My experience looking for an apartment

[Monique1]

We went to one complex the other day at 1:00 pm, there was an open sign on the office entrance but the door was locked. We stood there for a few minutes when someone finally came to the door ticked that we bothered them. They were having lunch. We were told to come back in an hour. We looked around more and decided there is a problem with the upkeep of the complex. Excuse me, this is a place of business, how many renters can do that at their work? They had a box with info I thought regarding their complex, no, an application. How can I apply for something if I can't see the place?

So, we went across the street and think we found the most wonderful place to live on a lake. So f those who felt it was more important to eat lunch than to greet a possibly new client. My recollection during my working days was - staggering lunches and customers #1.

Another complex we visited earlier, just as bad. The person showed us apartments (we got that far) but as we completed our tour, she said as we were walking out the door in front of several people, "you will have a background check", fine, I have a fingerprint card from when I worked with children but the timing bothered me. In the application papers they will do a credit check, no problem but they want to know my assests, that bothered me. I don't think they should check into my savings or other areas of savings.

Sounds Republican to me.

Maybe I am touchy on this since I have not been through this process for years. Is this the norm?

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Things have gotten vERY weird. They do a credit check on you now when you apply for a job..

[customerserviceguy]

3. You get credit checks when you apply for car insurance

All kinds of nosy behavior out there.

[AnArmyVeteran]

17. Stupid right wingers whine about government intrusions but cheer on corporate invasions.

Why are conservative extremists so stupid? They seem to worship big business even though they are their enemies.

[BrklynLiberal]

20. It is like the French Revolution in reverse....

http://markmaynard.com/?p=7501

The best part of the article is the contribution by Thomas Frank, the author of What’s the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America. Here’s a highlight:

….Right-wing politics has become a vehicle for channelling this popular anger against intellectual snobs. The result is that many of America’s poorest citizens have a deep emotional attachment to a party that serves the interests of its richest.

Thomas Frank says that whatever disadvantaged Americans think they are voting for, they get something quite different:

“You vote to strike a blow against elitism and you receive a social order in which wealth is more concentrated than ever before in our life times, workers have been stripped of power, and CEOs are rewarded in a manner that is beyond imagining… It’s like a French Revolution in reverse in which the workers come pouring down the street screaming more power to the aristocracy.”

As Mr Frank sees it, authenticity has replaced economics as the driving force of modern politics. The authentic politicians are the ones who sound like they are speaking from the gut, not the cerebral cortex. Of course, they might be faking it, but it is no joke to say that in contemporary politics, if you can fake sincerity, you have got it made.

And here, according to the author of the article, is the big takeaway message from all of this… “If people vote against their own interests, it is not because they do not understand what is in their interest or have not yet had it properly explained to them. They do it because they resent having their interests decided for them by politicians who think they know best. There is nothing voters hate more than having things explained to them as though they were idiots. As the saying goes, in politics, when you are explaining, you are losing. And that makes anything as complex or as messy as healthcare reform a very hard sell.”

[AnArmyVeteran]

30. Thanx for that post. But RWs are idiots.

I haven't listened to one of their shows where anything is talked about in depth. It's a feast of buzzwords and little more. If something is longer than a sentence it's beyond the comprehension of a right winger's brain. And forget paragraphs.

But I like the article and link. It is like the French Revolution in reverse. And RWs are chanting for more for the ruling class. They do it on every RW radio and television show I've listened to. They chant for less regulation even though the lack of regulation destroyed our economy.

We need to educate them to the point where they realize the government is there for the people. It's our only defense against complete corporate control over our country.

Note: I said 'educate', not 'reeducate' because it's obvious they are not a very educated or aware group of people. They shouldn't be afraid of 'reeducation camps' since they were never educated properly in the first place.

[bluestateguy]

2. I have had places wanting to know my source and amount of income

I guess they are trying to minimize the liklehood of having someone who can't pay the rent, who will then get evicted, which can be an onerous process for everybody.

As for the first person that was rude, yes I would bypass them. I had a similar experience from an apartment manager who broke her promise to call me back after I had expressed interest in her place.

[customerserviceguy]

5. It's a reasonable question

When someone rents to you, they're hoping that they don't have to go through a long costly procedure to evict, should that be necessary. Evaluating income, source, and credit are prudent steps for a landlord to take.

[Hannah Bell]

4. i don't think that's uncommon. last time i applied for an apt they wanted

to know job & all my bank balances.

it's crazy.

[napi21]

9. I can understand that. There are so many people now who scrape together one or two months

rent & then stop paying, mainly because they just don't have the money. That is not only onerous but expensive.

[bobbolink]

12. Rather than "scrape together" what they can, it is much better for them to be on the street.

[Obamanaut]

16. There is that. Also, when an owner/manager tries to evict a tenant

for non-payment there is the process of eviction notices, sometimes served by local LEOs, for which the owner/manager must pay a fee. There are places where the fee is based on the number of adult occupants - more adults, higher fee.

During the eviction for non-payment process, there is the lost revenue due to not having a paying tenant in the space.

[Hannah Bell]

22. That's why people pony up first, last & damage. Sorry, no business is risk-free

& that's one of the risks. As a renter I had an unblemished history: I paid on time & I left the places spotless. If those references + employment aren't good enough, & the owners think they need to snoop through all my financial records, I don't want to rent from them.

[Obamanaut]

26. Ponying up first, last, and damages is not the same as scraping together

one or two months' rent - which is what I responded to.

I know three people in my area who have multiple rental properties, and they tell me over coffee how hard it is to get rid of those 'scrapers', and the fees involved with eviction.

