Negotiating. This is one scary word for someone like me who would rather take a hit than inconvenience someone else. Add the word “lease” in the same sentence, and my fear factor becomes a ten.
After all, it’s a delicate balance - I don’t want to appear high-maintenance (also known as a PITA Tenant in landlord vernacular), but I don’t want to be taken advantage of, either. It turns out that a few shady clauses slipped into the lease can rile me up just enough to press the matter (that, and a little encouragement from my WilliamPaid colleagues).
First, it was a standard 12-month lease, right? Wait - the lease says it is for 18 months. What?! Apparently, the landlord is using my lease term to get the EMPTY unit back on the city rental schedule. Shady? Yes. Deal-breaker? Ummm…no?
Suspicious Lease Term Number 2: prorated rent. When showing me the apartment, the agent encouraged an early move-in as an enticement - “after all, the apartment is empty.” The lease, though, dated one day after I received it, had - in small print, mind you - prorated rent from the date of the lease. Bull? Yes. But, alas, still no deal-breaker.
Unscrupulous Landlord Door Number 3: The lease stated that I would be responsible for all repairs in my apartment. Yes, really. ‘Mr. Landlord, I really don’t think that I should pay to fix YOUR refrigerator. Isn’t that why I’m renting?’ This is certainly a deal-breaker, right?
Armed with the conviction of my colleagues and the artificial backbone they implanted in me, I marked up the lease (OK, so my colleague did) and sent it off. Then, I waited … and waited.
Then came the nasty voicemail from the woman in the property management company’s office. “I don’t understand why there are all these marks on the lease. We need to talk.”
I’d love to tell you that I stood up for my rights. But, like many of you, I had just come too far to let the place go. So, now, even though they tell me that I won’t have to fix the refrigerator - “Just trust us,” I’m really crossing my fingers.
One thing, though, I did refuse to pay the extra pro-rated rent. I showed them, right? Did I mention that, for the next week, it’s back to the couch?
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I really like when people are expressing their opinion and thought. So I like the way you are writing
I really like when people are expressing their opinion and thought. So I like the way you are writing
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now. Keep it up!
And according to this article, I totally agree with your opinion, but only this time!