one point I was trying to save money and decided I wouldn't go out, buy anything, total lockdown. That's really hard to stick to, and when you inevitably break down and go to the pub with friends (or buy that amazing new videogame, whatever) you throw your planning out of whack and end up splurging out more than you might have. I find that it's much easier to stick to if you plan to spend a small amount - that tenner won't break your budget and knowing that you have X much to spend will help keep you on track. Definitely check in with the Finance threads, I stay up on those regularly to keep myself on track.
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May 17, 2012 14:56
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Where are you? What is the climate like? We had a loft-style place in Atlanta (the living room/kitchen had 16-25 foot ceilings, with a balcony area overlooking it). During the summer that space got really stuffy, and it was a pain to do anything about it - it meant either turning up the air conditioning, or setting up a bunch of fans to circulate things better. It would have probably made it a pain to heat the main room in the winter, but that wasn't really a concern because Atlanta rarely gets that cold. So yes, its a potential issue but it will depend on the layout and how much work someone has put into it.
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May 27, 2012 22:08
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Are you personally loading, transporting, and unloading it? If not, then you need to put it in some sort of box to protect it. Use the box that you bought, you will just have to work a little with it. It sounds like you are moving? If so, there has to be bulky, light stuff to help fill the box. Prime targets are cushions and pillows. If you somehow manage to not have those, look for any weirdly shaped stuff that won't fit anywhere else (dish racks and shower racks are good examples). Failing all this; the printer is 25Lx10Wx8H? Ok, take your box and cut off the flaps that close it. Now cut down the corners 12.5", to make new flaps. Presto, your box is now 25Lx25Wx12.5H, much closer to the object size. You'll still need to pad out the extra horizontal space, but in a pinch you can fold the flaps you cut off into braces.
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May 30, 2012 18:50
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I would personally avoid a straight month-to-month arrangement, because I don't want to move and then have to move again two months later. I have a kid and it makes moving into a nightmare. I agree that you should follow up and ask why it's like that - it's possible that the landlord had a bad experience and is now wary of getting into a full lease with some lunatic, but its also possible they're just trying to fill it for a few months and can't offer a full year. Another thing to be aware of is that with a month-to-month lease you are not guaranteed that 25% less rent for any particular length of time. So its entirely possible the landlord is fishing with the lower rate, and after a couple months will jack it back up to market rate - counting on you agreeing to pay up rather than go through the hassle of another move.
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May 31, 2012 16:45
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I started making a list and it turns out I have a ton of tools (even though I just thinned down - that meant going from something like 8 hammers and 10 screwdrivers to two and three respectively). The one thing not mentioned I would seriously recommend is a level. It's a big help to making sure shelves and stuff go up straight. You can probably get an app for this on your smartphone these days, but I love that little bubble.
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Jun 3, 2012 22:59
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It's pretty regional, when I was renting in Atlanta people just wanted a security deposit, but in Boston First+Last+Security is not uncommon. Plus Boston is a agents market, so you get plenty of places wanting an additional months rent for the agent fee (which is more offensive than if you had to just burn the money). So you end up paying 4 months rent to move in.
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Jun 14, 2012 14:47
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Frankly if it's a leftover issue from a previous tenant, you should probably contact the landlord and ask them to take care of it - if they didn't disclose the previous pets initially, or had indicated it would be properly cleaned, it's their responsibility (also, as a pet owner, I've had enough landlords bill me to get rid of alleged pet odors that I sure hope no new tenant has to cough up for it too) That aside, what is the place like? If it's wood or tile floor, you should be able to solve it with a thorough cleaning. Carpets are a bigger problem, especially if they were actually soiled. You'd probably need to steam them. Having said that, I think that most pet allergies are related to dander, which doesn't usually permeate stuff (especially non-fabrics) as badly as other pet stuff.
