Rental Living 2010

a Volume One special section

Design: Josh Smeltzer & Brian MoenThanks: Rental Resources, Humane Association, Warner Rentals, Cornerstone Management,

Menomonie Housing Authority, General Property Management, Opdahl Rentals, North Country

Aire Properties, Altoona Housing Authority, River Valley Property Management,

Janeway Rentals, Peters Real Estate, and Housing Authority of Eau Claire

The first two times we made a guide to Rental Living in the Chippewa Valley, we focused on the renter's perspective. We did a breakdown

of neighborhoods, shared some horror stories, and tips - all from the renter's perspective. Well, dang it, landlords are people, too. And

with this section, we took our focus to the landlords, contacting as many as we would, and gathering lots of great information for you,

the potential renter. Sift through some tantalizing tips, poignant pet peeves, candid conversation starters, quizzical questions to ask,

and hellacious horror stories - all so you can become the best tenant you can be.

Cover Photo: Andrea Paulseth / Editor/Writer: Kinzy Janssen & Trevor Kupfer / Contributors: Kristin Frosch & Mike Paulus

95 percent of our tenants don’t cause problems and have a good relationship with us. The remaining five percent are good people but not great tenants. This small group creates most of our headaches.

INSIDER INFO

• “Being afraid to call about simple maintenance problems that end up getting bad. Like a toilet running, which is a pretty easy fix, but can lead to a huge water bill if I’m not notified.”

• “Roommates not being able to settle disputes among them-selves. I’m not your parents and you aren’t kids anymore. You have to sit down and figure that out yourselves.”

• “Expecting the landlord to do everything. Leaking toilets are one thing, and I’ll fix that, but plugged ones, that’s all you …”

• “When tenants / parents expect us to arbitrate roommate con-flicts, it’s not our job to tell you roommate she shouldn’t eat your cheerios, borrow your clothes, puke in your bed. You are an adult, learn to manage your life, and don’t have your mom call us. It makes you look silly.”

• “No, we won’t let you out of the lease just because you broke up with your live-in boyfriend

or girlfriend. I’m sure they are psycho, make you cry, slept with your best friend; you should have maybe thought about that before you signed a lease with someone you started dating last week.”

• “Being told we are ‘unfair’ when you are caught breaking the lease.”

• “Behavior has consequenc-es. Being considerate and aware that your behavior affects others is critical when living near oth-ers in apartment buildings. Use common sense.”

• “The No. 1 tension between tenants and landlords is security deposit withholding. Landlords are jerks if they withhold a nickel, when in reality there are often legitimate damages that tenants should be charged for. These concerns need to be addressed calmly by all parties involved. Handle it in a rational way. Making allegations and defamatory comments is coun-terproductive and leads to con-flict.”

• “Having more tenants than are supposed to be on lease.”

• “Some units don’t allow pets, but they try to sneak them in anyway. They always say they’re ‘just visiting.’ There needs to be an open line of communication between landlord and tenant. We’re willing to help in a bad situation. People are intimi-dated for some reason, and will

avoid phone calls. Sometimes they just move, and don’t con-tact me for help first. I can help them get out of their lease … tell me if the rent is going to be late.”

• “Not getting along, and being petty about what the neighbors are doing. In a duplex, say if they’re running down the hall-way too fast … don’t call the landlord.”

• “Not closing the shower cur-tain causes water damage to the floor and walls. Water leaks into the apartment below them. If you plug the toilet, it’s not broken. It quit working for a reason.”

• “We do semi-annual inspec-tions of all units, so we try to keep an eye on housekeeping and the yard. Don’t leave pump-kins out rotting until spring. And staying away from trouble with the police (we do background checks annually). And letting others live with them illegally – that’s a big one.”

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What Landlords Look For In A Renter

personal qualities and background info that’s important to landlords

What Landlords Look For In A Renter

personal qualities and background info that’s important to landlords

Landlords’ Pet Peevesa smattering of things that grind area landlords’ gearsLandlords’ Pet Peevesa smattering of things that grind area landlords’ gears

• Good credit rating and history of paying bills on time

• Good previous landlord expe-rience – some even require it “because I’m trusting someone with a major investment of mine”

• Ability to pay – either employed or are students with steady income from loans/par-ents

• Court records and criminal background (including sex offender registry)

• “We hope for people interested in the property as a place to live, not just camp.”

• Sounds responsible from meet-ing them in person – “the back-ground checks give you a good

idea of what to expect, but isn’t nec-essarily the full picture.”

• Possibility of long-term

• Non-smokers – “If they smoke inside, it can absolutely destroy an interior.”

800 Wisconsin Street, Unit 81 Eau Claire, WI 54703

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• I once rented to an elderly nun who was living outside of the con-vent. She moved into this duplex where another single elderly person lived, so I figured it was perfect. No parties. No damage. Just two people living quietly. Well soon the nun started complaining about noise coming from the other renter. One night I went over to the place four times between 11pm and 3am. The thing was, I couldn’t hear anything. And she could not be convinced that there wasn’t noise. She said it sounded like they were vacuuming 24-7. It got so bad that she started calling the police on the other rent-er, and doing things like putting her vacuum next to the wall and letting it run. It turned out that she had a form of dementia that was creating these sounds. It was both frustrat-ing and sad, because she was such a nice lady.

