fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #3156 ]

[ SECRET POST #3156 ]

⌈ Secret Post #3156 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.

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03.

[Spider Riders]

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04.

[Shameless]

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05.

[The Mighty Boosh]

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06.

[Glitch]

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07.

[Fire Emblem: Awakening]

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08.

[Kaikisen]

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09.

[Kingdom Hearts 2]

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10.

[Yu-Gi-Oh]

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 029 secrets from Secret Submission Post #451.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

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Relevant to interests: I want to hear it from the people who rent or the people who have been landlords themselves.

What qualities do you look for when you're potentially going to rent from someone?

Doesn't dick me around, responsive if shit breaks.

That's mostly it. Uh.... smokes weed, I guess?

Well, 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

IDK if you mean, like, human qualities or if abilities are lumped in there, but I'd like a landlord I could pay through some other method than mailing a check. My previous one had an office I could go in and pay by card, and if there were a way to pay online, I'd love that.

Beyond that: Responsive to issues, cat-friendly (seriously, I'm in the only apartment in my city that would take my damn cat), and this is probably unreasonable, but I like the idea of a landlord who was sympathetic to tough situations and might have a clause in the lease that's like "once a year, and with notice, tenant can pay partial rent and spread the remainder over the next two months."

We rent to people with cats, dogs, fish, snakes, hamsters, rats... Animals are most welcome here. :)

That said for homeowners who are renting mortgage is more important than personal sympathy, unfortunately. I feel bad for shitty things happening, but if we can't pay the govt then everyone loses the house. Only in specific situations I've been in where the landlord is a homeowner who has more than one suite has there ever been an option of rent repayment. Otherwise it sucks but there's no amount of sympathy that can fix the fact that if you're charging exactly as much for rent as you need to pay off the house, you can't afford to take less.

Responding on time. Tenants don't need 24/7 service but if you say you're coming by at this time, please try to be there.

Second, not being an asshole, or at least waiting until your tenant is being one.

I'm never late in my normal life, and I never flake out of responsibilities or appointments, so I wouldn't say that's an issue.

I'm not sure what the exact definition of "not being an asshole" for a landlord is though. Like, if a tenant is breaking the law you can bet they're going to hear about it and not tomorrow.

Well, what do you have in mind by 'breaking the law' here?

This...doesn't seem like a topic with room for interpretation.

No, but at the same time, I would consider Herpy a dick if he IE came and yelled at his tenants for smoking weed

Re: What makes a good landlord?

herpymcderp - 2015-08-26 02:43 (UTC) - Expand

Re: What makes a good landlord?

(Anonymous) - 2015-08-26 02:46 (UTC) - Expand

Re: What makes a good landlord?

herpymcderp - 2015-08-26 02:50 (UTC) - Expand

Exactly what that entails as defined by the local statutes as they are written, bylaws included.

Since the owner is ultimately liable for illegal activities on the property - and I don't really want to invite legal trouble - if there's a law against putting a picture of a white fish in the window then I'm afraid tenants are not having a white fish in the window.

What if said law was widely unenforced?

Re: What makes a good landlord?

(Anonymous) - 2015-08-26 02:46 (UTC) - Expand

Re: What makes a good landlord?

herpymcderp - 2015-08-26 02:46 (UTC) - Expand

Renter view:

Follows proper procedures ie written notification of visits or inspections, agreements are written down and signed so in 2 years they don't turn around and go "actually no you can't have your pets", responsive to emergencies (a bathroom door falling off to the toilet in a house of relative strangers is pretty urgent), responds to plumber issues (it took 2 months to get them to look at the leaking toilet even tho we were telling them it's making the wall mold!", keeps proper records, updates record (you keep addressing the letters to someone who has been off contract for 2 years. Even worse you call this person to get inspection approvals when they no longer live here and we're all blindsided by this?!), ensure things that came with the lease are working ie if lease came with a washing machine and it breaks landlord has to replace it but if we brought our own washing machine, landlord doesn't!

Fair wear and tear is not a reason to claim the bond. Basically, keep records, know the laws, have everything written recorded and signed for security for everyone and obey the tenant notice rules. And be responsive. And organised.

Being nice doesn't cut it :/

Edited 2015-08-26 03:40 (UTC)

All of the above is stuff I have already done, so that's pretty good to hear (down to writing my own tenancy agreement, with clauses that protect both parties from all of the above including what constitutes damages, which damages I have a right to charge for, and what specific evidence must be provided if I exercise my right to do so).

