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Old 07-09-2012, 07:58 PM
 
3 posts, read 20,991 times
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My wife and I signed a lease on a 2 bedroom condo about a month and a half ago and we'll move in this week. My sister is a grad student at a nearby university, and to save money, we all agreed to ask the management company if we could add her to the lease. The condo is privately owned and is in a very nice area.

Since we had been in contact with the management company through email when signing the lease, we sent them another email about two weeks ago asking about adding my sister. After a week, we heard nothing, so last week, we called and talked to the manager we had dealt with previously. He seemed very put off by our asking about adding my sister, threatening that the owner could say no or that the owner could raise the rent, but he didn't give us an answer and didn't say he would ask the owner.

Finally, this week, the manager gave my sister an application, however, he was still very aggressive about possible rent increases from the owner as well as complaining about other tenants he had to deal with. Overall, I would say that the manager's behavior was poor and unprofessional, and I'm wondering what will happen if the heat goes out in the winter and we have to rely on this guy to handle it.

Is this normal behavior for privately owned rentals? All we wanted was a yes or no answer about adding a third person to the lease and I feel like we got the runaround. Also, it is common to have the rent increased when adding someone? If the owner decides to increase the rent, we'll probably stick to our original lease and my sister will find some roommates.
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Old 07-09-2012, 08:58 PM
 
Location: The Triad
34,091 posts, read 82,455,924 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ironjaw View Post
Is this normal behavior for privately owned rentals?
All we wanted was a yes or no answer about adding a third person...
No telling what they were thinking.
One thought is that maybe they've never had anyone *ask* before.

Quote:
Also, it is common to have the rent increased when adding someone?
NO.
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Old 07-09-2012, 10:25 PM
 
160 posts, read 395,929 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ironjaw View Post
Also, it is common to have the rent increased when adding someone? If the owner decides to increase the rent, we'll probably stick to our original lease and my sister will find some roommates.
I see plenty of ads for rentals that increase rent based on extra occupants, but only when the number of people living there exceeds the number of bedrooms. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

The renter might just be upset that you now want to change the lease, but it's never "normal" to be a jerk.
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Old 07-10-2012, 12:55 AM
 
Location: California
4,400 posts, read 13,357,267 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ironjaw View Post

Is this normal behavior for privately owned rentals?

No.

All we wanted was a yes or no answer about adding a third person to the lease and I feel like we got the runaround. Also, it is common to have the rent increased when adding someone?

It can be. Depends on the apartment, the lease, the policies of the LL, etc. It happens. Although itg is usually when the occupants go over a certain number.

If the owner decides to increase the rent, we'll probably stick to our original lease and my sister will find some roommates.


If that is an option. If the LL does agree to alter the lease and to change it, depending on your state and the rental laws, refusing to sign the 2nd lease with the increased rent could leave you with no lease at all. Depending, again, upon your state and any clauses in the lease, the tenant asking for a lease revision sometimes does render the previous document void. Might be worth researching....
Good luck.
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Old 07-10-2012, 12:59 AM
 
Location: Kailua Kona, HI
3,199 posts, read 13,343,290 times
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He ought to be happy that you were decent and honest enough to ask him instead of just letting her move in which I've had happen to me countless times! 3 people in a 2 bedroom apartment is hardly overloading the occupancy so I can't imagine why he's reacting so poorly. Very strange. How long has he been a property manager? Does he have a broker or manager (a boss, in other words)? Maybe he's inexperienced and doing PM because he could not find anything else and it's just not his cup of tea. Unfortunate for you but not insurmountable. Just find the boss and ask them.
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Old 07-10-2012, 07:29 AM
 
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Thanks, everyone. The management company appears to be a family-run business and our main point of contact is listed as the boss. The management company website says they have 15 years experience in property management, however, my wife and I found very little information about them, either good or bad. The property owner is a mid-level executive at a large bank, and, according to county property records, has owned the condo for more than 10 years. The owner also has made some serious upgrades. The owner certainly seems competent, but the management company appears to be very difficult to work with.

Edit: In response to the above post, our lease states that changes must be signed by the party opposite whoever is making the request. Also, we are in Virginia, and from what I can find in the state code, changes to a lease must be accepted in writing by all parties.

Last edited by ironjaw; 07-10-2012 at 07:48 AM..
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Old 07-10-2012, 11:47 AM
 
3 posts, read 20,991 times
Reputation: 10
An update: I spoke with the management company and the owner approved adding a third person to the lease with no additional rent increase. I get the feeling that this hasn't happened too many times, which was probably why they were putting up a fuss. Once the owner gave the okay, everything pretty much smoothed out.
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Old 07-10-2012, 12:16 PM
 
1,624 posts, read 4,031,719 times
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Glad it worked out for you and thanks for the update.
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