WEBVTT - What Every Renter Needs To Know #079 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:02.920 Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I'm Matt's 0:00:03.000 --> 0:00:25.800 and today we're discussing what every renter needs to know. Joel, 0:00:25.840 --> 0:00:27.680 to be a renter, you remember those days when you 0:00:27.680 --> 0:00:30.920 didn't have to worry about fixing anything, or we're getting 0:00:30.920 --> 0:00:33.240 emails at random hours, or having a spray for bugs, 0:00:33.360 --> 0:00:35.160 whatever it is that you do. You mentioned last week, 0:00:35.400 --> 0:00:37.680 kick back your arms behind your head. It was so nice. 0:00:37.880 --> 0:00:39.640 Was it the good old days? You know, we've dedicated 0:00:39.760 --> 0:00:43.040 entire episodes to being a landlord and investing in real estate, 0:00:43.080 --> 0:00:46.400 and we decided it was time to talk about renting 0:00:46.560 --> 0:00:49.440 from the renter standpoint. Yeah, and we've discussed in previous 0:00:49.479 --> 0:00:52.840 episodes how renting is often thought of as throwing money 0:00:52.880 --> 0:00:56.120 away and we completely disagree with that sentiment. Matt. We've 0:00:56.120 --> 0:00:59.000 talked about that in prior episodes, So if you're interested 0:00:59.080 --> 0:01:01.080 in knowing a little more about that, check out an 0:01:01.120 --> 0:01:04.200 older episode called Renting Versus Buying. But Matt, before we 0:01:04.240 --> 0:01:06.399 get into what every rentor needs to know, I wanted 0:01:06.400 --> 0:01:08.840 to quickly mention an awesome discount that I asked for 0:01:08.920 --> 0:01:11.280 the other day that really panned out for me. Lay 0:01:11.319 --> 0:01:14.120 it on me, So I went to our local Kroger 0:01:14.520 --> 0:01:15.960 the other day. Usually I'm at all the yea, what 0:01:15.959 --> 0:01:17.760 do you doing at Kroger Man? Usually I'm at Aldi. 0:01:18.040 --> 0:01:19.680 But I had like a couple of last minute things 0:01:19.720 --> 0:01:21.319 to pick up, and there there are some things that 0:01:21.360 --> 0:01:23.600 Aldi just doesn't carry, That's for sure. I love all 0:01:23.640 --> 0:01:25.839 the I love the simplicity, the fact that they carry 0:01:26.400 --> 0:01:28.640 of the things I need, but that one per cent 0:01:28.720 --> 0:01:30.840 sometimes I gotta make that Kroger run. Our girls are 0:01:30.840 --> 0:01:32.920 always wanting band aids, and I don't think that's something 0:01:33.000 --> 0:01:34.920 that Aldi carries. Right now, stepping up all the Let's 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:37.480 get some band aidids. That'd be nice. But at the 0:01:37.520 --> 0:01:40.400 same time, Kroger also has a much better flower selection, 0:01:40.520 --> 0:01:42.080 and I like to get my white flowers every once 0:01:42.080 --> 0:01:44.480 in a while. Right It's like a humble bragg or 0:01:44.520 --> 0:01:46.520 wa come on, I'm a sweetheart. Okay, That's that's what 0:01:46.560 --> 0:01:49.080 I'm trying to say. So I went in on a 0:01:49.080 --> 0:01:52.080 particular morning and it was looking at the tulips that 0:01:52.160 --> 0:01:54.280 are her favorites mine too. I like some nice tulips, 0:01:54.280 --> 0:01:58.320 and nice they're beautiful, sleek flowers exactly as flowers go. 0:01:58.400 --> 0:02:01.080 They're pretty modern, you know, like real clean lines you know, 0:02:01.120 --> 0:02:03.600 they're not real folky. I love the way too that 0:02:03.760 --> 0:02:05.960 when they're sitting in the sun they kind of bend 0:02:06.440 --> 0:02:08.600 in all interesting directions. They almost kind of look like 0:02:08.800 --> 0:02:12.040 Medusa's hair or something. They're really cool, fantastic flowers. So 0:02:12.040 --> 0:02:14.400 I got these really pretty purple ones. But the thing 0:02:14.520 --> 0:02:16.799 was on the