Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with housing and renting

To buy, or to rent?

heathkit — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:04:58 -0800

How do you find a good accountant, or other professional, to help you decide when it's right to buy a house? I have a friend who just graduated law school and is trying to work out whether she wants to buy or rent next year.

She's in an... interesting situation. She has education loans from law school and already has a job lined up in NY at a good firm. She wants to go back to grad school, so she only wants to work for a couple of years, and she also doesn't know if she'll want to stay in NY or not.

So, she needs to know her options. Is it better to pay off the loan, or just make the minimum payments since she can get loan forgiveness when her income drops when she goes back to school? How long should she stay in NY if she's buying? What should she do about taxes? Stuff like that.

She's asked me to help, but I have no idea where to begin. I guess the right thing to do is to get an accountant, but we're not even sure who to look for or what to ask. How do you make decisions like this?

Can my landlord really kick me out?

krunk — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:19:28 -0800

My landlords want to kick me out and move into my apartment. They gave me the 60 days notice, but I have some questions about the validity of their notice. I was checking out the Residential Tenancies Act, and it seems that there is a clause that says they can't move in unless they have previously lived there (72 b), which they haven't.

Also, they said they would rather take over the apartment of the guys who live upstairs, but can't because they have a lease until March 2010. Since we are on month-to-month, they said they could take over our place instead.

Are either of these things true? Could they in fact take the other apartment instead?

Can I get the deposit back on a house I didn't move in to?

hnnrs — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 15:40:11 -0800

Can I get the deposit back on a house I didn't move in to? At the end of last month I made a rushed decision to move in to a shared, rented house here in the UK. It wasn't a nice place, but time wasn't on my side and I desperately needed a roof over my head. The landlord showed me round, and I paid him £50 cash to hold the property.

Moving day came, I visited the landlord with a further £200 in cash towards the deposit - unfortunately my cheque book was packed away with my belongings, and £200 was the most I could get out of the cash machine.

Driving up to my new place, I had a really bad feeling, it was on a council estate on the outskirts of a small town and it just felt so incredibly depressing that I'd be spending the next six months there. I'd had a call from the landlady of another property that day, and she said she had a room available in a period house in the middle of town. I went and took a look around her place and it was exactly what I was looking for - a nice place with good views and a 10-minute stroll to work. And it was cheaper than the horrible council estate house.

I moved in right away, and paid her a deposit. I called the landlord and told him I wouldn't be moving in. I appreciated that I'd let him down, and said I'd try and find someone else to move in to my room. I also - possibly stupidly - agreed to let him keep some of my money on a pro-rata, for each day he couldn't find someone to move in.

I re-advertised the room, but as I listed his number as a contact I have no idea if he's found someone to move in. I've left messages but he hasn't got back to me.

Of course, he could have found someone to move in the day I decided not to, and not told me. He seemed like an honest enough bloke, but I'm worried I won't be able to get my cash back. I didn't sign any contracts or anything, and everything was agreed verbally - where should I go from here?

Where should a young, social guy live in the Denver area?

pennstatephil — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 07:37:35 -0800

I'm a 22 year old engineer who recently visited the Denver area, loved it, and decided after living in upstate NY my whole life (minus college) to try city living. Where should I look? I went to Penn State so I am used to being around a lot of young people and really enjoyed it, so I'd prefer an area where there are more people my age (recent college graduates/current grad students). It doesn't have to be downtown Denver, but I don't want it to be a pain to get into the city if I do end up in a nearby suburb (like Englewood), as I expect many activities that interest me (concerts, sports, etc) will be in the city.

I am not looking to buy any real estate, I figured I'd start with renting a nice apartment for a year (know any good properties?) and if I do enjoy it as much as I hope I will, maybe look into more permanent options.

I'll be working in Littleton (a little off 470), but have heard great things about the light rail, and would be happy to save on gas (maybe just using my car on the weekend).

O great Denver meFi-ers, I throw myself on the mercy of the hive mind!

