Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with housing and living

To squat or not?

Anonymous — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:09:06 -0800

I am considering renting out an artist's studio space and squatting in it temporarily, does anyone have any experience in this? Good idea, bad idea? So, I have been staying at a friends place in Chicago for the past few months and am ready to move out. Only problem is finding a good roommate/apartment combination hasn't quite happened yet. Because of this I am considering getting artist's studio space to move all of my stuff into and sleep in while I keep looking for a proper apartment. This could really be an ideal situation for me, because having studio space is really more of a concern to me than having a swanky apartment and most of the time I would actually use the space for art making etc. I figure in the future, if I find a better apartment situation I can just share my studio space with someone else to help offset the cost.

I have an older friend who has managed to squat in her studio in NYC for years and years, even after getting married for a while, so it seems like something I could manage. What I am more curious about are peoples experiences trying to do this in Chicago, and what the worst legal ramifications would be if I was found out. How do landlords even check for this or prove it if they are suspicious?

Thanks in advance.

putting everything together

streetdreams — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:23:30 -0800

Moving out of my own apartment into a communal house (again). Best practices? I can't afford this place anymore, and I'm tired of living by myself, so after a decade or so of living alone with (now-ex) partner and our kids, I'm moving back into the kind of big lefty communal housing situation I lived in before. I'm thrilled about the house, about the people I'll be living with, and about living communally again in general. That said, it's been a while.

Specific things I'm wondering about:

1) I've accumulated a lot of stuff in the intervening years. Much of it is just random junk I'm planning to get rid of outright, but I also have some stuff - furniture, books, etc. - that I'd like to keep. I don't know if there will be room for it all in the house, though - in fact, it seems unlikely. Would getting a storage space be the way to go?

2) What can I do to make this transition the best it can be for everyone? My kids are fabulously social and are excited about living with housemates, who are all childless friends of ours, but how do we deal with discipline and other such issues when it comes to them? My future housemates also have animals (cats and a dog), and my kids have never lived with any before - should we be doing anything in particular to help prepare them? As for me, what can I be doing to relearn how to be a good roommate, since it's been a long time in which I haven't had to be?

Any tips or ideas, especially from those who have been in similar situations, would be great!

Do I want to live in Daddy Day Care?

andoatnp — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 07:56:42 -0800

What sort of agreements should I make or information should I consider before moving into an apartment that would be used as a daycare during the day when my roommate and I aren't around? I have a meeting in two days to potentially sign a lease for me and a friend to move into a 3 bedroom apartment as subletters. The apartment would be rented by young parents with a 1 year old son who live in a different apartment in that apartment building. During the day (from 7:30 to 4:30) they would hire a nanny who would watch that child and 3 other one year-old-children in the apartment in the living room and using one of the bedrooms. Theoretically, this will only be happening on weekdays when me and my roommate will both be out of the apartment at school. We would be able to make use of that third bedroom at night when they aren't around as some extra space.

Has anyone ever done anything like this before? What sort of agreements should we have in writing beforehand to guarantee a smooth year for us? After having four babies in our apartment for the day, when we get home at 5 do you think it would be immediately obvious that our apartment was a day care, or might we not even realize? [Is this an insane idea that we should avoid at all costs, and instead seek housing elsewhere?]

For what it's worth, we are in Israel, but all our previous real estate transactions have been similar to how they would be in America, so any advice that would apply in America would probably be helpful for us. I'm not looking for legal advice so much, as wondering about any agreements we should reach with the parents/subleasers beforehand that we should be sure to include in the lease. This is a slightly complicated situation, so please let me know if anything is unclear and I can clarify.

Any advice or comments about this situation would be a big help before we sign the lease in a couple of days. Thanks!

How much is your w/d worth?

hattifattener — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 13:17:36 -0800

How much is it worth to you to have a washer/dryer in your building? All else being equal, how much cheaper would an apartment have to be to make up for not having laundry facilities in the building? There's not a laundry in the immediate neighborhood, but you do have a car (and there are plenty of laundries in the city).

