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Help! My landlord is trying to scam me!

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:29:48 -0800

Help! My landlord is trying to scam me! Okay, so, when I first signed my lease, my landlord had me sign a "rider" that basically said the following : Although the amount on the official lease is $1800, the actual rent on the apartment is $2150. However, as long as I pay my rent on-time, I get a "discount" of $350.

This is obviously a ploy to get around the rent control laws of my city. If not for the "rider," my apartment would be rent-controlled since it is under $2000 a month.

Anyway, I renewed my lease in June, and he wanted me to sign another "rider" along with it, since the original "rider" was only valid for the term of the lease. I kept putting it off, and ultimately I forgot to send in the new "rider."

Months later, he calls me and bugs me, so finally I bring it into his office.

A few days later, he calls me and tells me that my last rent check bounced, and that I need to write him a new check and pay the $350 late fee. I knew this was absurd, because I have plenty of money in my account. A quick call to my bank confirmed that my landlord never tried to cash the check, and that it never bounced.

I called him back, and he yelled at me, insisting that the check had bounced, and that he has the "bounced" check which was "returned" by my bank with stuff written on it. He threatened me with eviction if I didn't send in a new check along with the $350.

Tomorrow, I am going to the bank to get an official letter stating that they never recieved the check and that it never bounced. I called his office to say that I will be bringing in this letter, but his secretary was instructed to tell me "not to bother, since he won't be in and that I don't have an appointment." Obviously, I'm going to bring in the letter anyway and leave it with his secretary.

But I'm wondering what happens next. Over the phone, he threatened to evict me! I don't want to lose my deposit, and I don't want my credit effected. I don't even want to leave my apartment. He's obviously mad at me for taking so long to bring in the "rider," but I wonder if it's really in his interest to evict me over this, especially since I've been a good tenant and have always paid my rent on-time.

What can I do to avoid being scammed, evicted, or losing my deposit? Would his "rider" even hold up in court? Does eviction effect your credit rating? Is this worth lawyering-up over? My deposit was $1800, but I have no idea what a lawyer would cost.

I live in NYC, if that makes any difference.

If you like, you can email me privately at dontwannabescammed@gmail.com.

Where could I rent a cello in NYC?

paul_smatatoes — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:13:15 -0800

Does anyone know where to rent a high quality student cello short term in NYC? Ideally, I'd like something hand crafted and valued at 10 - 20 k, but if need be I'll go lower end. Looking for a bow, too. Thanks!

Do I have to pay all of my last month's rent?

pmdboi — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:46:31 -0800

ApartmentFilter: I am currently leasing an apartment month-to-month (continuation of a twelve-month lease which ended in August 2007) and I told my landlord today that I intend to move out around May 18 of this year. He informed me that I would have to pay for the whole month of May instead of prorating the rent because "that's the way rent's done." Is this true? The relevant paragraph in my lease agreement is the following:

1. Rent The tenant must make the rent payment for each month on the 1st day of that month at the landlord's address as set forth above. The landlord need not notify the tenant of tenant's duty to pay the rent, and the rent must be paid in full and no deductions will be allowed from the rent. The first month's rent must be paid at the time of the signing of this Lease by the tenant. If the landlord permits the tenant to pay the rent in installments, said permission is for the tenant's convenience only and if the tenant does not pay said installments when they are due, the landlord may notify the tenant that the tenant may no longer pay the rent in installments.

Is my landlord referring to the part in italics? Do I have any rights here which can be exercised without spending the ~$200 I would end up saving as a result? The apartment is in Troy, NY. NYS RPL §232b is pretty clear about my right to move out then, but says nothing about prorating the rent.

Does a landlord need to give notice when raising rent in NY

wondermouse — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 16:50:08 -0800

In New York State, on an apartment rented on a month-to-month basis (no lease), is the landlord required to give a certain amount of notice when raising the rent? This seems like it should be an easy question to find the answer to, but I'm finding it for all states except New York. I live in an apartment with two roommates. We have no lease, so we do the month-to-month thing. We've lived here for several years. We recently got a letter from the landlord stating that our rent would be going up by 10% starting this month. However, the letter was dated January 24th, and it wasn't postmarked until January 30th. By the time we received the letter, we'd already mailed her our rent check for February, which was of course for the old amount.

Figuring this wasn't nearly enough notice to give us for such a large rent increase, my roommate, who is pretty much the head of the household, decided not to pay the new amount until next month, though she never called the landlord about it. Today we got another letter from the landlord requesting the new amount for this month as our check did not reflect it. My roommate's going to call her on Monday. Before she does, I'd like to know if there's a law saying there needs to be some amount of notice given when raising the rent on an apartment in this situation.

