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The renter's thread

The TVClubHouse: General Discussions ARCHIVES: 2004 Nov. - 2005 Jan.: Home and Garden (ARCHIVES): The renter's thread users admin

Author Message
Escapee
Member

06-15-2004

Tuesday, December 14, 2004 - 5:53 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Well in our effort to buy a home, which is not working, because we cannot find anything in our price range and the area we want, we are considering moving closer to town and renting a smaller home. We looked at it and were told we could rent it,and to move in whenever, but it needs a lot of work. The owner is old, and hasn't been in it at all since the other tennants moved out. The carpet is missing in places, the blinds are gone, there is repairs that need to be done in the bathroom. Basically we were told "Oh Well" and they weren't replacing anything because "renters" just ruin things. Hows that for a slap in the face..... Where we rent now, we have done some major improvements for the elderly owners, with us covering the costs. We have never paid our rent a second late, but we want to be closer to my job. This smaller home is not any nicer, but 100 buck more expensive, in the area we want to buy in.... what is your advice?

Jmm
Member

08-16-2002

Tuesday, December 14, 2004 - 6:17 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I think you need to keep looking. If they aren't willing to make some of the repairs you are asking for now, what will they do when the hot water heater breaks or the refrigerator goes on the blink? I'd be terribly leary of dealing with people with that type of attitude. Just my opinion, for what it's worth.

Juju2bigdog
Member

10-27-2000

Tuesday, December 14, 2004 - 8:13 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Keep looking and keep trying to buy. Good luck.

Landi
Member

07-29-2002

Tuesday, December 14, 2004 - 8:26 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
it took us a LONG time to find the dream house to rent. if i'm ever ready to buy, i want THIS house!

just be patient, and keep looking, don't accept a landlord like that. i've had one, and i had to do all the repairs myself if i wanted them done. and paid myself too!


Skootz
Member

07-23-2003

Wednesday, December 15, 2004 - 4:43 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Escapee I can see where the landlord is coming from, trust me, we have 2 rental houses and some rentors are nightmares. However, the landlord needs to loosen up. We know that some rentors do totally trash the place (we have had 2 wonderfully bad experiences at a these places), but we fixed it up again, replaced carpet and painted.

The right home will come along and so will the right landlord. I consider ourselves good landlords. We allow the tenants to paint etc. and do improvments to the home if they are needed and will cover the cost of it. We had one tenant that wanted to finish the basement and we put our foot down and said no. We rented the house with an unfinished basement to begin with and to spend $1500-2000 was not in our budget. If they wanted to do this, they could but with our approval.

When is comes to painting etc.,we would always cover the cost, unless we had just finished painting it and they wanted it another colour.

Some landlords are happy to hear that that you are willing to rent long term too. As much of a process for you it is to find a place, it is as much of a process for us to find the right tenant.

Good luck!


Ginger1218
Member

08-31-2001

Wednesday, December 15, 2004 - 5:29 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Okay, just a word to anybody who rents.
GET RENTERS INSURANCE. It is very inexpensive and you can probably pay it in installments. But most people don't even realize that it is so necessary.

Escapee
Member

06-15-2004

Wednesday, December 15, 2004 - 1:25 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Ok, but she is old, and I mean old. Soon enough she will be selling it, and we would love to buy it. But, she is selling it within her family, so basically, she feels it is out of her hands. She got tired of painting it some years back, so she pannelled it. 1970's wood panneling folks. It gives it a rustic charm. :-) It would be the perfect house for us to purchase, but not rent. I could make that place so charming. Pull down the panneling, put in some plushy carpet, new window treatments, an awning over the front porch. I can really see it, but we don't want to pour a bunch of money into something that will never be "ours". Did I mention that I really like the house? I do, but not in the state it is in. I love it's potential, and it has great location. Right near a school and preschool. So, I think we will decline to rent, but tell her if she doesn't sell it to the person she has in mind, that we will definately buy it. depending on what she wants for it. It needs a roof, gutters, garbage removal, new carpet, new bathroom fixtures, and other minor things that she isn't willing to do.

Now, not to toot my own horn, but we have been wonderful dream renters. We have had the carpets cleaned twice, fixed some minor exterior flaws, redone the yard, put up a fence, painted the bathroom, repaired some electrical problems and put in a new dishwasher, that will remain in the house once we are gone. Our rent is low, but our house is very very very old and needs new siding/roof, and some of the outbuildings need to be removed/torn down. She won't check a reference with our landlord, so it's a lose lose situation.

Wargod
Moderator

07-16-2001

Wednesday, December 15, 2004 - 1:59 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Good landlords are worth looking for, imo. We got extremelly lucky with out apartment year ago. Found a place in a decent neighborhood (at the time,) good price, and the landlords were wonderful. Older married couple, they lived right around the corner and would come running day or night if there was a problem. The type of people if they saw you coming with groceries or laundry would stop to help you carry it up. They went out of their way to do what they could to make the apartments not only livable, but nice.

When I was pregnat with Caleb, we inquired about a two bedroom apartment. At the time they had nothing, but promised to let us know if anything became available. 8 months pregnant, week before I went on maternity leave, he showed up and told me one had become available and we could have it as soon as the paint was dry, lol. Begining of the next week we moved from the upstairs one bedroom to the downstairs two bedroom, and they came over to help Darren and our family move (I wasn't allowed to do anything because they were afraid I'd tumble down the stairs.) LOL, that would be the only time I saw them get impatient with tenets, they drove me nuts about hurrying up to give them the keys to the old apartment so they could get it ready to rent. Took me a week to get it as clean as I thought it should be and to patch the nail holes. When I gave him the keys, he was back about 20 minutes later. Told me he'd had few tenets who left the place that clean, and none who had patched the nail holes, lol. For the next year, we had a great relationship with them and no complaints.

Then his wife got ill. He started spending (understandably) less time around the complex. Finally he turned it over to a management company. That's when we realized how truly good we'd had it. The next six months were awful. At one point we had a leak in the wall between the kitchen and bathroom. Took them a week to get out there, and then they tore out the drywall, and replaced it, didn't fix the leaky pipe. Within just a few weeks we were calling them again to come fix the pipe and wall. What finally convinced us to get out was when they raised the rent $100. For that much we could buy a house and have cheaper mortgage payments, which we did.

While finding a good tenet is important to landlords, I think it's equally as important for tenets to find good landlords. Saves a lot of headache and hassel. Might have to look harder and longer, but it'd be worth it.

Jagger
Member

08-07-2002

Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 9:29 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I also rent out a room in my home, as hard as it is to find a good landlord it is even harder to find a good renter.

I have had some people that have totally distroyed things and than others who basically refused to leave when I told them it was time to go, it is no fun trying to get someone out when they don't want to go.

I always give the renters options of doing things around the home to cut down on their rent. Sometimes this has worked other times I got screwed.

It is hard to find the right person, especially when you are esentially living with them, sharing every room but the bedrooms.

Good luck and I hope you find your dream home.

Escapee
Member

06-15-2004

Thursday, December 16, 2004 - 12:01 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I hope so too. For a break in the rent, we'd really make the place shine.