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Jun 16, 2012 18:35
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Seriously, tell him that this place works for you and you can't afford to give up the deposit and keep looking. Then start looking for someone to take his place - if he doesn't want to live there with you, I doubt he'll have any issue with this. Seeing as you already have a place lined up that seems fine for most students, you should have an easier time locating a roomie than looking for someone without. If he is being like this before you are even in an apartment, it will probably only get worse. Remember that this is someone you are going to have live with and share space with for the whole year, if they aren't willing to compromise and negotiate from the getgo it will be hell when there is an actual problem between you.
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Jun 17, 2012 14:03
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Interstitial Abs posted:We basically keep to a "I won't complain" and he won't raise the rent (from my friends rent like 5 years ago - knock on wood) so renovations also might change that $ aspect. I was going to say, if you have been living there for three years with no rent increase then getting the place spruced up will probably involve him wanting to raise the rent. Which would be justified, considering he would have just put some cash into the place for your comfort and basically raised the standard of the place. So partly you should think about how much you want those floors and if you'll be willing to pay an extra $$ a month for it.
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Jun 18, 2012 14:39
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If you are packing a truck yourself, there are a couple things you want to think about. The above is good (getting stuff out in the right order) but there are two other big things I would suggest. The first is to make sure that you are using the vertical space properly. You want to make sure that the largest, sturdiest stuff is on the bottom of the load, and lighter, smaller things are up top. This prevents crushing stuff by bad packing, it makes loading uneasier, and it also makes it less likely you wil have stuff rocketing round the truck (things at the top are more likely to shift). The second thing is to pack the truck in segments, and ensure that each section is secured. You don't just want to pile poo poo in and hope that it all stays in place. So for instance, when you start loading plan to fill the 3-4 feet at the back of the truck completely (top to bottom) Once that's done, either tie it down or use larger pieces (like mattresses) to ensure that it cordoned and secure. Then work on the next segment (to make it easier, each of these segments can just be a room you are moving). This is important because otherwise if you do not 100% fill the truck snugly, things will be able to move and shift in transit which can be a disaster. Tie it down, and even if a box slips it will be restrained to its segment and any damage is limited.
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Jun 20, 2012 14:19
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My two favorite box types for moving are liquor boxes and paper boxes - the ones that offices get whole reams delivered in. Liquor boxes are great, and you will almost certainly be able to grab some that have those dividers inside. Those are perfect for packing your own glasses and any bottles you have. Seriously, those boxes are used to ship a dozen bottles of wine thousands of miles with almost no breakage, they will do just fine to shift your kitchen stuff across town. The paper boxes are crazy strong, it's basically impossible for them to fail because of how they are constructed. We used them for packing books, they are a good size and can hold up to the weight. But they work fine for moving all sorts of stuff, and they stack well too. There is certainly nothing wrong with going out and buying some specialty boxes. We buy special boxes for moving framed pictures and artwork, for instance, because those are really vulnerable otherwise.
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Jun 22, 2012 14:55
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Timing your move is a really regional thing, so make sure you look at your local market and understand what is going on. In some cities there are particular times of the year when it will either be impossible to find a place, or you will need to have done it six months in advance. Any town or city with a decent college presence will probably have a fair amount of turnover in August or September on account of students. If you are planning to move in with someone, it probably makes sense to wait until the end of their lease - otherwise you will be stuck paying the rent yourself for two months, or she will have to work out how to get out of her lease early.
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Jun 26, 2012 16:03
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Most cities have one or two 'peak' months where a lot of leases end and change over, and during that time rates tend to jump because everyone is looking for a new place. Often if you wait until one or two months after that, rates tend to drop - because now landlords have an empty unit and would rather take a lower rate than risk having it empty for ages. Of course, this will also mean that you are looking at fewer places, and ones that were passed over in the rush for some reason (not always dumps, though - sometimes these are places that were lined up for the peak but had something fall through). In your case, I suspect that what happened is that the management quoted you a range, and when it came time they just gave you the highest end of that (and then some). Did you negotiate at all? If there are empty units in the building, it's entirely possible they would have dropped it if you had pushed back. The management is always going to try and rent for as much as they can, after all.