When do I start looking for an apartment in NYC?

goingonit — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 11:31:54 -0800

I accepted a job in New York City that starts midsummer. I'm in school until the end of May. When do I start looking for a place to live? I'm willing to spend plenty of time looking for a place, but I have a feeling that if I were to scout around the city now, even if I were to find anything they'd be expecting me to move in earlier than I can. I don't want to move in until July (June at the earliest). With that in mind:

-Should I be prepared to move in immediately upon signing?
-Should I put this out of my mind now, get to the city in mid-June and just focus on finding a place until I do? Or is that too risky?
-What can I profitably do right now?

Thanks!

Shouldn't our landlord sign the lease too?

edlundart — Mon, 28 May 2007 20:11:30 -0800

We signed a lease (2 copies) on a new apartment in NYC, at our broker's office. The 2 copies were sent to the management company. As promised, the management company sent one of the copies back to us about a week later. It's got our original signatures, but the landlord didn't sign it! The line for the landlord's signature is empty. Doesn't this mean that we're bound to the terms of the contract, but the landlord is not? It seems very wrong. Is it normal? Should we demand a copy of the lease with the signatures of both parties on it?

Cheap/Dangerous places in NYC

iamck — Sun, 27 May 2007 13:51:07 -0800

Where do the poor folk live in NYC? Rent in the city seems prohibitively expensive. But where do the working class, poor folk live? Where are the dangerous slums? Did gentrification push poverty out of the city?

NYC broker recommendations

twoporedomain — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 07:29:26 -0800

NYC broker recommendations and resources The boyfriend and I are hoping to move within Manhattan soon, and are in the uniquely advantageous position of having a flexible end-date to our current lease, having the budget to afford an apartment in our ideal neighborhoods, and having most of the moving and brokerage costs reimbursed by his company. This last point, combined with our laziness, means that we want to go through a broker. I’ve read previous threads about renting in New York (1, 2, 3, 4), and understand that there is a strong anti-brokerage firm sentiment here. But given that we’ve already decided to use one, can you help us out with the following:

1. Recommendations for (or against) a particular firm or agent? We are especially interested in brokers that cover Chelsea and the West Village areas. Personal recommendations or anecdotes are appreciated, as well as links to helpful forums.

2. I’ve read that late summer/early fall is the worst time to look for apartments. How true is this? And does going through a broker mitigate this at all?

3. How long can we expect this process to take, given that hopefully most of the legwork will be done by someone else?

Thanks all!

Trying to find a cheap, private workspace in New York

kingfisher, his musclebound cat — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 09:39:18 -0800

Where can I find a small, private workspace in New York (Lower Manhattan or Brooklyn)? I do not need it to be fancy, but would need something like a tiny fortress of solitude . . . I would, in fact, prefer a less fancy space. Nothing for meet-n-greet business types, but more for people who are hidden away trying to make something. Concrete or wood floors, plywood walls, etc. All fine with me and perhaps more appropriate. Oh, cheap, too. I mean relatively cheap.

How do I pick the right tenants to sublet (or swap for) my apartment, and how do I help them feel at home?

allterrainbrain — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 16:05:12 -0800

Have you done a short-term sublet (or housing swap)? If you were the renter: how did you evaluate applicants, and how did you help your subletter feel at home? If you were the subletter: what worked, and what do you wish the renter had done for you or told you? I'll be subletting my apartment in NYC but I'd love to hear from people in all areas & situations. I'll be allowed to sublet my rent-stabilized apt if I give advance written notice. I will ask to make sure, but I assume the same rule would apply if I did a housing swap (where two people in different cities trade apts, with no exchange of money).

I'll give details here but will divide them into three parts (in case there's only one part you care about).

• CHOOSING PEOPLE:
I'm not worried about finding enough applicants (since my rent is low both in absolute terms and relative to location/niceness), but I don't know how to evaluate these applicants. Other mefi threads emphasize checking references -- but "references" are almost as easy to fake as self-decriptions are (as a seven-year New Yorker, I've seen my share of people lying in all kinds of contexts, especially real estate). I don't care about financial references since I will ask for the rent up front, but I really care about find people I can count on to do what I'm asking (keep the place clean, water my plants, never smoke inside).

• WELCOMING PEOPLE:
I plan to
- orient each subletter in person on the first day;
- leave welcome stuff (some food & toiletries, a Metrocard & subway map, and my general NYC maps & books);
- put together a good neighborhood guide & map (all the local food/services/etc.);
- leave a page of apt stuff (landlord contacts, plant watering instructions, etc.); and of course,
- leave everything clean & leave space free for their stuff.

What else would a subletter appreciate? Also, I think I should allow couples to apply as well as single people -- are there advantages or disadvantages of subletting to couples, or swapping (:)) with couples?

