What is Digg?46 Comments
- VeganG, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14At some point in history, someone or something has died on just about every square inch of the planet.
- tobashadow, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12My last landlord before i got smart and became a homeowner evicted me becasue i complained to him about problem's.
Of the list of 15 he broke 13 of them!
When i got out it had no working bathroom no working heat/air a leaking roof and he had pulled the breaker's out of the box to try and force me to move faster then the 30 day's allowed by the court. And when my father came to help me move large furniture he called the police on him saying he was trespassing.
Was the best thing that could have happened to me in the long run im a homeowner now. I would rather live in a car then deal with that again. - signal15, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8As the article states, these will vary from state to state. For example in MN, if I put in my lease that the tenant is responsible for all legal fees associated with taking them to court for damage/etc, then they are responsible for legal fees. However, a judge will NOT award legal fees unless it is specifically in the lease.
I'm a landlord in MN, and to be honest with you, it can be very difficult not to turn into the ***** landlord that everyone hates. I've taken applications for rental (which I don't charge a fee for like everyone else) and been accused of racism because I chose to rent to someone else that made more money and had a more stable job. I've had people move out and have a party on the last day where nearly every window in the place was broken. I had one guy who lost his job, and instead of kicking him out in the middle of winter (which I could have), I let him stay around with the agreement he would pay back rent when he found another job. He never made any attempt to pay back rent or current rent once he got another job.
My dad owns 4 rental properties, and probably 80% of the people end up being evicted for non-payment or negligent damage to the place. One woman took all of the knobs off every faucet and replaced them with vice-grips, painted the natural wood kitchen cabinets with oil based paint (impossible to remove), took the fridge apart and couldn't put it back together (because it made a weird noise), and burned holes in the carpet by leaving a hot iron on it. Another guy didn't pay rent for like 6 months, got evicted and taken to court. He countersued because his kid had bad asthma and wanted an attic fan installed and my dad wouldn't do it (an attic fan just cools the attic, it doesn't circulate fresh air into the house). The guy and his wife smoked 4 packs a day indoors, which was strictly forbidden in the lease. The judge laughed at him and made him not only pay back rent, but made him pay for smoke damage as well.
You try to be a nice guy, but people take advantage of it. That's why most landlords are total dicks. I've had plenty of terrible landlords when I was in college, and I'm trying hard not to turn into one of those. The group of guys I have in the house now are all nice guys, they pay their rent on time, and they don't break anything (or they fix it if they do). So my faith has been somewhat restored.
Also, you should note that if you're a renter in MN and the landlord does not return your security deposit in 30 days and fails to give you a written explanation why, he owes you double. You can file in concilliation court for $35 and the judge will make him pay up, no arguments. Conversely, MN courts actually give landlords the tools they need to collect on judgements against tenants. There are ways for me to garnish the wages of a tenant that lost a judgement, and take certain types of assets from them to make good on the debt.
If you're looking to become a landlord, don't do it for the income from rent. You do it for the tax benefits. There are a lot of things you can write off, including the interest on the mortgage and depreciation, which can get you a significant chunk of change back from king bush. - artnez, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7I never liked the phrase "land lord" ... it just seems so dominant. Probably just me though...
- anarchistuk, on 08/11/2009, -0/+7Just the Indian burial grounds you have to watch out for....
- LogicBomB, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9@Yensed - people die all the time - would you not have moved in even if it was clean and steril? I'd move into a house that was in good shape even if a mass murder-suicide took place.
Also, in my opinion, it's not really my business knowing what happened to/with the previous owner as long as the house is no worse for wear. - s1rk3ls, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5In some places it's required by law to replace locks and repaint / replace carpet in certain conditions - it's just common sense to me :)
- theblooms, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Yeah, I bought a house, and now instead of flushing money down the toilet every month, it goes to paying off my mortgage.
Cool thing is, my monthly payments actually went DOWN after buying a house! - victimofkratina, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5My parents rent houses and let me tell you its not that all landlords are evil. I think both sides have their fair share of idiots. We had one couple that owed one months rent, boyfriend stayed at home most of the day playing video games, that we finally got to leave and they ended up leaving most of their *****. So for a few days we had to haul off their junk furniture and ratty sofas. Then there was another tenant who was a single mom that had 2 kids that absolutely tore the place up. Punch stains all over the carpet, the walls looked like they were used as a drawing board, etc.