Should I buy now?

matthelm — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:08:37 -0800

In the market of Buying a Condo in the Los Angeles areas and want to know how to research best. Need to find out sites that keep me up to date with the housing market, when its good to buy etc...for with the economy right now I don't really know what to do.....please help I held off from buying a condo cause I was having a wedding and now that that's over I wanted to start looking for a condo. But now the economy just sucks and now when I have the time to devout to finding a place I feel it might be wise to hold off. I need to find sites that can get me in touch with whats going on with the housing market out here in the LA areas. My plan was to get a condo by end of year or beginning of next...i manage a apt complex so rent is free and I have saved a lot, but we are soooo tired of the small one bedroom that to keep our sanity I was maybe even thinking that getting a 2 bedroom apt for a year might be more wise and when the lease is up maybe the economy will be too and we can buy a condo then....any help would be greatly appreciated

How do you establish your credit rating and rental history in one country when you're from another one?

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 21:03:58 -0800

How do you establish your credit rating and rental history in one country when you're from another one? Cue the song "go for credit in the straight world..."

MeFi’s, help me figure this one out… and sorry, there's no 'finance' category, so 'grab bag' it is...

Here's my situation – slightly tricky to deal with. I lived my entire life in one country, have a great credit history there (paid off a student loan very quickly, paid taxes etc.) - but have no credit history in my current country. Unfortunately I'm separating from my spouse, so I'm trying to prepare for renting a place on my own.

The problem is being 'invisible' - having no credit history in the U.S. We shared bank accounts and credit cards - most accounts written jointly - and I don't have my own credit card here. I *do* have a Canadian credit card that's all paid off - just maybe a $100 bucks to make sure they don't close it on me. I opened a personal U.S. bank account on my own, and suppose I could try and get a credit card on that personal account – although I don’t know what I should do to help establish credit, since suddenly spending money on a credit card for spending’s sake is not something I want to do, unless I can pay it back immediately. I don’t like debt, and want to find a way to translated this fact into reliability for a prospective landlord. I'm at a steady white color job, and the prospects for employment in my field are currently pretty good *knocks wood*.

So the question is, what can I do to establish that I’m a good solid, not-in-debt citizen? I can show prospective landlords my credit report from my home country (believe me, in my area of the country landlords are asking for credit reports and first borns). I would love to be able to show my rental history, but I lived at home with my parents, and we rented an apartment, usually with a check paid with my mum’s name on it. Once I started working I helped pay for rent – although my mother and I had a shared bank account, and she inevitably would sign the checks, so that’s kind of useless. I could ask the landlord (who’s known me for at least ten years – owners of the building even more) at my mother’s place to see if he could write me a letter of reference – basically saying I’ve lived in one place my whole life, we always paid our rent on time, were members of our tenant’s association – but wonder if that’s going to be hokey to a new landlord.

What can I do to show them I’m reliable and not a flake – a good credit report (paying off $27K in 3 years has to count for something!), resume, personal references from 3 or 4 people in lieu of a US credit history… anything else? I have a feeling if I could sit down and explain my situation it would be ok – but if a landlord sees ‘no credit history’ they might freak – and I don’t blame them.

Help! Any ideas? Who should I talk to about this? The idea of living in a motel because I can’t get into anything else is not looking fantastic…

What to look for in a house share situation

needs more cowbell — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 10:22:53 -0800

Young (24) single female looking to sublet a room or share a house with strangers in a large US city. What things should I look for/insist on to maximize my chances of having a pleasant, safe, experience? (I've left the city unnamed because I don't know yet; right now I'm considering the Bay area but I may end up going someplace totally different.)

I've seen lots of nightmare roommate/housemate/rental situations on AskMe. I'm hoping to avoid falling into one of those situations. I'm not entirely naive (if anything, I'm overcautious and slightly terrified about the idea in general) but I'm sure there are things I wouldn't think of on my own. [Example: Previously, I rented a room in a house and the landlord--older man who did not live there--came over to watch TV and drink beer in the living room. I didn't expect that, but the signs were probably there, since he lived next door and still had much of his own furniture/stuff in the house's common areas when I signed the lease. Since the rooms were rented out individually by the landlord, there was nothing in the lease to prevent him from hanging out in the common areas like that. Now I know to be careful about that, but I'd like to avoid having to learn about everything like that by direct experience.]

