Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with rent

RENT

emelenjr — Mon, 20 May 2013 07:24:40 -0800

What kind of rights does the owner of a home have when they agree to rent out their home through a rental management company? People of Metafilter who are lawyers but aren't my lawers and aren't giving me legal advice, I have a question for you.

What kind of rights does the owner of a home have when they agree to rent out their home through a rental management company? This is in Virginia. I've searched and found plenty of information about legal issues relating to tenants and landlords, but nothing specific to this situation, where the property management company doesn't actually own the property being managed.

The renters aren't paying their full rent, and so the property managment company isn't paying the owner the full rent, making it a challenge for the owner to pay the mortgage.

My somewhat self-serving understanding of how the law SHOULD work is that even though the renters might not be able to pay their rent, that shouldn't mean the property management company doesn't have to keep up their end of the bargain. But I'm probably wrong. Educate me!

Loans for NYC Moving Expenses

incomple — Tue, 14 May 2013 07:29:25 -0800

I'm planning to move from one NYC neighborhood to another at the end of the summer. Though I'm 99% sure I'll be able to cover all potential expenses (movers, security deposit, first/last month's rent, broker's fee), I was wondering if there's a reputable company that advances small loans to help cover these costs. Though at this point I'm fully expecting to be able to cover all the expenses, I'm worried about the possibility of some sort of emergency that would necessitate dipping into these savings. The amount that I would potentially need to borrow would be small (absolute worst case scenario, probably $4000), and could be repaid reasonably immediately.

I have doubts about my bank (Chase) advancing such a loan, though I'll be thrilled if anyone tells me otherwise. I'm also strongly considering asking for an increase to my credit limit, because though I have yet to encounter a landlord who takes payments by card, I know that could be the thing that preserves my bank balance in an emergency.

Basically, any advice on how to cover my ass, beyond just crossing my fingers, would be appreciated.

Renting a projector

sitecoach — Wed, 08 May 2013 16:55:48 -0800

What types of establishments rent or loan projectors that can display computer output? And how much should it cost? I have a presentation next week and I would like to project from my laptop onto a wall. Just still images.

This is not a work event and I am not getting paid for it. It did not occur to me when I agreed to do it that finding a projector would be a problem.

The public library, where the presentation is taking place, is letting me use their room, but they do not have a projector.

I called a rental place and was told it costs $150/day to rent a projector. That strikes me as very high. Does this sound right? Does anyone have ideas on ways to rent projectors that aren't so costly?

Landlords!

latkes — Mon, 06 May 2013 18:56:34 -0800

Crap. My landlord just told me she's considering selling my house. Now what? I've been here 5 years and I'm not ready to move! I have a kid and really want to provide stability for her and I don't have anything like the money for a move right now.

If I do have to move, I assume I should ask for some sort of settlement in the form of time and/or money - but I have no idea what, specifically, to ask for or realistically expect.

Some factoids that might be of use in answering this:

1) I live in Oakland, California.
2) I am on a month-to-month lease.
3) I am basically in "good standing" with the landlord and I believe she mostly sees me as a reliable, good tenant.
4) I sent my landlord checks for each month's rent through September. We have a verbal agreement (which she has kept) to only cash them one month at a time when rent is due. (Not sure this is relevant.)
5) I really don't want to move.
6) It's a duplex that perhaps a new owner would want to have as a rental property, but if they were to move in, they would most likely want my unit.

Finally, for those who want to simply recommend I see a lawyer, I appreciate your good will, but won't find that advice helpful. I recognize lawyers exist but am very unlikely to see one at this point. If you have a specific, Bay Area based, low-cost legal service in mind, do feel free to recommend that if you like.

Thanks so much!

Working as a massage therapist in Vermont

Fermin — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 20:29:30 -0800

Hi! I´m planning to move from Uruguay to the US around the end of the year. This will probably be the preface of many questions to come (as these two countries couldn´t be any more different). I still have to decide exactly where in the US to live, so please help me decide. My reason to move is to be able to participate in more of a series of workshops that happen a lot in NYC, Philly, Toronto, and Montreal, so I want to be close to those cities (closer to Montreal, where there is a special person I want to visit and be visited by often). In my situation it´s harder to get a working permit for Canada, so my most realistic choices are in the US. I´ve been reading and googling, and Vermont sounds (in general) like my type of place.