The rule "The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to deny housing to a tenant on the grounds of race, color, sex, religion, disability, family status, or national origin." is true, but landlords are able to pick "the best qualified" candidate. So this allows for alot of discrimination. We heard stories from one tenant that was saying she and her boyfriend had a hard time finding a place because her boyfriend was middle eastern and muslim. Most of the rules are common sense but I would imagine apartment landlords could be a little more anal. - andreo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I've been a landlord before. I rented out my first house. What an experience! It's the main reason why I didn't rent out my former house (that I would have rather kept) and instead sold it when I was transferred out of state.
I was torn between screaming and crying when I saw the state that house I rented out was in. Even after 3k in repairs I still took a 10k loss on the rental house when I sold it (I was lucky that someone saw some potential in it at all).
I wouldn't have been able to stand seeing my second house (which I loved) ripped to shreds. I'm sure I would have hunted down the former tenants and eventually ended up in jail. So I took the safe way out and just sold it.
Now I understand why some landlords are all over you when you move into a place. It doesn't make it right but I think when they get burned a couple of times they try to micro-manage the tenant.
Again, it doesn't make it right. But sometimes there's a thin line between protecting your interest and staying within the laws of the state. - hangtown2004, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I have had a similar experience with a landlord when the heater wouldn't work he said " I want you out I want tenants that don't complain " He tried to evict me so I found another place and went to court and his attorney wanted to settle this so they supposed to have drooped everything gave me money back from a deposit plus all moneys I had put out to repair apt, BUT a few years later I applied at an apt complex and a eviction came up on my record. I was informed by the court that even no they drooped it and settled with me the public record of the court only shows a eviction not that the landlord was At fault! What a load of *****.
Marc
Fair oaks Ca - AtticusFinch987, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4If you want legal advice beyond such generalities, pay for, and talk to a lawyer. Anyone who takes legal advice over the Internet deserves everything it costs them.
- usherzx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Renters have more rights than the landlords do, if you go back and look at your lease there are loopholes everywhere. Don't listen to what the landlord says, just demand it and don't take no for an answer.
- 15charmaxwtf, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Could you just ask, and write it into the contract?
- sweetnjguy29, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5This is probably one of the best summaries on renter's law that I have read on the internet, and it is a good starting point for all tenants who are having trouble with their current landlords.
I think all renters should keep in mind that they in fact "own the land" that they rent for the duration of their lease, and that they have tons of rights that they can exercise. Don't be afraid of your landlord! They signed their rights to be on the land away when they gave you a lease! - oOLiquidNightOo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5"no working bathroom no working heat/air a leaking roof " ...
were you renting an apartment/house or a refrigerator box !?? - sendmoney2me, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I had to put an alarm on my door to keep my landlord OUT. he insisted it was his right to come in whenever I wasn't home since he owned the place. Rather than argue about it I installed an alarm system, complete with stickers on the front door. when he asked for the code I told i him if it was an emergency to just go on in and I'd explain to the cops why he was in there. he hasn't invited himself in since ;-)
- s1rk3ls, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4uh, no... renting does not mean you "own the land" that you are renting. But you do still have a lot of rights, primarily to your privacy, belongings, and creature comforts. But you in no way "own the land" any more than me lending my CD player to you means you now own it and can do with it as you please.
- CoachZed, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@riverside: These are described as "likely" because all land rights depend upon state law. If you'd like to compile a 50 volume version of tenants' rights, you're welcome to do it. Otherwise, don't bitch about it.
The list is a very accurate description of average rights a tenant has in most areas. - fatnutz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I've had a landlord overcharge me for damages, that were already there when I moved into the apartment. I got out of them when I showed him pictures I took the day I moved in of the cracks in the doors and drywall nicks, I had a dated newspaper in the picture as well, and I told I'd call my lawyer. He gave me the entirety of my deposit, and apologized.
I knew the place was trouble to begin with because it's the only apartment I've rented (Out of like 6) where I wasn't told to go through it first and make a checklist of all the damages and compared them with the land lord's.