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Jun 28, 2012 14:50
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Yea, now that you have signed the lease you are sort of stuck - although if they have given you the option to switch to a cheaper unit, you can keep bugging them about that. If you are checking in regularly they're more likely to give you a place if one opens up to get you off their backs. Basically when they gave you the lease, you could have said something like 'Oh, this is above the range I was originally quoted - can we do this for $1380?' A management company isn't going to be offended or anything, worst case scenario is they'll say no. If they don't compromise on price, you can also haggle on any extras or fees. Don't feel bad, haggling is not really common so most people don't think to do it. But, keep it in mind if you decide to renew the lease next year. If the complex tries to raise your rates, you can always push back.
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Jun 28, 2012 15:37
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Zaftig posted:Understandably, I'm pretty worried about my deposit. Previous landlords have marveled at how sparkling I left the place and then charged $300 for "general cleaning," so I have a feeling that will happen again. What can I do to protect myself? I have pictures of before and will take some more after, but I don't trust this guy at all. I live in Los Angeles, for reference. The above poster is right, you should document your move out exhaustively. One thing to do is take pictures of every possible thing you can think of to show that it was cleaned, and include some sort of date indicator (like a newspaper) in the pictures - that way he can't claim those pictures were from when you moved in and you left it in a mess. Definitely, definitely, ask him to do a walkthrough with you and tell you what needs to be done. If he says it's fine, get it in writing. If he refuses to do a walkthrough with you - or makes any threat to withhold your deposit before you've moved out - try and document that. Like if he tells you he won't do a walkthrough, try and get him to repeat it in an email or something similar. That way when you go to court you can say 'Look, we specifically asked for this and he refused'. The last thing is to check your local laws closely for how the deposit needs to be handled. In a lot of places there are surprisely strict and precise laws about how it needs to be treated and returned, and if the landlord doesn't follow those he might have no recourse to keep any of the deposit. Ultimately you may need to decide how much this means to you. I have had landlords hold back a couple hundred bucks improperly, but its not worth my time to chase some shithead for months legally for that much.
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Jun 30, 2012 13:22
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Trilineatus posted:This. Do your best to convince your landlord that you will pursue that deposit to the end of the universe even if you wont - some scum bags count on young people not having the time or resources to fight being wronged. Disabuse him of this notion. Just as a side warning to this, it really helps if you can gauge what sort of person your landlord is. If he's just uninformed, letting him know the law is often enough to set him straight. If he's just a slumlord or lovely landlord who relies on strongarming tenants, showing that your serious is usually enough for him to back down - basically, he'll know that it's not worth the trouble of dragging it through court. But, some landlords are basically crazy and will get super emotional about their rental. Think carefully before you engage these people. I was prepared to take a previous landlord to court until I did some digging and found out that she had been to court dozens of times with basically everyone in the world - including her bank and all sorts of other companies. Basically she would get livid and insist on fighting every issue even if she was a clear loser. I decided it wasn't worth spending months in court with a crazy person over the money.
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Jul 1, 2012 21:16
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Zaftig posted:Yeah, this is what I'm worried about. I'm 24 and live with four other people my age, and we've been pretty drat accommodating for this guy, so I'm sure he thinks we're naive and he can take all our money. We actually paid a higher deposit because five people in their early 20s moving in together does seem like a red flag for landlords, and we were prepared for that, so with that and the pet deposit in hold we'd be out $4K if he tries to gently caress us over. The last place that kept my deposit was only about $400 and it wasn't worth the stress, but this is different. drat, you put down $4k in deposits? What is your monthly rent? Definitely take a look at your local laws, because many places I have rented a landlord is flat out not allowed to take more than a month's rent as a deposit, and frequently breaking that rule prevents them from withholding anything at all. A lot of states also require landlords to place the deposit in its own interest-bearing account for the duration of the tenancy, which most people gently caress up.
