Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Rent

How to wash my hands of this lease?

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 07:45:25 -0800

Breaking my lease: landlord barely making an effort and raising the rent. What are my chances in court? YANML, I want to know where I stand before I start pouring lawyer money after rent money. Pennsylvania, since that's probably applicable.

I gave my landlord ~2 months notice I'd be breaking my lease. He's decided to raise the rent $100/month ($1100->$1200) which we feel is not at all competitive given other listings in the area. The not-as-newly-rennovated place directly next door is renting for $1050/month.

He has put minimal effort into advertising -- he's posted a total of 2 posts on craigslist over the past two months.

We're posting on a daily basis, showing the apartment a few times a week -- and time and time again, every person that we follow up with mentions that the rent is the sticking point. There have been at least two people that have said they would have taken the place at our rent, but not at the new rate. We have this in writing (email).

For what it's worth, we've tried to communicate with him regularly -- stopping paying rent is not our first choice, but we've gotten nowhere talking to him. The landlord is the owner of the house and previous resident. He is/was a great and friendly guy, but turned positively *icy* when we told him we were moving. Sorry dude, getting a new job is not personal.

Right now he has our 'last months' rent + a security deposit. I'm *very* tempted to stop paying him rent when I move out, because I don't feel he's making a good faith effort to rent the place out. Is this an awful idea? If it comes to court, do I stand a chance? I just can't afford to pay rent on an empty apartment he's making minimal effort to rent out.

New Life Crisis.

CwgrlUp — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:01:35 -0800

We are hoping to move in the next six months. When should we put our current house up for sale? My wife just graduated (yay!) and she is in the running for around six jobs. By in the running I mean in the top 2 or 3 candidates, so things are looking very good. The thing is, several of the potential employers have told her that she will be hired and then expected to relocate there as little as two weeks later, but some will give her a couple months.

One makes their decision in January and expect her by April. One says they'll decide in February and want her there in March.

My main question is when do I put our house up for sale? We are struggling mightily to make ends meet while she looks for a job and if the house happened to sell quickly, we couldn't afford all the deposits (we have 2 dogs too) and first/last months rent etc to get into an apartment.

But, if we didn't sell it and she had to move for the job (any job she takes will have a signing bonus and moving expenses), I don't see how we could afford a new place and the old one on one income, since I most likely will be unemployed when we first move.

I'm so stressed about all of this. My dad could possibly rent out my house as a last resort, but I don't want to dump that responsibility on him. I would appreciate some advice.

How does one move across the country smartly?

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:24:24 -0800

I'm moving to Boston from San Diego in a year, but I don't know a soul there, nor do I know how to get the important stuff (job, apartment) set up from so far away. Questions follow. The last time I moved across the country like this was a decade ago, and I had friends on the other side who pulled some strings to get me a job and also had a room I could rent. I won't have that luxury this time. What I do have is experience as a creative director and graphic designer, some money saved, and a decade's worth of stuff to move... which is all way more than I had ten years ago. But this part I still don't know how to do....

1) What's the best way to find employment from across the country? And how soon does it make sense to start that process? I'll be able to live for several months without income if I have to by that time, and I can freelance for a while, but I'd breathe easier knowing I had a job lined up before I hit the road.

2) How the hell do I arrange for an apartment? I can pick one out and visit it, but I wonder how the application process is going to go. My credit is good (but not perfect). I'll be working at my current job right up until I move... but that will mean that my proof of income is all from a job across the country... a job I'm leaving. Does that matter?

I know that people do this sort of thing all the time, and I've done some Googling around, but this is very scary to me, and I don't know where to start!

Throaway email if needed: bostonorbustithink@gmail.com

Help a Portland Oregonian expatriate to Washington, DC

Skwirl — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 04:33:36 -0800

I'm moving to Washington, DC for a new job that is a huge step up for me. I'd like to have a studio apartment lined up for January 1st and I will have a week to intensively look for a place before my job starts on Dec. 21st. What are some neighborhoods, tips and resources what would be helpful for me to find my perfect place in such a short turn around? My main goal is super convenient car-free living and commuting. My sensible ceiling for rent is about $1200. I could comfortably go decently higher, but I'm also used to spartan living and could go lower. I prefer small living spaces. Heck, I miss dorm life. My highest priority, after safety, is a sensible commute. I don't drive and in the past I've happily mixed and matched bus, light rail and bicycle commutes at my daily whimsy. My dream situation would be to be able to walk to as many day-to-day necessities as possible. My office is a stone's throw from the Teasury (Nearest Metro lines: Blue, Orange and Red) so I dunno how realistic walking to work would be but my other dreamy dream would be to have many of the daily essentials within walking-biking distance. (Can I have a Trader Joes and a neighborhood hippy co-op as my neighbors? And a Target? Kthnxbye...)