I will side with a lot of landlords out there though, i've seen a lot of tenants that were ***** idiots, who lived like trash, treated the apartments like trash. You people would be surprised how many total slobs with total disregard for apartments are out in the wild. I did maintenance part time while in college for an apartment complex, I've seen living conditions that would make you vomit. This one is a prominent example; A family with a baby who never takes their trash out...make you gag just opening the door to this place, pizza boxes, ***** diapers, and trash bags stacked up in the corner of the kitchen like they were going to make a ***** fortification out of it or somethin. Another good one was when I was going through at the end of the school year and a lot of the leases were up, half of the apartments had cig burns in the couch cushions (furnished apts.), half of the apartment's floors, INCLUDING the carpet were sticky from booze and god knows what else..Holes in dry-wall, holes in plaster, people writing on the ***** walls in their own apartment, toilets left all ***** and pissy.
My advice is not to rent property that you put ANY money into, because it wouldn't take long to realize the land lord is gonna get the short end of the stick eventually, especially in a college town.
Also, You can get out of a lot of ***** by getting to know your landlord, the guy I worked for hooked a LOT of people up just for being nice to him, talking to him when they saw him, and being honest to him. I know this isn't possible with some landlords because you jsut don't see them, they are ***** from the get-go, or your renting from like a realty kind of place, but if you do rent from an individual get to know him/her and be cool with them. You'll almost always get hooked up in one way or another. I've actually become friends with 2 landlords in past, and have had come to my place to play cards, drink beers, and one time I had him to a full-blown 2 kegger for the OSU vs Michigan game. He passed out on my couch, after he did that, I had to keep my eye on everyone because they were going to get him with the Sharpie marker. That would have gotten me in deep *****. - digimoat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It should be mentioned that there are some very good landlords out there. While I'm a college student in my own apartment, my landlord has taken care of everything promptly and has been very understanding (waiting for my student loands so I can pay rent). So kudos and thanks to the good ones out there.
Just thought the good landlords deserve something - JRBurgler, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Some states do require it. I recall in Washington state having read a disclosure statement that stated no one had committed suicide or was murdered on the premises.
- anarchistuk, on 08/11/2009, -2/+4And if your in the U.K
http://england.shelter.org.uk/advice/advice-2932.cfm - Muddle, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3That's one point. Here in the deep south, if a landlord had entered my apartment unannounced when he thought nobody was home, I have the right to shoot first and ask questions later. Up north, your required to verify the intruder has no legal financial affiliation with the property before shooting them. If you burst through a door that is not the primary entrance or exit into a darkened room and die, because your scum of the lowest sort, the penalty varies depending on your state. In the South they often have to notify you in advance or knock on the front door and if there is no answer, go away. In the North a landlord can barge on in regardless of the renters wishes or whether they are home or not.
- aerotive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm lucky enough to live in a college town where, for the moment at least, there is a massive oversupply of apartments. The local university has been on a tremendous building spree, including upscale (don't laugh) dorm rooms. That has driven rents down and made property managers quite easy to deal with.
- MyDigitalSin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I think most of these are common sense, but some I didn't know.
good story, thanks - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Nice post! I've been thinking about buying a few houses and renting them out, but have heard so many scary stories about bad tennants, and that it can take an act of congress to get a problem tennant out, regardless of the contract. I'm thinking it might be safer to just flip the houses, or sit on them until the casinos get moved in to my city. I dunno, still looking for ideas to turn my savings into more.
- sweetnjguy29, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2The landlord was in the wrong here. They can't enter your property unless he gives you notice. Unless, of course, it was an emergency.
- kertong, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3This page is a great resource - thanks. I just had a *terrible* run-in with an apartment complex and its management over here in Sunnyvale, CA.
http://www.kertong.com/balihell/ - PureForm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1#1 "The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to deny housing to a tenant on the grounds of race, color, sex, religion, disability, family status, or national origin." ...
This law DOES NOT APPLY to a lessor who rents out a room / basement in the house they reside in. The can discriminate as much as they want. - fatdog789, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1sorry, sweeting, but the other guy had it right. and the cd lending bit was right on the spot.
Tenancy != ownership, nor interest of ownership, nor even co-ownership.
You're granted a right to *ocuppy* said property, not to assume any sort of ownership over it. This is why landlords can let police into apartments, etc.