tag of the flowers, it said that 0:02:16.840 --> 0:02:20.440 they were on their last sell by date, so after 0:02:20.840 --> 0:02:22.720 that day they were either going to throw them away 0:02:22.840 --> 0:02:25.640 or put them in some sort of crummy flower arrangement 0:02:25.720 --> 0:02:28.280 something like that. And so I asked the person working 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:30.520 in the floral department if they'd be willing to give 0:02:30.520 --> 0:02:32.079 me a discount on the flowers since it was the 0:02:32.120 --> 0:02:34.240 last day that they could sell them, and she was 0:02:34.280 --> 0:02:36.480 more than happy to do it. So it was a 0:02:36.480 --> 0:02:40.360 thirteen dollar bouquet of beautiful purple tulips that I got 0:02:40.440 --> 0:02:45.480 for a dollar fifty, no joke, I know, right, discount. 0:02:45.600 --> 0:02:48.360 So you remember we did it an episode specifically about 0:02:48.360 --> 0:02:50.160 asking for a discount, and this is just one of 0:02:50.200 --> 0:02:52.480 those cases where they go for it. I saw the 0:02:52.560 --> 0:02:54.200 date on it. Why not ask the man? I'm proud 0:02:54.240 --> 0:02:56.400 of you. That's a huge discount, thirteen bucks down to 0:02:56.560 --> 0:02:59.000 a dollar fifty. It's that's that's hard to be right there, 0:02:59.120 --> 0:03:00.919 I know, right, So yeah, I just want to encourage 0:03:00.919 --> 0:03:04.160 people to that asking for a discount is widely applicable 0:03:04.240 --> 0:03:07.000 in a lot of situations, and so I just exercise 0:03:07.120 --> 0:03:10.440 my god given American rights to ask for a discount 0:03:10.440 --> 0:03:13.160 and it worked out. Okay, you want to introduce this 0:03:13.280 --> 0:03:16.680 beer that we're having today, Sure, yeah, Listener, Tiffany actually 0:03:16.720 --> 0:03:18.680 sent us a beer tonight, so super kind of her. 0:03:18.840 --> 0:03:21.959 This is Russell Kelly pale Ale and it's from Tell 0:03:22.000 --> 0:03:24.400 Your Ride Brewing Company. Matt, have you ever been to 0:03:24.440 --> 0:03:28.200 Tell Your Ride Colorado? I have not you I have actually, 0:03:28.720 --> 0:03:31.520 and uh it is a lovely town. It is this 0:03:31.880 --> 0:03:34.520 beautiful little ski town in kind of the middle of 0:03:34.560 --> 0:03:37.880 nowhere Colorado. Um. And there are a couple other small, 0:03:37.960 --> 0:03:41.280 amazing cool small towns surrounding it about an hour away. 0:03:41.440 --> 0:03:44.720 There's Durrango in particular, there's a cool little town called 0:03:44.760 --> 0:03:48.360 Pegosa Springs that has this amazing hot springs area. Yeah. Well, 0:03:48.400 --> 0:03:50.960 on this can there's a picture of a dude up kayaking. 0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:53.400 Have you heard a kayaked before? I don't think so. 0:03:53.560 --> 0:03:55.840 Maybe a little white water rafting, but never kayaked this 0:03:55.840 --> 0:03:58.480 This guy is like kayaking for real. Um. I tried 0:03:58.480 --> 0:04:00.720 it once when I was living up an Ashville on 0:04:00.760 --> 0:04:04.200 the French broad and I almost drowned. So I'm never 0:04:04.240 --> 0:04:06.720 gonna do that again because it totally sucked. At a 0:04:06.760 --> 0:04:08.800 tough time with it. I'm just gonna say that. All right, man, 0:04:08.840 --> 0:04:11.680 I guess there's no more kayaking in either of our futures. Yeah, 0:04:11.720 --> 0:04:14.400 so things again to Tiffany for sending us some Russell 0:04:14.480 --> 0:04:16.800 Kelly pale Ale, and we'll talk more about this beer 0:04:16.839 --> 0:04:18.440 at the end of the show. All right, Matt, So 0:04:18.480 --> 0:04:21.400 onto the topic at hand, What every renter needs to know. 0:04:21.839 --> 0:04:23.680 Our goal here in this episode is to kind of 0:04:23.720 --> 0:04:27.880 provide an overview for someone who is currently a renter, 0:04:28.080 --> 0:04:30.320 for someone who is looking to rent a new place, 0:04:30.720 --> 0:04:33.719 but try to provide some insights for the potential issues 0:04:33.760 --> 0:04:36.560 that renters face, how you can look out for yourself, 0:04:36.720 --> 0:04:39.440 how you can find a good place to live, and 0:04:39.480 --> 0:04:43.159 how you can deal with your landlord effectively, amongst other things. 