Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with renting

Can I negotiate rental agency tenant-changeover fees?

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:12:42 -0800

I live in London in a flat of three, and someone wants to move out. We have someone else ready to move in. The lettings agency wish to charge £150 for swapping a person over, and £100 for admin fees. Can we dispute this, for a more reasonable fee? The fees were similarly massive when we moved in (and we paid 6 weeks rent as deposit). When I visited the building we ended up saying yes to, the agent actually never came down (the janitor let us in). In fact, the first time I ever actually saw the agent was going into their offices to sign the contract and collect the keys.

While I understand that credit checks must be done, and some phone calls must be made, I fail to see the justification for paying half a months rent to change some names on a piece of paper when I found the other tenant. £100, that's going to sting but it's doable. But £250?

Two options seem to present themselves:

1) Try to negotiate, asking them for an itemised breakdown of these costs and making a case for them to reduce the fees for good tenants who have paid all their bills on time and never broken anything or asked them to do anything or fix anything.

2) Go straight to the Landlord. Do this actually have to be done through the Agency? Problem is in this case the 'Landlord' is a big company and I'd expect they'll just want the agency to handle it and will happily pay whatever they're being extorted for, in turn.

The person moving in is having a hard enough time getting 6 weeks rent, plus one months rent up front together, without high fees adding to the troubles.

Thanks!

Renting out a Chicago condo

parakeetdog — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:55:21 -0800

My grandpa lives in Chicago and has decided to move into a retirement community (also in Chicago). We are not sure what to do with his condo. The mortgage is paid off, but the assessments come to about $550 a month with taxes being around $1000/yr. We would like to sell the condo at some point, but right now market is so bad that it might not be worth selling. We are considering renting it out, but have never had experience with renting. We believe we can rent it out for about $1,000 a month. Has anyone had experiencing renting out their house/condo? We're not trying to make a lot of money in renting it out. We just want to wait out the bad market without my grandpa having to struggle to pay the assessments/taxes in addition to the rent for his new apartment.

What has your experience with renters been like? Did you use a property management company? How did you handle repairs? I've read horror stories about tenants not paying rent, refusing to leave and trashing the place. Does anyone have any suggestions in finding honest tenants? I'm interested in both good and bad stories. We want to go into this with our eyes open.

Condo property manager overstepping her authority?

urbanette — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:43:12 -0800

My condo suddenly wants me to sign an agreement saying I will abide by their draconian rules and provide a tonne of personal data to them. This is all under the guise that they are creating 'files' for residents for access to the building. Is this legal? I'm renting from an owner in a condo building in Ontario. Over the past few months, the new property manager has exhibited major control freak tendencies - there are notices about some perceived problem posted in the elevators every other day. Recently all residents received a form that we were 'required to' fill in. The form asks for you name, but all sorts of other personal details, email, job etc. There isn't any privacy or usage policy presented.

The form also has a spot for you to sign that says you agree to abide by the condo 'rules' a copy of which I have not seen since 2005. This all strikes me as odd - I think the agreement should be between my landlord and myself.

There are omnious notes about residents not being able to access their 'file' under the new 'entry system' whatever that means.

This seems rather intrusive and odd. What are my rights as a tenant?

Renting in New Zealand - Pets urine on carpet. Smells. Pet hair

Anonymous — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 08:13:10 -0800

I'm currently renting a flat unit in New Zealand which I will be moving out next month. My current rental agreement states that I do not need to have the carpet professionally cleaned before I move out. I have two cats in the house and the question was raised with the property agent before I moved in. They have agreed to let me have the pets in the house and on the rental agreement, it also states that they are okay with it. The property agent did an inspection of the house recently and they have asked for me to have the carpet clean by a professional carpet cleaner because they can smell cat urine. This was not raised previously in the previous few inspections. I suspect this could be due to the fact that I'm moving out for good. I do know that my cats have made a few accidents on the carpet which I have already tried my best in cleaning up the area. The smell does remain but it's not strong. the carpet is discoloured slightly as well. My questions are: Is it reasonable for the property agent to request for the carpet to be professionally cleaned? If I disagree, am I in any way in breach of the tenancy agreement? I am thinking that since the property agent allows us to keep pets in the house, wouldn't the cat 'accidents' be the normal wears and tears of having a property rented out?

How rentworthy am I?