Ideally I'd like to live in a housemate situation where people talk to each other and hang out in common areas rather than renting a room and not assimilating into the group. At minimum it's important to me that roommates don't steal my stuff, don't do hard drugs or have really unsavory guests, and don't flake out on their bills regularly.

What things are red flags? What things should I make sure to have (like lease specs) or ask about? I realize there are no guarantees in this sort of situation, but I'm sure there are rules of thumb. I'm worried that being too uptight and distrustful will make it hard to get along with roommates, but I also don't want to be overly trusting and then get really, really screwed. I'm open to any sort of advice about this.

Why is the UK Housing Market so different to the rest of Europe?

complience — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 02:44:31 -0800

Why is the UK Housing Market so different to the rest of Europe? Why is the British approach to the housing market so geared towards home ownership, where as european markets have much greater levels of long term rental.

Could the current high property prices in the UK be permanent and cause the UK house market to shift into a more European rental based system?

Anyone got a two bed/one bath in san diego for rent?!?!

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 06:02:35 -0800

Renting - It's been a while and I'm afraid we're gonna look bad on paper. Mid/late twenty year olds (one a musician) without a huge amount of $$ or history - are we screwed? I'm out of college and have been working at a great, professional job for about a year. My roommate is out of college and also has a great, professional job. Together, we have been living in a house owned by my family. I've been paying no rent and he's been paying a paltry sum. Have I mentioned my family rules? They do. But, its time to leave.

Should I lie about renting from family for no money? Should I tell my family to act like I'm not kin (we have different last names)? I've been here about 7 years. I dont even remember who I rented from last. Do I really need to dig up that info?

Lastly, the third roommate is my boyfriend, who is a working musician and artist. He takes jobs that he can quit when he goes on tour. He's coming back from tour this week, so technically when we are looking for a house, he will be unemployed. Will a grand in savings be enough to convince the potential landlord? He'll have no problem finding a job soon enough, but we simply cant wait.

We'd be great tenants. We're considerate, kind, and would be consistent with the bills/rent. How can I get this across on a rental application?? There must be a best way for us to go about this.

Thanks everyone!

Help him get his stuff back

splatta — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 07:47:28 -0800

My friend was evicted! How can he get his stuff back? The following is the question in my friend's own words:
--
Three weeks ago my roommate and I were evicted for unpaid rent. And I
don't mean they gave us the notice, I mean I was in the shower when
the sheriff and the locksmith were knocking on my door telling me to
get out. Only after this was I able to find out that my roommate had
owed 2700 dollars in rent, and that all of the eviction/court notices
were on file as having been sent/posted on the premises (I never saw
any of them). I had no idea any of this was going on, the rug had
been totally pulled out from under me, but technically we were still
evicted legally.

Now, from what I understand, I have 30 days to make arrangements to
get my possessions out of the house before they can do whatever they
want with everything. But in the three weeks since I was evicted, my
landlord has completely dropped off the face of the earth. I have
left dozens of messages, sent certified letters, and even driven out
to his house in the 'burbs and knocked on the door (ended up leaving
a note). At this point, my roommate has scraped together the cash to
settle the debt and get the judgement removed, and I've told the
landlord as much, but still no word.

The only person I've been able to get in touch with is the landlord's
attorney. He also claims he hasn't heard from the landlord since the
eviction, and won't accept the money and sign off on the order to
satisfy because of that. So here we have a check to settle the debt
and nobody to give it to!

Naturally, I'm worried that I'm going to run out of time here and
lose my stuff. In this situation, is there any action I can take to
get my belongings back without needing to involve the landlord? I'd
like to avoid breaking in, as the landlord has family on the block
who has been to prison for murder. (I remember when I moved in and,
in an effort to reassure me about the blocks safety, he told me, "If
I ever saw anybody breaking into your house, I'd probably kill them.")

Do I have any legal options here?

Ontario Tenant Filter:

dino terror — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 09:55:02 -0800

Ontario tenant filter: We are renting without a lease on a month-to-month basis: one of our roomies is really losing the plot and is about to be delinquent on paying rent for the 2nd month in a row. Are we going to go down with him? (the LL left a message last time saying 'Id like to remind you guys that the apartment is being rented for $900, not the $300 you individually pay'. But my dad seems to think that we are under "rooming house" rules where the LL is accepting rent from us individually and as long as I pay my $300 I dont have to worry. The only thing is that I cant find any info on what happens when you dont have a lease on the ORHT website.

