SOS Renters Nightmare!
HU-608009871
4 years ago
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RedRyder
4 years agoUser
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoRelated Discussions
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Comments (11)also, it's probably a good idea in general to teach your kids not to jump and yell indoors. It's not really " inside" behavior anywhere. (do they truly run and yell indoors, or are you exaggerating slightly in your anxiety?) Start now, if you haven't already started. Also, try to explain to your kids WHY they shouldn't jump and yell indoors. Make sure they see your downstairs neighbors as real people, with real homes and a genuine right not to have running and thumping over their heads. I have a 5-y-o and a 9-y-o who have always lived over someone's head, in an apt. w/ thick walls and thin floors, no less. We mention poor Charlie to them a lot. They even say "sorry, Charlie!" when they drop something. If there's a run across the floor, I point out that those thumps probaby sounded like an elephant to poor Charlie downstairs! It bleeds in. As far as getting the discipline to stick; they CAN remember--those little brains are REALLY smart. You just have to react fast, and BIG. A long time-out after a really big run across the floor, for example, will send 2 messages, 1 to the kid, and 1 to anyone who was home downstairs when it happened. And while they might start to move too fast because they haven't thought yet, if you can stop them w/ a "walking feet!" reminder or something, I think that's all you can ask. Also, I don't know how long you're going to be there, but if people know you're only there 6 months, they can be patient. Time of day makes a big difference, too. Lots of people are home only in the evenings or on the weekends, so you might try to get those times of day to become periods for quieter, less physical activities--toys get put away, sitting for dinner, sitting for stories, etc. I agree w/ Jordyn's points, too. Also, an apartment often is smaller than a house, and the floors might feel different; its actual physionomy will help you get the message across to your kids. Good luck!...See MoreSprucing the cottage up for new renters ..
Comments (32)Great chicken article! :) Thanks so much everyone for taking a look a the pics and the wonderful comments! Yesterday and today I finished up a lot of the outside. I still need to add two fake grid on the windows and clean up a little paint over spray, but for the most part I'm done. I'm sure I'll still fuss out here adding stuff, but I need to get all the inside painting done first. CB .. the rest of the inside of the cottage needs to be redone before it could be used for anything but storage. Oceanna .. the cereal dispensers were off of e-bay. I bought them to go in the kitchen, then decided to use them for dog food and now have swiped them for the chicks and bunny .. they are really, really handy! The window boxes are full of herbs for the most part, I relocted a little of my herb garden up here. Two types of tyme, two oreganos, sweet and boxleaf basil, parsley, rosemary. The reason for the side shots is we have a huge weeping willow and I can't get back far enough to get the whole thing head on. This areas come a long way, it looks a lot better! Just the cottage part .. I used some extra brick pavers and made myself a little step/porch....See MoreSo... what's wrong with being a renter?
Comments (17)Nothing. In my opinion, "the public" was sold a bill of goods that home ownership was an investment that everyone should want. I've come to more or less agree with the point susana made. Home ownership isn't an investment; you have to live somewhere. The folks I know who are in financial trouble saw mortgages lower than rent and figured home ownership was cheaper than rent. Insurance never goes down, taxes don't either. The house has to be heated, cooled, and needs electricity. The troubled ones didn't figure for repairs, renovation, or upkeep. It is sad and troubling to see people struggle. One couple I know is very nice, polite, and good-hearted. They got a loan for first-time homeowners that didn't require a down payment. But they are always on the edge, financially. At one point, a couple other households got together, purchased and reconditioned a rather nice lawn mower for them, as their old cheap one had died. They left it outside in the middle of the yard, all through the long, snowy winter. Maybe some people aren't candidates for home ownership because they don't want the responsibility for doing all the things that need to be done. (I have one renter friend who says this outright). People who were provided with new housing after Katrina are complaining that the materials and construction were substandard. Some of their neighbors are saying, no, a house needs upkeep. I suspect there are cases when each of these are true. I shook my head when I saw, fifteen or so year ago the proliferation of loans to consolidate debt for homeowners, that ended with the spokesmodel announcing, "We had money left over to buy ....."(fill in blank with luxury item) A writer to Dear Abby was shocked! to find out that the loans were a lien on the homeowner's property. About the same time, one of my colleagues added an apartment onto the home he couldn't afford, so the rent would defray the cost. (It didn't) There was enough greed to go around. I think the bailout (for companies and individuals)is like pulling the band-aid off slowly. The end result is not changed, it just hurts longer....See MoreBad Renters. Time to Sell?
Comments (13)I will try to give you a few ideas; maybe some arrows in your quiver. One thing you may not be aware of in regard to rental property is that many/most landlords have management companies that find tenants and manage the rentals for the landlords. They usually take around 10% of the rent and often the first month rent. This sounds like a lot of money, but to the management company, it is a pretty skinny margin. From the landlord's perspective, most management companies do a poor job of screening tenants and managing the tenants. In my experience, the poor experience you are having with your neighbors is probably mirrored in the owner's books. Many of these management relationships do not align the interests of the landlord with the management company. Try to open a dialogue or line of communication with the owner and the management company. Reach out to them, exchange numbers and tell them you just want to know who they are and who to contact in case their property is being mistreated or abused. Owners will not want to hear about loud parties, but you can contact the management company and complain. You can ask questions about their screening process. Honestly, hard core credit checks and references weed out most problems. Just gently put remind them that what they do or fail to do affects your life and that you are a real person that has to deal with the consequences of their procedures and screening. Don't be over the top, just in the background and helping to protect the property and real person that has to deal with their tenants. Many of these landlords and management companies have no idea what is really going on with the tenants. Secondly, put together an informal HOA. You do not need legal authority and fees to make one work. In fact, having money and authority creates all sorts of problems and responsibility. Just get a few like minded neighbors together and have a meeting once a quarter on someone's front porch. You can exchange contact information and start communicating. Give yourself a name. Some neighbors will show up and you will meet some like minded people. Set up a google group to communicate. After your first meeting, put together a flyer and drop it off on every front porch or doorstep in the neighborhood. This will put everyone on notice that the community is organized. You can take this far as you want: Elect officers, put out regular flyers or organize neighborhood cookouts. The important part is to let the neighborhood know you are organized, give officers in the organization some backing to approach the city council, police, crime watch, management companies and landlords. You would be surprised how many of your neighbors feel the same way and the organization will help you get things done. The last suggestion is less social and civic, but it is very effective. One word, VIDEO. Most of the behavior you describe is not the sort of thing people want on video. People really clean up their act when they are worried about being recorded. You can set up a simple door bell cam that streams video to the cloud via WiFi and your mobile phone for around $200.00. I think the recurring charge is $5.00 per camera per month. The newer models are HD quality, have wide fields of vision and infrared up to 25 or 30 feet. This is very simple and very good quality. You can also step up to multi camera system with a base station that wirelessly connects to multiple cameras. These can be little harder to configure, you can find them at Costco or Sam's Club in the $200 to $350 range. Lastly, you can buy a full blown HD surveillance system with recording and 4 to 16 cameras for $400 to $2000, from Costco or Sam's club. These are great, but they require coax wiring to be installed and this can be expensive. There are some that use Wifi, but you still have to get power to the cameras and that is problematic as well. You can find something that will get a camera on what concerns you and it will have an impact. Make it conspicuous too. Those are the big ones. I hope you find something in there that you can try in your neighborhood. It honestly sounds like you have a great spot and I think there are some steps you can take to that should have a positive impact and while providing some feedback that you are making some progress and having an impact. Best of Luck ~Justin...See MoreNewhome2018
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