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immakiku posted:Move in is in 2 weeks. They asked for bank check today (instead of check). I can imagine since they have a lot of demand for apartments in NYC they want to make sure my money is good before giving me the lease. But I am just wondering if it's standard practice. It's fairly normal. Since that money is there to protect them in case you move in and screw up the place, or don't move in and they have to hold it off the market, or move in and don't pay rent, they need to make sure they have it before giving you keys. Also, I am well versed in apartment stuff and in particular, Virginia residential landlord tenant law. I can't give legal advice, but I can generally tell you how the law works. Lastly, renter's insurance is an absolute necessity. A lot of places are requiring it now anyway. Having witnessed firsthand the aftermath of apartment fires, I can tell you the difference is night and day between people who have it and people who don't.
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Jun 3, 2011 17:39
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| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 02:30 |
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The worst damage from a fire frequently comes from water. Also, even if the building can't burn, the contents can. And when they do, it generates a tremendous amount of heat. This is from a fire that started on a couch. The couch simply smoldered, but generated enough heat for the the smoke detector to melt off the ceiling, and the cd and electronics in this picture to melt and drip down the tv. Nothing in this picture actually caught on fire. Edit: Also understand that the landlord's insurance only covers his stuff. If a water heater leaks and ruins all your poo poo, that's not his problem. 
Flash Gordon Ramsay fucked around with this message at 18:07 on Jun 3, 2011 |
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Jun 3, 2011 18:04
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Eggplant Wizard posted:Hey, I have a question. What the heck is the deal with all these "rent to own" ads? I understand the concept of paying payments to the owning bank instead of rent, but is it the sort of thing you can get out of, or are you stuck with it like a proper mortgage? I'm assuming it's a terrible idea, but I'm curious. The big difference is lack of equity. In a mortgage your payments are presumably building equity by paying down the balance on the note, albeit slowly at first. In this type of real estate contract, you have no equity. You miss a payment, and you start over. Only when you make X number of consecutive payments on time do you own the property. You also miss out on the tax benefits of the mortgage interest deduction.
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Jun 3, 2011 18:44
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Eggplant Wizard posted:Also, and I'm not saying you should do this, but you could possibly get away with saying you only have two pets and assuming no one will ever notice the extra cat or dog or w/e. If they're all dogs it could be a problem. And when they discover it, either because a neighbor rats you out or they have to perform emergency maintenance or any of a number of other reasons, you will be in breach of contract. At best, you will have to get rid of one of your pets, at worst you will have to move and potentially owe lease cancellation penalties.
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Jun 3, 2011 18:58
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In most states, security deposits must be used for actual damages, ie lost rent or damage to the apartment. I don't see canceling from the waiting list resulted in an actual loss to the landlord. I would check up on state law. If you had in fact agreed to take a specific apartment, and they had taken that unit off the market for you, then they could probably justify keeping the deposit.
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Jun 9, 2011 12:31
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movax posted:Hey, so after a quick search this seems to be kind of a general-ish Apartment thread. As long as it's not sewage, then its just a matter of drying it quickly. Generally the carpet cleaning guys will put down a mold inhibitor as well. Mold generally takes 24-48 hours to appear, which is enough time to get the carpet dried out. Make sure you leave the fans/dehumidifier on if they left them behind.
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Nov 17, 2011 21:34
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Well if she is comingling operational funds with the escrow account, that rises to the level of criminal. It doesn't matter that she can't pay her mortgage; she won't go to jail for that. But escrow accounts are someone else's money (yours) and that's another whole level of bad poo poo. Even if there is no money in the escrow account, she still owes you that money (or whoever the trustee is in the foreclosure does). Withholding rent because you anticipate a problem with your security deposit is a really bad idea. A lot of laws don't allow you to withhold rent, and certainly you can't do it in an anticipatory sense. Instead, take pictures of the condition of the unit and document everything. If you fail to pay rent and they sue for eviction, telling the judge that you didn't pay because you thought you'd get screwed out of your deposit will get you laughed out of court and your credit wrecked.
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Dec 8, 2011 17:40
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Drunk Tomato posted:Isn't it true that if the landlord even so much as touches your deposit, you are entitled to the full amount regardless of cleaning fees and whatever? At least I think it is this way in my state. That probably varies from state. And the fact is, you wouldn't really know if they have touched your deposit without an outside audit of their escrow account. Which you wouldn't really find out about unless you see your landlord doing a perp walk on the 6 oclock news.
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Dec 8, 2011 17:54
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Out of curiosity, how do you get her bank statements?
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Dec 8, 2011 19:49
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fletcher posted:I'm at the end of my lease and if I renew for another 7 months they will raise my rent by $140, which seems pretty absurd. Is there any recourse or do I just have to bend over and take it? This is in California. You can always move.
