Okay geezz NOW what should I do? (Ossipee: insurance, houses)

[daniellefort]

oh my gosh. that's terrible. If he was anything of a decent person, he'd do something to help you all out.

[DareToDream]

Originally Posted by Tarastomsgirl

Geez, Tara - the pic brought back memories of our rental when we first moved to NH! At least our landlord paid for the heat......

[Valerie C]

Tara, I don't know how the lease is worded, but it may be possible to break your lease without owing a penalty. It's NOT illegal to not having insulation--even very old homes built in the pre-fiberglass insulation era will have blown-in insulation, or in some cases, scrunched up newspapers. Do you remember asking anything about it (previous heat bills, amount of insulation, etc) and if he misrepresented the rental, you may have a case. I'd see an attorney if he won't help out with the heat bill...

[ded2bred]

If you google renters rights in New Hampshire, you will get a wealth of info before you make a trip to the lawyer. If this apartment has no insulation, I am sure that contributed to the pipes freezing also. Even if you have a lease, you can take the landlord to court and the judge can reduce your rent. Do your homework, take pictures, and write everything down. Talk to a code inspector in your town. He can tell you if plumbing, electrical, etc. is hazardous if he has enough info. The more you can do yourself...the less out of pocket to a lawyer. Make 3 copies of all files, one for the judge, one for you and one for your landlord. Through the freedom of information act, you should be able to find if anyone at that property has filed a case against the landlord. Most case transcripts are public record, and only sealed if a child or sensitive info is involved.

Read your rights for Renters in New Hampshire first. If you don't understand a part of it. There will be a number to call and they may also be able to put you in touch with agencies that can help you.

All else fails...The local news loves stories of unscrupulous landlords who take advantage of a young couple starting out....Just food for thought.

[WannaComeHome]

Good info for future renters!

Luckily Tara is now back in FL, and likely much happier.

[Tarastomsgirl]

Originally Posted by WannaComeHome

Good info for future renters!

Luckily Tara is now back in FL, and likely much happier.

extreamly happier... I wake up and ride my bike to the beach every morning now.. It is much better than shoveling snow or waking up to the nonstop dreary days we had last week. There is a quailty of life in places that don't have snow compared to places they do. The non stress of driving in the storms and not having to constantly see the weather channel to know how to dress for the day is wonderful.. I just wish I would have listened to everyone who warned me about the taxes, the commutes and importantly the weather... But oh well. I'm happy where I am now and wish you all the same

[GregW]

Just to be a crumudgeon - think hurricanes. We get lots of hurricanes in New Hampshire.

[Ken E]

I dont know about hurricanes but we sure could some rain. A lot of brush fires latley.Most of the smaller lakes and ponds have been dried up for a while. A lake down here is anything deeper than 3 feet. You really got it made up there when it comes to nice lakes and clen water.People really take pride in their natural recources up there unlike down here.

[Tarastomsgirl]

Originally Posted by GregW

Just to be a crumudgeon - think hurricanes. We get lots of hurricanes in New Hampshire.

hurricanes are nothing... at least with hurricanes I get well in advance warnings.. I've never lost a home in a hurricane or had any damages to really speak of. I'd rather not have power down here than up there and freeze to death. I think for people who haven't experienced hurricanes it seems like a big deal.. Hell we make drinking games out of the hurricanes and as a child my parents would have hurricane parties. We wouldn't board up till the morning of the storm... Its a lot easier to deal with than snow.. It snowed the day before we left, it was freezing and you couldn't go outside because of the rain/snow that had been occuring for 4 days straight prior and up to the day of us moving, now tomorrow I'm going on a boat.. I mean there's no comparison. Summer for me in NH is nice, but so short its like June- Mid August and autumn was here and gone in a month if that, I didn't find it that spectacular but people told me last year was a dud anyways and not as nice as previous years, and the rest of the year was winter. Unless your a winter sports junkie I don't see the point really cause there won't be much to do other than skiing sledding skating. Everything else, even the ice cream shops shut down.

[Valerie C]

I lived in St. Louis for almost 5 years, and to the locals, the tornado siren going off several times every week wasn't a big deal either... I, OTOH, would get the kids to the basement where we had a large table set up with blankets, pillows, water and snacks, etc. "just in case". Our first year there there was a twister in the next subdivision, we lost portions of our fence and roof, and the neighbors were like "no big deal"... TO ME it was a HUGE deal to be shoveling 5" of almost golf-ball size hail off of my deck after the storm passed. To the natives, it was a normal spring day...

All in what you're used to... and I suppose all the folks in Florida who lost homes, etc. due to Wilma, Andrew, etc would agree that they are nothing? I dunno bout that, but mebbe...

Originally Posted by Tarastomsgirl

hurricanes are nothing... at least with hurricanes I get well in advance warnings..