Other considerations:
* There will probably be times where I'm biking or walking home at 2 am and I want to be reasonably safe from intimidation and violence. I don't particularly care about other urban issues or inconveniences.

* I significantly prefer greenspaces and multi-use paths over nightlife, but I would utilize both.

* I've been browsing rent.com, housingmaps.com and apartments.com. I've only rented from craigslist-y individuals in the past and I've had only good experiences but I have found those situations wanting in professionalism sometimes and I would prefer a good property management company.

* I will be buying all new (or new to me) furniture. Pre-furnished apartment? Even better. (Think: Dorm but with a kitchen.)

* I understand the cost-of-living sticker shock. I've crunched the numbers and I'm still sooooper psyched. But, if there's a significant tax difference between MD, DC and VA, I'd want to know more.

* Obviously proximity to Metro stops is pretty coveted, but I think all I care about is minutes spent commuting so if I could beat the market with a good bus route and bicycling, I'm all ears.

* Where should I avoid?

My plan is to stay at the HI hostel and/or Priceline hotels and/or couch surf while I'm looking for a place if I don't meet my January 1st goal. Most of my stuff will be shipped at a later date at my leisure.

Where should I live in SW Connecticut that has a good cheap rent vs. good elem. school balance?

taumeson — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:47:28 -0800

I'm moving with my family to Connecticut in a few weeks. Definitely western CT, probably SW CT. Need advice on rent and elementary schools, specifically: "Where should I live that has a good balance of cheap rent vs. good schools"? I'm not going to be making SW Connecticut income, so I need a cheapish place to live with good schools. Aren't we all? I've investigated it a bit and there seem to be plenty of places to live as long as I avoid Norwalk and Bridgeport. Accurate assumptions? I'll be working near Stamford and Norwalk, with occasional stints near Hartford (once or twice monthly). I'd like to see a shorter commute than I currently have (50 mins each way) so I would like to live near where I'll be working.

Am I being difficult?

silsurf — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:16:49 -0800

What exactly should my landlord know? I love in Los Angeles in a two bedroom house and am trying to figure out if what the land lord wants to know is valid?

We are great tenants and he has said that over and over, so there is no animosity regarding these issues, but I personally feel like it is really none of his business and secondly feel like there is no reason for him to know the following.

We have alarm system that we pay for the monitoring of. Our landlord wants the entry code, he says he needs it in the case of an emergency. Our stance is that it just makes one more person in the world who has the entry code and therefore less secure. He does not live in the area either. He also says that he needs it for his insurance company, but when we pressed him on this he backed off. Like I said. Put me in touch with your insurance company and if after speaking to them I understand why they need it, I will supply them with the info.

The other issue has been ongoing.
The house was originally rented to my wife before we were married. When I moved in he suggested a rent increase, we balked and have never agreed to one. Then, my son started staying over more and more often and he said he wanted to raise the rent as it is based on occupancy? So far, that has not come to pass either.

I have never hear of, nor do I understand that a single family home that is being rented is based on occupancy? Isn't it our right to have however many people living here that we want? If he wants to not rent it to us any more, he can put that in motion.

So, my questions are:

Does the owner of a rented home have the need to the security entry code?

Does the owner of a rented home have the right to charge rent based on occupancy?

Where do I go for answers to these questions in the Los Angeles are (other than the support 0f fellow MeFi'ers?)

Thanks,

Henry

Help us put Starbucks out of business, for a week.

yom3ts — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:06:00 -0800

Any tips on a short-team lease of retail space in Manhattan? Brainstormfilter: Modeled after the costume shops that pop up for a month or so around Halloween and then disappear, combined with the down retail market, we're considering a short-term lease of a small commercial space to get the word out about our brand and products. The idea would be to offer freebies to attract a crowd (did someone say free cup of coffee?), and use the space as a showroom for our equipment and for our salespeople to make some quick contacts.

Granted, Manhattan's real estate market isn't experiencing the same horrors as some other parts of the country, but if we're ever going to do this, now has to be the time. Any tips/info on leasing retail space for as short as a few weeks to a few months, tops?

Rental discrimination/morality

JimDe — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:09:11 -0800

I'm a landlord for a owner-occupied 4-unit bldg. I know I can't discriminate, with respect to tenant selection, regarding "family status", but am I free to prefer a single-occupancy renter to a family? My motivation is mostly remunerative -- included in rent are: water, hot water, and heat, and so a single renter is cheaper for me than a family of three with respect to those utilities. Is my preference for 1 vs. 3 rentors actionable discrimination? (Call me a miser if you like, but I'm under rent control, and I need to watch my costs, since it is near impossible to pass inflationary costs on to tenants.)

