I was looking over some paperwork on the loft rental earlier today. I would note that if you pay a deposit for something, and all or part of it is "non-refundable," then it is not really a deposit, is it? It's more like a fee. And if a fee, then what is it for? A fee implies some goods or services to be delivered. I do believe all of these leasing agents are simply engineering their own fees and calling them non-refundable deposits. Same with the application fee. At least they called it a fee, but to my mind, the owner of a property should be paying his own agents, not me. I'm good with an agreement to send rent checks to the owner and a handshake, and that shouldn't cost anything. I don't need the agent--the owner thinks he or she does. That's their problem.
-angry renter
This weeks gratuitous photographic image:
That sucks. It should be called a fee. Is it a landlord's market there too? Here it is because of the high demand for housing since the crash. There's new construction, but it's generally high-end luxury stuff, so that doesn't help peeps who are looking for affordable places to rent. If you lost your home in the crash, generally you aren't looking for a super fancy apartment now. Rule of thumb. But I guess the young techies can go in 2-3 to a place, so it's fine for them.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a landlord's market too, yes. I'm complaining, but probably Kansas City is a lot easier to deal with in that respect than the west coast. At least armed with $1,000 monthly rent budget you can find something decent to live in.
ReplyDeleteAll the fees came about with the advent of the "leasing agent" and associated companies. Introduce a middle-man and of course the lowly peons like me have to pay their wages. I don't know if that makes me a "job creator." I don't feel like one.
Don't even get me started on "pet rent." I can understand that for, say, a feral pig, but not a little kitty cat!
I get tickled looking at rentals in most places in California when at the bottom of the description it'll say something like, no pets, no smoking, no growing.
Yes, the pet rent is super annoying. I had that at my last place, but none here. Not even a pet deposit! I'm really lucky to have found this apartment ~ a large studio with a fab kitchen, perfect for me & G. Not great for entertaining, but who needs people? :)
ReplyDeleteDon't remember a no-grow clause in my lease. Will have to check. My writing doesn't sell much... maybe that's a neat idea for a side hustle. LOL