is this a common lease, I'm scared?! Also, pest control (Charleston: apartment, renter)

[family3]

About to sign on the dotted line, but this lease is so long and seems so full of negativity I am scared!
Have not rented in a very long time and this thing makes me feel like I am certain to lose money, get sued, evicted It certainly makes me feel as though all this rental money every month is just so the landlord can pay his mortgage and have someone else do the upkeep on the property.

$200 per pet nonrefundable deposit (for a total of $400) (it certainly costs alot to clean carpets in an 1100 sq ft house down there)

If rent not paid w/in 5 days, immediate eviction (sure hope I dont get hospitalized)

security deposit withheld for 30 days, minus any cleaning/repairs, etc. Makes sense, but who determines what damage was cause by negligence versus normal wear and tear? When young, I never recieved my security deposit.
They knew I was young and couldnt afford an attorney so they would make up all sorts of lies, even with a walk through. This especially concerns me as I am moving from NY, I will be faxing the lease and sending the money before I am able to do a final walkthrough.

We have to perform all lawn maintenance, watering the lawn,including the flower beds weeding,and shrub trimming, roof and gutters free of debris, fire ant destroying, pest spraying, replacing HVAC filters every month.

If determined to be caused from neglect or carelessness, we pay for any repairs to the plumbing, electrical, hvac, etc etc??? Ok, now, are they going to try like heck to put us at blame if something breaks? It certainly is not hard to have a plumbing friend say, "yup, the tenant flushed a paper towel roll down the toilet".

Tenant agrees to be responsible for and to make at tenats expense all rountine maintenance, including but not limited to, stoppage of sewer beacuse of misuse or broken water pipes/fixtures due to neglect or carelessness of tenant. Again, why all this talk of sewer and water pipes?
Also, what is routine maintenance?

Responsible for minor housekeeping repairs. What is this?

Pets. Landlord can say we have 3 days to get rid of the pets if in the opinion of the landlords agents, it has been a nuisance or not maintened according to the rules.

Dogs must never be alone in the home unless caged.

pets will not cause: danger, damage,nuisance, noise, helath hazard, soil the property, premisies, grounds, common areas, walks, parking areas, landscaping or gardens. Barking will not be tolerated.
Ok, so my dogs will soil the property. They have to go potty, which I then clean up but if on the property that I am paying for it while not be at the exact moment the poo hits the ground. Also, while not barkers, they are dogs and just may bark once or twice.
I just worry that there is too much open endedness. Too many gray area excuses they can come up with to force me to give up my pets or I will break my lease, lose a ton of money and be dragged into court homeless.

Security deposit will collect interest but tenant agrees that interest will go to the property management.

Also, the yard is full of fire ants right now, we are to get rid of these before we move in?

How much is pest control on a regular basis?

[Brandon Hoffman]

Sounds like a standard SC Lease Agreement. If it is, I use the same one and isn't as scary as it sounds. Just a like a mortgage, you pay you stay. You don't, you won't.

[family3]

Originally Posted by Brandon Hoffman

Sounds like a standard SC Lease Agreement. If it is, I use the same one and isn't as scary as it sounds. Just a like a mortgage, you pay you stay. You don't, you won't.

Thanks for your opinion! The last time I rented ( in rural NY), it was a half page agreement, this one is 11 pages

Is it common in SC, or at least in the lowcountry for the tenant to pay pest control? I believe my realtor told me the owner was responsible for that?

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by family3

Thanks for your opinion! The last time I rented ( in rural NY), it was a half page agreement, this one is 11 pages

Is it common in SC, or at least in the lowcountry for the tenant to pay pest control? I believe my realtor told me the owner was responsible for that?

It's whatever is in the agreement. If you're not happy with the terms of the lease, don't rent from them.

[My Sunshine]

I've rented several places in the lowcountry and I've never had a lease as detailed and restrictive as what you're describing. And all of the places I've rented have always included pest control in the rent. But the thing about the tenant being responsible for minor maintenance is pretty standard, I think...at my current place that just means that we have to replace light bulbs, change air filters (which are provided for us), keep the appliances clean and maintained, etc.

If you're concerned about the lease, I would keep looking for someplace else. There are plenty of rental properties in the area, so you should be able to find someplace pretty easily that doesn't force you to crate your dogs every time you leave the house!! IMO it's worth the peace of mind, but that's just my 2 cents!

[SCBeaches]

I can understand the pet regulations....you were lucky to find a landlord who will allow pets at all. I have been both a renter with pets and a landlord. The landlord has more to worry about than cleaning the carpets....I have seen 3 examples of where dogs chewed holes in the carpeting and totally destroyed shoe molding throughout the house and chewed through bedroom doors...not to mention digging holes to China in the backyard! I'm sure you are a responsible pet owner as I was when renting and will treat the house as your own, but some are not that way....thus the detailed lease.
Also, back when I rented a home, I had to pay the pest control myself, but some landlords pay it for you. Renting is different with each landlord....and while I, as a landlord, always gave back the deposit if there was no damage done, I have found that most do not - they always seem to find "something" to keep it for.

[fqtravlr]

That sounds like a lease agreement written by someone who has been burned more than once. I see nothing wrong with covering all your bases when dealing with someone you know nothing about.
2 cents..

[PalmettoGuy]

Maybe it would be worth your while to have a local (SC) lawyer look it over for you. An attorney would be able to advise you about whether landlords in SC can evict via self-help, the default responsibilities/rights of landlords and tenants, etc. The lawyer could also tell you whether you're looking at a standard lease or something unusually biased towards the landlord.

I would ask the landlord for references from current or past tenants. Just as the landlord wants to find out about your credit and rental history, it's perfectly fair for you to find out what other renters think about him/her. Also, you can always try to negotiate the terms of the lease. If the landlord tells you to take it or leave it, you have to make the choice whether this particular property is worth it. As others have said, there is no lack of rental choices in the area, and you should shop around.

[echobeach]

We just relocated to Charleston (James Island, specifically) and we also had to pay non-refundable per dog fee (although is was only $75 each -- but I would have paid what you are paying just to be able to have my dogs with me!). I had not rented in about 9 or so years and agree it was a much longer lease than the two-sided one pager I signed on my last Brooklyn apartment.

Re: the walk-through. We also could not review the place before coming down but one of the first things I did was go over all the things that were already damaged with the agent that rented the place to us (e.g., dents in the "new refrigerator", broken locks on sliding doors, etc., etc.). If you do sign the lease you should be able to add a rider that allows you to review and list the property's "damage" when you arrive or at least meet with the agent or landlord as soon as you move in.

Although this is an okay apartment for us, for now, if I had seen the crappy workmanship - nothing, not the sink hardware, light fixtures, doors on the cabinets, the cheap pseudo wood flooring has a single right angle - it is all crooked - and the sinks were built for very very short people...has I known all this I would have looked elsewhere or definitely negotiated a lower rent.

If you are unsure and are not under a time-gun, don't sign and then look around on-line. There are a FLOOD of rentals available and lots take pets. Feel free to direct message me if there is anything I can do for you from this end: I would be glad to help a fellow soon-to-be ex-New Yorker.

[3 Seconds]

I would not sign that lease.

The final straw is that they get the interest on your $$. What a load of crap, even though it wont be very much.

Its a renter's market. I would think you could better.