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:57:44 -0800

Help me grow up-filter: am I being realistic about my prospects for finding an apartment? Anon because I am embarrassed about my past fiscal irresponsibility. I'd like to investigate the possibility of renting a new place with a friend soon, and I am wondering how realistic it is, given my financial history, which is spotty to say the least (two chargeoffs, and I defaulted on my student loans long ago but they are now paid off).

I do have several thousand dollars in the bank and I am prepared to front first and last month's rent as well as the deposit (taking the burden off my potential roomie). I have a steady job and would be making 3x my share of the rent.

I have NO background with this kind of thing at all. An overly confident friend assures me that "landlords NEVER check your credit report," and it's true that he does have a decent-ish place and a not so stellar credit history of his own, but I'd like alternate viewpoints/tips before I jump into the deep end of the pool, please. Is the situation hopeless or not? Is there anything I can do in the short term to make myself a more attractive potential tenant?

Finding a rental in Portland OR

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Email is leasingwithoutseeing@gmail.com

Renting a House that's for Sale

visual mechanic — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:22:06 -0800

Renting houses that are on the market for a discounted rate. Good idea? If so, how to do it? We're living in LA, but kind of flexible in that we don't mind moving much. I was thinking maybe we could get good deals if we were willing to live in a house that is on the market. Do people know how to get signed up for that kind of arrangement, and does anyone have any experience with it? (We'd like to stay around Topanga / Malibu / Palisades area).

House hacks for broke renters

ecmendenhall — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 01:04:01 -0800

Old house hacks wanted! Please suggest some cheap ways to improve life in a crappy college house. This week, two friends and I are moving into a rental house for the upcoming academic year. Rent is cheap, and the place meets our basic needs, but it's an old house with a boring dirt yard.

What low cost, unobtrusive improvements would you have made to your first crappy college house? What are your favorite house hacks? We're already thinking about building a garden bed and planting some vegetables in the backyard. What other DIY projects might we consider? I've read these previous threads, but they're focused on invasive improvements to owned properties. I'm more interested in interesting semipermanent projects for broke renters.

Home Sweet Brooklyn

Unred — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:39:40 -0800

When is the best month to move in New York?? Seriously! We all know moving in June is the worst because of all the kids leaving college and moving here. People aren't leaving their apartments in January and February, so that's not good either. So, when is the optimal time for a person to get the best deal on a rental in New York?

I swear I'm not really a deadbeat

Anonymous — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:28:02 -0800

Should I disclose this stuff on my rental application? How far back do they check these things, anyway? I am looking for a new place to live, but I have a blip on my credit/rental history.

A few years ago, I sublet from a friend who broke the lease after I moved out. Many months later, long after I'd moved and forgotten about it, a credit agency contacted me about the situation and tried to get me to pay. I contested it last year and the debt was dropped.

I checked my credit on freecreditreport and my credit is above 760. The ding is still visible, however, and I'm worried about the details making future landlords nervous even though I make plenty of money and have a stable job.

The application I'm filling out right now says I must have 12 months of good credit/rental history and pass a criminal background check as well as verifying my income with pay stubs. However, it also says that if I falsify any part of the application or leave it incomplete that they will deny the application.

Below this are several boxes I am asked check, including "have you been sued for rent". This worries me; I don't want to lie, but I also don't want to share information that won't be an issue anyway.

So, my question is: Should I tell the landlord on my application, or say nothing? I have lived in the same place for three years with no problems; however, since the ding happened just before that and the credit report shows that the bad debt was dropped in 12/08, I'm not sure if I should mention it ahead of time or try to explain it later if and when it comes up.

I don't know if the ding will/could show up in my credit or rental history (or maybe both).

Everything else on my credit and rental history is spotless.

This is in Texas. Asking anonymously for obvious reasons, but can be contacted here: anonymousmefiquestion at the g mail.

Help me, handyman!

ocherdraco — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:32:17 -0800

Help me figure out what to do to get proper maintenance in my rented apartment within a condo building. I rent my apartment in a condo building here in New York. I rent directly from the owner of the apartment. She has no other rental properties, and she lives out of state now, though we are in regular contact via email and phone (she moved out of the apartment when my roommate and I moved in). The building has a super, but she has set up an arrangement with another man who lives in the building to do maintenance on the apartment when it is needed, and has asked us to contact him rather than the super.

