Oh boy, oh boy; this question is a biggy, and the answer in your face is going to depend on who you ask. If you ask your apartment manager, you’re going to get one, and it’s going to be painted heavily with the brush of profit and convenience as they see fit to do so, even if it’s in stark contrast to the law. When I moved in to Heatherwood, I saw the rates they wanted to charge me for their Bulk Cable account through Comcast, so I headed straight for the Dish… and was told I couldn’t have one. Turns out it isn’t that simple, so if you have an apartment and want a satellite dish, you need to know a bit more about your rights.
(more…)
Archive for the ‘Legality’ Category
Can You Get a Satellite Dish at Your Apartment?
Monday, October 20th, 2008What Happens If The Site Gets Shut Down?
Friday, October 17th, 2008This question has come up about fifteen times now, both from my two kindly editors, and the outside readers who have found the site. Since I don’t have a Frequently Asked Question page, I guess I’ll just answer the one question most frequently asked here. It depends what you mean by “shut down”, and it depends why it happens… Hope this helps… oh wait, you wanted more than that? Fine, read on.
The reasons why this or any other site may be shut down is countless, but for the sake of convenience, let’s break it into three pretty obvious categories, with answers for each.
(more…)
What Would It Take to Delete Articles Off This Site?
Thursday, October 16th, 2008As with every site and project I operate, I hire outside editors to go back over my work. Mostly they’re just here to fix spelling, word usage and grammatical errors, but often they go far beyond the call of duty and interlink pages, offer thematic revisions and even make personal suggestions and recommendations. See, although I’ve been tested to an IQ of 135 (I’ve always said I’m no genius, and the test that measures it don’t lie) I have a painful lack of attention to detail, and when it comes to spotting my own mistakes, I’m even worse for the wear.
(more…)
Only Recourse May Be Small Claims; Do It If You Must
Monday, October 13th, 2008If you have moved out from your apartment, and you feel that your deposit was not fairly refunded, you may be perfectly in the right to demand a refund of your money, if it’s a difficult procedure to get it back.
Here are a few scenarios, and the ways in which you can get your money back.
(more…)
Finally Got My Suspicious Closing Statement
Sunday, October 12th, 2008
Talk about red flags, this baby’s got it all. Before I cover the foul flags in detail, let me share with you the whole statement I received. See if you can figure out what’s off-kilter about it. Don’t worry, the answers are at the bottom.
(more…)
Cleaning Costs Blown Out of the Water… By Craig’s List?
Saturday, October 11th, 2008From the very beginning (of the end) I contested the cleaning costs from when I moved out of my mediocre pad at Heatherwood Apartments in South Everett. I wasn’t resistant to the charges because I’m cheap, but because I know the difference between clean and dirty. My mom is a neat freak and she raised me to be one as just like her. When it came time to move-out, I was slapped with a fat cleaning bill, and I couldn’t believe it… well, I could, but not because the apartment wasn’t clean.
(more…)
Tidbit From Corporate About Cleaning
Sunday, October 5th, 2008I had a great chat with Phil from DevCo, the parent company that owns Heatherwood Apartments. When I tried civilly to ask him about why I was being charged $220 for a cursory cleaning of my apartment, he conceded that no matter what, they have to send in someone to do a final clean and sanitization. But it doesn’t mean anything, does it?
The final scrub on my apartment couldn’t have been more than an hour, and I’ll see them in court or at the gates of hell for them to defend it otherwise. Phil says you get 2-hours of cleaning included automatically, so if it’s 2-hours PLUS $220 to clean a toiled, wipe the fridge and clean the pink around the bathtub drain, the guy has to be earning about $500 per hour, and work very, very slow.
(more…)
My Poor Deposit and the Poorer Lies that Followed
Thursday, October 2nd, 2008When it came time for me to leave, I left Heatherwood in a shockingly positive position. Not only did I leave the place clean, clear and free of any damage (I took a hundred pictures to prove it, you know, just in case they might not be totally ethical about it.)
I went an extra mile though. I moved out a full early and gave them the place back clean, clear and ready for their once-over, so they could get it shown and rented back out while I still had weeks on my lease.
(more…)
Should I Ignore It, Let It Go To Collections or What?
Wednesday, October 1st, 2008If you move out, whether as an eviction or otherwise, you have to be diligent with your outstanding balance whatever it is. In short, if they say you owe money, you need to pay it. If they say you’re not getting your deposit back, you have to accept it. There are some best practices you can do, and I’ll try to put them in chronological order.
(more…)
Legality of Carpet Cleaning vs. Normal Wear and Tear
Monday, September 29th, 2008Very few states let landlords charge tenants for carpet cleaning after a period of tenancy greater than six-months. Even if your state does, it will still come down to a judge’s decision, ultimately. When you rent an apartment, you have the right to live in it. When you leave, it is legally assumed that it will be worse only for the wear and tear. If someone is trying to charge your for carpet cleaning when you move out, you have the right to fight it, no matter what your lease agreement says.
(more…)
Water & Sewer Charges Beyond Insane
Sunday, September 28th, 2008Before we moved in, we were told in no uncertain terms that the water was included in our rent… mind you, it is, but only in the fact that you pay it straight to management on top of your rent. It’s not included “free”, it’s just included in that you pay it to the front office… that was a bit misleading, and we didn’t find it out until we sat down to sign the lease… but it might be more even than your worst expectations.
(more…)
Signing the Lease
Thursday, September 25th, 2008When we first found Heatherwood, we couldn’t believe our luck. From before the first day the whole thing seemed too good to be true… and maybe it was.
Despite our good credit (good enough we rented the past two houses without problem, and our credit got no worse) we had to take on a co-signor. It was a real struggle to get one, but my ex-brother-in-law stepped in when others stepped out.
(more…)