• PAYMENTS & TIMING:
I'm planning to do a few short sublet blocks (ranging from 2 to 8 weeks -- maybe 3.5 months total) over the course of each year. So I think in each case, I should ask for all rent up front (payable on the arrival day), plus a small security/damage deposit (payable in advance to ensure against flaking?) which I'll refund in cash when we meet at my place on the departure day. On my end, I'll pay these months in advance to my landlord, and I'll make a big advance payment to the utility company.

I pay for electricity & cooking gas, so I guess I should estimate a fair-but-safe max usage and include that in one "all utilities paid" rent amount? If I end up getting broadband at home (still undecided since there are so many free-wifi places around), I'll just include its cost in the amount. I have a white iBook I can leave for the subletter to use in the apt & take out to free-wifi places (so if a subletter wanted to use it, I'd make a fresh user account for them and I'd make their security/damage deposit include the iBook's current value).

I also need to figure out some way to ensure people won't flake with little or no notice. And if the only real anti-flaking insurance is an advance deposit, then I need to figure out how an out-of-town person can trust *me* enough for that (since of course I could be totally faking my apt pics & info, to collect "deposits"). If they're able, would it help for them to video chat with me while I'm in the apt, so I can show them stuff live & answer their questions?

Thanks for your thoughts on any of this!

How do I get over my fear of moving in NYC?

scazza — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 09:00:28 -0800

How do I get over my fear of moving? How do New Yorkers deal with this overblown rental market? My fiance and I are moving. We need an apartment with rooms and walls (living in a one room loft is hard on a couple), I'd like to be able to walk to the park like I could in Chicago, I'd like trees on the street (Park Slope/Windsor Terrace). But mostly we need walls, oh and our current apartment is way overpriced for this shit neighborhood.

The last time I moved it was really bad. I regretted moving to New York at all. Chicago to New York, lost the apartment we had halfway there, drove through the aftermath of hurricane Ivan, stayed in an extended stay place on Long Island for 2 weeks with my cat and plants, we put our stuff in storage while we looked for a place, no one would take us, finally we get a place, we get in an accident with our rental car while moving in, and our new apartment has 12' windows with no shades for weeks, and we have no furniture and no money and no jobs. It took about 2 months for things to get settled at all.

I know there are a lot of factors in that story (the accident, the hotel, no furniture, no jobs, no money, the chicago to nyc transition) that don't apply here. We actually have a place to live right now. But, I feel a small fear that that is going to happen again, everything falling apart, that that is what moving in NYC has to be. I feel that I'm getting paralysed in the face of it and that I'll just put off looking for an apartment. I'm scared of dismantling what was such a struggle to put together, the packing, putting my things in boxes again. I'm scared of dealing with New York brokers.

So should I just not make it personal? Is that possible?
Stay motivated by keeping in mind why I have to move, what I need, at all times?
Emphasize the differences between where I am now, maybe being a more attractive renter, with our situation back then?
How do I deal with a system I beleive is fundamentally wrong, unfair, and exploitative?

I think I need to get out of my own head, so all outside advice is appreciated. Any moving sites, articles that have addressed moving in nyc are appreciated as well.

How to avoid paying an insane broker's fee when renting a Manhattan apartment?

Afroblanco — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 13:41:04 -0800

How to avoid paying an insane broker's fee when renting a Manhattan apartment? My roommate and I are looking to move into a 2-bedroom apartment on Sept. 1.

All of the brokers that I found on Craigslist say the same thing - "You're moving at the worst time of the year, and our fee is 15% of annual rent."

There don't seem to be too many non-broker options.

What are some strategies for getting around this? As far as I see it, Craigslist has already failed us.

Sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite!

anjamu — Tue, 16 May 2006 18:17:15 -0800

[New York City apartment filter] So my future roommate and I found a place we thought was perfect. We're thisclose to signing the lease. And then a search with HPD turns up 96 open violations in the building. How concerned should I be? We're working with a broker, and we have put down the security deposit but not the first month's rent (also required) and we haven't signed a lease yet.

The place seems almost too good to be true: spacious flex 2 BR for $2200 in the Financial District, replete with doorman, elevator, laundry in-building.

(I know, I know: if it seems too good to be true, well, it probably is.)

The 96 (!) open violations, courtesy of NYC HPD, include roaches, mice, all kinds of maintenance issues, and worst of all, bedbugs. Only 2 out of 5 tenants on apartmentratings.com recommended it, but I don't know how much weight to throw behind that, as I'd never heard of the site before today.

I should note that our broker is the only broker who rents places out in this building.

My questions include:

1) If a building has bedbugs, even if they are only cited in one apartment, do I run?
2) How many violations are normal? Is this excessive?
3) Are there any other city websites I should check out?
4) How much might it cost us to escape this deal?