They jerk everyone around about raising the rent. Their first rent increase notice is considerably higher than what they'll settle for if you complain. If you know you should complain, that is.
Last year, this about when I started trying to renew my lease (which is up in August). That didn't finish up until, what, this past November?
They get one more courtesy call before I withhold rent. I'm thinking I may have to take a day off work next week to talk to the guy from the county who does the tenant-landlord relations stuff.
Probably should have done that months ago. Sometimes I'm too nice for my own good.
Screw the third call, get in touch with the outside people that're gunna help you screw their butts to the wall. if they're doing it to you they're doing it to other people too.
But, don't withold rent. you don't want to do anything that would make you look like the bad-guy or give them leverage over you. if you staty current then if/when it has to go to court, if you're entitled to the money you've given you can include it in your claim.
This is obviously a hazard that threatens your health. If Maryland is like Virginia, you can give your landlord notice of the deficiency and start paying your rent to the court, which will hold it in escrow until your landlord fixes the problem(s) cited.
You pay your rent and are therefore not subject to eviction. The landlord simply can't get the rent until he acts.
Google your Landlord-Tenant Act (for Maryland). It's an informative read.
p.s. This clause of the landlord-tenant act is usually slanted for things like necessary utilities (electric, water, heat) being turned off for no fault of the tenant. But I think you have a good chance of invoking it for sewage running through your electricity.
Hmm. Be careful that you don't get your apartment condemned.
My apartment flooded twice in three years. The second time was sewage. It sucks that you don't have the option I had at the time which was to buy a condo when they were still some around for under 100k. I think all apartments are going to have something sucky about them unless you move into some brand-new, super overpriced place.
That's just the thing... I could seriously deal with the water thing(s). I'll take water issues like I've had (and crickets) over most other apartment issues (like roaches and psycho neighbors and bad neighborhoods) any day.
What I refuse to abide by is management that doesn't even return phone calls and is, generally, incompetent in more ways than I really care to count right now.
What I want is a house. At least that way, the only person I have to blame for most things is myself (or whoever I've hired to do the work that I can't).
Unfortunately, I'm nowhere near the point financially where I can even come close to pulling off that trick.
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Last year, this about when I started trying to renew my lease (which is up in August). That didn't finish up until, what, this past November?
Yeah, moving out.
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I've now called them twice today.
They get one more courtesy call before I withhold rent. I'm thinking I may have to take a day off work next week to talk to the guy from the county who does the tenant-landlord relations stuff.
Probably should have done that months ago. Sometimes I'm too nice for my own good.
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But, don't withold rent. you don't want to do anything that would make you look like the bad-guy or give them leverage over you. if you staty current then if/when it has to go to court, if you're entitled to the money you've given you can include it in your claim.
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You pay your rent and are therefore not subject to eviction. The landlord simply can't get the rent until he acts.
Google your Landlord-Tenant Act (for Maryland). It's an informative read.
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Hmm. Be careful that you don't get your apartment condemned.
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I wish I really had the money to throw around to really nail this place with some high-priced lawyering.
Instead, I'll have to settle for guerrilla marketing techniques and grass roots movements.
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What I refuse to abide by is management that doesn't even return phone calls and is, generally, incompetent in more ways than I really care to count right now.
What I want is a house. At least that way, the only person I have to blame for most things is myself (or whoever I've hired to do the work that I can't).
Unfortunately, I'm nowhere near the point financially where I can even come close to pulling off that trick.
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