• I had one where they were growing marijuana. There were three-foot plants all over the house.

• There was one that used to have parties in the basement, and they rerouted the heating ducts to make an emergency exit for underagers so they could escape if cops came.

• We were installing linoleum in the kitchen at one place, and when you do that you have to take out the baseboards, let the linoleum settle,

and then put the baseboards back in. Well by the time we came back to put in the baseboards, we found out they used them for a bonfire.

• There was one place where they put up a partition wall so they could rent it out to more people. And the parents helped them do it!

• When they were moving out we went to the basement and when we opened the furnace it was filled with empty beer bottles and plastic cups filled with urine.

• Tenants had a pet Ferret they let run free. It completely destroyed the apartment; ate holes in the floor, walls, cabinets, chewed the electri-cal, nested in the fridge ... We had to completely redo the apartment and the tenant complained about not get-ting their deposit back.

•Years ago I entered an apartment for a general inspection and found a car motor fully assembled in the kitchen. I asked the tenants, “How

did you get that in here?” They said they couldn’t get it inside to rebuild it, so they took it apart and rebuilt it in the kitchen. There was oil and dirt everywhere. I asked, “How are you getting it out?” It turned out they did it without thinking that far. They had to take it apart and get it out, just to put it back together again. They were nice people. They just weren’t thinking.

• Fill in a check-in sheet accurate-ly and completely. Don’t misrep-resent the condition of the place. Be fair. Two years ago we rented a brand new apartment to a nice individual. The tenant filled out the check-in sheet stating that every sur-face, every appliance, every coun-ter, every window, everything was trashed from the prior tenant. Dirty, broken, filthy. This was a brand new apartment and had never been lived in before. The tenants intentionally misrepresented the condition of the

apartment so when they moved out, they had a record that it was trashed.

• One of my residents lived above

the other, and there was a balcony so they would fight and argue. The tenant above dropped a cigarette onto the balcony one night, because he was being careless and didn’t like them. It was a windy day, and the unit burned down. 12 people lost their homes and a dog lost its life.

• Some tenants ditch during the middle of winter, general uncleanli-ness and damage that has cost up to $4,000 per unit, unauthorized pets, and hoarders that make it so that

you have to walk a one-foot path cleared of stuff in order to show the place. It’s a bit scary.

• A neighbor lady in her 80s got mauled by a pit bull that was one of my tenants. Her insurance company tried to have me pay for damage to her clothing, etc. There’s nothing that says I’m responsible for their actions.

• One time I had a mix of boys and girls in a house (two and two) and they were both accusing each other of being druggies and using meth.

• One tenant shot his deer rifle in the house and through the neigh-bor’s house. Nobody was hurt.

Tales From the Rentallocal landlords share their odd and horrific tenant stories

Tales From the Rentallocal landlords share their odd and horrific tenant stories

They rerouted the heating ducts to make an emergency exit for underagers.

They were both accusing each other of being druggies and using meth.

If you’re renting out a compart-mentalized house, it’s not only argu-ably easier to meet your neighbors, it’s often necessary. Renters might convene to figure out things like heating bills, yard usage, and tor-nado hideout procedures.

Rental houses are typically older homes and have more unique physi-cal attributes (like ceiling and wall angles and weird little cubby holes and hallways/staircases-to-nowhere), while apartment complexes tend toward universal design standards.

The other side of the coin, though, is that older homes have older innards, which may or may not com-prise pipes (which may not be able to handle the harshness that is Drano), insulation (high heating bills), and basements that can seem more akin to cellars (and have holes for bats).

Homes typically have bigger yards, which are nice to play in but often require more work.

Apartment complexes may have thinner walls than houses. So if your neighbor is showering or spinning records or drying their hair, you are probably privy to their habits.

If a fire were to break out or a burglar entered your place, an apart-ment has the added safety of extra eyes/ears to prevent or stop them.

Houses usually have more stor-age space (garages, basements, sheds, attics), while apartments have shared storage spaces.

Apartment complexes are far more likely to have perks like a pool or workout room.

Apartments may have a garbage/recycling chute, while at a home you must take it out to the curb yourself.

Divided up homes sometimes give one tenant thermostat control, and everyone in the house has to live with it.

Deciding between a home or apartment

DECISIONS DECISIONS

Companies often have more visibility in the community (signs, ads, and websites) and are thus easier to find, espe-cially in a time crunch.

Because they tend to have more properties than Mom-and-Pops, rental companies are more likely to have openings.

Companies usually have established protocol and employees for repairs, includ-ing 24-hour help lines, while Mom-and-Pops require working around their schedule.

Mom-and-Pops are usually more flexible, not punishing you for a one-time late pay-ment, adapting the lease times-pan to fit your needs, etc.

Mom-and-Pops are more likely to allow minor changes to a property (e.g. painting rooms) than a rental company.

Companies are more likely to handle snow and lawn mowing than Mom-and-Pops.