0:04:43.200 --> 0:04:45.359 So this is gonna be kind of a wide ranging episode, 0:04:45.600 --> 0:04:47.440 trying to cover just a lot of things that are 0:04:47.480 --> 0:04:50.320 perspective or current renter needs to know. Yeah, Jolson, when 0:04:50.360 --> 0:04:53.000 renters are looking for a place, we're gonna talk about 0:04:53.120 --> 0:04:55.360 some things to watch out for. There can be issues 0:04:55.400 --> 0:04:58.600 with landlords, both big and small, like small as in 0:04:59.080 --> 0:05:01.440 like mom and pop landlords like you and I. Right, 0:05:01.640 --> 0:05:03.680 that's what we do. Yeah, we each have just a 0:05:03.680 --> 0:05:06.800 few rentals of our own, and so we're small time. Yes, 0:05:06.800 --> 0:05:09.599 so we're speaking to this from personal experience as well. 0:05:09.880 --> 0:05:12.120 But then the issues when it comes to bigger landlords, 0:05:12.120 --> 0:05:15.320 they're just more well documented. Be sure to check reviews 0:05:15.440 --> 0:05:18.359 for bigger apartment complexes. You can go to a site 0:05:18.440 --> 0:05:22.880 like apartment ratings dot com and it's actually very robust. 0:05:22.960 --> 0:05:25.880 I spent some time on there earlier today, and I 0:05:25.920 --> 0:05:27.480 was checking out some of the apartments near us to 0:05:27.520 --> 0:05:29.760 kind of see how they did. Some not so great, 0:05:30.120 --> 0:05:33.400 but either way, whether they did well or not so well, 0:05:33.680 --> 0:05:36.679 I was really impressed with the apartments responding to comments 0:05:36.680 --> 0:05:39.159 and engaging with the different tenants that live there or 0:05:39.240 --> 0:05:41.520 had lived there or whatever that just had a beef 0:05:41.640 --> 0:05:43.680 or we're really happy. I think it's really cool to 0:05:43.680 --> 0:05:46.120 see a dialogue like that between two parties while at 0:05:46.120 --> 0:05:48.120 the same time the apartment is trying to improve. Yeah, 0:05:48.120 --> 0:05:50.679 and I guess that's one major benefit of the Internet 0:05:50.760 --> 0:05:52.840 where you can kind of post a review. If you're 0:05:52.839 --> 0:05:55.719 having an issue with an apartment complex, you have some 0:05:55.800 --> 0:05:58.880 recourse if they're treating you unfairly and so yeah, documenting 0:05:58.920 --> 0:06:00.920 that at a website like a heartment ratings dot Com 0:06:01.040 --> 0:06:03.640 is a helpful way to go. And like you said, Matt, 0:06:03.680 --> 0:06:06.200 there can be issues with landlords big and small. A 0:06:06.240 --> 0:06:09.440 mom and pop landlord can be completely unattentive to your needs. 0:06:09.800 --> 0:06:12.200 You can find them not replying in a timely manner, 0:06:12.279 --> 0:06:15.000 not getting back to you, and not providing service and 0:06:15.040 --> 0:06:17.640 repairs when things go wrong. The same thing can be 0:06:17.680 --> 0:06:20.119 true of bigger landlords. And I did want to mention 0:06:20.120 --> 0:06:24.080 that people should particularly watch out for Wall Street companies 0:06:24.120 --> 0:06:26.920 that are renting out single family homes these days. If 0:06:26.920 --> 0:06:31.000 you see the name Blackstone or Invitation Homes on properties 0:06:31.000 --> 0:06:33.560 that you're looking at single family homes where you're looking 0:06:33.560 --> 0:06:36.160 to rent, there are major issues with some of those 0:06:36.200 --> 0:06:40.200 