I have a two acre lot (about three miles from my house) with a mobile home that I bought for my sister to live in when she wanted to leave San Diego. It is in a quiet neighborhood, all the yards are kept up nicely - a small subdivision of 24 2-acre lots. She died last year and my daughter suggested I rent it. I have chosen not to, but we (spouse and I) go tend the yard and keep it dusted, using it as a larger spare bedroom for when family members come visit MIL who lives in nursing home nearby.

We would rather do this than have a possible hassle with renters.

[Hannah Bell]

21. You can understand why they wanted to know my bank balances? I can't,

I don't think it's any of their business. All they need to know is that I'm employed or have a source of income.

I have a number of accounts. They wanted permission to snoop through all my financials. Bullshit, none of their business.

[napi21]

23. Dumb question perhapse, but if you have several accounts,

who says ou have to tell them about all of them? If you like the apt. and the area, the price is acceptable and most of your other concerns have been satisfied, why not give them ONE account and end it there? There's no law you'd be reaking ^ no reason to give a landlord EVERYTHING! They're asking for the world & hoping to get a city block.

[Hannah Bell]

25. it's actually been so long i can't remember the details exactly, this was in the late 80s,

but my recollection is they asked for credit card, banks & accounts on the app. & some kind of permission to run a credit check or something similar as well.

i didn't want to give them *any* of that information. i had good references from previous landlords in the same city (small enough that they likely knew some of them) & a job, it should have been enough.

i have a big problem with lying about stuff; i don't like to lie & i don't like to fill out applications deliberately lying, so in a situation where i have to lie -- i'd rather just skip the entire exercise.

[Gormy Cuss]

6. Yes and increasingly yes.

The complex where the office was shuttered for lunch break? Take that and the grounds maintenance as a sign that cheapskates are running the place down rather than properly managing it.

The background check has become common especially in professional managed complexes. However, you have every right to ask who conducts that search, how the information is stored and reported, whether the management company takes full responsibility for prevention of misuse of that data (think identity theft) and whether they are will to provide you with a copy of the information.

You can also just do as I did -- say no thanks and look elsewhere.

[napi21]

7. I wonder if the owner of these buildings knows what kind of people they have

working for them? If these bad experiences were related to the building owners, my guess things would change rather quickly.

[dkf]

8. If you want the place I figure you might as well sell yourself as a tenant.

The landlord/agent will be looking for the most reliable person after all. Wouldn't you if you were trusting your house or apartment to another individual?

[SargeUNN]

14. they were beyond that point

After looking for places here in this valley, and living in 3 different complexes, the credit check is mostly done, but the we call people who know you and ask what kind of neighbor you are, was beyond what I would call reasonable. I noticed too there seem to be an aloftness from those I saw who lived there as well.

[Tace]

10. It's ALL About The Credit Report And Assets

I'm a licensed real estate broker in New York State. I showed apartments in Manhattan for a while several years ago.

When renting an apartment from anyone but an individual owner, you'll be subject to a credit check. The only criterion that the landlord is permitted by law to use to decide whether to rent to you is your financial standing.

Like it, or not, that's the way it is.

Good luck. : )

[Monique1]

11. I was not bothered by a credit

That is the norm but to know your assests is another thing. I take wanting to know assests is savings, stocks etc

I was also bothered by the fact this one place closed the doors while wanting to eat together. To me that is odd also, how many of the places do you work where your places of business shuts down to have lunch together?

Perhaps it is the attitude that was also the problem. It was like making someone feel like a piece of dirt.

[Tace]

15. I Think You're Right To Follow Your Gut Feeling About A Place

Regarding your assets, it's your prerogative whether to state them, or not. They should only matter if there's any question about income or your credit score.

If it really bothers you, I suggest submitting applications without stating your assets, and see if you are accepted. If a landlord turns you down at a place you want to rent based on your credit report, income and work histories, then you can bring up any assets, if you want, in order to try to qualify. It's pretty much an arbitrary decision by the landlord.

[LostinVA]

18. They have no business knowing your assets for a rental

A mortgage is a different thing. I don't even think they should eb allowed to credit check, unless you are a first-time renter (ie been in college, etc.), just: do you have a job and making how much? Rental references? And, maybe even a criminal check for things like rape, convicted burglary, etc.

[aikoaiko]

27. I may be wrong, but I thought bank accounts showed up on credit reports

maybe not.

[LWolf]

19. So, how do those with bad credit find a place to live?

It's been about 20 years since the last time I rented an apartment.

[napi21]

24. That's been my question too. What oes someone who's lost their job

and filed for bankruptcy do to find a place to live? I don't know the answer. We rented an apt. in 1964, bult a house (Nail by nail, wire by wire ourselves) in 1965 & haven't rented since, but I am really worried about people now who lost their job and have no credit or maxed out their credit. Are they supposed to live under a bridge somewhere?

[LWolf]

29. It's probably illegal to live under the bridge, too.

:(

[aikoaiko]

28. extended stay or low end rentals are the practical answers.

Sometimes after building a good rental history with one of the above, an apt complex will overlook a low fica score.

[rainbow4321]

31. Usually, they have to pay a higher move-in deposit

if their credit score is deemed low by the apt complex.

[SargeUNN]

13. further info on the one on background check

The woman made it an extreme point to where I felt she was trying to impress me with their we will keep you safe pitch, but instead I took it as we will make sure you are "OUR" kind of person. When reviews of the place online was checked out, one said they tried to micromanage your lives. The rude person did get a call from me and after I insisted, apologized then went on to defend their actions. Both places I walked away with a feeling, I will not rent there.