Also we just spent thousands of dollars on the plumbing so if the tenants aren't telling us if something is leaking I am going to be PISSED.

Stick with that then and sounds good! Follow all the rules of engagement even when they're suss as fuck and you'll hopefully have good tenants!

I want them to act and treat the tenants same way to everyone; no special treatment for some and treating others like crap or putting them on the back burner. Be proactive when a shitty neighbor moves in or a neighbor gets a lot of complaints (ie investigate themselves, landlord doesn't tie their hands and make you always call the cops). If a landlord is going to hire a residential manager, please make sure they do the work, and not have them there as simply a buffer to pacify and be a yes man so the landlord does not have to directly hear the tenants complaints. I want a landlord that is a realistic to the area and how much they want you to make a month (I'm living in an impoverish place and so many of these apartments want you to make 3 to 4 times the rent, and that's ridiculous). On the same note I'd like a landlord that is forgiving for a crappy credit score, especially if the majority of it's medical bills or because they were homeless etc. That a landlord sticks to what the lease says, and it applies to everyone (ie don't have a 5 people living in a two bedroom when the lease say's only 2, that notices are sent like they are supposed to be with 24-48hr advance). That the landlord not price gouge and threaten a rent raise before the lease is up for upgrades simply because the building is old and things were in a dilapidated state for a long time, or things out of the tenants control or unnecessary upgrades not needed. Upgrades are nice and needed sometimes, but on the same note if the price you're going to have to charge will evict half or more of your tenants it's not doing you any favors.

Most important thing to me is I want a landlord that really listens to complaints and things tenants have to say. I know they can't always be on call, or believe what every person says. But there are so many times when I've told a landlord the tenant is trashing their apartment and they looked the other way for way too long and had to do a complete overhaul of the place. If they'd have listened to me and other tenants, it could have saved them a lot of money.

I meant five people in a one bedroom, and four people for a two bedroom. Basically avoid having a gaggle of people in one apartment and sharing the rent cost. It's such a problem where I live and a lot of landlords overlook it as long as they pay the rent, but it's unfair to other tenants.

My roommate and I are two people in a one person apartment because neither of us can afford the rent in our area. Boston and the surrounding areas are so ridiculously expensive that it can be difficult to afford. My roommate works two jobs and can still barely afford rent.

It sucks, but the problem isn't really the people doing what they have to in order to survive. The problem is the ridiculous housing market in the US that has such a lack of affordable housing that it should be illegal (and is violating international law). That said, if you aren't in the US then that may not be the problem since I don't know the situation in other countries.

I am in the US. I get two people sharing a one bedroom place, or even efficiency. That's within the laws usually US statewide; 2 people to each bedroom, and there are some laws that I'm unfamiliar with about when kids reach a certain age they need their own room. I'm currently in that situation myself, two people to a one bedroom. I get it's the housing markets fault and landlords for imposing ridiculous standards (like I said in my first post, how a lot of places want you to make 2 of 3 times the rent plus have an impeccable credit score - which who does anymore in this shit economy?). But at the same time it's frustrating that I can hardly make ends meet and other people around me are bringing in everybody and their mother to live in a one bedroom to share the cost. I'm not saying it because I'm bitter, it's because in most of these cases where you have a ton of people in a one bedroom it causes a disturbance for other tenants. For example, the people below me were finally kicked out because they had around 10 people sharing a one bedroom. It was disruptive because they shared the place in shifts and couldn't have keys made for everyone so at all hours of the night and day they were ringing or shouting up to be let in. They'd constantly be fighting because they were in a crammed space and sleeping on piles of clothes, or partying, and generally being a nuisance. We now got cockroaches because they were living unsanitarily towards the end, and now have to throw our own money into that because the landlord won't do anything even though they know it was the past tenants fault. And really it's unfair to the tenants who do abide by the lease rules that this kind of stuff goes on, and it's bullshit that landlords look the other way and don't care as long as they get the rent.

I know it's hard to find a place, really I do and I empathize with that. I've been homeless and I know it's shit the way the housing market is. But at the same times I've never seen where there are an excessive amount of people sharing an apartment works out well and they are not a disturbance. So I also empathize with regular paying tenants who abide by the lease rules.

It is pretty much a rule of thumb everywhere that if the rent on a place is more than 1/3 of your income from all sources, that place is going to be a millstone around your neck. For the landlord, this usually means the annoyance of constantly getting excuses instead of the rent, having to remind tenants over and over that the rent is late, then having them pay the rent when they feel like it, and eventually having to go through an eviction lawsuit to regain possession of the apartment after the tenant fails to pay rent for a couple of months in a row. The same usually applies to tenants with bad credit.

