Accepted a job at Marlborough

[br0wn]

Originally Posted by scarletfire

http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/5054.html

That sounds bad. I guess we have to avoid house/apt with lead paint. Although I heard most apt/house in MA have lead paint except ones that are built in recent years? Is that true?

[cocoaday]

Originally Posted by br0wn

That sounds bad. I guess we have to avoid house/apt with lead paint. Although I heard most apt/house in MA have lead paint except ones that are built in recent years? Is that true?

I'm not sure, I didn't think you could even list a rental property and mention that you couldn't rent to someone with a child due to lead paint. I thought you had to get rid of the lead paint if you wanted to rent. Here is something from the MA lead law:

The Massachusetts Lead Law makes it illegal to refuse to rent to families with children under six, or evicting or refusing to renew the lease of families with children under six, because of lead paint. Discrimination against families with young children is also a violation of the U.S. Fair Housing Act and the Massachusetts anti-discrimination statute. Parents cannot waive the rights of their children to live in lead-safe housing or agree to assume to risks of lead exposure. Owners who violate these laws face heavy penalties. The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination investigates and prosecutes cases of discrimination against families with children because of lead paint.

[ecovillager]

Originally Posted by br0wn

Hi, thank you for the help. I'm checking craigslist now
Please keep posting suggestions if you know a good place though. I appreciate it much.

BTW, i saw few places with lead paint, and they will not rent to anyone with kids < 6 years old (MA's regulation). Since we are expecting a baby soon (due March), that will apply to us i guess? Even if it doesnt, how dangerous/bad it will be for us? I have no experience with lead paint at all.
Thanks.

You might want to check MA Housing Authority on this. I believe it is illegal for someone to refuse to rent to you because you have or will have a child (though there may be exceptions for small landlords--again, check it out). If there is lead (which is dangerous for everyone, but especially for young children--can cause brain damage), the landlord is supposed to do something to abate it--which can be covering it over or removing it (but this must be done by qualified people--don't do it yourself!!). Of course, some landlords will just say they won't rent to you because they don't want to go to the expense. I lived in a household where, when the landlord knew that a couple was going to have a baby, did indeed cover/encase the lead painted trim with wood, and had it inspected after the job was done.

Good luck.

[MammaLakn]

I dont have any recommendations for you however I wanted to caution you against Windsor group properties.

My husband and I lived in a Windsor Property Townhouse when we were newlyweds in 2000. Management could care less about maintenance, safety and parking issues etc., all they cared about was money. Four months in to our lease my husbands employer gave him an option of being transferred or laid off (the client he had been working for for nearly 5 yrs were restructuring/being sold).

Windsor kept our security deposit and we had to pay 2 months rent to break the lease. It ended up costing us nearly $5k. Their reason for this was loss of rental income, avertising etc. Yeah right! When we drove by the day after we moved out new tennants were already moving in!

What takes the cake is that we moved out a couple of days before the vacate date. We left some things (mostly trash like paper, boxes, broken appliances etc) behind, we were coming back to clean the apartment. Windsor did an inspection on the property and left us a $600 bill for cleaning/trash removal services! When I called I was told that its only an estimate for "our convenience".

[MassREBroker4u]

br0wn,

Any home or property built after 1978 should be free of any lead-based paint hazards.

Lead-based paint was being phased out by the 1960's because of the health hazard the lead dust creates. The friction points of where doors meet the door frames and where window tracks/sills rub are the main problem. The dust gets into the air and falls to the floor.

What do young children love to do? Crawl on the floor and put their hands in their mouths. That is how most children ingest lead paint.

Anyways, stay away from properties built before 1978 and you should be OK.

Another option for you and your wife might be to buy a condo. Prices have dropped, and you could buy a decent 2 bedroom 2 bath unit for the same payment as a rental unit. If your planning to be in this area for atleast 3-5 years, you could ride this market out and be in a good position when the markets turns back around. Just a suggestion.

[Parsec]

You should be able to find a newer construction apartment complex in that price range. I frequently visit friends who live in that large complex off Simarano Dr. off I-495 in Marlboro, I think it's called Stonehedge or Stonebridge something like that. I think it's very nice and since it's very large, the heat/electricity is cheap in the winters since you'll be insulated by all of your neighbors. I would stay away from Simrah Gardens in Hudson -- I've lived there before and it's crap.