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Dec 21, 2011 01:09
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dimeat posted:Is it that you go through a realtor and they'll go through the process of leasing with you? How/when does the owner get involved? Pretty much. You find an agent who does that sort of thing, they show you what's available, arrange tours, etc. If you end up leasing from someone, they get paid by the owner. There's a good chance you'll never meet the owner, as everything could be handled by his managing agent.
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Jan 16, 2012 15:40
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Completely depends on the company. I think my company has a 5 year lookback on misdemeanor (non sexual) assaults.
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Feb 8, 2012 21:59
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psydude posted:
Were they using a third party service to accept credit cards? Most landlords who allow credit card payments do this, as its a way around the surcharge prohibition. The fee is technically for the third party to handle the payments.
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Feb 13, 2012 16:01
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:I emailed an apartment complex asking how much rent was and if they were pet-friendly (neither was listed on their website). They respond saying they can only answer my questions via a phone call, which I find very odd especially since these are very simple questions. That makes no sense to me. I would be distrustful of a place that operated like that. I would even worry that they were trying to prescreen applicants based on if they sounded ethnic, etc, on the phone. Try having someone who is a different race than you cal and ask for info and then you call and ask for the same info and see if they give the same answer. If not, report them to HUD for fair housing violations.
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Feb 17, 2012 22:30
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Zeitgueist posted:My landlady is filing a claim with her insurance for the damage to her property, can we submit a claim to her for our property? No. Well, you can, but unless you can prove negligence on her part, you won't get anything. That's what renter's insurance is for. Unless you had previously reported that the line was leaking and they didn't do anything about it or maybe they put some tape on it or something, you're out of luck. Always, ALWAYS, get renter's insurance. It shouldn't cost more than $150 a year or so. It will protect you in situations like this, as well if your idiot neighbor burns down the building and he doesn't have insurance. Even if he does have insurance, your insurance will pay you and then go after him, rather than you having to take on an insurance company by yourself.
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Feb 23, 2012 22:36
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Don't feel bad, that's the typical response. Around here it's become standard to require proof of insurance at move in. It protects the tenant, and it also protects the landlord if the tenant fucks up. As someone who has been on the scene of some pretty bad apartment fires, I can tell you the difference between the folks who have insurance and the folks who don't is night and day. The ones who have it are worried about salvaging their pictures or other sentimental items. The ones that don't are trying to figure out how to start over in life. It won't help you this time, but hurry up and get it so you'll be prepared next time.
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Feb 23, 2012 23:06
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If the other one isn't a hazard to health and safety (you could argue that the temp weirdness is, maybe), then your best bet is to condition your lease renewal on it, or offer to go in halfsies or something. Those are really the only two things you can offer. Preview edit: Actually, you could also offer to redo the lease and pay more rent too I guess.
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Mar 11, 2012 01:09
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d3rt posted:Why is the car payment so high? $260 is not a high car payment.
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Mar 17, 2012 22:28
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Also, don't be afraid to spend money on a mattress. You spend a third of your life there, and a good one makes a tremendous difference in how rested you feel and how not sore you are in the morning.
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Apr 16, 2012 21:34
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Thoguh posted:Where do you even find sheets that cost $330 bucks? Closeout at Marshall's? But seriously, good sheets are expensive. Not as necessary in my book as a good mattress, but they do make a difference.
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Apr 17, 2012 01:00
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In regard to sheets, don't get hung up on thread count. I've had some crappy feeling high thread count sheets, and much nicer lower count sheets. The best sheets I've purchased have been pretty pricey, but I've also bought and returned expensive sheets that were crap. Just do what Grog says.
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Apr 17, 2012 14:48
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In my experience people named Dollie can't lift poo poo. What you need are dudes named Tiny. They're always huge.
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Apr 17, 2012 22:00
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Around here, 3-6% or so relatively normal. In other words, $30-$60 a month on a $1000 rent. Sometimes you see more, but generally it stays low, and within the bounds of inflation, rising property taxes, and insurance.
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Apr 27, 2012 15:48
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You need to pay your half.
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Apr 30, 2012 19:32
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Large Hardon Collider posted:I'm in Massachusetts. I signed a year-long lease starting this June, and today I got this email from the broker: Probably varies state to state, but typically the owner would simply be responsible for vacating your lease and returning your security deposit. It sounds like he's going above and beyond. Holdover tenants can be a pain in the rear end.
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May 1, 2012 15:58
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Large Hardon Collider posted:Thanks! What do you mean by "vacating my lease"? Voiding the contract. Since he couldn't deliver on his end, basically the contract (lease) gets torn up.
