Home and Family

Re: Questions about Apartments

Brandy — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:17:38 GMT

Walt34:

$150 for trash put out early? What about people who work shift work like I did? Sometimes I'd leave at 5:00 PM and not get home until 9:00 the next morning. Forget that!

Our friend had the same reaction. He works from 2 pm to 10 pm. He'd never get his trash out as his wife is trying to get on the same shift as he is so they can drive to work together.

He settled for a mobile home outside city limits. It's not in great condition but it was much cheaper with less restrictions that would effect them.

Re: Questions about Apartments

Pat — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:57:54 GMT

Walt34:
$150 for trash put out early? What about people who work shift work like I did? Sometimes I'd leave at 5:00 PM and not get home until 9:00 the next morning. Forget that!

I seriously wondered about that part. Not everyone works 9 to 5, five days a week.

Re: Questions about Apartments

Walt34 — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:52:53 GMT

I haven't lived in an apartment since 1979, but that seems really "out there".

$250 application fee? No way I'd pay that!

$350 deposit per pet is reasonable - they can do a lot of damage if the owner is sloppy. Most places don't allow pets at all for that reason.

If he has to buy insurance from "their" insurance company that smells like a kickback going on. I'd tell them "NO!" Besides, why do the require renter's insurance at all? If the guy wants to assume that risk himself that's his business.

$150 for trash put out early? What about people who work shift work like I did? Sometimes I'd leave at 5:00 PM and not get home until 9:00 the next morning. Forget that!

The income/credit requirements are reasonable. What landlord wants to deal with deadbeats?

No barbecue grills is reasonable - the fire hazard is obvious. More than one apartment building has burned down because of some idiot kicking over a grill of hot coals.

Re: Questions about Apartments

Brandy — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 12:39:18 GMT

Thanks everyone for your assistance on this! The information was very helpful. Our friend appreciates the time you each took to help him sort through his options.

He found an older mobile home for rent at a lower price than anything else that was available in somewhat safe areas. Now we all hope everything falls into place with his relocating here.

Re: Questions about Apartments

budgetwise — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 16:02:55 GMT

aliceinvirginia:

If this is the cheapest place that is in a safe neighborhood, they may be trying to keep out the marginal renters that could potentially drag the place down. Or keep the place desirable for the good renters. Or else make the rent look cheap by tacking on extra fees that are included at other places.

If the balconies have iron railings that can be seen through, that might make sense. Balconies are the one thing other residents can see easily. If you have regular furniture out there, you must not mind it getting wet, so it probably isn't in good condition to start with. Think of an old, broken down couch. Or other things that might get moldy and be an eyesore.

They occasional drop off flyers with apartment rules on them. Window coverings must be white on the side facing outside. No items on balcony can be higher than the railing. However, I have an outright jungle on my balcony growing food, and hadn't seen flyers about it this year. I had a pile of junk on the balcony this winter though. I'm 3 floors up, so it can't be seen well from the bottom.

I've seen places that charged extra for bottom floors, and other places that charged more for top floors. I couldn't figure out the reasons in each case.

Income three times the rent - many personal finance books recommend this anyways. I know I've seen 2.5 times the rent.

Sticky shelf paper could definitely be an issue. If you clean the cabinets well, why do you need shelf paper? If you are concerned about glasses breaking and stuff like that, most of the shelf liners I see at the store don't glue on.

Pets - I've paid $200 non-refundable fees plus the pet rent. They may be trying to *strongly* discourage pets.

Renter's insurance - I've seen apartments that make you sign something that you have obtained rental insurance. I think the current place wants you to provide a copy of the policy, or use theirs. However, I didn't have problems at move-in.

Trash outside for a long time could be an eyesore or attract pests.

Employment in the same field could just be another means of screening out undesirables. My place gives a discount for government employees and military. Because they know they have more job stability.

There is also a low income housing unit just down the road, so they may be trying to send the lower income people somewhere else.

I looked at the site apartmentratings.com before renting, and it didn't seem that great. However, I liked the layout and the huge closets here, and their recent renovations inside the apartments look really nice. Light tan walls with white trim, the countertops are laminate with a faux granite pattern, and the cabinet doors have been updated to a more modern style.

I looked at apartmentratings.com 2 years ago before renting, and the reviews weren't that great. But the price and apartment design were attractive. Now when I look at that site, the reviews are much better.