You're required to request permission for fixtures since you're modifying the landlord's property, as well as for any sort of modifications to the outdoor portion of the property.
You're also not allowed to simply let people come and go as you please in apartments or in situations where you are not the sole renter of the (entire land-based) property.
I strongly suggest you consult a lawyer the next time you want to do any of the stuff you mentioned, because if you were to do that stuff, you'd be liable.
HOWEVER....it should be noted that this is American law. In England, you may still have to pay ground rent, where the land is owned by someone else but otherwise you're allowed to do anything as if it was your own land. - Schda, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1http://www.ag.state.mn.us/consumer/housing/lt/default.htm
In case any other Minnesotans stumble across this above you will find all your rights. And to clarify, the landlord has only 21 days to return your security deposit or you get it all back. - karn, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4My land lord walked right in while i was with my gf. We were both not happy. wtf?
- rprather, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Not much in there that any adult shouldn't already know.
Also, as always, there are two sides to this coin. If you have thad the experiences I have you might see the other side.
Fixing up apartments with new carpet (previous tenant's cats ripped them to shreds) replacing the toilet (PT took it with them), repainting (PT trashed the walls) and generally reconditioning an apartment and then after six months the new tenants are evicted for non-payment, drug use, moving several family members in or whatever and by that time the apartment has been trashed again. - sweetnjguy29, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1s1rk3ls:
Sorry, but your misinformed about this:
>uh, no... renting does not mean you "own the land" that you are renting.
Well...when I sign my lease, I obtain a "tenancy for X years" in property that you own in fee simple absolute. I own a concurrent interest in the land called a tenancy, and I can do a lot of stuff to the property that you might not like, such as: keeping you, as the landlord, off my property and letting anyone I please on or off of the property, unless you as the landlord provide me with adequate notice; adding fixtures (which, might become yours if and when they become attached to the property); gardening and tilling fields on the property; and basically doing ANYTHING that doesn't change the nature of the property...I couldn't build a hotel or run a business out of it, for example, but I sure as hell could host the Digg Orgy! Also, I can transfer or assign my tenancy to another person!
>But you in no way "own the land" any more than me lending my CD player to >you means you now own it and can do with it as you please.
Wrong...I can't give your CD player to someone else, without your permission. Nor could I write my name on it, and hold it out as "my CD player". When I rent, I call my house, "my home" and I can give the land to whomever I choose, by sublet or assignment! - amann7412, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0i know exactly what you're going through. we are currently moving from a house, which we have lived in for 6 hears, into an apartment. we can't afford to own our own place. the apartments will be a much better place because the owners are family friends. i myself am only 17 but i know the aches and pains of moving from one "land lord owner" place to another. my parent's have put well over $10,000 into this place by adding a pond, lights around the walks, pouring a concrete walk, building a deck, actually painting the house inside and out, wallpaper, chair rail and border. it's a pain...and now the landlords have put the place up for sale even though we have paid rent through October 31st...they want us out NOW! just the other day the owner was over here digging up our flowers...they did pay us for some things that we bought and put outside and inside, IE ceiling fans, lights, but the pond had to be dug up and moved...ended up selling it to the mayor for her to put it out in town somewhere next to a memorial. all in all, renting sucks...and i do feel your pain.
- Muddle, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2What's probably more important to the renter are the Landlord rights.
For Example: they have the right to inspect the property, any time they want. You college kids who can't afford to go home on thanksgiving ought not to prepare a bunch of snacks, break out the bong and endevour to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Back in 78 my landlord did just that, entering through a utility room, which housed the hot water heater, furnace etc. to the entire building, which my appartment adjoined and had one of two access doors to. I nearly killed what I thought was a burglar who was taking advantage of the fact that everyone else in the building had gone home. - Muddle, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I'll even bet I can get the public prosecutor and court system to give me a lenient sentence if I implicate you in an insurance scam. I've yet to meet a Landlord that performed this services to others out of the GOODNESS of his own heart. Hell, I'd rather not get into this business, because of these landlord/tenant laws. I'd rather buy a CRAY and sell access to it (Based on MY OWN DAMNED LAW) or purchase a ***** island and deny all access to it.
