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Old 04-15-2008, 08:12 PM
 
2,017 posts, read 5,078,289 times
Reputation: 1352

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Quote:
Originally Posted by sponger42 View Post
Simple; you might be correct for your state. However, the OP implied that these "inspections" were along the lines of those in boot camp to see how high the quarter bounces off his bedsheets. That is clearly not allowed.
Yup. I definitely missed that part! Slam the door in his face, I say! Of course, there's nothing to say that an overly nosey landlord like that won't use the key to go into your apartment when you're at work. I'd frankly move out as soon as I could. Nobody needs that aggravation.

Quote:
Live how you please, so long as you don't create a health issue for yours or other units or do any damage/changes to the apartment that cannot be undone when you move out.
Precisely.
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Old 04-15-2008, 09:03 PM
 
61 posts, read 489,365 times
Reputation: 60
Thanks for the responses. They didn't show up at my apartment this time. Frankly its not how I want to live, its just what I have at this moment. I'm not hoarding at all. In fact I got rid of tons of stuff before I moved in here. It wouldn't have fit there is no storage whatsoever. In fact in a good sized apartment it would look very clean and or a small house it would fill maybe a third of it. My apartment is about the size of a hotel room. The last time I stayed at a Shilo Inn I thought if you just add on my kitchen this would be the size of my apartment. I moved in here quick to get out of a situation and then finances have unfortunately kept me here. I realize the only way out of it and to get my normal life back is to move. I'm going to start packing stuff a little everyday and then start looking. I can handle cleaning an apartment that has enough space to put everything away every week even with health problems. What I can't is an apartment too small that everytime you have to clean its liike moving day all over again. That is way too hard.

Anyway thanks again.

Also these so called inspections are legal, I think. They are for leaks, water heaters etc... but they don't do them all at the same time. That is what bugs me. You might have a yearly inspection and then in two months-hey we have to check this. After awhile it seems to add up.

I can't wait to buy a house and make it my own. Apartment living is awful in my opinion.

P.S. I have a bad back and it is hard for me to get the trash and recycling out, the dumpsters aren't really close. Would it be off base to ask the maintenance man for help? Possibly even give him a few dollars to help me out once in awhile?

Last edited by nillawafer; 04-15-2008 at 09:16 PM..
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Old 04-15-2008, 09:52 PM
 
Location: Camberville
15,774 posts, read 21,283,299 times
Reputation: 27967
I know how you feel. I live in a 90 square foot dorm room and everything I own is in it- not to mention that it serves as a bedroom, entertainment center, library, kitchen, office, and even has a bathroom sink and medicine cabinet! I also have health issues and a large workload so there are piles of books and papers all over.. but all organized. Some nights I wake up surrounded by piles of books and notebooks with highlighter all over my face :P Then I just push everything off my bed and roll over.

However, I never let food go anywhere but from my desk to the trash can and I empty the trash regularly. There also aren't piles in between my bed and desk and my desk and the door so I don't trip and fall. Whenever I have a free moment, I try to straighten up as much as possible.

I just don't have the floor space for it, but for other people in bigger rooms, I know people who stack crates on their sides and use them as cubbies and bookcases. Maybe that would help you at least get some stuff organized if you can find room for them?
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Old 04-16-2008, 04:38 AM
 
61 posts, read 489,365 times
Reputation: 60
Charolastra00,

I can relate! I have a way too small desk and no tables in my apartment. My futon has become my desk and I have papers/hmwk everywhere. Its the beast of College I guess. Luckily I do have more space than you do. I think I've just been lucky in the past with renting bigger apartments and some houses too. My bedroom growing up would probably take up half this apartment. I have a friend that I was talking/complaining to and she said that it was kinda small, her bedroom and closet are the size of my apartment! It kills me.

I was remembering earlier when I first moved in it wasn't bad and that was because I had most of my stuff still in storage. I obviously wanted to stop paying storage and wanted my stuff near me, so I moved it in. That is when the chaos began. I won't go back to paying storage. The payment along with my rent would probably be close to just getting a bigger apartment, so I guess that is what I'll do. I do have a little money saved that I can use. I was going to use it for after I graduate or emergency, but I'll have to get a Plan B or C. The stress now isn't worth it.

