The Best Way to Find an Apartment Online Right Now
There’s an app that makes it so simple!
The post The Best Way to Find an Apartment Online Right Now appeared first on The Rent. Blog : A Renterâs Guide for Tips & Advice.
There’s an app that makes it so simple!
The post The Best Way to Find an Apartment Online Right Now appeared first on The Rent. Blog : A Renterâs Guide for Tips & Advice.
Money canât buy happiness, itâs true, but knowing how to spend your money on purchases that are truly worthwhile can definitely improve your life. To make sure youâre making the best decisions about what to buy, not just buying on impulse, it can help to ask yourself some questions first. When you pause to reflect […]
The post Questions You Should Ask Before Making an Impulse Buy appeared first on SoFi.
âTerryâ was my first hoarder client. About 50 years old, he worked as a custodian at a high school in a small town not far from where I was living at the time.
He was a genuinely nice guy and proud of his collection of washing machines from the 1940s onward. Â
Now, âcollectiblesâ to some people are pure junk to others. To Terryâs neighbors, his front and backyard, as well as the inside of his rented home had become a dangerous junkyard, complete with rats and other vermin that freely roamed the property.
The place was overflowing with, not just washing machines, but broken-down cars, airplane parts, toilets, sinks, you name it. In those years, he was known as a junkman. Today he would be called a hoarder.
He had received and ignored notices from his townâs code compliance officers to remove the items, and especially the things that made entry or exit from his home dangerous. With few window coverings, the homeâs interior was visible, piled to the ceiling with âstuff.â
His wife and children were living in dangerous conditions that Terry did not acknowledge. With the assistance of code compliance, they and their landlord arranged for a meeting at my office to work out a clean-up plan with Terry â or he would face prosecution.
I was asked to drive Terry to my office. In reality, behind my back, during our lengthy afternoon meeting, Terryâs wife â with the enthusiastic approval of the landlord â had embarked on something like an intervention. Later she told me: âI hired a disaster restoration company and told them to remove every last piece of junk from inside and outside the home. Anything of value was purchased by a scrap dealer.â
The crew did such a good job that when I drove Terry home, it took a few minutes before we could find his house!Â
I have to admit that it made me happy to see this crap gone and a bit of sanity restored to his family and the neighborhood. Terry got into therapy and did not repeat his hoarding behavior. He was lucky as there is a high relapse rate among hoarders.
But this was well before the psychology of hoarding became widely understood. Today, if the same things happened, some poor landlord â driven out of his mind by the insanity of having a hoarder as a tenant â could wind up being sued.
Once called âjunkmen,â hoarders â whom landlords and officials agree pose major risks to the health and safety of not only themselves, but their families, neighbors and communities â are viewed as suffering from various forms of mental illness. This means hoarders are generally protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
âThis is why it is so important for landlords and property managers to have proper language in their rental agreements that covers these types of tenants and scenarios,â San Diego attorney Evan Walker points out.
Rent Pro, based in Lancaster, N.Y., recommends that landlords consider adding what is called a housekeeping addendum to their rental leases in states where it is permissible. The addendum outlines the standards tenants are expected to meet, including such stipulations as:
Violating these terms will subject the tenant to eviction.
âState law requires landlords to maintain habitable dwellings, and also requires tenants to keep their units clean and sanitary, disposing of garbage properly, avoiding excessive clutter and not damaging the property or using the premises in an improper way.â Walker said. âSo, when you are on notice that the tenantâs âstuffâ is blocking exits or doorways, interferes with ventilation or sprinkler systems, and attracts pests because of improper food storage â to list just a few â this could be a hazard for other tenants, and could be considered as a violation of the rental agreement and, likely, state law.  Â
âAt this stage, contact the tenant, point out what you have seen, and politely â but firmly â indicate that if the problem isnât resolved, you may have to file an eviction suit. Be sure you can prove that you have brought these items to the tenantâs attention.â
Pasadena, Calif., property manager Jon Anthony Dolan says: âDocument everything! If the tenant will not respond appropriately and clean up the mess, you may have no choice but to evict them. So, begin preparing for the possibility now and document your correspondence with the tenant and keep detailed, chronological records. This means taking videos, photos, detailed notes which establish a record of the property’s condition. This material is critical to prove your case.â
You must be able to prove that notice to cure the tenant’s breach has been provided. Do this with a certified letter or with a letter hand-served on the tenant, and if no one comes to the door, have it posted on the front door, with photos taken. It is important to follow your state’s rules for Service of Process just to be sure you can establish giving the tenant every possible opportunity of curing the breach.
Dolan stressed the importance of understanding what you are NOT evicting them for. âYou are not evicting them because they are a hoarder, because if you use that language, it is a violation of Fair Housing laws, since mental illness is a protected class.
âIn addition to a possible violation of the rental agreement, often the hoarding behavior can be seen as a nuisance to other tenants if it substantially interferes with their use of the property. For example, filth that creates a pest infestation, and clutter in common areas can create accessibility issues for EMS personnel.â
Walker strongly recommends retaining experienced landlord-tenant counsel, âas hoarders are among the most difficult of tenants. They may be unlike any tenant you will ever have, and the risks of being sued for violating their rights are very real.â
Smartphones seem to be getting more and more expensive by the year. Even Appleâs middle-market iPhone 13 comes in at a starting price of $699. Thatâs not a budget phone. Prospects donât get better on the Android side either, with the Samsung Galaxy S22 starting at $799. With prices like that, can you even find [â¦]
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
Poolside bevvies have never been so stylish. Emmy Award-nominated host of Netflixâs Queer Eye, Bobby Berk added his designer chops to his latest project: becoming an Airbnb host. And the reality star, 40, has created quite the oasis. Located in Palm Desert, Berk did a massive remodel of his California home and opened up the […]
The post Stay in Style: ‘Queer Eye’ Bobby Berk’s House is Now Up on Airbnb appeared first on Fancy Pants Homes.
Smartphones seem to be getting more and more expensive by the year. Even Appleâs middle-market iPhone 13 comes in at a starting price of $699. Thatâs not a budget phone. Prospects donât get better on the Android side either, with the Samsung Galaxy S22 starting at $799. With prices like that, can you even find [â¦]
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
The cost to furnish an apartment varies widely. Price out essentials, determine your budget and get shopping.
The post How Much Does It Cost to Furnish an Apartment? appeared first on The Rent. Blog : A Renterâs Guide for Tips & Advice.