The problem is that, apparently, we are on completely different schedules from this man. Our dishwasher has been broken since April, and our toilet has developed issues over the past couple weeks (making strange noises, flapper coming undone repeatedly, etc.), and we have not been able to get in touch with him to come look at it. When we call or drop by, he isn't home, and he has told the landlady that when he has tried to drop by, we aren't home (my roommate and I both work late and are often not there in the evening). I've even left a note on his door asking him to call me, but to no avail.

Where should I go from here? A month or so ago I asked my landlady if we should contact the super, but she said to try again with this tenant she's engaged as a handyman. Is there any reason she might want us to not get in touch with the super? I know she pays her common charges. Are these the kind of things a super would deal with in a condo building, anyway?

To add to the issues, my roommate is moving out and I'm showing the apartment to potential roommates now. A broken dishwasher and a toilet that makes weird noises aren't likely to make it very attractive. (All my previous apartments have been similar rental situations: renting directly from owners in their only rental property, but those were freestanding buildings wholly owned, rather than an apartment in a larger condo building. I've also never dealt with an out of state landlord before.)

I'd appreciate advice on how to proceed.

Ethical obligation to pay for kicked out roommate's rent?

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:27:05 -0800

My roommates kicked out our 4th roommate mid-month without consulting me and have since made several decisions that I believe have prevented us from finding someone for next month. I am not on the lease and my opinion has totally been discounted in this process, do I have any ethical (not legal) obligation to kick in for next month's rent? Let me preface this by saying I realize I have no legal obligation to pay for 1/3 of the empty rooms rent, but I have people telling me that I have an obligation as being a member of the household to help out.

I moved into a 4 bedroom house about 3 months ago. I signed a 6 month lease w/ A. A and B are on the lease. C and me are both subleasers. C is unemployed and has happily lived off unemployment for 9 months making no effort to get a job. C owed A and B over 6 months in unpaid utilities. Then around 11th of this month C's rent check bounced, which was the final straw for A and B and so they told C this would be her last month.

I was not consulted, but merely was told that C was going to be kicked out. A and B have since gotten all of the back utility money from C and will be out no money once she moves out.

Now A is really freaked out about the situation with C and to cover herself she is now demanding that any new roommate pay first, last and deposit, or 3 months rent to move in. When I was looking for a place in our area 3 months ago absolutely no one was asking for more than 1st month and deposit to move in. Many potential roommates have balked at paying that much and it was only recently that A was even open to someone paying the 3 months in installments. I believe we have lost at least 2 potential roommates because of this issue.

Adding to all this is the economy is horrible, we are getting very few responses and no one (let alone someone we want) has asked to move in.

This whole time I have been told that it essentially isn't my ass on the line financially so I don't get a say in kicking out C or the new potential roommate or what sort of deposit we can ask for. Now that it looks like we aren't going to find someone they are now hinting that they would expect me to pay 1/3 of C's rent for next month.

I know I don't legally have to pay a dime, but given it was their bad decisions to both allow the situation with C to go on so long and to wait until mid month to get rid of her, and that I was never consulted (and openly told I didn't get a say) that I shouldn't have to pay. So do I have any ethical obligation to pay? Technically I can afford it and really it wouldn't be a financial hardship on any of us to cover 1/3 or 1/2 the rent for one month. But I'm really annoyed that my opinion, which I believe would have avoided this situation entirely was discounted and now I have to pay

I should say I do like my roommates and our house, but at the same time there are lots of likely cheaper housing options in my area and while I don't really want to move it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. I have also actively helped them try and find someone new by posting ads, cleaning the house, and being available to show the room. Actually I've done a lot more than A, but that's another matter...

So do I have any moral obligation to help pay for any shortfall in next month's rent? Should I demand that my 6 month lease be converted to a month to month in exchange for doing so?

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?

How do you rent walkers/mobility aids in Scotland?

nangua — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 08:27:32 -0800

Where can I rent a rolling walker to help my future Grandmother-in-Law getting around for a few weeks in Scotland? I just moved to the Aberdeen from the USA to get married and in the chaos of arranging a wedding, I'm trying to be helpful by finding ways for my fiancee's grandmother to get around. My future Grandma-in-Law is from Australia and usually uses a walker something like this. She isn't able to bring it with her and I'm looking to rent/buy used a similar one for up to £50 for her three week stay. Is there a way to do this? Where would I look and who would I ask?