I'm asking because I find myself in the awkward situation of having sublet half of my space and, halfway through the lease, losing the w/d the sublessors are using. So, assuming I can't fix that, I'm thinking of offering to reduce their rent a bit to compensate. How much is fair?

Finding an Apartment in Delft

kepano — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 11:44:33 -0800

There's a good chance that I'll be moving to the Netherlands in the next few weeks. What are the best resources that could help me find a place to live (preferably a studio apartment) in Delft?

Two Against One. Can We Drop Someone From Our Lease?

SansPoint — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 22:02:29 -0800

How do I/how hard is it to take someone off a lease? Okay, About two months ago, I moved into a 3 bedroom house with two friends I go to college with. All three of us signed the lease, and it was cosigned by my father, who put up the third required month's rent towards the security deposit.

One housemate, J, has been nothing but a pain with regards to financial issues. We had to cover his first month's rent, a pro-rated payment coming to slightly over half a regular month's rent, as he had no money left. Admittedly, he had been having trouble finding a job, though was employed at the time. He did not receive his first check until after the rent was due, but he did not offer anything he had. We threatened to take him to small claims court unless he paid us back^1..

When J paid me, and the housemate back for this payment, he did it exceedingly grudgingly, and said he would take out a loan to cover his remaining share. We agreed under the condition that he not throw fits over paying bills.

When I informed him of cable and gas bills that arrived two weeks ago, he said he did not get paid until that coming Sunday. I informed him the bills were not due for two weeks. He still complained about being TOLD of the bills existence. Similarly, when the second month's rent was due, he threw a fit when I asked him for a check, as the loan had not come in yet.

Ultimately, I had to embarrass him in front of a friend he had brought over on Saturday to get his $15 share of that cable bill, and get the $45 he owed me for the first cable bill, and a SEPTA Transpass I bought him to get to his summer class^2.. This, he had owed me, for nearly six weeks, even before the first month's rent was due.

He is leaving for California today, coming back August 1st, the day rent is due. I asked him to leave a post-dated check, and he exploded, calling his mother to get her to help him convince me to let him slide until his return, so he could pay all his remaining rent in one lump sum, as the loan he took out was delayed. He, essentially, accused me of extortion, even though this would be a post-dated check made out to the property managment company, not to me. Also, he left a threatening note to the other housemate, R, and I, causing R to fear for his life. Rather than live in a Demilitarized Zone, I told him that we're taking him off the lease ASAP.

So, first, do I have a case here? Secondly, I have contacted the property management people we are dealing with, and left a message explaining my situation: what can I expect to happen when I talk to them? Third, will I be able to take his person off the lease?

^1. We only did this because of his cavalier attitude. It felt like he wouldn't pay us back.

^2. A class he routinely showed up an hour late to—and failed, and then blamed me for it, saying he should never had taken the class by my suggestion.

I ma sick of knowing my neighbours sex frequency.HELP

plumberonkarst — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 19:27:18 -0800

Resources for finding rental houses in Northern/ Eastern Or Southern Ontario.Anyone have some good sources or leads? I am looking for country type settings under a $1000 a month.My experiment with apartment life has given me a profound respect for those that enjoy it and impetuous to get the %^%& out of this noisy concrete box.My Google Fu is bringing little in results.MLS has little listed of interest.

I slept like a baby in my house,now I am woken an average of 10 times a night.Why close your apartment door when you can slam it at 3 am etc etc.Apartments are NOT for me.

Planning Our Re-entry

jasondigitized — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 08:05:17 -0800

How do you start a new life with nothing except money in the bank? My fiance and I will be moving from Bermuda to the U.S. sometime next year after we are married. She is from Trinidad, and is a ACC chartered accountant with a MBA. I am from Michigan and do a hodge-podge of I.T. ( Lotus Notes, web development, lightweight project management / business analyst, I.T. management ). Due to our parents / family being in Trinidad and Michigan, and the fact that we like mild weather, we think the best place to live is somewhere in the middle ( Raleigh / Miami / Knoxville / Fayetteville / Houston ). We would like to buy a house, we would like to start a family, we would like promising careers, etc. etc.