Good luck in your studies.
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Old 04-16-2008, 05:07 AM
 
Location: Henderson, NV
8,882 posts, read 20,247,631 times
Reputation: 5619
We would be in BIG trouble also if we didn't rent the nice 10 x 10 enclosed garage we have right across the drive from our apartment. In fact, the was one of the first things that my wife ask about when she seen the garages here. We moved out of a 2-story, 3-bedroom house with a basement and 3-car garage we had in Colorado. We even got rid of some furniture before we moved to NC. My wife has a bad habit of "saving" to many things. Even though she still has to much "old" stuff, she did get rid of a lot before we moved out of Colorado. But, along with getting older (not physically able to handle boxes/furniture like she use to...me neither) and moving twice in eight years, she is now ready to get rid of more things. I'm just glad I'm not a "saver" like she is or we would really be in trouble. We now live in a 2-bedroom apartment and it is pretty full of furniture and things. Along with our 60 age bracket, I had a hip replacement and shoulder surgery in Colorado, so my "physical moving days" are over.

Last edited by BabyBoomers2; 04-16-2008 at 05:08 AM.. Reason: re-aligned reply
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Old 04-16-2008, 07:31 AM
 
61 posts, read 489,365 times
Reputation: 60
LoveBoating,

I know what you mean. We don't have garages at this place and there isn't even a storage closet off the deck like in all my other apartments. I wish I would have looked around a little more before I moved in here. My last apartment had 4 good sized closets (I had room in them to spare) and an outside storage closet and you could rent a garage, but I didn't. This place has only one bedroom closet that is packed with stuff that doesn't even go in a bedroom and a small hall closet where I keep coats, vacuum, games and christmas stuff.

Life is much easier when everything has a place to put it back in. I've learned my lesson to never rent an apartment without enough storage space ever again.
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Old 04-16-2008, 08:23 AM
 
2,016 posts, read 5,188,989 times
Reputation: 1878
Quote:
Originally Posted by austin-steve View Post
As a landlord, I have a few comments:

I don't comment or complain about messy or sloppy housekeeping, but there are some things I do not allow, which would generate a demand letter to the tenant to cure or eliminate the problem.

1) If it's a multi-unit property and the uncleanliness is inviting roach or ant investation that will affect adjoining units, you'll hear from me.

2) If the stacking of items in the dwelling unit or garage is creating a fire hazard, it must be remedied.

3) If the stacking of items in the dwelling or garage restricts access or visual observation of common sources of leaks (water heater closet, A/C closet, under kitchen sink, etc., I would ask that the space around those areas be clear for safety reasons. We had a really bad water leak in a garage once that went unnoticed by a tenant for 6 months while his ceiling-high, garage-wide stack of boxed absorbed all the water before it reached a visible location. His stuff was ruined. He didn't notice the mold smell (which was pungent) and only called after his stack of boxed collapsed and he realized the bottom of the stack was soaked through.

4) If the condition is damaging the property in any way, or could reasonably be expected to cause damage, it would need to be corrected.

That's a sample. In short, if your housekeeping isn't damaging the property, inviting infestation, or preventing normal maintenance conditions from being noticed/remedied, it's not my worry.

Steve

I definitely agree.
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Old 04-16-2008, 08:54 AM
 
61 posts, read 489,365 times
Reputation: 60
Just for clarification what exactly does creating a fire hazard and inviting infestation mean? I kind of glossed over that thinking I don't do that, but I might think I'm not and someone else could think I am.

I can't exactly think of a fire hazard except for maybe paint thinner/garage type stuff and I have nothing like that. I have had ants before. It wasn't anything I did either. They went straight for the cats dish. It didn't take long to get rid of them though.
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Old 04-16-2008, 09:09 AM
 
Location: Blankity-blank!
11,446 posts, read 16,128,338 times
Reputation: 6958
As an apartment dweller it doesn't bother me if the other renters are messy, as long as their mess is confined within their living area.
But being messy with food may attract rodents and cockroaches, then it becomes an issue for other renters as well. Also, it's nice to live without having common hallways stink.
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Old 04-16-2008, 09:53 AM
 
61 posts, read 489,365 times
Reputation: 60
I'm okay with the food thing. My mess is all confined in my apartment and not visible. It is mostly papers, books, videotapes, some old computers I need to recycle somehow and stuff I've researched. I'm a student and so there is alot of it. You take most of that away and it would take most of the mess away. It just isn't nicely presented.

Ironically not long ago I was the type of person who had their spices in the cabinet alphabetized and towels had to be folded a certain way. Goes to show you what can happen in too small a space and have a couple of health issues that derail you a bit and your whole world changes. I'll be able to fix it hopefully soon.
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