| JENNY'S IDEA FOR LANDLORD UNIVERSITY |
| (Originally posted in the summer of 2004) OK, here's my latest proposal: Landlord University Due to troubles with my current landlord, my roommate and I have decided that there should be required classes that any landlord should be required to take. I realize that to the landlord community, this is probably not a popular idea. But for all of you tenents out there who have ever wondered, "What is s/he thinking?!" you know what I mean. See, Sarah and I are firmly convinced that our landlord knows nothing. If he did... well, if he did, I wouldn't be looking for my THIRD apartment in less than a year. He refuses to give us a six month (or month to month) lease... and it's not like he's got hoards of would-be tenants clamoring to sign a year lease. We're his most reponsible tenants: we've kept the apartment nicer than anyone else and we always pay our rent on time. Why is he trying so hard to get rid of us? He wants us to move downstairs and rent rooms in the apartment where his daughter lives. A room for $425/mo! (Yes that includes utilities, but still... my monthly utilities do not come to $75 a month.) I pay $350 right now for use of an entire apartment! Does he really think we're going to go for that? So, sadly, Sarah and I have determined that our only recourse is to tell him we're moving out. And that's another thing: he refuses to give us a deadline of notice. We thought we had agreed upon 45 days.... but now we can't get an answer out of him. Entirely ridiculous. See why there should be a class? More on this as it develops.... (Later Addition) MARCH 11, 2005: Curriculum Ideas Here's a tip for would-be landlords: don't tell your current tenants that you plan to lower the rent for the next ones, just as soon as you move out. It's not going to win you a lot of friends. Here's a second tip: only pay a maintenance crew if they know more than the tenants. Example: tenants know that a leaking ceiling is a bad thing. The crew should not only know this, they should know how to fix it! |