Companies often have a walk-in rent payment option.

Companies sometimes employ several people, while at a mom-and-pop you’re going to deal with the same people.

Mom-and-Pops tend to be easier to get a hold of outside of business hours, while compa-nies are easiest to get a hold of during business hours.

Mom-and-pop owners can sometimes be located far away, while companies are close by.

More often than not, it comes down to a case-by-case basis. Sometimes you’ll deal with a great company, and sometimes you’ll deal with a crappy mom-and-pop. And vice versa.

Deciding between mom-n-pop or rental company

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WHAT utilities are included?

WHAT are the average monthly utility charges?

HOW are maintenance requests handled?

HOW long, on average, does it take to complete maintenance requests?

HOW are maintenance emergencies handled?

WHO do I call for maintenance emergencies?

HAVE the locks been changed since last occupancy?

WHAT’S the parking situation?

HOW is the lawn mowing and snow shoveling handled?

WHAT’S the laundry situation?

HOW bout dem Packers?

RENTER’S CHEAT SHEETSHere are some helpful tips for the serious renter. Cut them out. Laminate them. Place them in silver, heirloom frames and pass them on to the next generation.

Tips for the Prospective RenterAsk around. If a friend lives in a place they like or deals with a landlord they like, there may be units available even if they aren’t advertised.

What is the neighborhood like? Look at nearby amenities and bike/walkability. Check the 2009 Rental Living guide at VolumeOne.org for a full breakdown.

Call the Health Department and check if there are any uncorrected com-plaints against the property (Eau Claire: 839-4718; Chippewa Falls: 723-5542; Menomonie: 232-2388)

Get the name of a possible landlord and run it through WI Circuit Court Access (http://wcca.wicourts.gov/) to see if he/she has a clean record.

The Eau Claire Police Department has developed a voluntary landlord certi-fication program. See if your landlord is certified, as it shows a dedication to what they do. (www.cvtc.edu/landlords/directory.htm)

Never sign a lease without seeing the apartment – especially in complexes where “all the apartments are the same” and they keep a clean one on hand to show people like you.

Read and understand all lease paperwork. Make sure all your questions and concerns are answered before you sign. It is a contract, and means you have legal responsibilities as well as the landlord.

A one-page lease could be a red flag. The more paperwork, the better. Tenant and landlord responsibilities should be clearly defined.

Good landlords enjoy answering questions. They want tenants who care about their living space.

If you’re deciding between two places, consider the Paper Layout Experiment. Take the rough measurements of the crucial spaces, and note where there’s vents, doorways, windows, etc. Then measure your furniture, bookshelves, and the like. Divide the measurements down so the room can fit on paper. Then do cutouts of the furniture and organize them in the paper room. Whichever layout excites you more is the winner.

Landlord Conversation Starters

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“Is This Place Cool?” CHECKLIST__ Turn on all light switches to see if they do, indeed, produce light

__ Check each power outlet (use a small appliance like a hairdryer or waffle iron)

__ Turn on the sink and bathtub faucets

__ Check for leaks or slow/plugged drains

__ Flush toilet, check for leaks

__ Look for smoke detectors and fire extinguishers

__ Check ceiling and walls for cracks and water stains

__ Check the locking mechanisms on doors

__ Check the locks on all the windows

__ How well sealed are the windows? (Will you pay a ton for heat/air?)

__ Inspect furnace and/or air conditioner: Are they well-maintained?

__ Check hot water: Is it the proper temperature?

__ Check for exit lights

__ Is the exterior of the building well-lit and well-maintained?

After You’ve Signed the LeaseEducate yourself about your rights and responsibilities as a tenant. For more info, contact the Bureau of Consumer Protection at (800) 422-7128 or visit them on the web: http://datcp.state.wi.us/

Your landlord should always provide an emergency number. Get it.

Create a check-in sheet on the apartment and list all items that may be charged to your security deposit (such as stains on the carpet, scratches on counter tops, etc.) Keep a copy for yourself and send one to our landlord.

Grab your digicam and take pics when you move in and after you clean up upon moving out.

If the apartment has gas heat and/or stove, buy a carbon monoxide detector.

Consider renter’s insurance. It’s usually inexpensive and covers things like robbery, fires, and liabilities. The amount of a policy depends on how much of your stuff you want to protect. Things like floods are usually not covered.

Learn odd/even parking. If you don’t have a designated parking stall, you’ll likely have to find on-street parking. Between Nov. 1 and May 1 the City of Eau Claire dictates which side you can park on. So make sure your car is parked on the “even” side (with even-numbered addresses) between midnight and 7am of even-numbered days. And vice-versa.

Big security deposit suckers: defrosting the fridge and cleaning the oven.

When moving out, remember: Xcel Energy makes you cancel your own utili-ties. (And don’t forget TV, internet, and other such bills.)

Head to the post office for a helpful checklist of change-of-address reminders.

If you’re moving over the course of a few days, leave stuff like beds and enter-tainment items for last.

Save boxes early and often. Ask grocery stores if you’re desperate. Frequent recycling dumpsters at commercial spots if you’re extra desperate and bold.

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