Being months away I´m trying to plan as much as I can, and to figure out some minimum savings to take with me to settle there, so I want to get an idea of the cost of living. I´ve been looking at house rentals on Craiglist and see some great differences in the prices. From that point of view it would be more convenient not to rent in Burlington, but sparser population can make it harder for me to get a decent income.

I´m training as a circle dance instructor and a doula, but my main source of income right now is as a massage therapist. While I don´t discard the possibility of working for a spa or a hotel if I need to, I would rather work on my own (I normally take between an hour and a half and two hours per massage, I wouldn´t like to do 30 or 45 minutes massages), so I would depend a lot on the people that would be willing to drive to my place. So here comes my question to you Vermonters.

How far would you drive if someone recommended you a good massage therapist (or doctor, or lawyer, or any other professional whose services you may need)?

If I were to move to, let´s say, Middlesex, would it be realistic to expect people from Burlington to go there (after proper advertising and mouth to mouth, I know how to be known)? Or at least from Montpelier? What if it wasn´t in a town or city but out in the country?

And quite related to that, is there some zoning rule that would prevent me from having my practice at my home? And if there is, is it actually enforced? It´s not like I would bother my neighbours. I "may" want to put up a small sign outside.

Thanks a lot for any answers or advice you can share with me.

How to rent an apartment in Brooklyn.

SLC Mom — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 11:09:43 -0800

My lovely daughter and her friend are graduating from college in May and looking for an apartment in Brooklyn. Initial inquiries into listings (via PadMapper) trigger a response from brokers. Who universally tell her that they have nothing like what she is looking for.
"Well, what about this apartment that you just posted?" "Before I show you anything, I would need to meet with you, explain my role, have you sign paperwork, discuss my fees...."

Seriously, New York? We are Angelenos and this seems really strange to us. OTOH, if that is how it's done in NY, we need to figure it out.

They want to spend $1400 for 2 bedrooms, which may indeed be unrealistic. But there are ads out there so, why can't they see any of them? Must they have a broker? Do they have to sign a contract? Is there an upfront cost, or only if they find something? What if the broker can't find them something? What if they sign a contract then find something on their own?

Any advice, dear hive?

Rent vs. Buy: Retiree edition!

elizeh — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 08:39:57 -0800

Single retiree is selling a big paid-off house and asked me and huzzeh for help deciding whether or not it makes sense to rent an apartment or buy a condo. What questions should we consider to help make this decision? I think buying a condo makes more sense, but that's just a gut feeling, not an educated opinion. Can you help me think this through?

Factors that may or may not be relevant:

-Rents are expensive compared to selling prices in her city
-If buying, we'd advise buying in a (reliably) hot neighborhood to maximize the appreciation of the condo.
-She will be largely living off the proceeds of this house sale, as SS and pension do not cover much. Not sure if it makes sense to tie up that much money in real estate? Or maybe she could just make a big downpayment and get a cheap mortgage, even though she could buy outright?
-She's in pretty good health, but not great. Obviously there's no way to tell, but our working assumption is that she's got about 10 years of independent living ahead of her.

What else do we need to consider?

Find Ourselves a City to Live In

muckster — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 01:30:08 -0800

We're a family of two writers and a preschooler, looking for resources & advice on picking a place in the US to move to. My wife and I are writers and freelance editors/translators, which is to say most of our work is location-independent. We're currently living in Germany (long story), but we're looking to move back to the States soon.

Before we left, we lived in New York, and my wife's family is from there, so the NY area is a likely candidate -- but we'd rather not move into the city proper again. Big city bustle isn't as important to us anymore as quality of life, a little space & quiet, and affordable rents. Health care, day care, and schools will be an issue. (The kid's turning 4 in the summer). We'd enjoy a bit of an artistic community, a few decent restaurants, maybe an art house theater and an independent book shop -- but we don't need much more than that, as long as there's Internet. A body of water or an actual beach would be a major plus.

