Apartment hunting as a cat owner.

[Simple Living]

Well, I FINALLY ended up finding a nice place. It's in a nice, quiet area of town and the neighbors in the building are friendly. The elderly woman who caretakes the building is a sweetheart. I'm paying less than I am in my current apartment, have more room and several amenities like a garbage disposal (which I miss), a dishwasher (which I'll never use) and a balcony (which I'll use daily). There is NO pent rent and a $400 cat deposit (and another $400 deposit for me). The good news on that is that it's 100% refundable when I move out.

It was stressful, and hard work, but I did it! I only have to be there for a year. By the end of the year, I'll be debt-free and on my way to Wyoming for good. At least when I leave, I'll have an additional $800 in deposits coming my way. I view that as a nice little savings account.

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii5/BlogCabinGuy/CIMG0047-1.jpg (broken link)

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii5/BlogCabinGuy/CIMG0053.jpg (broken link)

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii5/BlogCabinGuy/CIMG0037.jpg (broken link)

And the picture below is my goal...

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii5/BlogCabinGuy/carolina_log_cabin.jpg (broken link)

[Katie1]

My son wants your kitty!!! He LOVES all black cats!!

[littlelou]

I was talking to a friend yesterday about this same thing. Her daughter and fiancee were out looking at rental houses and were blown away by the deposits being requested for pets. I told her I'd seen some $400-500 "deposits" per pet plus up to $40 per month additional rent at some apartments here in Charlotte. I can understand a pet deposit and even call it a pet fee if its unrefundable, but I expect new carpet when I move in if that's what its to be used for. My current place, there is a nasty stain that the maintenance men made on the bedroom carpet, the day I moved in. I made sure it was written up....three different places in my move in inspection forms so my cats don't get blamed for it. I know they probably won't replace the carpet after I move out....even though that should be a requirement if you have pets. My friends daughter said they walked into a house that had tile floors....the current renter has 4 cats and they said the house reeked of cat urine. no way to get that out of the grout....that home owner will have to regrout the entire house. said they went into the living room and no further the smell was so bad. these are the types of people that landlords hate and cause problems for the rest of us.

I don't mind paying a reasonable pet fee.... but no additional rent. I would require a complex/landlord to replace the carpet if there had been a pet in the residence prior to me. I know that's law in some states to replace the carpet between each tenant.

[Ohiogirl81]

What an adorable cat! Love the dream cabin, too.

Good luck in your new home!