Congratulations, give us all your money!

Phyltre — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:12:35 -0800

Surprise! I'm a new renter. I wasn't expecting the opportunity, but a house is up for rent on the block where I work and they informally accepted my bid. With a deadline. What now? I've been casually pursuing my own place for awhile now but didn't think I made enough for it to be feasible, so I wasn't really taking it particularly seriously...until this week, when a coworker's friend offered a house for rent for $650/month (the upper end of my budget.) Two bedrooms, 1.5 baths, small but cute and definitely in the right location; it's on the same block as my office, pulling a 40-minute commute out of my day. Multi-part question:

I now have until December 1st to come up with the $650 deposit and $650 for the first month, not to mention the cost of getting the utilities back on. If I don't hit that deadline, the house goes back on the market and will probably get rented out to someone else for more. The monthly costs including utilities are well within my budget, but this larger initial cost will be a heck of a pill to swallow. I don't have any credit to speak of, but my fiancee will be helping out with around $400. She will be moving in after our wedding in six months, which will make the budget much less tight. I have two paychecks, $800 each, before the 1st. (I gave numbers so it's clear how close the first month will be. Ironically, this opportunity came days after my one yearly party, Halloween, which I spent way too much money on given I had no idea I might be moving out. Not to mention the worn out tires I just replaced!)

I think if I just flat out declare a moratorium on all non-prior-obligation spending, we can do it--get over the initial financial hump, when monthly cost of living will be manageable again. Then slowly trickle in appliances and furniture.

I would love some advice from first-time renters or anyone who's hit a similar situation with all the challenge ostensibly up front. I've lived on campus at college but of course this will be quite different. I've got a bed, a desk, a TV, various small electronics, a car, a closet full of clothes, and not much else. Given my situation, tell me what I should be doing and where it will be easy to trip up. Obviously I would have prepared for this if I had thought there would even be a possibility of it happening, this really hit out of the blue.

I still do a little retail work on the weekends for a big-box, so I can afford the appliances with employee discount. Everything else--well, I'm hoping you can help me put together a plan. I'm not willing to let this opportunity slip past me, and I really don't have anything to lose if it doesn't work out--I could just move back to the family land out here in the country.

Please assure me about insurance

Anonymous — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:10:02 -0800

I live in an apartment building, and my neighbors recently caused some pretty significant damage to my unit (the details are irrelevant.) Anyway, I'm going to have to vacate while repairs are done. My insurer will pay for my stay in a hotel, and my landlord has offered to re-imburse my rent for whatever time I'm not occupying the apartment. Is this ok? I know: YANML. I am a little bit worried that I might have some legal responsibility to disclose the money my landlord is providing me with to my insurer. Am I just being neurotic? I've never dealt with insurance companies before, so I don't really know what I'm doing. I don't know how long I'll need to stay in a hotel - probably somewhere between 3 and 8 weeks - but the hotel stay will certainly be significantly more expensive than whatever rent I get back. (To give you an idea, I pay about $1100/mo rent, and I'm looking to stay at a reasonable mid-range chain hotel that charges about $110/night.) I am covered for re-location expenses that are about 10-15x more than whatever I'll get back from my landlord. Nonetheless, I'm a bit worried that if my insurer knew, they would want to deduct that amount from whatever they reimburse me for, since I could use the money my landlord is giving me toward housing. Does my insurer care?

I live in Ontario, Canada, and my insurer is Intact.

No lease, moving howto?

Anonymous — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:48:23 -0800

I live in an apartment with no lease and pay rent to my (dishonest) roommate. How do I minimize my financial losses when I move out? I moved in June 15 and paid a full month's rent ($600). The next month and each subsequent month my roommate told me to pay $550 after I questioned how high the rent was. I paid that rent on the first of each month (or thereabouts).

In months that passed, I've found out that roommate has lied about how much the whole apartment rents for, and that he pays $50 less rent than he told me he paid. I've also observed that he generally lies and cheats people out of things whenever he has the opportunity to do so. We do not have good roommate relations due to related and unrelated conflicts, and he does not like me & vice versa.

I don't have a security deposit or a lease, the utilities are in my name (and I take the amount that he owes me out of the rent check each month), and what we'd (verbally) agreed upon was that I would give 30 days notice before moving out.

I am planning on moving out December 14. I am also planning on taking the utilities out of my name starting on that day. I am 95% positive that he will not give me what he owes me for utilities for the period of December 1-15 (the bill that I will get after I move out). This will be a non-trivial sum since we live in a cold area with high gas bills.