Places we're tossing around include Jersey City, Portland, New Orleans, "somewhere in California," and what the NYT calls "Hipsturbia" (ugh).

Can you recommend specific places/neighborhoods anywhere in the US, or handy online resources for researching this? So far, I've found http://hotpads.com, http://www.myapartmentmap.com, but it seems there must be more & better.

Thank you.

Negotiating rent increase (Manhattan)

whitelily — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 08:25:59 -0800

I feel the proposed rent increase is unfair - how can I stay at my current rent? I live in a large rental apartment building in Manhattan. I've been there for almost a year and the two amenities I really wanted (elevator and laundry room) have been a disaster for almost the entire time I've lived there (elevators frequently out of order, sometimes all at the same time, and laundry machines always broken). My lease renewal is coming up and the management company sent me a lease to renew. The rent increase is not very much, especially for these days when rents are being hiked insane amounts. They are asking for a 4% increase. However, my rent is a lot to begin with, so 4% actually comes out to quite a bit of money. I would have no problem with this increase except I feel that given that the amenities I wanted in the building have been nearly unusable, it's unfair that my rent should be increased at all. I actually feel I deserve a *decrease*, but I would accept staying at my current rent.

My question is, what's my best bet at this point? Call the management company's office and tell them what I said above? Write them a letter? Any relevant experience you could share would be appreciated.

Where is the safety net for a low-income 53-year-old?

noelpratt2nd — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 14:33:57 -0800

Low-income housing exists, obviously, for, e.g., a mother of four children with any kind of job. But I'm a man, 53, no kids, unmarried, and work independent contractor jobs. My gross income last year was about $15K. Currently I have a situation where I pay $175 + $250 utilities, plus yardwork -- it's a shared house with my on-again, off-again girlfriend. We broke up. She pays more to the owner than I do but may sort of need me since she needs to save $ herself, plus is 54. Since the owner wants to sell (though he's a procrastinator and the house condition kinda sucks), plus we're "broken up," she may move back to her home state at some point. I'm wondering if there is any option for me to move out when the time COMES. Many unknowns with the aging owner but he'd like us here. We probably don't qualify for buying the current house. So -- me: worse comes to worse (or better?), a trailer home or something? Gov't program? I need to be in a major city like D.C. where I have work at four different places, built up over years and worth keeping, the only job I'm suited for. And, need to be near public transpo, which in this area means the $350 I could reasonably spend on rent would be laughed out of the poorhouse support club, were there such a thing... Will I have to slip thru the cracks and buy a car to live in?

I'm in a moving mess. Help?

nonasuch — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 06:16:11 -0800

My former landlords have turned into incoherent crazy people who don't understand the law. Please help me figure out a solution that doesn't leave me (or my former housemates) hundreds of dollars in the hole. So in January I decided that I was ready to move. Nothing against my house or landlords, I'd just been there for three years and wasn't a huge fan of the neighborhood. My housemate also wanted to move, as she wanted more space and light than her basement room offered. I gave notice to my landlords, but also told them that my other housemates, a couple, were interested in staying on as the new primary tenants. I had not signed a new lease with them after the initial one-year lease ran out, so my understanding of Maryland law is that I was at that point a month-to-month tenant.

So i found a house and moved out at the end of February. As I was moving out, an inspector from the city came, as is apparently required when a new lease is signed. He took one look at our basement, which has been occupied by a tenant for the last three years, is not up to code due to ceiling height and cannot be legally used as a bedroom. This is a problem.

My former housemates cannot afford the house as a two-bedroom. Therefore, they are leaving at the end of March. They have not signed a lease.