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Jul 3, 2012 01:15
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Giant Boy Detective posted:Earlier in the thread someone mentioned that his gas was calculated by just taking the total gas usage from the entire building and dividing that by the number of units. I didn't even know that kind of situation was possible. Incidentally, not only is that really sketchy, it is straight up illegal in every state I have ever rented. Usually if a landlord cannot provide individually metered utilities, they have to simply account for it in the rent. So check on that.
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Jul 4, 2012 01:03
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I've honestly never seen that before and it is totally baffling to me. Are there any sort of regulations or limitations on this? If there is some dick in the building that just leaves all his taps running, do you just get stuck paying a huge water bill? If I had to deal with something like that, I would ask the landlord for the charges for the last year, and get a limitation put on the lease for something above that to prevent getting screwed.
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Jul 5, 2012 21:37
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Yea, it's really regional. I used to live in Atlanta and even if you were super diligent and really careful, sooner or later you would get one of those giant loving bastards sneaking in somewhere and you would need to kill it with a wrench. Now I live in Boston, and I have never had a roach in any of our low-end apartments. The only place I see them, actually, is at work. It's a really old building that sits on top of the Downtown Crossing T station. Last time the exterminator was in I chatted with him and he said that the sub-basement is horrifying, and its all he can do to keep them below the main floors.
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Jul 21, 2012 00:57
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ConfusedUs posted:Put this one over the guest toilet. At eye level. If possible, put it facing the guest toilet. In fact, see if you can put one one each wall of the bathroom. Bonus points if you can arrange it so that one is visible while in the shower.
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Jul 30, 2012 17:17
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When you were assured that things were going to be fixed, did you get any of that in writing? If not, whatever the agent said probably doesn't count for poo poo. If its in writing, then you have some hope of enforcing it. Most of the stuff you are talking about is not really something you can force your landlord to handle. He probably doesn't need to provide you with an extractor fan, for instance. Hot water is iffy, though, and its possible that not having accessible hot water could be an issue with your local regulations. Probably not enough to actually do anything, though. At this point you should probably send him certified letter that says 'These are the things that need to be repaired; these are the things I was told would be handled when I move in. Please provide us with confirmation that they will be dealt with a timeline for doing so.' Depending on what he does, go from there.
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Aug 15, 2012 19:41
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madlilnerd posted:I just really don't want to lose my deposit- the last place I lived the landlord took half of my deposit to repaint the room despite the fact that it needed repainting when I moved in (I was an idiot and didn't take pictures, it was the first placed I'd independently rented and I was living with the landlord so I figured he knew the state of the room and wasn't a money grabbing dickhead). It's also piss annoying because it's not like this is a mega cheap studenty digs flat- it's costing me £650 a month. I work hard to live here and I'd like to have it as a functioning home instead of as a place where you have to tell guests which tap to use and what window won't open and all the rest. Well, in terms of not getting charged for it, make sure to take a ton of pictures of everything. Video if you can. Put something into the shot so that you can date the pictures, as well. Sending notices to your landlord, even if its by email, also help you to create a document trail when you might need it. On these sorts of questions I often have to ask myself how much its actually worth. Like having a working fan would be nice. But is it worth pissing off the landlord? Maybe, especially if the place is frustrating enough you don't think you'll stay on there. There are definitely times I have taken a hit and dealt with something myself because I feel that  is worth the landlord's goodwill. I didn't realize you were in the UK, and my experiences are very US-centric. It might be worth it for you to look around and see if there is any sort of tenants rights organization or something that can advise you. It's possible that there is a different/better framework for arbitration than we have here.
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Aug 15, 2012 21:26
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Our apartment has some big bay windows, which are generally awesome. However, the blinds that came with the place are not doing much to cut down the light that comes in. Does anyone have recommendations on what sort of material to use to really block out light? It would also be great if they served to dampen sound and improve insulation a little for the winter. Suggestions on places (retail or online) to get decent curtains would be great too.
