New Apartment/hunting tips & tricks

[tvguy]

I'm sorry, I had to laugh at this as an "authoritative source".

Well, they do follow the law and those shows are legal arbitration. But my friend who deals with this day in and day out says that is exactly their experience in court if someone goes to court to protest a portion of of their security deposit is not returned due to carpet damage. Basically, if it wasn't new carpet when that tenant moved in, and isn't close to five years old, they know they just have to eat that loss.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Best to your son and his girlfriend and their pups, too, Sam.

I agree with all suggested already. From my own experience living in an old building, how old is the building they are planning to move into? Has it been well maintained over the years? Is it up to all current fire and other safety codes.

Does the landlord provide yearly gas/electrical/pipe etc checks to be sure all are safe and updated? Same with smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.

What are renters rights in the area? How often for example are landlords supposed to replace flooring. Who is responsible for maintaining or if need be replacing any included apartment items such as a stove or window air conditioner. Make sure to get this in writing too.

Definitely get any agreement especially where greater costs are involved in writing and signed by the owner/landlord.

Absolutely talk with neighbors and check out the immediate neighborhood.

Best to them and of course you as well.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Well, they do follow the law and those shows are legal arbitration. But my friend who deals with this day in and day out says that is exactly their experience in court if someone goes to court to protest a portion of of their security deposit is not returned due to carpet damage. Basically, if it wasn't new carpet when that tenant moved in, and isn't close to five years old, they know they just have to eat that loss.

Actually the TV judges are not obliged to follow the law of the state the case comes from or of any particular state. So those cases are not good sources of law in a particular state. A dog bite case came before Judge Judy from a state that was a one free bite state. The defendant brought that up and Judy said well I'm not obliged to follow the laws of your state or any particular state and that's A STUPID LAW!!! So I'm ruling against you. BTW in many states, they can't keep a security deposit in order to charge you for normal wear and tear. And a carpet cleaning would be normal wear and tear unless the tenant stained the carpet.

 

[mom2rtk]

Will they be near a university? Try asking in a parents Facebook group for the school. Those people have tons of recommendations from recent experience.

 

[sam_gordon]

Will they be near a university? Try asking in a parents Facebook group for the school. Those people have tons of recommendations from recent experience.

The schools they go to are separated by about 15 miles. But they both work (at least for the summer) about 20-30 miles away. They want to find a "central" place.

As far as FB, a) I'm not on it, b) trying to let them solve the problem on their own (without letting them drown). So they get to hunt & find possibilities on their own, but I'll answer any questions and give them things to think about (hence this thread).

 

[tvguy]

Actually the TV judges are not obliged to follow the law of the state the case comes from or of any particular state. So those cases are not good sources of law in a particular state. A dog bite case came before Judge Judy from a state that was a one free bite state. The defendant brought that up and Judy said well I'm not obliged to follow the laws of your state or any particular state and that's A STUPID LAW!!! So I'm ruling against you. BTW in many states, they can't keep a security deposit in order to charge you for normal wear and tear. And a carpet cleaning would be normal wear and tear unless the tenant stained the carpet.

Here they can because it is a standard item in the lease or rental agreement.

 

[barkley]

* Budget for rental insurance (no idea what that costs).

ask any place you consider renting how much of a MINIMUM amount of rental insurance coverage they require (it WILL vary-and impact the cost of rental insurance you pay).

on a side note-how much will your auto insurance INCREASE depending on the location/availability of secured/enclosed/unenclosed parking of your rental location?

* What extra charges are there for the pups?

again-find out the minimum amount of security/rent/insurance the rental requires for having a pet (even if they do not require extra insurance coverage-get it!!! rentals have the right to enter properites in some events and if a pet so much as nips at owner/rep it can be beyonds thousands of dollars in liability).

Any other suggestions?

will auto insurance go up based on location?

will health insurance (current care provider) be available based on new residental location or will you have to find new one/pay more for retaining current (out of network)?

are there any significant tax differences? i mention this b/c my oldest was shocked that the sales tax was 1.5% higher for things he bought using his rental address vs. where we live/if my oldest rented just a handful of miles down the road he would be in a state that in addition to having a sales tax for so much as groceries-also has an income tax (which ours does not).

 

[sam_gordon]

on a side note-how much will your auto insurance INCREASE depending on the location/availability of secured/enclosed/unenclosed parking of your rental location?