My former landlady, who is now not returning my texts or emails and hung up on me at the end of our last phone conversation, is insisting that a) I owed her 60 days notice starting from the end of February, since that's when my housemates decided to leave, b) that she is owed the full amount of rent despite the house being reclassed as a two-bedroom (the lease I signed was for a three-bedroom), and c) something incoherent about security deposits that I don't understand. She is also claiming that I broke my nonexistent lease, the I walked off with my housemates' money (this is not true, and my former housemates and I are working together to find a solution), and that I, personally, owe her the full amount of rent for March and April.

We have offered to pay her whatever she feels is a fair amount of rent for a two-bedroom for March, since the full amount is vastly over market rate for the neighborhood and would put a serious financial strain on my housemates. She has ignored this offer and continues to demand the full amount. I am basically resigned to not getting any security deposit back; now how do I keep my housemates (and myself) from ending up in small claims court?

Suggestions for getting security deposit returned.

tillei — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 20:39:30 -0800

Need help figuring out the next step in my quest to get my deposit and pro-rated rent back from my landlord. Difficulty - I am now living out of state. I gave 30 days notice to my landlord last December.
I was out of the home with the 30 day period, but the landlord and his agent postponed the walk-through three times. By the time they could come to the house, I was in another state. Luckily, my BF was able to meet with the agent to do the walk-through a week after I left (still w/i the 30 day period).

This was mid-January and I have yet to receive my deposits and my pro-rated rent from January (I paid the whole month, but left mid-month), for a grand total of $2300 and change.
I have sent two emails, with a detailed breakdown of the deposits, and a copy of the lease agreement. I have a letter ready to send out certified mail on Monday, with said details and a reminder of the rental law in the State of California.
The time limit on when they need to inform me about any damages for which they might be withholding a portion of the deposit passed long ago.

So, what should I do next (assuming I get no response to the letter)?
Lawyer, mediation, arbitration? Small claims court?
My biggest worry is the fact that I am no longer living in California, and it would be difficult money- and time-wise to get time off if I needed to be present in California for any of the proffered solutions.
I hope this makes sense, feel free to ask for clarification on the timeline/details.
If it helps, I lived there for 4 years.
Thanks!

!Help us deal with this troublesome renter!

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:22:49 -0800

In British Columbia - my mother has a tenant that regularly withholds rent for non-essential repairs (shower heads, faucets) and then charges us exuberant amounts of money for service. My mother asked me to speak with her and I did. The tenant wants to take us to court now and I want to be prepared. How do I do this? In the past, my mom has overlooked withheld rent. It is getting exhausting and annoying so she finally wanted to do something about this month in particular.

The repair in question is a shower head. We didn't know it was broken until after it was fixed. The tenant purchased a shower head for 40 dollars and my mom agreed even though she wasn't alerted until after the fact. Then, the tenant charged us $125 for 'repairs' which is ridiculous because I'm fairly certain installing a new shower head consists of screwing it on and I'm pretty sure no one would charge $125 for that.

Anyway, the tenant is trying to withhold rent for that. My mom doesn't speak the greatest of English, so I took on the negotiation as the tenant was getting particularly nasty with my mother. I tried to tell her that there's a process for repairs that she consistently ignores. I couldn't find the actual law so if anyone could point me there, it would be nice. Basically, I told her that she couldn't impose a charge on us without letting us know beforehand and that we were more than happy to fix any repairs within a reasonable amount of time as long as we are notified of it. The RTB website seems to suggest this as well, but again, there's no explicit law so I can't be sure. I explained that we have our own handy man and we would prefer to do our work through him as opposed to using her husband (who she claims is currently doing all the repairs and billing us for it).

The tenant says that in the past, they have done a lot of free work which again, we were not notified of. I don't think this is relevant to this particular event but let me know if it is important.

The tenant refused to listen to me and she said, 'see you in court.' I don't know if this is her bluffing but I have a few questions:

1. Would it be beneficial for us to file for a dispute resolution before they do?
2. Are they allowed to charge us for work that we weren't notified of considering it is a non-essential repair in the unit? The work is already done, so how can we go about solving this? Any idea how RTB would solve this?
3. What should I do to be prepared for the dispute resolution?

