Rental Talk

Respecting a Tenant’s Right to Privacy

Some landlords, especially those who are new to the world of landlord tenant relationships, are not aware of the rights to privacy a tenant has once a lease is signed. Even though the landlord owns the property, they do not have the right to show up on the premises whenever they like. More importantly, a landlord is not allowed to send others to a rental property without regard to the privacy of the tenant. To avoid placing yourself in a difficult position with your tenant and landlord tenant laws, try keeping a few things in mind. Read more about Respecting a Tenant’s Right to Privacy

Living With In-Laws: How to Handle a Tense Situation

My wife and I are living with her parents while we wait to close on our new home. Things were fine initially, but recently my mother-in-law told my wife that I was lazy. I go to school full-time (retired Army), and have been trying to find a job that doesn’t interfere with my schedule. Right now my wife is the only one work, but we both worked to earn the money we are using to buy the house. Since I’m not working right now, and do seem to have more free-time than my wife, her family looks down on me. Knowing that my mother-in-law and the rest of my wife’s family think that I am lazy has put a strain on our relationship.

Late Fees: How Much is Too Much?

"The average renter, and many landlords, do not realize there are laws regarding late fees."

Rental agreements are filled with a lot of legal terms that the average renter, and landlord, is not interested in reading. However, there are a few parts of the rental agreement that both parties should be aware of. Next to the amount of rent due, the late payment fee is one of the most important parts of a lease. The renter should know how much they are required to pay if their monthly rent is paid late, and the landlord should know if they are charging a late fee that is too high.

The Question of Ownership: Making Sure Your New Landlord Owns the Home

Goring Up Your Place for Halloween

Since we have a six-year-old (who just turned six; it feels weird to type that!), we can’t get very gory in our Halloween décor. She gets scared of Scooby Doo, so you know the blood and gore are out! And I’m not really into the gore so much as I am as, say, the giant monsters and such anyway; but those, too, will have to wait until she’s older.

In the meantime, I am enjoying living my Halloween decorating fantasies out vicariously through my younger sister, who is mentally on the same page as me almost all the time and reflects many of my own tastes and perspectives in what she does. She agreed to share these amazing photos of what she’s been doing to prepare her home for Halloween, and I am psyched to share them here. Read more about Goring Up Your Place for Halloween

An Open Letter to Terrible Roommates

What not to do if you exist in the same space as other people

Roommates are generally pretty cool dudes. They do awesome stuff like pay the part of the rent you can't afford, and sometimes they're even pretty fun to hang out with. Being a young apartment dweller generally necessitates that you share your living situation, and so most of us go through the process of living with a series of people whose headspace we might not necessarily want to occupy if we were a little bit richer. Everyone who has roommates gets stuck with a bad one at one point or another, be they hyperactive, socially oblivious, or passive-aggressive--or some jackpot combination of all three. Even the most well-meaning apartment companions tend to have some habits that will inevitably annoy their surrounding humans. But for some reason, every bad roommate I've ever had has displayed the same bad living habits. Maybe most young people are just bad at keeping house, or maybe general apathy regarding the living situation tends to manifest in specific, similar ways. Either way, if you live with someone who's not you and you break these basic home welfare rules, you deserve an indefinite string of roommates even worse than you.

Avoid Car Rental Price-Gouging

How car rental companies screw their customers, and how to avoid it.

Summer travel is unavoidable for many, despite the ever-increasing cost of it; gas prices, plane tickets, hotels, tours, hidden fees and, of course, car rentals. Despite the ec Read more about Avoid Car Rental Price-Gouging

Home Products You Don't Need to Buy

Some ways to outfit your apartment for cheap or free

Apartment living as a young adult can be tricky at first. You're still figuring out how to take care of the new place you call home, how to cook and clean up after yourself unassisted. And then there's all this stuff that people want to sell you. Since I moved into my first apartment two years ago, I've found that a lot of standard home products are easily replaced by cheap or free solutions. If you're new to the apartment game, budgeting is always good. These are five things I eventually realized I didn't really need to buy.

An Electric Coffee Maker
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8 Questions to Ask Before Visiting a Potential Roomshare

How to Find a Good Fit for a Roomshare

One option available to many renters and newcomers to cities is the dreaded roomshare. I know it’s dreaded both because I’ve had many roommates during my time, and because I am now on the prowl on Craig’s List for the perfect roomshare situation.

Got Mold?

Renters, if you are dealing with any type of mold problem - whether large or small, make sure to get it checked out by a professional. If you continue to get the run-around by your land lord or apartment manager you do have legal recourse in the matter (which will depend in your location), so make sure to take advantage of every opportunity to get the problem reseolved. Mold is a very serious issue that can cause a plethora of problems both in regards to health and building safety - so make sure that everyone is aware of the problem - preferably in writing - to save everyone time, money, and maybe even lives in the long run. Read more about Got Mold?