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Sep 2, 2012 12:24
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Mike Danger posted:Newbie apartment hunt question: if the listing says "credit report required", and I basically have nonexistent credit, should I even bother contacting them? I pulled the free report from one of the big bureaus (Trans-something? I have the hard copy somewhere) but it was just a list of my student loans (which I'm assuming don't help my case at all). From your post I am guessing you are either still in college or a recent grad? It's not unusual for people in your demographic to have a pretty shallow credit history. They might ask you about your job or your income, but assuming that you have that and your answer to 'How are you going to pay the rent' isn't 'bitcoins' you should be fine. The reason they are pulling your credit is basically to see if you have a ton of bad accounts, and particularly to check if you have anything from a previous rental you ducked out on. Assuming all your student loans aren't delinquent or something you should be fine.
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Sep 4, 2012 14:35
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Fallback option: Does the apartment complex allow you to keep pets? If not, then contact the management and complain that someone has a pet in the complex that poses a health risk to you. Legally it's her cat, so now she has to own up to the management and deal with that. Or she can disown it and take it in to control.
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Sep 5, 2012 19:27
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You can usually find a standard lease for your city/state online or possibly with other pre-drafted legal stuff at somewhere like staples. This sort of thing will not be great and obviously not tailored to your situation, but it'll be cheap or free and most form leases are weighted toward the landlord. You should also look up the laws for your city/county/state regarding landlord duties and responsibilities, as well as the processes for stuff like eviction. A lot of landlords don't bother doing this, and if you mess up and a tenant goes after you for it, it can hurt a lot. The best idea would be to consult with an attorney, but I understand that you probably don't have the cash for that. You can make a lease for whatever time period you want. A lot of leases are set up for a fixed period, and then go month to month unless renewed. Note that if you want to make it straight up month-to-month, you will drive away some renters. I have a family, and moving is a huge pain in the rear end. I am not going to move into a place if the landlord can ask me to leave a month later, I'd rather take a worse place that I know I can be in for a year. Leasing it furnished is similar. That can be appealing to some people, but a lot of people have their own stuff they will want to bring in (and not pay to store) and so having it full of your crap is not always a selling point. You should also keep in mind that anything you leave in the house is subject to your tenant's use and abuse. Great-grandma's china cabinet might be a pain in the rear end to move, but you should balance that against having a tenant stumble into it drunk or their kid scratching it up with toys.
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Sep 6, 2012 20:58
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I'm assuming that 'Can I have a grill on my balcony' is sort of a trick question, because grilling on the balcony is really obnoxious to bordering units (particularly above you) and is often also a huge fire hazard.
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Sep 7, 2012 14:43
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Landlord/Tenant law is hardly the high-flying area of law, because anyone who works in this field is basically going to be dealing with random dudes who walk in off the street and don't have piles of cash. It may still cost you, but its low to mid end law. You should find the contact information for the Bar Association for your city (or, if you live in a small town, the state bar association). Generally they will have a referral service where you can call and tell them what sort of help you need, and they'll give the contact information for a lawyer in that field near you. One of the reasons to do this is that with a bar referral, many lawyers will give you a free or very cheap consultation, which lets you get in the door. For something like they should be able to give you a price for the work easily. As for what to do in your situation, I'm not really sure what the details are. It sounds like you are planning to find a place to rent that you can afford on your income, and rent out the house to cover the mortgage? If that is the setup, then I would just plan to do that for six months/a year. If you get back on your feet relatively quickly, you can spend that time building up a cash reserve to protect you in the future. The other alternative I would suggest is to forgo renting and see if you can get a boarder instead. Basically rent out one or two rooms in the house to supplement your income. If you think you can do this, it's easier than having to move out and lets you stay on-site to keep things in check.
