Hatrack River Forum: So much for the inspection...

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Posted by Maccabeus (Member # 3051) on :

In case anyone's been wondering where I've been...

After WenchCon I came back to find I was overdrawn at the bank. My finances have been recovering veeery slowly and the fellow who was paying for my college disappeared off to a conference in Florida, then got sick on his return. I haven't seen him and have been paying my college costs out of pocket, making money matters still worse.

On top of that, I suddenly got a notice that my apartment was "very unkept" at last inspection and that there would be a special inspection--which, presumably, could result in my being kicked out. I spent several days doing little more than cleaning and taking Sims breaks when I needed refreshment(frustratingly, my game has begun crashing frequently). Even sleep took something of a back seat.

Yesterday, the inspector arrived, gave the apartment a once-over, said it looked fine, and left. I'm glad it's okay, but still....Yeesh...

Meanwhile I narrowly managed to pay the college the latest installment without "borrowing" from the bank--at least, I think I timed everything right--despite having to pay the day before my paycheck came in.

I'm hoping that, just maybe, I am through the worst and things will get better from here.

Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :

Hang in there Macc!

-Bok

Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :

quote:

Yesterday, the inspector arrived, gave the apartment a once-over, said it looked fine, and left.

Um...wtf?

Posted by Maccabeus (Member # 3051) on :

That's more or less what I was thinking--I was expecting her to peer into the fridge and closets and pull back the shower curtain at the least. She didn't even enter the bathroom at all.

Apparently the whole reason I was in trouble was that their higher-ups are cracking down on them. So they had to at least make a show of being ready to kick me out.

Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :

I think Storm was more confused about why you would have an inspector to begin with. No apartment complex I've been in has that sort of thing.

-Bok

Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :

Yep. I've lived in a *lot* of apartments and the idea that I would have to have intermittent inspections in order to live in some apartment boggles my mind. You don't even have them in dorms, for the love of pete. The only time that the landlord should be officially inspecting is just before you leave.

Is the inspection thing part of your lease?

I hope you are getting a *really* good deal on rent.

[ March 12, 2004, 09:54 AM: Message edited by: Storm Saxon ]

Posted by Maccabeus (Member # 3051) on :

Ah...

These are rent-controlled apartments run by the local government--city gov, I think. Inspections are done quarterly. I'm not sure why this is the case, but perhaps they have heard horror stories about what such apartments can be like in big cities--rat-infested dumps and such. Here they are actually quite nice, albeit small and bare.

Initially the deal was indeed very good. When I first moved in, I had no income and paid nothing; in fact, one of my utility bills was paid for me. Even after a job, for over a year my rent was calculated based on a fraction of my income and was something under a hundred bucks, IIRC. Recently things changed and I am now paying through the nose--$290 a month--but I will have difficulty getting another place in the middle of the semester; the town is overflowing with students.

Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :

Which city is this, again? I've never even HEARD of completely free housing.

[ March 12, 2004, 10:01 AM: Message edited by: TomDavidson ]

Posted by Maccabeus (Member # 3051) on :

LOL.

A relative of my previous employer--the family attends the same church I do--is paying for my education. He's an old, somewhat eccentric, man and "sees potential" in me. The Taylor family is all upper-middle class due to their many used-car outlets.

And I live in Murray, Kentucky, which by the typical city-dweller's standard is probably little more than a pit stop, though around here it's fairly large by virtue of being a college town.

[ March 12, 2004, 10:04 AM: Message edited by: Maccabeus ]

Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :

quote:

Initially the deal was indeed very good. When I first moved in, I had no income and paid nothing; in fact, one of my utility bills was paid for me.

Paying nothing is a good reason to suffer through inspections. [Smile]

Even at 290 a month, if you have your own place, that's still an excellent, excellent deal.

I have to admit that I am very curious about this 'fellow' who has been paying for your college. What's up with that?

Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :

Ah. O.K. Don't be offended, but for the most part, when someone says that a stranger is paying for their school...well, let's just say that it's interesting and a lot of people might assume certain things. [Razz]

Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :

TomD, I know that in Boston there has been some urban renewal that resulted in almost free, if not completely free, short term leases for target groups (people being released from prison and the like).

And like Macc alluded to, they slowly ramp up your rent as you get your footing; also the cheap rents are not long-term.

-Bok

Posted by Maccabeus (Member # 3051) on :

Heh. I take no offense.

Tommy D. Taylor is hardly a stranger. He is a friendly, slightly odd old man who I saw several times at work (he operated a different segment of the family business, I think) and who usually attends the same church as me unless he is away on business. He also has more money than I would know what to do with. Sometimes he seems a little weird-creepy in the way that elderly people occasionally do, but it's my own psychological reaction and I compensate for it as best I can.

Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :

[Smile]

You're a good person, Mac.

