Posts Tagged ‘landlord’

As the holidays roll around, you may be thinking about what you can do for the people that make your life easier year round. Maybe you're considering a larger tip for your hairdresser or cards for your co-workers. Have the apartment management staff made that list? They work hard to make sure that the property is maintained and your apartment is comfortable, even if things are not always perfect. Here are four ways to show your appreciation for them: read more

When it comes to renting an apartment, there are more than a few landlords willing to do whatever it takes to get an apartment rented -- even to the point of attempting to scam unwary renters. Brittany Espy attempted to rent an apartment in New York City and wound up in a credit card dispute. As part of her paperwork with a broker, Espy was asked for her credit card information: "They told me nothing would be charged to me. They just needed the info to do my credit checks." The broker went ahead and charged her card, though, telling her that she had the apartment and had to take it. read more

It's the worst thing that can happen when you're living in an apartment: the landlord -- the person you pay for shelter -- is responsible for damage to your possessions. Maybe the management is at fault for a burst pipe, or perhaps for a fire. If you don't have renter's insurance, it may seem as if you're stuck between a rock and a hard place. read more

It's a horrible situation--you've lost your keys. You've got to get into your apartment, but there are other things to worry about as well. Will your keys show up? Do you need to have a new key made? Do you need to have your apartment re-keyed? read more

Whether leaving a job or a community where you have built a positive reputation it is never a bad idea to get a reference. Even if you think that you may not need it, you never know when you are in a situation when you wish you had it, and management may have turned over by then. Hindsight is 20/20, so have the foresight to prepare for the future. read more

As a general rule, landlords aren't exactly in favor of rent controls. There are plenty of tactics they use to work around rent controls, including trying to force out current tenants so that the landlord can adjust the rent to market rates, thereby leasing to higher-paying renters. read more

Look in any newspaper these days and you'll see a whole list of foreclosures. Not all of those foreclosures are just affecting homeowners, though. Some of those houses were rentals, making life suddenly harder for tenants. If your landlord is losing your apartment, condo or house in a foreclosure, you still have some options. read more

If you turn on CNN, half the headlines you'll hear will mention the mortgage crisis and the bailouts that the U.S. government is planning for American homeowners facing foreclosures. But there are a couple of numbers that seem to have gotten lost in the shuffle: while the planned bailouts are being paid out of everyone's taxes, almost a third of Americans rent their homes. They're paying into the system, but they aren't benefiting. read more

You have narrowed your apartment search down to two possibilities. One is managed by a property management company (PMC), or is a part of a large group of apartment communities (e.g., AMLI, Archstone-Smith, Equity Residential). The other is managed by an individual owner who may own a few properties or just the one rental you're looking at. Before you sign on the line, you weigh the pros and cons just like you are supposed to. What side of the list does this fall? Is it a pro or a con to rent from an individual landlord? read more