What I (and others I've consulted) see my options as being are to give him written and verbal notification on November 13 that I will be moving out on December 14 and:

A: Pay all of December rent.
B: Pay half of December rent.
C: Say that I've been paying rent from the 15th-15th of each month (since I moved in on June 15) and pay no December rent.
D: Pay half of December rent and subtract the utilities that he owes from that AND the utilities that I project he will owe for the final bill.

So, MetaFilter, what do I do? What is right? What is fair? What will screw me over the least?

How do I rent my empty room out?

Night_owl — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:10:00 -0800

Trying to rent a room in a home in New Orleans. What's my problem, and what am I missing? My boyfriend bought a 3 bedroom house in a nice area. One of the bedrooms is being rented by a friend, and we would like to (read: kind of need to) rent out the third bedroom. None of our friends are looking for housing. I've tried to post on CL, listing monthly rent, what's included, how awesome we are, etc. I included two ways to contact us, email and phone, and promised pictures by email. Not a thing, and it's been two weeks. I'm getting worried now that I'm going about this all wrong. How best to seek out renters for a room in a home?

Related, where can I find a lease agreement for this sort of situation? We have a pretty bare-bones one for the friend, but I would like something more substantial and protective of all parties involved.

breaking a lease in new york for job-related reasons

saraindc — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:35:00 -0800

My friend was laid off several months ago in NY and can no longer afford her lease. I've heard that for job-related reasons (such as moving for a new job) that you can break a lease legally, does anyone know about this? What have the many others who must have found themselves in this situation done? Clearly its not so easy to find someone else to take over your lease as a lot of people have lost their jobs and can't afford a lease. Please help us!! Thanks!

Lot Rent

VC Drake — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:07:10 -0800

Do mobile home parks always charge lot rent? Has anyone ever heard of an instance when a mobile home park doesn't charge lot rent? Are there parks that don't charge lot rent at all? Like is there ever just a one-time fee only? Are there ones that sell the lot to the owner? Any other alternatives? Thanks.

Lemme aloooone!

Tequila Mockingbird — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:51:06 -0800

My apartment management has started to drive me nuts. For a month now they've been claiming that my August check has bounced - except it very clearly hasn't, with bank statements shown to them to back it up. Yesterday, I was told that I'm still on their late list for payments. Argh! How the bloody hell do I make this go away? It's ridiculous! I send every check using certified mail, so I know exactly when the company receives it. First week of August, they got the check and my bank processed it and withdrew the rent amount from my checking account. It was all standard, I kept track as I always do, and thought nothing of it.

Then on the 11th of September, a whole month later, I get a letter stating that this particular (numbered) check bounced. Impossible, right? It was already processed a month ago. I print statements, that very check as scanned by the bank, etc. and bring it to my manager, who lives within the building. She looks it over, agrees it makes no sense and promises to talk to the company on my behalf.

And then we go in circles that have not yet broken. They say the check was returned, I say the evidence to the contrary is conclusive, they tell me otherwise, on and on and on. I really can't deal with this anymore, because it is so senseless. I have never had bounced check fees on my account, I have never put a stop payment on a check, and I just don't know what else to do.

What would be the best next step, to make them understand what I'm telling them? I'm flying out of the country on Saturday, for a week, and the fact that this hasn't gone away yet is maddening.

(From southern California.)

I'm sorry what?

greytape — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:05:47 -0800

Found a flat, put down a deposit. Now the landlord wants more money. What can we do? So we found a flat on Gumtree in London over the weekend for £435. We really liked it and put down a deposit immediately. Today the letting agent has called us and said that the landlord wants more: £450. Do we have any options? Is this kind of activity illegal in any way?

Although they, the letting agent, thinks that £435 is a realistic price, we don't really want to risk finding out if this is true or not by letting them put it back on the market.

Weirdly the letting agent seems to have put the property on their own website for £450, while putting it on Gumtree for £435. Is this practice of advertising properties on Gumtree for a lower price standard? Or is this just a way of suckering people in then jacking up the price?

One night sit...

TigerMoth — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:58:04 -0800

InstaPartyFilter: Where (in D/FW area) can I rent a couple of couches just for an evening?! ..and ideally have them delivered/picked up... Throwing a small-ish (40-50 folks), tame, holiday party at a rented public-facility cabin on urban lake. It's got a fireplace and is generally cozy. I'd like to set up couches instead of the provided folding chairs, better ambiance, dontchaknow...?! ;)

Who's gonna rent me furniture for 6 hours AND bring it to me/haul it away ...?

