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Author Topic: Rent Quest  (Read 3151 times)

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Zaratustra

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Rent Quest
« on: April 06, 2009, 09:56:44 PM »

So I suppose now that I have a job I should look for an apartment

Is there any trick to looking for apartments I should be aware of? Should I prioritize distance to work, furnishing, space, what? Maybe I should make a chart with all of this.

Lottel

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Re: Rent Quest
« Reply #1 on: April 06, 2009, 10:08:22 PM »

From what I have seen, the best thing to do is to room with two attractive females who may or may not want to sex you. If your landlord doesn't like it, pretend you are gay!
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Kazz

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Re: Rent Quest
« Reply #2 on: April 06, 2009, 10:55:09 PM »

It depends on how you get to work.  If the cost varies with your distance from work (ie gas), try to find the optimal balance between distance from work and monthly rent.  If not, just worry about rent.
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SCD

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Re: Rent Quest
« Reply #3 on: April 06, 2009, 11:01:36 PM »

I rent because I move around a lot. 

Here are my criteria: 
1)  Seek information on average price range, so you don't get shocked when you're dream price turns out to be the crack shack.
2)  Distances are something to consider.  Having everything in walking distance makes life better.  IF you're dependent on transit, 5 minutes is a good walk to and from the bus. 
3)  Babe/social potential.  I'll let you decide what I mean here, as this is a little different for everyone.
4)  If you choose a crack shack, make sure you live with room mates.  Bonus points if they're service, ex-service, or masters in thumb-jitsu.

Also, if you're going with a mgmt firm, hitting google news might be nice.  Usually I see positive hits as red lights.
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Shinra

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Re: Rent Quest
« Reply #4 on: April 07, 2009, 07:43:08 AM »

I would say rule #1 with getting an apartment is to make sure you're not moving into a superdense complex. The bigger the complex, the more problems it usually has. Our management has trouble with the ten or fifteen buildings in our complex, imagine how much difficulty management will have maintaining and policing a 200 building apartment sprawl. The downside is that these apartments are invariably the cheapest in your area. If you do consider a big apartment complex, make sure the surrounding areas are low crime (your city should have a crime map avaiable ; don't be shocked if the apartment complex itself is as colorful as it can possibly be) and get an apartment as close to the main office as possible.

Regardless of where you go, by the way, get an upstairs apartment, and if possible, one sandwiched between two other apartments on the left and right - you'll get lower heating and cooling bills that way - and don't ever, ever leave ANYTHING valuable in your car. No matter how nice the complex is, there is invariably the story of someone being robbed. And apartment management will never do anything about these issues.

Something else to consider. Before you get an apartment, check rental homes in your area/local classifieds ads. With the housing market in the shitter, rental prices seem to be dropping, so you might be able to lock yourself in a one year lease at a retardedly low cost for a small house. Which leads me to my last bit of advice. No matter where you go, no matter who you are renting from, whether it be house or apartment, do not buy into no-lease bullshit. The lease is the only reason they have for not upping your rent, kicking you out without a moment's notice, etc. If you don't know how stable your job is, go for a short lease, some places offer as low as six months. If you're going to be staying there for a long time - if this is your 'career' job - then aim for a long lease, like 9-12 months to keep you comfortable for a long time.
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SCD

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Re: Rent Quest
« Reply #5 on: April 07, 2009, 08:05:03 AM »

Interesting.  Up here, rent can only be increased once a year by a certain percent..
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Zaratustra

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Re: Rent Quest
« Reply #6 on: April 07, 2009, 08:35:04 AM »

We don't have need for 'central heating' here.

Classic

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Re: Rent Quest
« Reply #7 on: April 07, 2009, 08:38:35 AM »

Some places have tenant's unions, which log complaints about various renters. It might give you some insight.
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Mongrel

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Re: Rent Quest
« Reply #8 on: April 07, 2009, 10:21:49 AM »

Interesting.  Up here, rent can only be increased once a year by a certain percent..

 
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Thad

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Re: Rent Quest
« Reply #9 on: June 02, 2009, 09:28:00 PM »

So my roomies are planning on moving to California, leaving me with the option of either finding a new roomie or a new place to live.  I am exploring both possibilities.  (Which I am sure will be very frustrating to Demogorgon, who I can only assume intends to post more pictures of places he thinks I live.)

Apartment hunting right now.  It's ranged from the good (a couple nice apartments shown to me by nice people) to the bad (places that charge two months' market rent for breaking a lease, plus making you give back any move-in specials you got, meaning that if I lost my job I'd find myself instantly $2000 in the hole) to the meh (one place was spacious but oddly-proportioned, with the living room and walk-in closet about the same size).