Moving on up, or not...

smoke — Wed, 13 May 2009 19:34:11 -0800

Buying House dramas: tenants in place we are due to settle don't want to move out by settlement, but we want to move in! Apologies for length. After many dramas, we are finally settling (aka final payment to vendor) on our apartment on Monday. However I had a delightful call from the real estate agent this morning, informing me that the current tenants are claiming never to have received their notice to move out, and won't be ready by Monday.

This is not a good situation - settlement has already been delayed, as a result we run the real risk of being without somewhere to live ourselves before we move in (our own lease expires).

I had a very terse conversation with the real estate agent explaining that whether tenants did or did not receive notice is their problem as property manages and thus they need to fix it, cause come Monday they won't be property managers, and we'll be moving in. He hemmed and hawed a lot, tried to push it back on us.

What are my rights here? This is a frickin' nightmare. In addition to being without somewhere to live, I've taken time off work, hired a ute, etc. etc. My renting experience tells me what I said to the real estate agent is fundamentally true; it's their error either way and the onus is on them to sort it out vis organising accomodation for tenants, or kicking them out. Does anyone know for sure? FYI, I'm in NSW, Australia, and waiting for a call back from my solicitor. Thanks for your advice.

What do I do? How can I make them move?

Brachiosaurus — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:05:47 -0800

How do I get rid of really bad neighbors? Are there any legal issues with giving out their landlord's cell phone number? Are there any Philadelphia-specific ways to get them to move? I live in CA but own a house in Philadelphia, which I rent out to some nice college students. I did live in the house last summer and I had several problems with the neighbors and one confrontation. I've had two tenants move out, to some degree because of them, and I don't want to lose these current tenants. This is also a real quality of life issue for my tenants. And a far less important, and less tangible problem is they are probably keeping my property value lower than it would be otherwise (I know I'd never be able to sell the house, if I wanted to, in the summer, when most of the problems start).

Some examples of the problems:

There are about 5-7 children living there (most of whom are actually sweet kids), and the screaming mother, and her drunk male 'partner' (not sure exactly what the situation is there). During the summer, everyday starting at about 10 am until about 10 pm, the children would play out on the sidewalk (annoying but okay, 'cause that's what children do) but the mother regularly goes out and starts screaming curse words and yelling at the top of her lungs for seemingly minor infractions by the children. This also goes on during the weekend anytime it's warm out.

Example 2: I was out on the stoop chatting with some of the neighbor kids one evening last summer and the neighbor was taking her trash to the curb. She then started pouring cleaning chemicals all over the trash bags and the sidewalk because she had forgotten to take the trash out the week before. According to her, it smelled bad and there were maggots in it (lovely). In the process of her doing this she ended up throwing bleach all over me, my clothes, and probably everyone else that was standing around. (In Philadelphia the garbage men come by and pick up the trash bags with gloves. I don't know why anyone would put bleach on something that someone would have to touch less than 12 hours later.)

And 3: There are regular crazy arguments that you can hear in my house (these are attached row houses). These can be at all hours of the night.

Oh, and 4: Being a night owl, during the summer while I was there, I would go out after dark and clean the sidewalks- pick up trash, sweep, etc. But by the time I woke up at noon-ish, there would be chicken bones, ice cream wrappers, and other trash out in front of their house, and migrating towards mine and the other neighbors' sidewalks. Seriously, I wish I was exaggerating.

And you're getting the point but still, 5: They have, from my understanding, regularly harassed my tenants- they pound on the door when they want something, and continue to pound for a long time even though my tenants won't answer. From my understanding, what they want is usually food (from a recently observed take-out delivery), cigarettes, to 'borrow' some money, or to sell my tenants pot (they made the mistake of buying some from them once when they first moved in [I don't care that my tenants smoke pot- they are college students after all] but I've asked them to just get it elsewhere). Occasionally this sort of thing would happen when I was living there and the neighbor would resort to jiggling the door knob.

Okay, so they are awful, indescribably awful. There's a lot more I could say though.

My tenants have called the cops several times because of noise. Most of the time they don't show up and when they do it settles down just long enough for the cops to drive off.

I've called their landlord twice- once during the summer and once recently. The only thing that is offered is that he "will talk to them." But predictably this does nothing. During the summer he more or less said that he knows they are 'animals' but they pay the rent and this is all he cares about. Well, of course they pay the rent, they are on section 8.

This most recent time I even told him that I don't know why he doesn't get rid of them, he rents the 5 bedroom house to them for 800 and I rent out my 2 bedroom house for 875 (or course my place is way nicer inside).

