Jamie the Real Estate Wonk mentions this morning that average rents in the Baltimore metro region have dropped this summer, compared to last year.

This is good news if you're a tenant looking to cut costs, and if rent is one of your major expenses. And, if you plead your case correctly, you can make cutting your rent sound like a good deal for your landlord as well.

Basically, if you're willing to move, you could consider shopping around for a cheaper apartment. Perhaps you could find a place that offers a shorter commute, more space or better amenities.

But don't forget that moving costs money, even if you rely on the kindness of friends and family to do the heavy lifting (literally). You'll need the cash for deposits as well as all the incidentals that crop up when outfitting a new (or new-to-you) home.

So before you give notice, tell your current landlord about your plans, and see if s/he can work with you to come up with a monthly rent that works for both of you.

After all, your landlord may lose a month's rent or more while preparing the place and advertising for a new tenant --- and with the average leases going for less in this region, there's no guarantee that a new renter will bring in the same or more money as you.

So how to do it?

Continue reading "How to negotiate leases and lower your rent" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Cheap/Frugal, Home/Real Estate, Rent
        

First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes streaming movies and TV shows right into your home!

I know. What am I, 5-years-old?! And yea yea, it doesn't rhyme. But I've made my point.

The two companies announced a new partnership today that will allow you to view Netflix movies on TiVO boxes with no extra cost other than Netflix's own fees. TiVo customers with a TiVo Series 3, TiVo HD, or TiVo HD XL will be able to do this come December.

Wicked cool, yes? If you remember our previous confab about the upcoming Comcast rate increase, a few of us mentioned getting rid of pay TV altogether. I know my work spouse Gus (who is at home taking care of his new, wee baby girl. Congrats babe!) has been talking about hooking up a computer to his big screen for all his TV needs.

Continue reading "TiVo and Netflix sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G..." »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 2:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Cable/Satellite/TV/Comcast/FiOS, Computers, Digital television, Rent, Technology
        

On Sunday, I wrote about U-Haul's gas policy and how it forces customers into purchasing more gas than they received to avoid a refueling fee. Some people thought I was too hard on the rental company since many companies use the same gas policy.

I stand firm on my position, though, since I think the policy is flawed. Using something as unreliable as a gas gauge and an eyeball test to determine whether a customer has refilled the tank to exactly where the needle was when they picked up the rental is about as inaccurate a measure as you can get. If the truck is on an incline, if the truck is old and the gauge is off, the chances of getting a bad reading are too great.

Continue reading "More U-Haul Complaints" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Complaints, Gas prices, Rent
        

Welcome back, welcome back! Hope everyone had a good weekend.

So did you catch my column yesterday on U-Haul's gas policy? If you're using an eyeball test on a gas gauge, which in my experience with cars (my dad was a mechanic) become increasingly unreliable with age, how accurate can that be? I wonder who ends up shorted more often? U-Haul or their customers?

The only sure thing I learned from Lauren Klemm's experience is that you should never drop off a rental without someone there to check it in or else you're at risk of finding some surprise charges on your card.

I'd advise bringing a camera with you, too, so you can document the condition of the rental before you pick it up and the condition of the rental afterward... As a precaution, I'd say you should probably start taking a photo of the gas gauge, too, especially if you're renting from U-Haul.

Continue reading "Consumer Sundays: Finance and Kids & You vs. U-Haul" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 7:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Complaints, Consumer protection, Personal finance, Rent
        

I do love Fridays... almost as much as I love the end of Thursdays. Why? Because getting through Thursdays (which is deadline day for the print part of my column) is like defusing a ticking time bomb. I never know if I'm going to finish the job or if I'm going to explode into bits before it gets done.

So the end of the day Thursday is euphoric.

Anyhoo, all the wind-up is just to prepare you for Consumer Sunday! Here's a question I have for you: If the needle on a gas gauge points to the letter "F" and no one is around to see it, does it mean the gas tank is full?

For the answer, tune in to Consuming Interests, the column, on Sunday.

Continue reading "Consumer Sundays: Noxious Gas Policies and Teaching Kids about Finances" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Complaints, Personal finance, Rent, Watchdog
        

In keeping with our naughty businesses theme, here's a recent one from the Attorney General's Office:

The Consumer Protection Division ordered Baltimore company, Maryland Rentals, LLC (a/k/a Rental Properties, LLC), which was formerly located at 5904 Harford Road, and its owner, Wanda Monroe, to cease offering illegal rental referral services.

The company and its owner were ordered to pay restitution equal to all fees it charged consumers for its services and to pay the Division $129,000 in civil penalties and costs for pursuing the matter.

Maryland Rentals advertised properties for rent at attractive rents in Baltimore area newspapers. But the AG says that when consumers contacted Maryland Rentals to rent the advertised properties, the company sold them a rental listing service instead of offering the callers leases.

The Division found that consumers who purchased the service were unable to locate rental properties in the areas that Maryland Rentals advertised, or at rents that were as attractive as advertised because the properties did not actually exist.

Continue reading "Naughty rental listing company" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 3:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Naughty businesses/NBotW, Rent
        

My story about a Web site for landlords to post reviews about problem renters online discussed the difficulties property managers face when checking out potential tenants -- and advice for renters who fear they've been blackballed.

Remember when we first alerted you to donotrentto.com? It's a situation rife with thorny issues, especially when you're potentially smearing people's reputations.

But what source can landlords rely upon? Even court records about rentals should be taken with a grain of salt, said John Nethercut, executive director of the Public Justice Center.

"Public records are of course a better source of information than Web sites that may pick and choose which information to display. However, there are particular problems with the eviction records at the Baltimore City District Court," he said.

More than 130,000 eviction cases are filed annually in the city. But Baltimore's rent court is not computerized.

In a small percentage of those cases, landlords take their tenants to small claims court to try to get their back rent. If the renter pays up, the landlord is supposed to file documents to reflect that.

Continue reading "More advice for tenants and landlords" »

Posted by Liz Kay at 4:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Have you seen this Web site, DoNotRentTo.com? As it says, it was created to determine whether a potential tenant is suitable to rent to. The site allows landlords to pre-screen candidates for late payments, non-payment of rent, destruction of property, theft, failure to vacate, and a host of other issues that unruly renters can pose.

It's a member-only site, but from what I can gather, it allows landlords to search a database for a tenant they're considering renting to or post comments on tenants they have rented to.  

Now, I can sort of see why something like this might be necessary. I'm sure landlords have had to deal with some pretty ridiculously bad tenants and they want to avoid them like the plague so they won't lose money or have their property destroyed or damaged. However, I have major concerns about this.

First, it seems awfully one-sided. Landlords can post anything about bad tenants, but there's no way to verify any of it. If you're a tenant who is listed unfairly, how do you fight that? How do you know a landlord who screwed you over isn't posting inaccurate information about you?

Even worse, landlords are encouraged to post

Continue reading "Which is worse: Bad Renters or Bad Landlords?" »

Posted by Dan Thanh Dang at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Rent