Help figuring out whose in the right about a prorate move out date

lpcxa0 — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 18:16:13 -0800

Moving out this weekend, management company wants to charge me until new tenet moves in - whose in the right? I'm currently living in Minnesota, Minneapolis area. An apartment I had rented is set to end in March, however I gave permission to show and rent to a new tenet with a move in date of ASAP. My management company called today and stated that a new lease was set to begin 3/11 however the company is requesting that I be out by 3/3 to allow for their needed repairs and to flip the apartment. I also set the official move out walkthrough for 3/3, however the management company is stating that first, the prorate March rent will not be issued until the end of April and more importantly, that they are going to charge me rent until 3/10 (I give up all access to my apartment and the building after the walkthrough on 3/3) which I'm not sure if this is legal.

What are my rights in this situation? I've read through my state's tenet laws but wasn't able to find anything related to this.

Subletting dispute: what are my options?

suncoursing — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 12:16:09 -0800

I recently subleased a place in NYC for three months. I put down a $2000 deposit and paid $3200 for the first month. I’ve been there for two weeks. The lease specified that I’d pay for each remaining month on the first of the month. I've been told "you’ve lost your fucking money, get out". What next? The roommate, who’s subletting the spare room to me, hadn’t expressed any concerns about the arrangement until today, when she screamed at me for half an hour about all the things I do that annoy her. She told me that if I can’t live by her rules I should get out. That’s fine with me, so I said that if she wanted to pro-rate the rent I’ve paid and return the rest of my money, I could be out whenever she wanted. Her response was “no, you’ve lost your fucking money, get out”. Later, she said that if I wanted to stay, she wanted the rest of my rent up front, so it’s not clear to me if she really wants me out or not. In any case, it seems like a bad idea to give more money to someone who has already expressed a desire to take my money and leave me without a place to stay.

Both legally and practically, what are my options? I can afford to eat a $3600 loss ($5200 - the $1600 in rent) and find another place, but, as a matter of principle, I’d rather not. In case it matters, I’m certainly not wealthy, but I’ve earned enough as an engineer that I can handle a surprise $3600 expense without it being a disaster.

This happened less than an hour ago, so I’m planning on seeing what she has to say when she’s calmed down. But, if that doesn’t work out, I’d like to know what a reasonable course of action might be. I’ve never had a landlord or subletter dispute, so I’m really familiar with the law, and if that law even matters practically (e.g., even if I’m legally allowed to stay, staying in a place where the other person is trying to make your life miserable seems like an unpleasant experience).

Is reduction of rent warranted in this situation? If yes, how to proceed

naplesyellow — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 10:23:56 -0800

I'm asking this for a senior citizen friend. Does he have a right to ask for a reduction in rent for a situation wherein he warned management of criminal activity......but was ignored? My friend Dave is 78 and he lives alone with his cat in an apartment in Oregon. The apartment is in a large multi-unit complex.

For several months Dave and some younger people have been in a battle over a handicapped space that my friend usually uses. My friend talked to management several times about the situation and they were no help. I researched it and found that there was little he could do as the complex is private property and apparently they don't have to enforce laws pertaining to handicapped spaces. Still, of course, my friend complained here and there to management, because the people using the space seemed hale and hearty and not handicapped.

The younger people also didn't seem the type to live in this particular complex, because they were seedy types. Dave reported suspicious things to management several times over the course of several months. Each time he told the apartment manager something he was blown off and told that because of confidentiality issues, she could not discuss the other "tenants" with Dave.
Dave never put his concerns in writing and he didn't call the police himself, because he only had suspicions. He reported to management, for example, that he saw a guy go into the apartment with a "ton" of tubing.

Yesterday the police raided the apartment in question and found a meth lab. When the meth lab was discovered Dave had to leave his apartment for the day. He was told to take his cat with him, but the cat went into hiding with all the commotion..he had to ultimately leave the cat behind. He worried, of course, all day about his cat.