This block is mostly owner occupied. During the summer I talked to several neighbors and, not surprisingly, everyone wants them gone. From what I can tell it's just a family neighborhood with working class people. Oh, and the other kids on the street aren't allowed to play with these kids.

So what do I do? I think that as long as they're there I run the risk of losing my tenants because of this. And some day I'm going to be living there again. But besides how it affects me, I just don't want my tenants to have to deal with this. I've thought about sending a letter to all the other homes on the block, or at least those that are very close by, with their landlord's contact information. His address is available online through the Philadelphia public records/ real estate tax site. But I got his cell phone number by feigning interest in buying that house- my real estate agent got in touch with the one he works with, and he said to give me his cell number. So maybe if everyone starts calling, maybe he would throw them out(?). Is it legal to give out someone's cell phone number in this way? Could he sue me if I did? I'm sure he'd know who did it- I don't think he would have given me his number under the circumstances.

Some last bits of detail- I think that these people have been there for about 2 years. I've owned the house for 1 year. And while I knew that they were loud neighbors because I heard an argument while checking the place out, I had no way of knowing that they would be this bad.

Tenants Rights in Portland, Oregon

alan — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 09:58:27 -0800

My apartment house is being sold. How do I avoid getting screwed? I live in an apartment that's part of a house owned by a family trust. The trust has decided to sell the house, and they'll be listing it next week. The owners will probably keep it as a rental property (it's doesn't seem like a property (age, layout) that would be easy to turn into condos). I signed a one year lease that ran out and has been month to month for a little over a year.

What sort of things do I want to be aware of as far as getting screwed when ownership changes? Screwed meaning giant rent increases, being kicked out really fast, or other things I haven't thought about. What areas of law should I be concentrating my google searches on?

Travelling in Britain

Taurid — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 09:33:11 -0800

What are ways to travel in Britain outside of the public transportation system? I will be travelling to England from Toronto Canada in the next 3 to 4 months. The trip will include my wife, my older sister (senior) and myself. We are to meet up with my daughter who is already living over there while attending university in Newcastle upon Tyne. We will probably either start our travels there or London depending on my daughters schedule. Our trip will last a total of between 10 and 14 days, possibly more, staying in various towns and villages. I understand the public transportation system ( buses and trains) is very good in Britain, however some of our travels will take us outside of that system. We also plan on going into Scotland as well as England. My main concern with renting a vehicle is driving on the left hand side in the more populated areas. I have driven in downtown Toronto and don’t find it too much a of a problem, but driving on the left is much different. Or is it? The only other option we can think of is a taxi when needed, but this may be too costly.

What are our options regarding our trip? Any ideas would be most appreciated.

Moving to the Bay Area

skaye — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:43:10 -0800

Help me plan my move to the Bay Area! Thanks to everyone who answered my last post, you were all very very helpful. Now that I'm at stage 2 of the move-to-Bay-Area process, I'm hoping the hive mind can help me again.

I'm planning a scouting trip to California at the end of April, about a month before my job starts, to look for housing options and figure the region out. I will have about 5 days. With the previous help of Mefites, I've narrowed down the places I think I can/want to live to pretty much two zones: downtown San Mateo and Potrero Hill in San Francisco (the latter for its proximity to the Caltrain system, which I will have to use every day to get to work in San Carlos, the former for its drive-able proximity to San Carlos and because I want to live within walking distance of shops, restaurants, etc.)

My questions are:
- Do you know anything about these two areas - what are they like as places to live? I am also still open to other area suggestions, though, so feel free to chime in on that. I would really love to live in SF but have realized that unless I live within walking distance of a Caltrain station I will start hating the commute really quickly.
- Is Millbrae worth checking out? My only reason for asking is that it attractively has both BART and Caltrain access.
- Any advice for how to go about looking for rentals in these areas? This is my first job out of college so I have no experience with this sort of thing. I've read as much as I can online and it sounds like I need to go with a credit report and checkbook in hand. Is this true? How current does my credit report need to be? (E.g. can I print one out now, in March, and still have it be convincing for a landlord in April/May?)
- Given that I start work immediately after graduation and won't have much time to shop around for housing, should I stay at a motel for the first week of work while I find a lease, or should I look to rent a place during my recce trip and pay for a month's rent without living there? I'm assuming that landlords won't appreciate the "I love this place and want to live here but can only move in in a month" spiel. Are there any other options I haven't considered?
- If I live in San Mateo, I will need to buy a car. I'm looking to buy something used and cheap - is a budget of about $4k reasonable for a small, modest, but safe and functional car? Any advice for where to go in the area to purchase one? Any car type recommendations to avoid sky high auto insurance?
- What's the best way to use/organize my limited time on the scouting trip? During the trip I'll be living with a friend in Berkeley, if that's relevant.

