Need quick thoughts - apartment hunt crisis!

July 8, 2015 3:49 PM

Apartment hunting in Brooklyn moves a mile a minute and we have a quick decision to make. There's a good apartment in park slope. We love the idea of it but there's one weird thing: there's a "bump" in the ceiling. The ceiling is sort of tiled, and the area under the light fixture buckles down into a ~meter wide contact lens-like shape. It's odd, and the landlord doesn't plan to "fix" it because he says there's no problem. There's no sign of mold or leaking there or anywhere else in the apartment for that matter. Questions: 1) What concerns should we have and 2) should we sign a lease? For those who don't know NY housing hunts, if you don't decide, someone else will and then you're back to square 1, so hoping folks can weigh in with everything we should be thinking about! (and I don't know how to post a picture, but will if someone tells me how!)
posted by jenbo1 to Home & Garden (11 answers total)

To post an image, go to an image hosting site like imgur.com and click on the upload images button. Upload your photo(s) and it'll give you a link to copy. Post that link here in a comment and you're good to go!
posted by phunniemee at 3:55 PM on July 8, 2015

Response by poster: wow thanks for the image tip. here's what the ceiling looks like: http://imgur.com/mmnLW66
posted by jenbo1 at 4:00 PM on July 8, 2015

Every NYC apartment I ever lived in had something crooked about it, and it never caused me any problems. YMMV. Make sure you have renter's insurance!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 4:09 PM on July 8, 2015

If it's otherwise a great place and you like it, I'd get it. And, get renter's insurance.
posted by quince at 4:11 PM on July 8, 2015 [4 favorites]

Seconding quince's suggestion of taking it if you like it otherwise and get renter's insurance in case something goes wrong.

I lived in this lovely house that was a bit run down (one major crack in a wall, a couple of floorboards that were a bit soft). We were able to convince the landlord to repair a couple of things when they got worse, like the time that my housemate broke one of the dodgy floorboards. It was worth putting up with because the house and the location were great otherwise.
posted by kinddieserzeit at 4:18 PM on July 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

The lens is an area where the plaster has come free from the lath above. It can fall at anu time, and you don't want to be beneath it. There was one in an apt I lived in at one time, and it was a very good thing me roommate was out late the night it fell on his bed.
posted by SemiSalt at 4:44 PM on July 8, 2015 [7 favorites]

I've been in Brooklyn for a decade- I'm jumping on the get it- but get insurance- bandwagon.

But you know, always get insurance anyway.

you should just keep an eye on it. If there are changes, let the land lord know, but meh- buildings are old.
posted by Blisterlips at 4:45 PM on July 8, 2015

I think the big question isn't this particular problem, it's what it says about the landlord. Being in an apartment with a negligent landlord is a terrible experience, and you can end up with all your stuff covered in mold, shivering in the dark. Or, y'know, electrocuted!

So maybe this particular issue is fine for now. Or maybe it's not and it will get worse. The question is, if it does get worse, does this landlord fix things, or not? And sadly that's a very hard thing to find out in advance. But you CAN find out if there are any maintenance complaints against this landlord, which is a start. You can also ask if there's a live-in super, and you can check if the rest of the apartment seems to be in good repair.

Good luck with your hunt!
posted by goingonit at 6:09 PM on July 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

Anecdata: our last NYC apartment had a similar shape to the ceiling (no mold or other visible issues), and we had a feeling something wasn't right, but just kind of ignored it (kids, jobs, etc). One morning we woke up to the sound of rain, which was confusing since it was sunny out. We went out to the living room and water was POURING through the ceiling. A total of 45 gallons if water came down that day, in two installments. I know it was 45 gallons because we used our 15-gallon baby bathtub to catch the water and it filled up three times. At the end of the second deluge, an X-shaped crack opened up, and about a third of the ceiling caved in. We have renter's insurance, and amazingly, NOTHING was damaged, but the mess was significant, and it took awhile to get every thing closed up and repaired. Obviously, this ceiling may have a different problem, but I would be wary of both the ceiling and the landlord.
posted by JubileeRubaloo at 7:20 PM on July 8, 2015 [5 favorites]

I'm going to second JubileeRubaloo - I lived in a place in Manhattan with a similar bump on the ceiling in my roommate's room, which was fine until it opened up and water poured out of it for minutes at a time. While I understand how frustrating the NY rental market is, I would probably pass. Though, as everyone else suggested, no matter where you end up renting, make sure to have a renters insurance policy.
posted by Caz721 at 7:04 AM on July 9, 2015

Response by poster: Just wanted to thank everyone for your really helpful perspectives. We ended up signing the lease this morning after meeting the landlord, and we will absolutely have renter's insurance. We're also going to investigate it further once we're in, and keep our fingers crossed because that never hurts too...
posted by jenbo1 at 9:22 AM on July 9, 2015