When Dave was in the Apartment manager's office and other neighbors were talking about the situation Dave was told NOT to talk about what he knew with others. He has always been given this admonition, because management has "rules" about "confidentiality". This "confidentiality" thing is what he was always told each time he complained about people who did not seem like they were legitimately on any kind of lease. He specifically told management months ago that he thought the people downstairs were making drugs (and he was blown off).

Well, today Dave is back in his apartment and except for some residual vinegar smell, all is well. The cat is fine. Life can continue as usual and my friend is happy the bad guys are gone. He likes living there. Here is his question. Can he ask for money off of his rent for all the inconvenience of this? The fact that Management allowed the situation to continue after repeated complaints seems like a factor...is it?

If Dave wants to approach the apartment complex about this matter, should he put his request in writing? What would be adequate compensation be for a situation like this? Is he entitled to something? Does he have any legal grounds to ask for this? Should he take this to people above the manager who ignored him? Thank you for any advice.

Should my sister's boyfriend be paying rent to my parents?

Auden — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 13:11:31 -0800

My parents are now asking my sister's new live-in boyfriend to pay rent while he lives in her house, which they co-own and are paying the mortgage on. Is this right? My middle-aged sister has a new boyfriend that she's been seeing since last summer.
After about 3 or 4 months of dating, he moved in with her and her young autistic son.

She doesn't work, and she relies on my parents for financial support for herself and her son. A few years ago they bought her house for her - the title is in both my sister's and my mother's name, but the mortgage is being paid off
by my folks. When it's paid off, it will be entirely in my sister's name (at least I think this is the deal).

The boyfriend works but doesn't earn much (this may change later in the year), and has previous marriages and a previous child that he pays child support on. I've met him
and he seems very nice and very straightforward, a decent guy, a good change from her ex. My parents like him, and he is apparently very good with my autistic nephew.

Financially, however (as I understand it), he seems to be paying little more than his share of the food bill, and my parents would like him to pay rent, either to my sister or (because they really don't
trust my sister on these kinds of financial things after some bad history) to them, something like 2/3 of what a studio apartment would go for in her area. It's a very nice, large house, nicely furnished, repainted, all new appliances, etc, and my parents and I have done extensive work on the house and yard since the purchase. It's nice.

My sister asked me to talk to my mom about this new rent requirement, which she believes that the boyfriend would not want to pay, and apparently the boyfriend feels that my parents dislike him and that they treat my sister like a child. And my sister feels that my mom is very controlling; which is true, she can be.
I suppose my sister is afraid that this will drive him away and this is one of her last chances at a good relationship esp. with an autistic son.

At first I felt that requiring him to pay rent was wrong, but after talking to friends I've had a change of heart, and am now uncertain.

I'd really like people's opinions on the situation.

I'm good for it, I promise!

youandiandaflame — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 13:10:56 -0800

Should I attempt to buy a home with my poor credit (if it's even possible) or work on rehabing my abysmal credit? I'm looking to buy a home. Here are some details I think might help me (and you!) unpack my question:

-- My credit score is around 590.
-- I live in a very rural area with tons of foreclosures.
-- I have about $18000 in student loan debt, currently in deferment.
-- I have about $2300 in other debt (between a hospital bill and a debt to a college. I can afford, with current savings, to pay both these off but I was keeping that money close as a potential down payment.)
-- I had applied for a mortgage on a foreclosed house. I was turned down because the lender wanted a credit score of 620 and the house was about $80000.
-- There is another house, of which I know the full history and looooove, that is also a foreclosure and is listed for $34900.
-- I have rented our current house for 5 years and have excellent rental history.
-- I am employed and have been steadily for 16 years.
-- We also have guaranteed income of over $700 a month.
-- I am a single parent, never married (if that matters).

That said, I'd like to buy a house if I can. The lender through which I had previously applied does FHA loans but I was still rejected for the house that was $80000. Would it make a difference if I asked for a loan for half that and was able to put up a 10% down payment or is it likely that the bank through which I applied is not able to loosen that credit score requirement at all? Is it even remotely possible that I can buy a house with my credit score or should I just give up on that and be happy to rent? From what I've read, FHA loans require a credit score above 500 but how do I find a lender that will loosen their requirements when the one I spoke to won't?

