Originally Posted: 2009-05-23 18:30 (no longer live)
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rentals or why I have head explody

I have been looking for a new place and I have noticed a few things about the rentals listed under "apt/housing" which are making me all sad due to the amount of time I waste searching the ads, emailing people, phoning them or looking at the places for rent.

1. Please do not be all snarky with me when I ask about pets. If your ad doesn't say "no pets," please don't assume I know that you don't allow pets. If you don't allow pets, please put it in your ad. It will save all of us a great deal of time. If you do allow pets, it is illegal to require a "non-refundable" deposit of any kind.

2. There is no such thing as a "1 bedroom studio" - it is either a 1 bedroom OR a studio. A 1 bedroom has a bedroom, living room, kitchen and bathroom. If the place has only 1 room for sleeping, living and eating, it is a studio and not a 1 bedroom.

3. A dorm-size fridge and 2 burner hotplate or small microwave is not a kitchen or kitchenette. It is limited cooking and your ad needs to state this.

4. If the place is listed as a 1 bedroom and the text of the ad indicates it is a room in a multi-bedroom place, i.e., Isla Vista group housing, it is not a 1 bedroom apartment. It is shared housing. The ad needs to go in the "rooms/shared" section. This also includes places with a "shared bathroom down the hall" or a master bedroom in someone's house - even if it has a separate entrance. If the renter has to share a bathroom and/or kitchen - it is shared housing.

5. Subleases or a limited rental lease period go in the "sublet/temporary" section. If a sublease, please be prepared to provide a copy of your lease and complete contact information about your landlord at the time you show the place. Unless I can contact your landlord, I have no way of knowing you are authorized to sublet the space. A surprised landlord is not a happy landlord. And, if you sublet a place to someone without your landlord's knowledge and consent, the new tenant has no legal right to be there.

6. Vacation rentals have their own place in "vacation rentals." I mean, honesty, you advertise a place for $1,200 and it turns out to be the price for 1 week - this is annoying.

7. A converted garage or storage shed is not a "studio" a "detached studio" or a "garden cottage" - no matter how "cute" "cozy" or "charming" it is. It is a converted garage or shed. Also, the lack of indoor plumbing is not a plus. Please be honest that it is a conversion, and listing the square footage of the space would be a help. Photos from fancy camera work or photoshopping to make the place look bigger than it is wastes everyone's time.

8. When people think of "sunny," they usually are thinking of more than 1 window. Unless it is a south-facing, full wall window, it isn't going to be "sunny." Also, a palm tree or a bush or a fence is not a "view" - they are a palm tree or a bush or a fence. If I have to lean out a window to see a very small hint of what might be, maybe, the ocean, it is not an "ocean view" place.

9. California law requires that every housing unit have a working telephone outlet. I am not being difficult when I ask about it.

10. Please indicate if the rent does or doesn't includes utilities. And, listing those "does" or "doesn't " utilities would be a help. If it is shared utility costs, please be prepared to show all recent utility bills. Again, I am not being difficult when I ask. I need this information so I will know if I can afford the place.

11. Finally, for the love of whatever, please clean the place before you show it to people. Nothing says responsible landlord like a uncleaned place, a bathroom that has mystery crud in the toilet, sink or tub, peeling paint, broken window latches or light fixtures, or a fridge with mold growing inside it. And, what is that stain on the rug and why does the place smell like a slaughterhouse? The place would rent faster if you clean the place, clean or replace the carpet, repair things, and make the space "move-in ready" before you show it.



  • Location: *headdesk*
  • it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

post id: 1185952531