Any other first-time-renter/first-time-move to CA/first-time-car-owner advice would be very very welcome. The contract is for one year, so long-term stuff isn't really a concern for me. I'm sorry to bludgeon everyone with so many questions all at once - thank you all in advance!

So, why should I pay these dudes?

ignignokt — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 23:10:38 -0800

Please make it clear to me just how essential property managers are. I'm moving out of town, and I've rented out my condo to tenants. Because I won't be able to manage the property in person, so I found a property management company that can do it for me for a monthly fee. Most people I talk to seem to think it's a good idea to hire such a service, just in case.

I agree with that at some level, but the more I look at what they do for me, the less compelling they seem.

Here's what they do (and my reactions to these service claims):

- Find you tenants and run credit, reference, and background checks on them.
(I already did this myself.)

- When there's a maintenance issue, they call the plumber, electrician, or what have you, and pass the bill on to you.
(I can do this myself. It doesn't seem that hard.)

- Handle lockouts.
(I'm fine with just paying a locksmith $100. It's what I had to do when I locked myself out of this place.)

- Collect rent. If there's trouble, they call a collection agency. Again, passing the costs on to me.
(I feel like it wouldn't be that hard to call a collection agency.)

Check on the condition of the apartment twice a year.
(I can just have my parents or a friend do this.)

I suspect I may just be a hard-headed control freak cheapskate. Give me a rational, solid reason for using a property management company. I know thousands of remote landlords use them, so they must be good for something, and I want to know what they know.

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?

Thailand [Krabi] internet and long term accommodation

simplesharps — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 21:46:36 -0800

I'm planning on taking a working holiday mid april for two months (or longer) in Thailand with a friend. I have a few questions... Last year I spent some time in South East Asia and really enjoyed myself. We both like the sounds of Krabi but neither of us have been there.

Would you recommend Krabi or some place else? We like relaxed, green, away for huge cities but not rural living (need internet & gym). We're only going to stay in one spot for the whole time.

Any recommendations on places to rent? Sharing or separate. An apartment or house would be nice. Middle price range - no idea really how much that would be. Close to a gym would be best.

Who would you recommend for high speed internet? What's the speeds we can expect?

Many thanks!

Renting vs. Leasing-to-Own

El_Marto — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 09:38:54 -0800

Posting for a friend: My wife and I are moving from BFE Oregon to Lexington, KY. We sold our little house in Oregon without losing any money, but we aren't looking to buy a house in Lexington just yet since we don't know much about the market or where we'd like to live. We have noticed that a lot of property agents rent single family homes, but also offer lease-to-own agreements on new(er) homes. Some of these homes are pretty nice, new, and seem to be in decent areas (we're flying out to see prospective rentals, so we'll be able to see anything before an agreement). Has anyone ever been in a lease-to-own agreement for a house? Is there any advantage to leasing a house like this, instead of just buying it? Does it typically cost much more than renting a place for a few years and then eventually buying? Is the eventual cost the same as simply getting a mortgage and buying the house?

Reluctant future landlord seeks advice.

lordrunningclam — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 08:04:43 -0800

I'm getting a house I inherited ready to rent out since I don't want to try and sell it in the current market. I've never been a landlord before. The house is in St. Petersburg, Florida in a desirable neighborhood. The place is pretty old (1926) and a bit run down on the inside but looks pretty good outside. I'm in the process or patching and painting the interior. When done with that I'll have the floors refinished/replaced (hardwood and sheet vinyl) and the place should be ready to rent. The exterior needs paint but I think I can do that after I list it. It has curtains, but they are quite shabby, should I get new ones or expect the tenant to? Should I leave the washer/dryer? The refrigerator is kind of junky looking but works fine, should I get a new one? Same for the range. After I rent it should I expect the tenants to do the lawn work or should I get a service? Would it be weird if I just went there and did it myself? I've been taking care of the lawn work there for years. Someone I know in the property management business wants to handle the rental. Should I go that route?