Wall Street companies jacking up fees, not fixing problems that 0:06:40.279 --> 0:06:43.960 exist with the home, and finding ways to force fees 0:06:44.200 --> 0:06:47.080 on tenants in ways that aren't forthcoming. In above Board, 0:06:47.400 --> 0:06:49.680 and there was a really long form piece in the 0:06:49.680 --> 0:06:52.000 Atlantic that we will link to in the show notes 0:06:52.040 --> 0:06:55.240 as well, that just documents their inability to landlord well. 0:06:55.440 --> 0:06:56.760 And so I just wanted to put that out there 0:06:56.760 --> 0:06:59.880 real quick as a disclaimer that if you're looking for 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:02.840 single family homes from some of those bigger companies that 0:07:02.920 --> 0:07:06.600 own a bunch thousands and thousands of single family homes 0:07:06.640 --> 0:07:09.760 across this country, you do need to watch out. Yeah, Joe, 0:07:09.760 --> 0:07:12.400 that article crazy compelling. Right. There's a stat in that 0:07:12.520 --> 0:07:19.680 article that said how of homes were purchased by invitation 0:07:19.760 --> 0:07:22.520 homes by Black Rock UH in a specific zip code 0:07:22.520 --> 0:07:25.520 here in Atlanta. That is a huge amount of homes 0:07:25.560 --> 0:07:27.640 in our area. Nine out of ten. That's incredible. Yeah, 0:07:27.640 --> 0:07:29.800 that's it's it's massive. And like you mentioned earlier, some 0:07:29.840 --> 0:07:31.040 of the things that they had going on, like they 0:07:31.080 --> 0:07:33.480 started setting up call centers for repairs on the houses 0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:36.400 they're sitting about, electronic locks for contractors to kind of 0:07:36.440 --> 0:07:38.440 come and go whenever they needed to so that they 0:07:38.440 --> 0:07:40.880 didn't have to contact the tenants, and oftentimes they didn't 0:07:40.920 --> 0:07:43.800 have enough contractors on staff in order to even come 0:07:43.800 --> 0:07:47.000 out in cases of even major repairs that were necessary. 0:07:47.160 --> 0:07:49.440 Busted pipes where there's a four inches of water in homes. 0:07:49.440 --> 0:07:51.680 It was Yeah, it was crazy to read through those 0:07:51.720 --> 0:07:53.800 things and to think that, man, there's people that are 0:07:53.800 --> 0:07:56.120 living in homes where that's the kind of service that 0:07:56.120 --> 0:07:58.520 they're getting. Definitely not the best conditions that you're looking 0:07:58.560 --> 0:08:00.960 for when you're a wrinter, no doubt. But there are 0:08:01.040 --> 0:08:03.320 so many things you need to be aware of to 0:08:03.400 --> 0:08:07.040 be an informed tenant, and in particular, that lease is 0:08:07.040 --> 0:08:09.440 such a crucial part. We're going to get into what 0:08:09.520 --> 0:08:11.560 you need to know before you sign on the dotted 0:08:11.600 --> 0:08:23.200 line on that lease right after the break, all right, Joel, 0:08:23.200 --> 0:08:25.680 Before the break, you mentioned leases, and you know, it 0:08:25.800 --> 0:08:29.120 is very important that you familiarize yourself with your tenant 0:08:29.640 --> 0:08:33.000 landlord handbook, if there is one in your states. This 0:08:33.040 --> 0:08:35.400 is important because the laws are different in every state, 0:08:35.440 --> 0:08:38.320 and so you know, some are much more landlord friendly, 0:08:38.360 --> 0:08:40.640 while others they tend to look out for the renters 0:08:40.679 --> 0:08:43.600 a bit more. Yeah, each state takes a different stance 0:08:44.000 --> 0:08:47.680 in Some states are known for being more landlord friendly 0:08:47.800 --> 0:08:50.079 and other states are known for having laws that are 0:08:50.120 --> 0:08:53.360 more favorable to tenants. Yeah. Rent Cafe has a pretty 0:08:53.360 --> 0:08:55.120 cool rite up and we'll link to that in our 