They have a habit of announcing maintenance visits only one day ahead of time. And make them every couple months. I think they do this partially to confirm that a) there are no drug dealers/pot growers there, b) that the right number of people are living there, and c) that the non-pet apartments don't have pets. It's annoying, but they've never said anything about the huge mess, unlike my last place. Since I make six times the monthly rent and am billed by automatic deduction, I doubt they care as much.

Just curious...why do you have such a "huge mess"?

Re: Questions about Apartments

Brandy — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:42:25 GMT

aliceinvirginia:
If this is the cheapest place that is in a safe neighborhood, they may be trying to keep out the marginal renters that could potentially drag the place down

I have commented that I believe housing prices here are high and don't really match well to income to force out undesirable elements. Only those with middle to high income can afford many available homes.

aliceinvirginia:
Income three times the rent - many personal finance books recommend this anyways.

Three times the rent puts him needing to make almost $3,000 a month. This is one of the reasonably priced home options in our area. How are young adults just starting out supposed to live here? It could be argued that they should live where they can find housing but as a resident here, it disturbs me to think that our economy could become very unbalanced here this way. If no one can afford to live on entry level pay then who works entry level jobs? EEK!

aliceinvirginia:
Employment in the same field could just be another means of screening out undesirables

He was wondering if he should expect this at a majority of available places. He can't meet this as he has just graduated from college and relocated here for work. It will take two years before he can meet this so where are the college folks and newly relocated living we wonder.

There must be something out there. Either it goes quick because demand is too high or we are missing it.

Re: Questions about Apartments

aliceinvirginia — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 13:15:47 GMT

If this is the cheapest place that is in a safe neighborhood, they may be trying to keep out the marginal renters that could potentially drag the place down. Or keep the place desirable for the good renters. Or else make the rent look cheap by tacking on extra fees that are included at other places.

If the balconies have iron railings that can be seen through, that might make sense. Balconies are the one thing other residents can see easily. If you have regular furniture out there, you must not mind it getting wet, so it probably isn't in good condition to start with. Think of an old, broken down couch. Or other things that might get moldy and be an eyesore.

They occasional drop off flyers with apartment rules on them. Window coverings must be white on the side facing outside. No items on balcony can be higher than the railing. However, I have an outright jungle on my balcony growing food, and hadn't seen flyers about it this year. I had a pile of junk on the balcony this winter though. I'm 3 floors up, so it can't be seen well from the bottom.

I've seen places that charged extra for bottom floors, and other places that charged more for top floors. I couldn't figure out the reasons in each case.

Income three times the rent - many personal finance books recommend this anyways. I know I've seen 2.5 times the rent.

Sticky shelf paper could definitely be an issue. If you clean the cabinets well, why do you need shelf paper? If you are concerned about glasses breaking and stuff like that, most of the shelf liners I see at the store don't glue on.

Pets - I've paid $200 non-refundable fees plus the pet rent. They may be trying to *strongly* discourage pets.

Renter's insurance - I've seen apartments that make you sign something that you have obtained rental insurance. I think the current place wants you to provide a copy of the policy, or use theirs. However, I didn't have problems at move-in.

Trash outside for a long time could be an eyesore or attract pests.

Employment in the same field could just be another means of screening out undesirables. My place gives a discount for government employees and military. Because they know they have more job stability.

There is also a low income housing unit just down the road, so they may be trying to send the lower income people somewhere else.

I looked at the site apartmentratings.com before renting, and it didn't seem that great. However, I liked the layout and the huge closets here, and their recent renovations inside the apartments look really nice. Light tan walls with white trim, the countertops are laminate with a faux granite pattern, and the cabinet doors have been updated to a more modern style.

I looked at apartmentratings.com 2 years ago before renting, and the reviews weren't that great. But the price and apartment design were attractive. Now when I look at that site, the reviews are much better.

They have a habit of announcing maintenance visits only one day ahead of time. And make them every couple months. I think they do this partially to confirm that a) there are no drug dealers/pot growers there, b) that the right number of people are living there, and c) that the non-pet apartments don't have pets. It's annoying, but they've never said anything about the huge mess, unlike my last place. Since I make six times the monthly rent and am billed by automatic deduction, I doubt they care as much.

Re: Questions about Apartments

dbasil — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:41:44 GMT

Sounds like it's extremely out there! I wouldn't wnat to live there! I'd feel like they would charge me just for breathing!

Donna

Re: Questions about Apartments

AgnesNutter — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:02:20 GMT

Greetings from my new, rented townhouse!

Yep, I've gone through the apartment shopping thing recently with my fiance and sadly, most of the above terms were pretty typical of what we saw. Remember though, if you seem to be a "prime" tenant to your potential landlord you may have bargaining room.