If I can't buy, what steps do I need to take to rehab my credit? As I mentioned, I have about $5000 in savings and can pay off some debt but I was advised that in addition to that I should also attempt to get a credit card with a low limit and pay that down monthly. Frankly, I'm highly opposed to that (I haven't had a credit card since I was in college 10 years ago and I really hated that damn thing) but I guess I'll do it if it'll help.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. We had originally planned to buy the current house we're in as an owner financing deal but it turns out my landlord is slightly crazy and incredibly greedy and was attempting to sell it despite the fact that it's locked up tight in a trust. I'd love to stay here and don't mind to rent this particular house (there are so many pluses to this specific house for us) but I have a feeling that if she can't sell it she's going to raise our rent astronomically high and it would be so much smarter for me to buy.

Any thoughts would be great...

how to find a user for that place ?

nicolin — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 10:56:51 -0800

My mother still owns that building in a village, south of France. She inherited it from her father, who was a flour miller. She turned the first three floors into flats, which are rented now. But the mortgage is still very difficult to pay, and I'm still looking for an idea to turn the fourth floor into a source of income.

The place is more than 100 sq. meters, with no walls. The ceiling is quite high (actually, it's the roof). It is connected to electricity, to water, it can be connected to the internet. It can access directly to a concrete tower silo that's inside the building (which goes to street level) to store things or to turn it into something else... I don't know what....

The question is : who can use this place, could get interested in that place, since it isn't easily accessible. The sight from its windows is great (rural area) and I know that someone working there could get a kick out of it - my grandfather did.

Where could I advertise it ?

Thanks for your ideas !

Experience using services that report rental history to credit bureaus?

cgk — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 12:14:55 -0800

Rebuilding credit a few years post-divorce and home ownership, does anyone have experience with services like rentreporters.com that will report rental payment history to credit services? I have a nice, small-timey landlord that does not fall into the 500+ unit category that Experian is supposed to be opening up to. It seems like a service that allows landlords to report tenant history should exist, but I am not having a lot of luck finding options. The ones I can find (like the one linked above) look slick, but I cannot find a reliable corpus of reviews. For $10/mo I would be willing to foot it and my landlord would probably participate, but does it actually deliver?

Special info: 2-year divorce trashed good credit and had to sell home. Having rented for 4 years and lived cash-only, the bad stuff is starting to expire off my report and I am looking to start the next phase of life. I looked through creditboards.com and have not found the answer I am looking for.

Getting added to a rent controlled lease in SF

Dr. Eigenvariable — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 14:47:43 -0800

I've been living in my rent controlled apartment in San Francisco for about 10 months, and would like to be added to the lease (currently, only one of the three of us is on the lease, and she may be moving out soon). Is there anything I need to know before asking the company we rent from whether I can be added? My fear is that they'd use this as an excuse to void the old lease and increase the rent more than what would be normally allowed under rent control. Are my fears justified?

Best way for our 8-person co-op household to manage our money?

wintersonata9 — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 09:21:20 -0800

I live in a cooperative household in California - 8 people total - and we have a house bank account that we use to pay for communal food, toilet paper, etc. as well as rent. We all deposit $ in the account, and our house treasurer writes one big check for rent that our landlord cashes. Now the local credit union wants us to pay taxes on the money going in and out of that account, which we've never encountered in the ~5-10 years the house has been running things this way. What to do? In past situations where I've lived with lots of people in a big house, we would all write rent checks to one person and that person would write a big check to the landlord. Another person would be responsible for utilities, for the internet bill, etc. The difference with the co-op I'm living in now is that each person also pays for food that we share communally (I can't tell you how nice it is not to have 8 sets of eggs, milk, and butter all in one fridge!).

We bank with a local credit union in California. After the treasurer deposited all the individual rent checks and wrote the big one to our landlord yesterday, they called him and told him that he would be responsible for paying tax on that account, which I've never heard of. What's the best thing to do in this situation?