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Sep 7, 2012 19:07
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Housewarming is just a name for the first party you have at your house. What do you normally do for a party? Do that, don't stress about it. If you have never had a party before, uh, what you suggested seems fine. Maybe try to have something to do, like some boardgames/drinking games/beat poetry (depending on your crowd).
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Sep 15, 2012 12:02
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thizzin forever posted:It would definitely be better if I wasn't stressing myself out and could just go to bed but I am stressed all the same. It didn't help searching for information online about breaking a lease as most of the results indicated that he could make this really time consuming and/or expensive for me. I'm sure the standards vary by state but I live in Missouri which I don't trust to have the most progressive tenant laws. If you got him to put it in writing that he would refund your deposit and break the lease, then I would be amazed if he tried to back out of it. Keep in mind that even verbal contracts can be binding, the issue with them is that it becomes very difficult to prove what was said. If you have in writing 'I will give back this money and void this lease', congratulations, you're pretty much set. If he tries to dick around with you, you can take him to court for it. I am going to guess that someone who is running a dozen units would rather just get rid of you and move on with their business than sink the time into fighting something they are very likely to lose. My experience is that slumlords will try to dick with you but will back down short of a fight; it's single-unit owners who are crazy and will fight a losing battle tooth and nail over $50.
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Sep 17, 2012 16:14
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You should keep copies of the thing he signed voiding the lease. In fact, you should just keep copies of everything relating to this apartment, including the check that he gave you, anything that you have given him, the original lease, and any correspondance about the issues you had with the apartment. Just keep it all. Destroying the original lease document doesn't really mean anything. A written contract isn't like a magical binding that dissipates when destroyed (although that would be cool). It's just evidence of the agreement that was reached between you and proof that you both actually acknowledged those terms. So even if he bakes the lease into a cake and eats it while you watch, for all practical purposes a copy he kept at home is just as good. What is important is that he later agreed to void the lease, and signed something saying that. That modifies the original lease contract and basically makes it meaningless (which is why he was asking for it back - he wanted you back into the apartment, but didn't want you carrying a get-out-free card in your wallet). Technically, this guy could still go over the deep end and decide to sue you; that is why you want to keep a copy of the written statements so that you can turn up and say 'Look your honor, he signed this thing voiding my lease and returned my desposit, so clearly this is bullshit'. At which point the matter would be thrown out (hopefully). So you want to keep all this documentation to protect yourself in case he is crazy enough to try that. There is also a legal thread on the forums that you might want to check in with, if you are concerned about handling that side of it.
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Sep 17, 2012 22:39
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Feast of Burden posted:Hey guys, I don't think I've read this in here before, but my lease is about to expire and I want to know if there is a possibility of renegotiating my lease to a lower monthly cost before renewing or if anyone has any experience with that. It seems to me like it's impossible given how dumb it sounds to me initially, but what do I know. For context, I've been paying my rent on time for the past 2 going on 3 years and it's gone up $50 per year. Not that it's a lot, but I put off moving to a cheaper, more efficient place and my wage isn't exactly getting any sweeter. You can always attempt to negotiate, sure. A lease is just a contract, so you can haggle over whatever you like. It's just that usually the landlord is in the position of power so tenants don't get a lot of wiggle room. The question is, why should your landlord agree not to raise the rent? How does your rate compare to the market? If you are already paying or above the typical rent for your area, he probably won't do any better with a new tenant, and will lose out on whatever rental time is needed to re-lease. On the other hand, if you are running below market he won't care if you walk because he can re-rent to someone at a higher rate anyway. Now you have been living there for a little while, so maybe you are a good tenant and he will be willing to cut you a break because of that. Maybe he's an old dude who isn't really that interested in making bank as long as his costs are covered. All those things make a difference.