I bargained down on several terms of our rent (base rent, pet fee, reduced "admin fee"). Granted I have one cat, neutered and declawed- little chance of pet damage there. We had $40 application fee EACH (but would be credited toward our move in costs if we moved in). Trash/water was around $20/month. They were charging a base pet fee as well and similar deposit.

We ultimately found a better deal at the last minute, to the extent that we'd still come out way ahead even forfeiting the application deposit we put down. One reason we changed our minds on the above mentioned place was that we just got a bad gut feeling about the management. My fiance and I were both coming in from different cities (his a high cost of living place, mine a low cost of living place). Where we've moved to is an even higher cost of living place, the rental market is a bit tighter/stronger, and they can apparently get away with such silly terms.

I came from Indiana; most of the state has a very weak housing market. Most apartment complexes there would get laughed at by the desirable tenants if they charged an "admin fee" just to move in! More often than not they're running "$99 moves you in" practically free rent no deposit specials to attract tenants. However, income of 3X rent is pretty standard, decent credit and rental history is typical as well. It is better to let a unit stand vacant than to rent to a bad tenant. You'll lose less. Cant fault them on those terms. Although, the restricted number of plants on the balconies does stink- my previous landlord actively encouraged us to do our own "landscaping"; it does beautify the complex if done right. Also I suspect from their view it encourages tenants to stick around a while and gives potential tenants the impression of stability in their potential neighbors.

Anyway, if you present yourself as a good tenant in the complex's eyes, you can usually bargain a couple terms down. It's far easier to "make exceptions" on terms/fees than impose them anew on someone you're leery about. Fair housing rules and all that.

God, I can't wait till we can buy a house. But then most neighborhoods in this area have HOAs to contend with anyway!

Re: Questions about Apartments

Brandy — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:49:38 GMT

karenteacher:
anything above camping size grills were forbidden on above-ground level balconies because of the fire risk

That makes sense.

Re: Questions about Apartments

karenteacher — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:44:59 GMT

The only thing I would add is that I understand the grill restriction - when I owned the condo I sold to buy my house, there were rules about grills on balconies that were based on city statutes about them; anything above camping size grills were forbidden on above-ground level balconies because of the fire risk. So depending on why the restriction exists, I can understand it.

Re: Questions about Apartments

Deborahmichelle — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:10:11 GMT

Dear ALl, A funny. When I moved into my Section 8 apartment in 2001, the apt wasn't renovated since my rent was so low. The building manager told me tat I could put anything up that I wanted to, since the apt hadn't been painted nor the rug changed (she just had the locks changed.). BUT she told me not to put down any shelf paapeer anywhere where there was wood, even though I aave every intentionn of their having to move me out of here in a coffiiin! Yours in Him, Deb

Re: Questions about Apartments

gayla50 — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:04:17 GMT

I had no idea things were so harsh .

this is nuts Is the income requirment normal ??

and the insurance sounds kind of off base to me

Re: Questions about Apartments

Brandy — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:45:00 GMT

mommatothree:
We would have been in trouble though, it was the first place we'd lived at besides our parents (we didn't live together until married) so we didn't have any prior rental history.

He is fortunate that he has the rental history as he married in college and he and his wife have had an on campus apartment for two years now. He is relocating here now that he has graduated and only begun his "permanent" after college job though. He doesn't have the work history the requirements state. He did make it clear that he was just out of college and relocating for the job he got.

Re: Questions about Apartments

2ndGenGranola — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:39:34 GMT

Brandy:
We thought it was common for complexes to have a dumpster but this one has valet trash pick up where someone will pick up bags left outside the door between 7 and 9 pm each night. Weird.

That is common around here. The city requires trash to be bagged. Some people get lazy/cheap and just dump it in w/o bags. It can get really stinky for those living close to the dumpster then cost the complex to clean it.

Brandy:
I can understand not allowing painting and wallpapering but no shelf paper is indeed odd. I guess the wall stickers in my daughter's room would be a no no there. I had to wonder if pictures and mirrors would be ok.

I was told that shelf paper actually attracts bugs - kind of like cardboard and paper sacks attracts bugs. The "stickyness" in other products also attract bug so they say.

Brandy:
The income and credit regulations seem rigid. Those concern our friend as he is just fininishing college and starting a job. When he viewed the apartment, it was never mentioned that his situation might be an issue or worse cost him additional deposits.

Normal here too. It costs a lot to evict a non payer - then prepare the place again to rerent. Many will take personal situations in to account.