Rent negociations

saffron — Fri, 05 May 2006 04:50:24 -0800

How to negotiate a good deal on rent with an owner inexperienced with the rental market? I heard through the grapevine that a neighbor (who owns her condo) is moving and would like to rent it rather than put it on the market. My "source" tells me she doesn't know how to determine the rent, and was curious what mine is. I'm considering approaching her since I'd love to move in there (it's in better condition and has more light), and I'd like to use her inexperience with the rental market to my advantage in negotiations. It's slightly larger than my unit (one more bathroom plus a study) so I'm hoping she won't just tack on 30% or somethign to what I'm paying. How can I negotiate myself a good deal? Compare assessed value of her and my units? Estimate her mortgage payment? What should I keep in mind when I approach her?

Extra income or Extra Headache

gus — Mon, 01 May 2006 17:51:57 -0800

What do I need to be aware of when renting out rooms in my house to friends? My girlfriend moved out of my house a couple of weeks ago and now 2 of my friends are interested in moving in to my 2 extra bedrooms. I've seen this question that asks a similar question and would like more advice, suggestions of things to think about or anecdotes about taking on lodgers.

While I don't need the extra money to get by, it would be nice and would allow me to do some home-improvement projects a little sooner. I know both guys very well, and have lived with one in the past, so I am not too worried about the inter-personal type of problems. I'm sure they'll come up, but I've had roommates before.

I'm more concerned with being a landlord. Specifically, what rights do I have to kick them out or what rights do they have to stay? Should I have a written agreement? Do I have to claim the rent they pay me as income, or is it shared living expenses? What risks do I run by not going the lawyer route, or what extra obligations do I incur if I do?

Any other suggestions of questions to think through or problems that may come up are greatly appreciated.

renting rooms in your own house

scarabic — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 22:35:08 -0800

When you own a house and live in it but rent some of the rooms out to other people, is the landlord/tenant situation different than it is for renting out an entire property? Obviously, in the latter case you can't be evicted from your apartment for not doing the dishes. But what about if you live in the same house as the person who owns it? How about rent control? I'm in the Bay Area, CA.

Apartmenting finding services - worth the money?

bobot — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 11:28:53 -0800

I'm looking for an apartment in the Cambridge/Somerville, MA area for (*shudder*) Sept. 1. My question is: given that finding a truly "no-fee" apartment here is nigh-impossible here*, is it worthwhile to go somewhere like Grand Central Apartments? They look like a good service- $300 is certainly cheaper than a month's rent to a broker- but how do I know they're not just going to show me the same "no-fee" apartments I can find online myself? Is it worth the $300 in time savings? Am I going to get screwed? Anyone used them before?

* Most no-fee apartment listings just mean that the landlord paid the fee upfront and rolled the cost into the rent.

Would it ever make economic sense to buy a house and rent it out, while being a tenant in another place yourself?

gottabefunky — Mon, 21 Jun 2004 13:07:36 -0800

Does it ever make sense, if you live in a place where you can't afford to buy a house, to buy a place and rent it out, while still continuing to rent yourself, to save up money to buy your own place down the line?

Shiny, tiny new apartment in Manhattan or affordable charm in Brooklyn?

hsoltz — Wed, 19 May 2004 09:25:02 -0800

Another NYC Real Estate Question: the SO and I, who have always lived in charming smallish walk-ups with leaky tubs/peeling paint in Queens-like proximity to 'the big city,' have been seduced by the siren song of new construction downtown. With their pre-opening rent breaks, brand-new appliances, and convenience to both work and play, these "luxury buildings" appear to offer a whole new standard of living at an attractive price. However, ... [mi] ...we're slightly paralyzed by the thought that the same rent, or less, could land us a spacious yet locationally-challenged loft in Brooklyn. (Everything we're seen is far from a subway.) So which sounds better to you: "location, location, location," or the ability to inhabit opposite ends of an apartment without being able to hear each other?