Today I went to check a place out and they told me they stop showing apartments at 5:30.  It was 5:35 according to my watch.

In their defense, they were getting their carpets steam-cleaned and were preoccupied with that and said they'd show me around as late as 5:40 ordinarily.  But still, neither the woman I talked to nor the one hovering in the doorway even told me their damn names.  The one I talked to didn't talk to me for long, either, and only handed me one piece of paperwork.  Which had apartment prices crossed out and HIGHER ones written in.  Which is not nearly as good a marketing trick as crossing out big numbers and writing in smaller ones!
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Rosencrantz

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Re: Rent Quest
« Reply #10 on: June 02, 2009, 09:37:09 PM »

My fiancee and I have been looking at apartments over the past couple of weeks, and I think we've finally settled on one. I don't want to say anything for sure, though, because the last couple of times that we thought that we had found "the one" something came up and we changed our minds.

One thing that really bugs me are pet deposits. We want to get a couple of kittens, which you wouldn't think would be a big deal. However, some places charge up to $500 per pet which is goddamn ridiculous. Other places charge an additional $15 per pet in rent every month on top of the separate pet deposit. And other places don't even refund the deposit when you move out!
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Alex

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Re: Rent Quest
« Reply #11 on: June 02, 2009, 10:04:35 PM »

Everyone knows cats are vicious, mean and like to make sure you don't get your security deposit back as a way of expressing the fact that they hate apartments.

I know what you're talking about though, Thad.  Some of the terms of moving into apartments are ridiculous, typically inversely proportional to how high their apartment is on the quality scale.

Back when I lived in Minnesota, I managed to score a pretty nice, cheap 2 bedroom apartment in the rich white neighborhood for only $525 a month.  No crazy deposits beyond a $300 security deposit.  It's depressing that it's impossible to find something as good as that nowadays.
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Mongrel

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Re: Rent Quest
« Reply #12 on: June 03, 2009, 03:24:39 AM »

Huh, that's funny. My wife has expressed a similar longing for the Minnesota rental market's bullshit-free sensibility.
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François

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Re: Rent Quest
« Reply #13 on: June 03, 2009, 03:55:06 AM »

I've been looking for a long, long time, and I've had some very close calls with success, but, ehhh. I don't want to talk at length about it, it's depressing.

The only place I've found I could afford right now anyway is on the outskirts of a tiny village in the middle of nowhere and I'd literally have to cross a river to get groceries. It's 295$ Canadian a month though, so I'm still thinking about it. Maybe I could get some sort of boat.
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SCD

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Re: Rent Quest
« Reply #14 on: June 03, 2009, 09:03:25 AM »

Broom closet?
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François

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Re: Rent Quest
« Reply #15 on: June 03, 2009, 10:54:42 AM »

It's actually a good-sized two-roomer right on the edge of a river. I haven't visited it but I've driven by the building to get a feel for the neighborhood.

Aaaaand there is no neighborhood. There is only the vast Canadian wilderness, where caribou roam free and undiscovered native tribes are rumored to follow their ancestral ways far from the eye of any white man.
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SCD

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Re: Rent Quest
« Reply #16 on: June 03, 2009, 12:12:42 PM »

Oh, so you mean smuggling territory?

On a serious note, what's the housing market costs where you live?  Back out west, a decent 2-br ran me about 900-1400, close to the core.
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Mongrel

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Re: Rent Quest
« Reply #17 on: June 03, 2009, 12:18:44 PM »

Oh, so you mean smuggling territory?

On a serious note, what's the housing market costs where you live?  Back out west, a decent 2-br ran me about 900-1400, close to the core.

Toronto is about $900-$1200 for a decent 2 BR. No idea what's comparable in Ottawa.
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François

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Re: Rent Quest
« Reply #18 on: June 03, 2009, 12:51:01 PM »

Right now I'm in a three bedroom, and it's 790$. It's a little cheaper than most similar places in the neighborhood because we're right next to train tracks. The place was built like five years ago and is pretty nice even though the bedrooms are disproportionately tiny. (By which I mean the kitchen, living and dining rooms are pretty damn big, and then you go in a bedroom and it's like, "so why is there a bed in your walk-in closet?") If I lived here with people I could stand there wouldn't be a problem.

I'm looking for a bedroom/kitchen/living room/bathroom deal, and I can't afford much more than 350$, which is a problem when nearly everything I see is 400-500 or more. That's why I'm still kind of considering the boonies even though living there without a car would be a gigantic pain in the ass.
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Mongrel

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Re: Rent Quest
« Reply #19 on: June 03, 2009, 01:07:44 PM »

I thought you had some run-down land-shark of a car? Or did that finally eat it?
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