0:08:55.160 --> 0:08:58.319 show notes, where they have some visuals comparing friendly states 0:08:58.360 --> 0:09:00.559 to non friendly states when it comes to how they 0:09:00.559 --> 0:09:04.120 treat tenants. But also check out Landlord Oology will also 0:09:04.160 --> 0:09:05.720 link to that side as well. They have a little 0:09:05.720 --> 0:09:07.880 map of the entire United States and you can click 0:09:07.920 --> 0:09:10.280 on your state and will link you out to the 0:09:10.360 --> 0:09:13.760 governing laws when it comes to that landlord tenant relationship. Yes, 0:09:13.880 --> 0:09:17.199 some states in particular have a specific landlord tenant handbook 0:09:17.200 --> 0:09:18.920 and not not everyone does, so will link to those 0:09:18.920 --> 0:09:20.880 other resources that kind of break things down for you 0:09:20.960 --> 0:09:23.920 in an easy and simple to understand way. It's just 0:09:24.000 --> 0:09:26.240 so helpful to know what your rights are in that 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:28.920 state before you actually sign a lease. Another thing you 0:09:28.960 --> 0:09:31.120 need to do before you sign a lease is to 0:09:31.360 --> 0:09:34.480 read it thoroughly, take your time. It's helpful in particular 0:09:34.520 --> 0:09:37.160 if you have come to terms with a landlord to 0:09:37.200 --> 0:09:39.840 ask them to send you the lease before signing day 0:09:39.880 --> 0:09:41.840 so you have a little bit of extra time to 0:09:41.920 --> 0:09:44.240 review it when you're not sitting in front of them. 0:09:44.440 --> 0:09:46.800 And if there's something you don't understand, look it up 0:09:46.960 --> 0:09:48.840 and make sure in your lease that your landlord has 0:09:48.840 --> 0:09:52.760 outlined who is responsible for what we're talking about, things 0:09:52.840 --> 0:09:55.679 like utilities obviously that's kind of a major one, but 0:09:56.160 --> 0:09:58.880 other things as well, like pest control or small repairs, 0:09:59.160 --> 0:10:02.439 lawn maintenance, even snow removal if you're in some northern states. 0:10:02.480 --> 0:10:04.680 These are things that you don't really think of in 0:10:04.720 --> 0:10:07.400 the moment, but you know what, when the time comes 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:08.880 and you've got a clock toilet, that's the kind of 0:10:08.880 --> 0:10:10.439 thing you want to know. Okay, is it in my 0:10:10.520 --> 0:10:12.440 lease that I'm supposed to take care of this? Or 0:10:12.559 --> 0:10:14.559 can I call my landlord? You know, as a tenant, 0:10:14.640 --> 0:10:16.640 if you were to like have somebody come out and 0:10:16.640 --> 0:10:18.959 perform some of these these tasks and fix some of 0:10:18.960 --> 0:10:21.160 these things that go wrong. These are hundreds and hundreds 0:10:21.160 --> 0:10:23.680 of dollars over the full term of your lease. Yeah, 0:10:23.720 --> 0:10:25.560 you're also going to want to make sure that whatever 0:10:25.679 --> 0:10:28.920 you have seen on the listing site, whether it's apartment 0:10:29.080 --> 0:10:32.599 ratings dot Com or whether it is zillo or Craigslist, 0:10:32.640 --> 0:10:36.520 wherever you're looking for properties, those terms that are explicitly 0:10:36.559 --> 0:10:39.400 listed out there have no bearing on what you sign 0:10:39.440 --> 0:10:42.600 in the lease. It would obviously be incredibly shady of 0:10:42.600 --> 0:10:46.000 a landlord to list a property for a different price 0:10:46.080 --> 0:10:48.880 or security deposit than they actually write in the lease, 0:10:49.160 --> 0:10:51.680 But just make sure that whatever you agree to verbally 0:10:51.760 --> 0:10:54.600 or whatever you see online matches what you see in 0:10:54.640 --> 0:10:57.520 writing in the lease. Yeah. And again going back to 0:10:57.640 --> 0:11:00.480 having