Don't think our auto insurance has ever asked where the cars are parked. Considering DS has his car in college, the security isn't going to be much different.

 

[Southernmiss]

Don't think our auto insurance has ever asked where the cars are parked. Considering DS has his car in college, the security isn't going to be much different.

We were asked for the first time ever, with our recent renewal, the actual address the auto is located at night.

We have 5 cars at 4 different locations. All are titled with either dh or myself as joint owner. 3 of the cars are primarily driven by one of our kids.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

What part of the country is your coed going to school in? This is a question I never even thought of!?

Of course times were different when my kiddos were in college and they stayed on the east coast . One was the first resident in a newly built dorm, the other had hardwood flooring.

Looks like DGD is going to uni in France so I’m not even asking about the floors, lol.

UWMILW in WI
We live 30 miles south

 

[barkley]

Don't think our auto insurance has ever asked where the cars are parked. Considering DS has his car in college, the security isn't going to be much different.

i was thinking one zip code vs another. where we live a college student who has their own car insurance (not part of parent's policy based on parent's place of residence) can see a considerable difference in rates between one zip code to another depending on how the insurance companies rate crime in a given area so 3 blocks in one direction of the campus can be much more expensive insurance wise vs. 3 blocks in the other in a different zip code.

on the subject of cars and potential apartments-good to inquire what the situation is on parking b/c it seems that allot of places have less than adequte parking for the number of residents. the place my oldest lives at limits the number of cars per unit and actively tows those without permits but it can still be impossible for a permitted resident to find a parking place in the evening (there's a couple year waiting list for the lockable private single car garages on property which are NOT inexpensive to rent).

 

[barkley]

What extra charges are there for the pups?

what is the criteria for allowable pups?

just noticed on my oldest's most recent lease renewal docs the following language pertaining to dogs-

Breed restrictions apply-Mastiff, Chow, Doberman Pinscher, Rottweiler, Pitbull, and/or any mix of the aforementioned breed(s). All pets are required to be spayed/neutered.

in addition to providing proof of breed and spay/neuter status pet owners have to provide annual pet vaccination verification.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

As a professor at a university - have your son ask some of his faculty about apartment complexes and companies. We are usually VERY aware of the "bad" places and the predatory practices of some of the management companies in the area. And that's really the biggest hidden - what are the management company and the owning company like? And those are usually two separate entities. My onsight management is great...the owning company...not so much but I am aware of their practices and go in with open eyes. For instance, the company that owns my apartments (and many apartment complexes all over the country) has a term in the lease that you can't end your lease early for ANY reason including DEATH. Yep, it literally says that. Pretty sure that isn't legal but they enforce it in court. They happen to have more than 27 lawsuits just in this area against people who left early. If your son has a few faculty that he trusts - ask them. They can help.

 

[barkley]

As a professor at a university - have your son ask some of his faculty about apartment complexes and companies. We are usually VERY aware of the "bad" places and the predatory practices of some of the management companies in the area. And that's really the biggest hidden - what are the management company and the owning company like? And those are usually two separate entities. My onsight management is great...the owning company...not so much but I am aware of their practices and go in with open eyes. For instance, the company that owns my apartments (and many apartment complexes all over the country) has a term in the lease that you can't end your lease early for ANY reason including DEATH. Yep, it literally says that. Pretty sure that isn't legal but they enforce it in court. They happen to have more than 27 lawsuits just in this area against people who left early. If your son has a few faculty that he trusts - ask them. They can help.

excellent suggestion! on the predatory side-look out for extra fees that unless you officialy opt out of can increase your monthly cost. the common ones around us at the largly college student complexes are a monthly fee for auto or online payments, a separate monthly fee if you wish the complex to report your timely payments to the credit bureaus (adds close $45 a month for 2 co-tenants in a unit).

 

[Rogue1677x]

I once had an apartment that turned out to have a humidity problem in the spring and summer months and in turn had a mold problem no matter how many dehumidifiers we ran. By the time we moved out, the futon mattress was literally dripping. The landlord refused to do anything about it.

I had another apartment that got flooded when the storm drains were clogged with leaves and the city hadn't cleared them in time for a storm. The resulting water damage was minimal since we were able to elevate most of the furniture very quickly and we got 5 inches in the apartment, but our neighbors got a lot more and lost more stuff.