I'm a landlord, and I've been through it all more times than I like to recall.

That's kinda bullshit. That's really generalizing all people who don't make 3 to 4 times your rent as deadbeats. What about people who are on social security and disability that get a steady check each month? There's no way they make 3-4 times what most places ask for rent, but they can and do pay. But most landlord want to shove people like into shitty metropolitan housing and not give them the time of day, yet allow people with a buncha shit part time jobs that can lay them off of fire them at any moment.

It's a huge problem anywhere getting anyone who doesn't have a steady pay (like social security, disability, or a solid professional job) that comes into and apartment pay on time and it's not always based upon what their credit score and how much they make is. In my place there are so many people who have a job or two and they still stiff the landlords either occasionally or move in and never pay beyond first months and deposit. So you're point is pretty fucking invalid.

It's not saying they're deadbeats; it's saying they can't afford my rent. They may have good intentions, they may intend to pay as soon as they can, but more than likely, they'll end up stiffing me because they can't afford my rent. And my rents are even on the low side of average for my area. I'm taking a risk every time I sign a lease, but experience has taught me that I'm taking less of a risk if I rent to people with solid credit scores and steady incomes that are at least 3 times the rent I'm asking. It's not like there's a shortage of them.

Re: What makes a good landlord?

(Anonymous) - 2015-08-27 05:38 (UTC) - Expand

Re: What makes a good landlord?

(Anonymous) - 2015-08-27 21:45 (UTC) - Expand

Take care of problems promptly as they arise. Don't make the tenant ask you over and over again to make repairs.

Be proactive about keeping the place up to code, and don't piss and moan about how hard it is on you.

Don't be too quick to invoke your right to hand tenants that three-day notice to pay rent or quit. Sudden financial setbacks happen to everyone; working with a tenant for a payment arrangement they can live with is usually better than going through an eviction, and leaves much less bad blood.

My dad's been renting for years, and he's had excellent tenants and horrible ones. Which is normally fine, as if "horrible" involves not paying the rent, you can just evict them, and if "horrible" involves damaging the property you can do the same and keep their security deposit, but...

Unfortunately, the bylaws are such that if someone is on social assistance, standard eviction laws don't apply, and they can - and in my dad's, and several other landlord's experience that I know of - occasionally will just stop paying you. With impunity. My dad was lucky in that he could just have a close family member move in, which is one of the few legal loopholes there, and kick them out that way, but in other landlord's case, it cost him six months of lost rent and $14,000 of legal fees - hers were covered by low income legal aid - just to evict a tenant who hadn't paid him rent for months before that. I would at this point do a credit check for that reason alone, though I would definitely consider renting to someone on social assistance who had multiple excellent references.

Like, I get that people fall on hard times, and I'd like to be sympathetic, but my property is not a low income shelter or a charity service, and having people in there putting wear and tear on the building, using the utilities, and occupying a space I could be renting to paying tenants is actively costing me money. If you require a shelter or charity service, I will help you find one. If a tenant had otherwise paid on time for years I'd give them some leeway, but if you show up with the first month and the security deposit and in the second month you'd like to delay/not pay your rent? Get out.

I feel like I am in a slightly privileged situation when it comes to my landlord, as I'm in a Department of Housing place and the Department is usually fairly good.

Off the top of my head, I'd say prompt to respond to emergencies, flexible about rent (both payment options and and payment times).

I would say cat-friendly but the reason I don't have a cat is because while the Department is fine with pets, my house is in an independent townhouse development whose body corporate doesn't allow cats. We haven't left because despite that, it's a nice place and the waiting list for Department places would mean shifting would take time, and we'd likely get a place not half as nice.

Though because the place I'm in has a separate body corporate, there's also a few issues with that, but most of them have improved when the manager changed a few years ago. The guy who used to be manager was lazy as fuck and too busy with doing his own shit to do anything.. Since the new guy took over, stuff actually gets done. (The Department only has authority to do stuff inside our townhouse, communal areas are body corporate.)

The other thing that comes to mind is something I only know through Mum's tales - a landlord who does not harass, pester, phone at all hours, make unexpected visits without prior notice, then try to harass further after the tenants move out. Mum had problems with one landlord doing this when I was around 7-8 years old. I didn't notice it, but I was kid then so... *Shrug*

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