Posted by Amka (Member # 690) on :

I lived in an apartment with inspections, and it wasn't a government complex. The owners were very picky. The rent was not too bad, a three bedroom at 520 a month. But the requirements were high for an apartment, requiring three times that amount of income after taxes.

This was the apartment that later became wasp infested, but the reaction of the management was quick.

Posted by Amka (Member # 690) on :

Oh and, good luck on the uprise. Hope things turn out better from here.

Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :

'520 a month'...'not too bad'...O_O. Sounds good to me!

Posted by Amka (Member # 690) on :

Probably a little more now. This was 5 years ago. But they are still there, in Salem Oregon.

Posted by aka (Member # 139) on :

I giggled at "paying through the nose at $290 a month". I don't think there is an apartment anywhere in my hometown, outside the projects, that has rent that low. In my college town either. Most one bedroom apartments in my town go for around $500 a month and up. I guess it depends on the local housing market, though.

Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :

Murray KY? I have some clients in Murray. I am sending some casino equipment to the Murray Women's Club next week.

Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :

Glad it worked out Macc. Can you actually find apartments for less than $290/month in Murray, KY? Or is where you live going to be your best deal?

AJ

Posted by Maccabeus (Member # 3051) on :

There may or may not be apartments that can be rented for less; there are places here that are rented by multiple people and cost less per person.

I am aware that, countrywide, $290 is a very low rent, but it is more than a quarter of my monthly paycheck and probably my largest single expense in a month. Maybe I'm just spoiled from the previous time when I wasn't paying so much, but the rent is part of the reason I'm struggling so much this time.

Oh, and I may not respond for a little while after this--I mean to post a landmark for my 1000th.

[ March 12, 2004, 02:07 PM: Message edited by: Maccabeus ]

Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :

Maccabeus, I'm sorry about the troubles. [Frown]

I'll be thinking about you. be sure to let us know how it all works out.

Posted by jeniwren (Member # 2002) on :

$520 for a 3 br house is *really* good. I felt really lucky to find a decent 3br apartment for $750/mth, and that was 8 years ago. In Denver, I *know* I was lucky to find a 3br apartment for under $1200/mth.

Posted by Amka (Member # 690) on :

Well, we moved to Salt Lake and faced sticker shock. The lowest 3 bedroom we could find that was acceptable was 900 a month. We almost got the 1200 a month but they had just rented it that morning.

And then we bought a house. Hate taking care of it, love being able to do whatever we want with it. 'Twas very fun to paint the kitchen sage green and the living room taupe, with dark accent walls.

Posted by Stan the man (Member # 6249) on :

I remember when I was going to school for 6 months in NY I paid about $750(? I think) a month for a two room house. It wasn't bad since I had a roommate. The worst part was he decided to visit his Grandmother in western NY and forgot to pay his half of the rent before he left. Thankfully, the BAH (military: basic allowance for housing) I was recieving was just enough to pay the whole thing myself. You bet your a*& he paid me back when he returned. I pay $300 a month now down here in VA.

Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :

Macc, most economists consider that if you spend 30% or less of your monthly take home (and this is gross income, not your actual check), you are doing okay.

This is, in fact, a calculation just about any mortgage company does when you ask for a home mortgage.

-Bok

Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :

To give you an idea of housing prices in the Madison area, Christy and I are paying $900/month -- before taxes -- on a three bedroom home here, and that's considered quite cheap.

Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :

Or, another way, my girlfriend and I are paying 1325 a month for a small 1-bedroom in a very desireable neighborhood in the metro boston area.

And this was the cheapest we found!

-Bok

[ March 12, 2004, 04:29 PM: Message edited by: Bokonon ]

Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :

Yeesh. I'm paying double or triple (or more) everyone here.

SoCal rents are insane.

[Edit: Ok, except for Bok. [Wink]

And my place is bigger.]

[ March 12, 2004, 04:19 PM: Message edited by: rivka ]

Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :

Paying roughly $1650/month for our housepayment, though that is including the escrowed insurance and taxes, and a bit of principle on the home equity loan. Without that I think it is around $1050 for the first morgatge and $270 for the home equity loan, which is interest only for the first 10 years (but we are trying to pay $350/month to get some of that principle down)

And we are in a cheaper west-northwest Chicago suburb that is wedged between two fairly expensive areas too.

Oh yeah 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, but nowhere near as fixed up as Tom and Christy's as far as actual livability goes.

AJ

[ March 12, 2004, 04:27 PM: Message edited by: BannaOj ]

Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :

I'm paying $470 for a posh one bedroom in a sketchy neighborhood. Friends that live downtown pay three times that for a two bedroom.

Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :

Yeah, in New Orleans, to live in the Garden District is at least $700/month for a one-bedroom. If you go elsewhere, it can drop down to $550 or so. Two bedrooms usually range from $900-$1500.