your landlord or your potential landlord to send you 0:11:00.600 --> 0:11:03.240 the lease ahead of time. That gives you time to 0:11:03.320 --> 0:11:05.679 look over it, to take your time. Uh, so you 0:11:05.840 --> 0:11:08.760 don't feel pressure to quickly sign an initial and you know, 0:11:08.800 --> 0:11:11.160 if you're meeting in public or at a notary's office, 0:11:11.200 --> 0:11:13.240 if you have to get a notarized, there's just that 0:11:13.320 --> 0:11:15.600 pressure when someone is kind of standing there waiting on you. 0:11:15.920 --> 0:11:17.800 You tend to kind of burn through those pages pretty 0:11:17.840 --> 0:11:20.439 quickly and you might be signing things that you may 0:11:20.480 --> 0:11:22.880 not necessarily want to sign. So make sure those terms 0:11:22.880 --> 0:11:24.400 are in there and make sure that you've seen that 0:11:24.440 --> 0:11:26.960 they're in there. Yeah. So, while we're on the subject 0:11:27.000 --> 0:11:29.880 of leases, it's also really important for anybody who's a 0:11:29.920 --> 0:11:32.920 renter to know that leases are negotiable. Do you want 0:11:32.920 --> 0:11:35.240 to stay longer at your property, well, you might get 0:11:35.240 --> 0:11:37.240 a rent discount. It's worth asking if you're planning on 0:11:37.280 --> 0:11:39.640 staying in a place for longer than a year, which 0:11:39.679 --> 0:11:42.080 is pretty much the standard lease that most people agree to. 0:11:42.400 --> 0:11:45.320 That asking for a discount on rent isn't unheard of, 0:11:45.400 --> 0:11:47.680 and a lot of landlords are willing to oblige and 0:11:48.040 --> 0:11:50.960 mend the lease accordingly. Also, do you have multiple pets. 0:11:51.240 --> 0:11:54.120 Almost always there's a pet deposit, whether it's refundable or 0:11:54.160 --> 0:11:57.400 not included in a lease. It's worth asking for a 0:11:57.440 --> 0:12:01.520 discount on that pet deposit if you have have multiple pets. Yeah, Jill, 0:12:01.600 --> 0:12:03.240 just like with you and your flowers, it never hurts 0:12:03.240 --> 0:12:05.080 to ask. And there's a really good change, you might 0:12:05.080 --> 0:12:06.840 be able to strike a really good deal. And I 0:12:06.840 --> 0:12:09.440 would also encourage you as a renter to be creative 0:12:09.480 --> 0:12:11.600 when it comes to negotiating the terms on your lease. 0:12:11.640 --> 0:12:13.760 For instance, if you know there's a good chance that 0:12:13.800 --> 0:12:15.599 you might want to stay there longer, see if you 0:12:15.600 --> 0:12:18.000 can work in something along the lines of, Hey, if 0:12:18.040 --> 0:12:21.160 I always pay my rent on time or early, I 0:12:21.160 --> 0:12:23.320 would love to be able to renew a second year 0:12:23.520 --> 0:12:26.400 without the rent increasing, because right now that might seem 0:12:26.440 --> 0:12:28.600 like maybe a small win, right but you know a 0:12:28.679 --> 0:12:31.040 year from now, when rents in the area have gone up, 0:12:31.040 --> 0:12:32.880 say ten percent, Well, you want to be in a 0:12:32.920 --> 0:12:35.480 position where you can sort of exercise that right to 0:12:35.640 --> 0:12:38.240 resign at your current rate for a whole another year. 0:12:38.559 --> 0:12:41.160 Hopefully you've been a great tenant up until that point, 0:12:41.240 --> 0:12:43.959 and your landlord might be happy to see you resign 0:12:44.320 --> 0:12:46.200 and to have another solid year ahead of them where 0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:48.040 they know that rents gonna be paid on time. Yeah. 0:12:48.080 --> 0:12:50.040 One caveat we need to mention when it comes to 0:12:50.320 --> 0:12:53.720 least negotiation is that it's going to be more difficult 0:12:53.840 --> 0:12:57.120 to negotiate with a bigger landlord. Let's say you are 0:12:57.240 --> 0:12:59.240 in a house that is owned