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Sep 20, 2012 22:40
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Feast of Burden posted:I did just that, and my rent was renegotiated $120 less. I had a feeling it was too high... thanks for the advice I forgot to mention that my advice comes with a 25% commission! But really, that's pretty awesome. We aren't really a haggling society any more, so a lot of people don't really think of contracts as being really negotiable.
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Sep 23, 2012 20:31
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Jet Set Jettison posted:My friend told me to think in terms of dollars per square feet, which has helped me rank each apartments value. This isn't a bad idea, but keep in mind that many people are either deceptive or incompetent when it comes to providing a square-foot measurement of a property. Like technically, you shouldn't include stuff like closet space or areas where the roof is below a certain height, but I have seen places where they basically measured the width and length of the building and multiplied them. Plus, location is often a bigger issue than square footage. quote:How likely are the places Im looking at now even gonna be available in a few months? It's unlikely that anything on the market now is going to remain available for Jan/Feb unless it is a total shithole, hugely overpriced, or both. A good, well-priced apartment doesn't spend four months on the market. Having said that, it's not a waste of time to look at stuff now, because it helps you build up an understanding of what sort of stuff is available and what typical pricing is for your market. Generally you will see listings for your date come up 30-60 days in advance, because that is when existing tenants will notify thier landlord if they are not staying. So you are looking at November or December. quote:I know most leases last a year, but is a short lease a possibility? And if I do find a short term lease, am I really just signing up for an overpriced roach-den? Now, specifically because you are looking at renting near Boston - September is the big lease date for the city because of all the students. If you are renting a place in February, I would say that you have a pretty good chance of getting the landlord to do a lease until August - it would be a six month lease, and would get the property onto the typical September cycle, which many landlords would like.
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Sep 28, 2012 14:42
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:The ANSI standard is done by taking outside measurements of the dwelling. It includes closets. You're not supposed to include below grade space, garages, or rooms where the ceiling is below 7 feet. Wow, I didn't realize that. That's stupid as hell, especially if the interior has a terrible build where you're just missing big chunks of space. What about stuff like stairwells? In a typical triple-decker (most of Boston) you have two staircases front and back that take up a lot of space. Even so, square footage does equate living space, so don't use it as a sole measure!
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Sep 28, 2012 15:29
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| # ¿ May 15, 2024 09:56 |
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Ok, well, what does your lease say? Can repeated complaints let them terminate the lease? Can they fine you? This stuff should be laid out in the lease and any attachments that you signed. If not, well, there is a limit to what they can do. A landlord or property manager can't just take arbitrary actions against you if it isn't part of the contract you agreed to. So that will tell you what the immediate threat is here. You have a right to use your dwelling in a reasonable fashion. That means that you can walk around, watch tv, do anything that a normal person would be expected to do. Even if you are unreasonable, trying to evict someone for just being an rear end in a top hat is a losing proposition and no property company is going to bother trying. So read your lease and make sure you are following all the terms to the letter. The flip side of this, of course, is that if they tag you as a 'problem', they might just not renew your lease. Which is a pain in the rear end. Do you want to stay on here? Now, it sounds like the guy has complainted three times in two months? That's not excessive, although obviously you feel like it's unwarranted. If he isn't answering his door then pretty clearly he doesn't want to talk to you about it. He's probably happier complaining through the channels and getting them to bother you. So you can talk to the management. The best thing to do here is to be polite and seem accomodating. If you call them up and yell about your rear end in a top hat neighbor, it won't help. If you get in touch and say something like 'This neighbor has complained and I am not sure what the issue is, we are quiet and don't have parties/bowl in the apartment/etc. We would really like to avoid disturbing other tenants, but we feel like we're not doing anything to warrant this. Maybe it's coming from another unit and he's mistaking it for us? We would be happy to talk with him directly about any issues, etc.' Basically seem reasonable and obliging and the management may not peg you as troublemakers. The related aspect of this is to not be an rear end to the guard whenever he comes to your door, because if he is putting in any kind of reports he has the power to make you out as a problem!
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Oct 9, 2012 17:44
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