- anachronaut, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Hearing these tales of horror reminds me of the time when the apartment complex I'd been living in for years was bought out by the local slumlord rental company. I always paid my rent on time with money orders, and had been doing so for the 2 years previous to their takeover. Well, the new landlord didn't like the cut of my jib, so he "lost" about 6 months' rent (about $2000 at the time) and then accosted me about it one day, hoping to either be able to scam me out of $2k or evict me.
Too bad for him that I had saved not just the past 6 months of my receipts, but ALL of them. I promptly produced the receipts and never heard a peep out of him about rent after that, although he tried other ways of making my life hell. As if a landlord would let you go 6 months without paying rent or saying anything about it in the first place... puh-lease!! His whole scam attempt was fairly laughable, but if I hadn't had those receipts, I would have been pretty screwed as I was living paycheck-to-paycheck at the time. That wasn't the last time he screwed with me, just the worst.
I got him back, though. I trashed that place so badly that they couldn't rent it for at least 6 months. Among other things, I poured gelatin in the toilet bowl & tank, liberally soaked the wooden floors with stinky Italian salad dressing, crammed cheese and other surprises into the radiator (I had to clean out the fridge, so the cheese and dressing and eggs, etc. had to go SOMEwhere), and the pièce de résistance was the giant pane of glass precariously propped against the door so that it would shatter into approximately 6 billion pieces the moment someone opened it.
Was it mature of me to do that? No, absolutely not. Did the landlord have to clean it up himself? No, his poor minimum-wage cleaning team had to do that, and I felt a bit bad about that. Did my revenge, enacted solely because that jerk had tried his best to scam me and make my life miserable, cost those jerks the use of that apartment for a long time? It sure did, and I hope that my message got through loud and clear.
I'm not advocating that anyone else trash their rental property out of revenge or for any other reason -- as long as the owner respects you, they and their property certainly deserve your respect. Besides, the owner could always take you to court for damages, and revenge like that isn't exactly the best way of handling things. But when someone is trying to ruin your life for no good reason (that you can see), like this landlord was trying to do to me, all bets are off as far as I'm concerned. - jaderobbins, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Anime is possibly the worst thing to happen to our society.
- Muddle, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0That's fine, as long as I have the right to move in, then expect reasonable satifaction and burn it down if I don't get it!
Oh, I forgot that nanny state crap only works in your favor!!!! - 15charmaxwtf, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1If I have a ***** house I want to rent out I should be able to rent it out---after all, I'm not ***** forcing anyone to live in it! Obviously, it would be fraudlant if I lied about the condition of the house, for example, if a shower was broken and then afterwards blamed it on the tenant. Or, if I said the roof was not leaking and it did. I'm sure there are already enough laws for which someone could be punished.
A good idea for when you move into rented accomodation is to take a picture of all the rooms so the landlord cannot try and charge you for something that was broken before you moved in.
And, if I did not want to rent it out to someone that I did not like, I should not be forced to rent it out to them.
These just look like typical nanny-state laws. - riverside71, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2"in some states"... "most states"... "it may"... "are usually not"... "normally only".. "might have".. "may be considered"...
how useful to know all these 'likely rights'.. that have absolutely no connection to the real world of renting as we know it today.. - yensed, on 10/12/2007, -7/+5I really wish there was some law that would require a land"lord" to inform you someone died in the living room... Then again, she did tell me. THE DAY I WAS MOVING OUT!
/Rant...Complete - Muddle, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Do your parents make money doing what they do?
If not quit purchasing trash real estate, purchase proposed off ramp access at low prices then lobby your congressman and sell high etc.
Install interior real brick walls, hardwood floors etc., the common trash can't punch a hole in those. Real hardwood floors are easily refinished. Carpeting is a health hazard, always has been and always will be. If you analyze the dust clogging your current computers fans you'll soon figure out carpet fibers are your problem and it is causing the vast majority of respiratory health problems, other than smoking, the civilized world currently faces. It is impossible to sanitize carpet and it's backing. If you get bird flu and sneeze from one end of your home to another, everyone who enters your home can get sick from airborne carpet fibers.
Oh my toes are cold, buy some heavy wool or cotton socks to wear around the house. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2I'm glad I have a house, I lived in an apt for about 3 years, at the Ramada of course
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is