A couple of ideas we've been throwing around:

A) Open a new bank account with another bank (we have Wells Fargo, Chase, and B of A in our area). I opened a WF account in college when my a cappella group needed one, and all we had to do was have me and the assistant director co-sign.

B) Do the thing where one person is responsible for rent, everyone writes checks to him/her, and one big check goes to the landlord. Do the same for utilities and internet. Which would get messy when it comes time to pay for food, since a different person is responsible for house shopping every week. Have a big jar of cash in the kitchen, and everyone puts in their share of house $ each week?

Thanks for your help!

How do you find a sane and compatible housemate from Craigslist?

genmonster — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 16:39:35 -0800

I've been offered first dibs on renting a super nice house. Unfortunately I need to find at least 1 and ideally 2 people to rent it with me. Just asking around my network if they know anyone hasn't worked out. I'm pretty sure Craigslist is the next best option...what should put in my post, and ask potential people in person, to weed out the crazies? I've answered ads looking for housemates with mixed success. The last time I tried it was a disaster (and the subject of my first ask post). I've lived alone since, partially because I don't entirely trust my judgement about these things anymore. I'm also trying to avoid sounding like a nutcase myself by making an overly detailed and perhaps ALL CAPS list of requirements for potential housemates. My city (Asheville NC) has a lot of young professionals sharing houses, but also a lot of wilder and weirder folks who aren't my target audience.

No credit check for an apartment on the North Side of Chicago?

anotheraccount — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 17:31:25 -0800

Poor credit and varying work hours, but mom needs a new apartment in Chicago. My mom has been living in the same apartment since she moved to Chicago in 2006. She has struggled financially since she moved here and, as a result, has had trouble paying rent on time on more than one occasion. In 2008, her leasing company attempted to evict her in court, but the case was dismissed. Because of her long history of struggling financially, her credit is bad (more fair than poor, though). She's currently working a job that has hours that change regularly based on the work that they have - one week could be 40 hours, the next just 10.

Today she got a notice from her landlords that the rent will be going up $80 effective April 1, which would be the start date for her new lease. She can't afford the rent with this hike, and she really wants to move.. but she knows that with her credit, she would likely be unable to pass a credit check.

Can anyone recommend a leasing company/landlord on the North Side of Chicago that would not conduct a credit check or, alternatively, would not care about less than stellar credit? She's currently living in Rogers Park.

I don't even know what a broker fee is...

kryppuk — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 09:48:58 -0800

My husband got a new job in NYC! I know nothing about the city, and will have only 1 day to look at apartments. Where should we focus our search? My husband got a new job in NYC. It's with a small company located somewhere just outside the Meatpacking District. Currently we live in the middle of nowhere in the midwest. The company has been kind enough to fly us out to look at apartments, but the way our schedules line up we'll get one day to look around. I visited there a few times as a tourist, and my husband has only been there twice, both times for interviews, so effectively we know nothing about the city besides what we have been reading on the internet. We're having trouble narrowing down which communities to look in. A little bit about us:

1. We prefer staying at home to going out. I'd like to get out and do museum-y things on the weekend, but most of the things we like to do are at home. Usually we have people over rather than meeting them out somewhere.
2. My husband has a car. He loves his car. He knows he probably won't be able to drive it as much, but he would like to keep it and for it to be parked somewhere safe. It's a pretty high-end car (think Mercedes), so it would likely be a target in certain neighborhoods.
3. We're nerdy, and we don't drink, so thing Magic the Gathering and bookstores versus bars and clubs.
4. We have a Jack Russel Terrier who loves to get out and socialize.
5. We can pay ~$2,650/month for rent + utilities, but we'd prefer to keep it under $2,000.
6. We must live alone. This and the dog are the only two things that aren't negotiable.

I know Manhattan probably isn't for us. We've been looking into nearby places like Hoboken, but there are so many communities that it's getting pretty confusing to try to figure out things like commute and culture. My husband is also willing to add a short commute and live outside the city, but I know where to start looking around there even less. Since we only have one day to look in person, it would be great to have some suggestions as to which communities to focus on.