 

[NotUrsula]

Around here carpet only exists in the apartments that were not built or renovated in the last 10 years.

Rental houses are transitioning away from carpet as well.

For better or worse, carpet is being replaced with LVT.

Around here it is large format ceramic tile; almost indestructible. Makes for cold floors in some climates, but you can always add area rugs of your own.

 

[sam_gordon]

As a professor at a university - have your son ask some of his faculty about apartment complexes and companies. We are usually VERY aware of the "bad" places and the predatory practices of some of the management companies in the area. And that's really the biggest hidden - what are the management company and the owning company like? And those are usually two separate entities. My onsight management is great...the owning company...not so much but I am aware of their practices and go in with open eyes. For instance, the company that owns my apartments (and many apartment complexes all over the country) has a term in the lease that you can't end your lease early for ANY reason including DEATH. Yep, it literally says that. Pretty sure that isn't legal but they enforce it in court. They happen to have more than 27 lawsuits just in this area against people who left early. If your son has a few faculty that he trusts - ask them. They can help.

He did talk to a professor or counselor for recommendations. *I* think it's too far away, but the prof is making the drive every day.

 

[tvguy]

Around here it is large format ceramic tile; almost indestructible. Makes for cold floors in some climates, but you can always add area rugs of your own.

I feel sorry for the folks in apartments below those with ceramic tile.

 

[lovin'fl]

We were renting a place with our daughter (she is a teacher and can't afford a 1BR on her own plus we moved to FL and needed a place up north where all our family is). We rented 2 different places with her.

The 1st place was cheaper but a neat location (walkable to a lot of stuff). Though it was more run down and the office staff were terrible. That's one thing to pay attention to...if the leasing office staff are responsive and get things done properly.

First red flag would be if they have a hard time setting up a tour and then if they say they will email stuff and never do (we had those signs but still went forward). Then, when we moved in we had no parking passes and we paid extra for a 2nd one. It was like pulling teeth to get them so we could park with cars full of stuff to unload. That was just the start, there was much more. At move out, I turned the keys in like 2 days early and had paid up all our rent to the end yet they went on to add huge early termination fees because I turned keys in 2 days early. We had to go to office to fight that and had hard time going when someone was in there and free to talk with us. Was a nightmare that took a while. There were other issues in between as well (including some maintenance issues).

So when lease was up with 1st place,and it would be more $ to renew (rents are high these days and go up every renewal), we said no thanks and moved out. We moved, not far away, to a nicer newer place.

New place was off a highway and not walkable to stuff like the other place was. It was quite a bit more expensive because we went with a top floor corner unit in the main building with all the amenities. It had vaulted ceilings and wall of windows. It was lovely and new and the office staff and maintenance were really good. Lease was up last month and we moved out (but daughter got a new roommate and moved to a cheaper unit away from the amenities building but in same complex and our other DD is also in the complex with her GF).

One reason we got the expensive unit at the 2nd place was that it was top floor. The place before had neighbors above us who stomped all day and night like a herd of buffalo. It was awful. And twice they had water overflow into our apartment. So I am a big proponent of top floor. Also, ground floor is easier to break into. With my daughter being there alone alot we didn't want that. Both daughters now are 2nd floor and the folks above stomp around and bug them. My mom was 2nd floor apartment for a year before moving into new house and she also was bugged by stomping above her. So....top floor is definitely worth a little extra cost, IMO.

Now, apartments are shockingly super costly these days. And go up and up all the time. I don't know how people can do it. My teacher daughter struggles and she applied to some rent assistance programs a couple complexes had and was told there was a long wait list.

Best of luck. Oh, and, to do a personal rental...like a townhome or house someone owns...careful there. My daughters rented a townhome with 2 friends right after college. The landlady was bat poo crazy. She didn't maintain the place well (slum lord kinda) and then began texting me horrific threatening and insulting messages. Me, the mom. Long story but was very upsetting and scary and we could not wait to get them the heck out of that place.

 

[Distinkt]

It has been a few years since we have had children in college or looking for an apartment, but at my son's college they had a free service provided by the college and they reviewed the lease to make sure there were not any red flags or illegal additions. It was a great way to make sure the lease was written to agree with local laws. Have your crew check and see if that service is available. It was invaluable. (It may have been sponsored by the university's law school.)