So, how do we approach this? We want to make smart decisions. Do we pick a place to live and then finds jobs, or do we look for jobs and let those jobs determine where we live? Remember, we are in Bermuda, so skipping out of work for a few hours for an interview is not a possibility. Our finances are in order so we could, although we don't want to, live without any income for 6 months. Because we would be coming back to Bermuda with essentially our bank accounts, we will need to find careers, a place to live, cars, friends, furniture, a dog, etc. etc.

So.....how would you go about finding a great place to live and a great career simultaneously. What comes first and how would you go about it. Is the internet ( Monster / Hotjobs ) really a good tool for finding jobs these days? Most of our business contacts are Bermuda based which somewhat limits are ability to 'network'. Are the Forbes Best Places guides an accurate representation of a cities culture / dynamic? Where can we get real testimonials about what it is like to live somewhere? Should we just throw some darts at a map?

Fun places to live in Madrid.

slimepuppy — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 04:53:19 -0800

What is a fun area to live in Madrid? La Latina? I'm moving to Madrid in May. I've been there on a (very busy) familiarisation trip for three days a few weeks ago. This brief visit is the only experience I've had of Madrid or of Spain in general.

Now I need to decide where to live. I'm not setting up permanent residence, this will be for one or two years.

My work is located near San Lorenzo metro station, so a relatively easy connection via metro/bus is essential. I don't mind a bit of a walk to the station, however. We were shown some properties near Nuevos Ministerios, Salamanca and Colombia. NM and Salamanca both seemed a bit too pricey and, well, a bit sterile. Colombia was more like it, as I'm interested in a place that has an active night life, mostly in the way of bars and restaurants. I'm in my mid 20s, so an area with a similar crowd would be good. Madrid seems nice and compact (in comparison to London at least) so the distances to fun areas aren't too critical but a some good local hangabouts are absolutely essential. Also, as my budget is somewhat limited, the most expensive areas are out.

From the brief bus tour of Madrid and the information I can muster up, La Latina looks ideal. Any other areas that are similar in 'feel' that anyone can recommend? Personal experiences of living in Madrid would be greatly appreciated.

Additionally, if you can draw comparisons between areas in London to give me an idea of the feel, I would greatly appreciate it. (For example, Sol was like Piccadilly Circus, touristy and good for shopping...)

The down-low on co-ops.

killdevil — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 18:05:00 -0800

Help my younger sister decide whether or not to buy a co-op apartment. There's some My sister is in her mid-twenties and is thinking about buying a relatively inexpensive apartment in a co-op building near Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. This would be the first place she's owned, and she's attracted to the idea foremost because she's not wildly enthusiastic about the prospect of throwing money at a rental apartment.

Neither she nor I know much about co-ops. How hard is it to sell a share in such a building relative to selling an apartment in a condominium? How well do such places hold their value relative to similar dwellings with more traditional ownership schemes?

What else should she be aware of as she contemplates the purchase? What should she know about co-ops and co-op living?

D.C. versus Boston

mintchip — Fri, 05 May 2006 18:43:56 -0800

I'm interested in comparing life in D.C. to Boston. I love Boston but the housing costs are outrageous and the winters are much too long. Any thoughts on how these two cities compare?

Tokyo housing

armage — Tue, 07 Jun 2005 04:45:42 -0800

Help me find housing in Tokyo. I'll be attending a university in Tokyo for ten months beginning in September. I want to find housing somewhere in Tokyo for that period. Here are my requirements:

- Rent of ¥80,000/month or less
- Efficiency apartment w/kitchen and bathroom
- No roommates if at all possible
- Apartment must be furnished
- Total commute time of an hour or less to Shinjuku
- No curfew preferred
- Student-friendly management a plus
- No key money would be nice, but not necessary

I believe I can find a guarantor to sign a rental agreement if necessary, so that doesn't matter too much. My main concern is the usual requirement of a two-year contract -- obviously I won't be around that long. If you know of anything that fits these requirements *or* know of somewhere I can go to make my search easier, please post it! Thanks!