Only seen tents, margarita machines, bounce houses (!) etc at "party rental" places. I doubt standard furniture rental places will do it (since they'll guess we're gonna spill beer all over them).

Ideas?

Renting Jewelry??

mmf — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:52:32 -0800

Does anyone have any experience with renting jewelry for a wedding? This is a new concept to me, but our soon-to-be bride has found a couple of places (mainly Adorn and BagBorroworSteal.com) where she is considering renting a large necklace, because we have nothing appropriate to fill up the space her strapless dress leaves looking empty. Any advice??

Help finding and renting apt west of Ancona, Italy.

avocade — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:12:27 -0800

Good inexpensive family apartments for rent inland from Ancona, Italy in end-October? Need some assistance. We're going with the family to Venice from Sweden by plane, then car down to Ancona (my dad is an accordion freak and wants to visit the famous maker there). We're thinking of heading straight inland from there, up the mountain range and hopefully stay in a nice, very italian apartment in some nice, very italian (see a pattern?) picturesque town where we can just enjoy life (gastronomically and wineonomically) for a week or so longer.

Any tips? Need to probably book asap, over the internet would be best. None of us speak italian (I know a few phrases), and only my mother has been to Italy for a week or so (Milan, Rome). We're five people, youngest is 22 yo. No smokers, no pets :)

Finding a rental in Portland OR

Anonymous — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 09:36:34 -0800

How crazy am I to rent a place in Portland, Oregon without seeing it first? I'm moving to Portland next month, hurray! (Yes I have a job there, but this is anonymous because it's not quite official on both sides yet.)

I'll have my family (spouse, kids, dog) in tow and cannot get into town before we arrive without super complicated family logistics and huge expense.

I know Portland enough to know the neighborhoods I'd like to live in, really based on the schools I'd like my kids to attend. I can look around various neighborhoods on Google Maps, and I've been using Portland Maps to get information on various houses and neighborhoods.

I have a friend in Portland who will, I think, be glad to visit places we are serious about renting. I'm also wondering if I might be able to hire someone to do this for me so as not to burden my friend.

My goal is to minimize disruption for my kids especially, and to get them enrolled in school as soon as possible, and for that, we need an address. So ideally I'd have someplace for us to live before we arrive in town.

The alternative would be for all of us to live in a hotel for a week or longer, until I can find us someplace. I worry I'd be so pressured to get into any house that we'd have to compromise or else be stuck in a hotel.

But is it crazy to sign a lease without seeing the rental? If you have done this, did it work out okay? And do you have any suggestions for making it less crazy? (Like perhaps asking for an three month lease to start.)

Email is leasingwithoutseeing@gmail.com

How hard can it be to rent out a no fee ferchristsake

cestmoi15 — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:35:40 -0800

Where do you search for an apt in NYC? I'm looking to rent out my apt in NYC by owner, no fee. I've signed up with Craigslist, but have been out of the market for so long I no longer know where else people check. So, where is it the kids are rental hunting these days?

Financial District Apartment Needed

lumidine — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:26:08 -0800

We are looking for an apartment in NYC Financial District. One bedroom, max. $2,000. Any ideas? Thanks a lot guys

Fairness of Rent Voucher?

franklen — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:56:12 -0800

Is $50 off of my next month's rent ($395 monthly) a fair rent voucher to compensate for a flooded bedroom, loss of the use of that room and sleeping on my futon for a week? I've had to do the same for 2-3 days twice in the past couple months too due to moisture and water seeping into the foundation of this basement apartment.

Help me prepare an informal lease while temporarly living with a friend.

Anonymous — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:42:14 -0800

Need help writing an informal lease while renting a room out of a friends house. I am going through a divorce, and am currently staying with a friend who owns a house. I don't intend to stay in the state forever, just until I get things in order in my life. I am paying her rent and helping with the utilities. Our friendship is strong, and we're both fair reasonable adults. There is no concern about getting "burned" or becoming a slack roommate. I'm just looking to write some sort of informal lease so we both have something in black & white to go by. Can anyone recommend any resources, or provide any advice? A generic template would be great. This is very casual, and friendly. We both want something pretty simple. Thanks in advance!

Where to live in or around Green Bay?

catseatcheese — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 10:34:56 -0800

I will be relocating to the Green Bay, WI area in about 5 weeks and need advice on where to live. I would like to rent. I have been looking online (craigslist, local newspaper classifieds, and other rental sites) but I have only spent three days of my life in Green Bay. I do plan to go visit next month for a few days to search for an apartment (or other dwelling) but would like advice on good neighborhoods, complexes, and even towns around Green Bay. Any suggestions are appreciated.