primitives discuss apartment security deposits

[franksolich]

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6819096

Oh my.

Now, who would want to move from Memphis to Seattle?

rsmith6621  (1000+ posts)      Tue Oct-20-09 04:47 PM
Original message
 
The Apartment Hunt Scam

My wife and I are relocating our home back to Seattle after 18 months in Memphis.

This morning we toured 5 property's all of which has their pros and cons..WE think we have found a place to call home but since we have a Cat it is interesting to see how many fees are involved..

There is the monthly surcharge of $10.00 a month....their is the application fee for the Cat of $200.00 and a NON REFUNDABLE deposit of $250.00 basically $600.00 for the first year on a 12 month lease.

I asked one agent what the purpose of the monthly surcharge was for...she said for damage like pissing on the carpet or scratching the woodwork/walls... I asked her then what is the deposit was for....she had no answer...at this time my wife and I decided we did not want to live there so I said it sounds like another way to take advantage of people and their situations..She said cats cause damage....I said so do children so why don't you charge a child surcharge for possible carpet damage and damage to walls and such...

Her Reply.....I don't know???...we thanked her for her time and left.

The economy cant be to bad if Apt Managers are not willing to negotiate thes fees

virgogal (1000+ posts)      Tue Oct-20-09 05:00 PM
Response to Original message
 
1. A child surcharge would be illegal I assume.

Fresh_Start  (1000+ posts)        Tue Oct-20-09 05:01 PM
Response to Reply #1
 
2. a child charge would be illegal

Berry Cool  (1000+ posts)        Tue Oct-20-09 05:36 PM
Response to Original message
 
5. Solution: Find a landlord who is a cat owner, loves cats and knows they aren't perfect little angels whose every behavior can be controlled by their owners. One who expects cat-owning renters to be responsible and keep the property neat, clean and odor free, but is not going to freak out about the possibility that your cat or cats may have an accident, puke up a hairball or scratch something. One whose biggest expectations are:

1. Your cat or cats will be spayed or neutered.

2. You will have a litterbox or boxes to accommodate your cat or cats and keep them clean so the cat or cats will use them, and keep them as odor-free as possible.

3. You will clean up any accidents or hairballs neatly and completely ASAP after they happen.

4. You will have many options for the cat or cats to discourage clawing that will damage any apartment property, such as carpeting--scratching posts, corrugated cardboard, mounted carpet remnants, etc. If the cat does destroy anything that's part of your apartment with clawing, you will pay to replace it.

Such a landlord may charge a pet fee and/or deposit up front, but chances are it will not be an onerous one.

Like I said, the trick is to rent from people who love cats themselves and see them as fully dimensional creatures, not just annoying or damage-causing. They can be found.

Lisa shows up:

liberalhistorian (1000+ posts)        Tue Oct-20-09 06:17 PM
Response to Original message
 
8. I had to do this for my cat for my apt. in Rapid City, SD, several years ago. I didn't have to pay an extra application fee, but I did have to pay a $200 deposit that was refundable as well as an extra $30 a month on the rent. I didn't have a problem with it, frankly, because I can see where they're coming from and because most landlords in the city didn't allow pets of any kind.

I got the deposit back when I moved and they saw that the cats hadn't done any permanent damage and that I'd kept things clean. The apts. all had hardwood floors, and if cat piss had eaten away at it, it would have cost them major bucks to repair, far more than the $200 deposit.

And I personally witnessed several tenants allowing their cats and/or dogs to do some damage, making no efforts to stop them or repair it. That costs the landlords a lot of money to fix. Not everyone cares about damage to the properties they rent and there are people who aren't responsible when it comes to such things. The landlords are within their rights to try to protect themselves from that.

[Texacon]

Berry Cool  (1000+ posts)        Tue Oct-20-09 05:36 PM
Response to Original message
 
5. Solution: Find a landlord who is a cat owner, loves cats and knows they aren't perfect little angels whose every behavior can be controlled by their owners. One who expects cat-owning renters to be responsible and keep the property neat, clean and odor free, but is not going to freak out about the possibility that your cat or cats may have an accident, puke up a hairball or scratch something. One whose biggest expectations are:

1. Your cat or cats will be spayed or neutered.

2. You will have a litterbox or boxes to accommodate your cat or cats and keep them clean so the cat or cats will use them, and keep them as odor-free as possible.

3. You will clean up any accidents or hairballs neatly and completely ASAP after they happen.

4. You will have many options for the cat or cats to discourage clawing that will damage any apartment property, such as carpeting--scratching posts, corrugated cardboard, mounted carpet remnants, etc. If the cat does destroy anything that's part of your apartment with clawing, you will pay to replace it.

Such a landlord may charge a pet fee and/or deposit up front, but chances are it will not be an onerous one.

Like I said, the trick is to rent from people who love cats themselves and see them as fully dimensional creatures, not just annoying or damage-causing. They can be found.

What kind of dope filled dream world does this DUmmie live in?  As an owner of several rental properties and a manager of many rental properties I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that many pet owners don't give a damn what kind of damage their pets cause and if the deposit doesn't cover it ... tough shit!  You won't get any money out of them.

I would say less than half the properties I manage will even allow a pet and those that do are taking as few chances as possible.  I own dogs and love dogs but I have a couple of houses I own that I won't allow anyone to have a dog in and if they do and I find out they will be evicted for violating their lease.  Some of these homes I have thousands of dollars in flooring in and the paltry $1,500 or so in deposits I have won't cover the damage that could be caused.

KC

[The Village Idiot]

Does everything have to be a crisis with these people?

[Texacon]

Does everything have to be a crisis with these people?

Once they find a place to live they will begin their bashing of the south. 

KC

[NHSparky]

$600 deposit?  They should be so lucky.  Frankly, that ain't shit.

[USA4ME]

rsmith6621

I asked one agent what the purpose of the monthly surcharge was for...she said for damage like pissing on the carpet or scratching the woodwork/walls.

Then I asked if there would be any security charge/deposit for us having pets.

Fixed.

.