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May 1, 2012 16:01
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Large Hardon Collider posted:I was afraid of that. I'll speak with a lawyer about my options. Thank you. You recourse against the landlord is going to be limited unless you can somehow prove that he knowingly rented you a unit he couldn't deliver. Again, there may be specific state laws that provide other remedies, so talking to a lawyer couldn't hurt if you're not happy with the arrangement he offered.
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May 1, 2012 17:30
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2 is workable but you need to flag it.
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May 5, 2012 19:41
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Witha month to month lease, you would always get at least one month's notice of termination. You might inquire as to why it is month to month only.
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May 31, 2012 16:36
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Whirlpool are generally good, as are Kenmore (Sears brand, usually rebadged Whirlpool). If you get one that isn't HE and doesn't have all the fancy electronics, it should last a long time. At my old house, I had to replace the water pump on my washer, and it took all of 20 minutes.
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Jun 12, 2012 16:39
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TECHNICAL Thug posted:Anyone go through something like this before? I'm wondering what will happen when she receives the letter. (sent certified w/ return receipt) Seems like a good noncompliance letter, but it really depends on whether or not a landlord is obligated to provide working A/C. Working heat is a requirement in most localities, but A/C isn't. And if your A/C is even partially working but just unable to keep up with the heat (not at all uncommon) then you really have no recourse. If you were promised A/C and didn't get it, you may have a claim for breach of contract. But that process may not be the same as the one for claiming the unit is uninhabitable. I'm guessing there's lots of people in your state without AC. Last note: The AC may be considered an amenity, which means the landlord is not obligated to provide it. In that case, you're totally SOL and just have to hope to scare the landlord into doing something about it.
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Jun 20, 2012 20:45
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Well that clears it up a lot. The "substantially the same condition as at the inception of the lease" is what's important here. If this is your first summer in this place, then the landlord's response would likely be "the ac has always sucked" and that would be that. Oddly enough, him telling you that it worked fine last year actually hurts his case. Given the bills you researched, I would say it's always sucked and you probably have no recourse under law. Has he at least had someone check the freon? Clean the coils? Change the filters? (The latter two you can do yourself) All that said, a properly functioning A/C should be able to bring the inside temp down at least 20 degrees and hopefully more. I would keep up with the letters and see if you can gently coerce her into making it better.
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Jun 20, 2012 21:11
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The big difference is that residential building codes require things like working heat and hot water in order for a structure to get a certificate of occupancy. If you don't have those things the unit is considered uninhabitable, and you can have it condemned. Since they don't typically require air conditioning, non functioning air conditioning would not be considered something that makes a unit uninhabitable. Which leaves you to fall back on the landlord tenant act which probably also doesn't help in this situation. I have seen situation where someone claims to need A/C due to a health concern like asthma. If that were the case for you or one of your family members, you may be able to get relief from the courts, but that would come in the form of the termination of your lease. The court is unlikely to compel someone to install a new A/C because they required it for health reasons.
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Jun 20, 2012 21:37
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You should turn your mattress a couple times a year though.
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Jul 3, 2012 14:51
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Depends on the mattress. If it's double side, then do something like flip it over in summer and rotate it 180 degrees in winter. A lot of the newer ones (pillowtops) only have one usable side, so just rotate it 180 degrees.
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Jul 3, 2012 20:13
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Ashcans posted: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. It's called RUBS (ratio utility billing system) and it's legal in lots of states.
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Jul 4, 2012 14:30
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Generally, the landlord has to spell out how it is calculated (per occupant, per bedroom, based on sq footage, etc) and can't charge more than he is billed. There may also be a requirement for common area deduction. In the places my company has implemented it, overall water usage dropped 10-15 percent. Places that we've submetered have seen usage drop by 15-20 percent.
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Jul 5, 2012 21:46
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ExtraFox posted:Took me a moment to read this as you intended it, but once I did, I laughed. Thanks. Tell them sooner rather than later, and offer to pay for the carpet before you do the paperwork for the next lease/apartment. Show them you're good for the damages, and you should be set.
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Jul 6, 2012 00:54
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mobby_6kl posted:Posted about this in another thread already, but this might be more relevant here. I moved into a new apartment and after maybe two weeks noticed that the floors were hosed up in a few places: What kind of floor is that? it looks unfinished in the picture, or even maybe like it's a soft wood, in which case the damage could be caused by something as simple as high heels.
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Aug 11, 2012 23:56
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| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 02:30 |
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Those Mr. Clean erasers are a lot more abrasive than you think, and will happily take the finish of most anything you use them on, so choose wisely.
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Aug 23, 2012 16:51
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