by one of those 0:12:59.240 --> 0:13:01.880 Wall Street companies that we talked about earlier, or a 0:13:01.960 --> 0:13:04.760 major apartment complex. Chances are the terms are just way 0:13:04.760 --> 0:13:07.480 more rigid. With a company like that, they have a 0:13:07.480 --> 0:13:10.160 lot of bureaucracy in place, and they're just not willing 0:13:10.240 --> 0:13:12.680 to amend the terms of a lease in kind of 0:13:12.679 --> 0:13:15.079 a one to one negotiation. So this is an all 0:13:15.120 --> 0:13:17.160 likelihood a tactic that you're going to be able to 0:13:17.200 --> 0:13:21.160 apply to dealings with a mom and pop landlord in 0:13:21.200 --> 0:13:23.560 a lot more instances than you are with one of 0:13:23.559 --> 0:13:26.640 those bigger, major landlords. Oh it makes me think, Joel, 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:30.120 have you ever lived in any of the post properties posted? 0:13:30.200 --> 0:13:32.080 It's a it's a big company in Atlanta. They owned 0:13:32.080 --> 0:13:35.040 tons of different apartments all across the city. Nope, never did. Man, 0:13:35.080 --> 0:13:37.840 I was always like slumming it and cheaper of our complexes. 0:13:37.880 --> 0:13:40.120 I think, yeah, your last coiment made me think about 0:13:40.160 --> 0:13:42.600 when Kate and I were looking at a post property 0:13:42.679 --> 0:13:44.720 that we really liked and we're really interested in getting, 0:13:44.800 --> 0:13:47.280 but they actually had laid out that rents were going 0:13:47.280 --> 0:13:49.200 to be increasing, and they told us how much that 0:13:49.200 --> 0:13:52.160 they're going to be increasing. It was not negotiable, And 0:13:52.240 --> 0:13:53.760 that was honestly one of the biggest reasons that we 0:13:53.880 --> 0:13:55.719 backed out of running that apartment, because we knew that 0:13:55.760 --> 0:13:57.600 we wanted to stay there for at least two years, 0:13:57.920 --> 0:13:59.480 and we didn't want to see our rants increase my 0:13:59.520 --> 0:14:02.280 hundred fifth bucks, so so we had to pass. Yeah. 0:14:02.280 --> 0:14:05.360 And at the same time, if rent prices do increase 0:14:05.520 --> 0:14:07.439 more than you're willing to handle, you get the factor 0:14:07.520 --> 0:14:09.880 of those moving costs, which can be a pain in 0:14:09.920 --> 0:14:11.920 the butt for a renter. You want to factor that 0:14:12.000 --> 0:14:13.640 in in the back of your mind when you're signing 0:14:13.640 --> 0:14:15.480 a lease. Do I want to stay here for a 0:14:15.520 --> 0:14:17.959 longer period of time than one year? And if I do, 0:14:18.440 --> 0:14:20.640 can I get that in writing now so that I 0:14:20.640 --> 0:14:22.720 don't feel like when rents do go up that I 0:14:22.760 --> 0:14:25.080 have to leave and go through the hassle of moving again. 0:14:25.400 --> 0:14:27.720 Keep in mind as a renter that the landlord will 0:14:27.920 --> 0:14:31.360 and should at least run a background and credit check 0:14:31.400 --> 0:14:33.520 on you, and so they will check your employment and 0:14:33.520 --> 0:14:36.160 they'll check those references. Make sure that you're being upfront 0:14:36.200 --> 0:14:40.240 and honest with your landlord. Realizing that communicating with your 0:14:40.240 --> 0:14:43.080 potential landlord and being honest like that that it builds 0:14:43.120 --> 0:14:45.720 trust and know that that's the kind of relationship that 0:14:45.840 --> 0:14:47.600 you do want to have with your landlord. As a renter. 0:14:48.000 --> 0:14:50.520 Anytime you apply to living and property, you are going 0:14:50.560 --> 0:14:53.760 to pay an application fee and that goes towards this 0:14:53.800 --> 0:14:56.360 background and credit check. And so if you're not upfront 0:14:56.400 --> 0:14:59.000 with your landlord, you might find yourself paying more fees 0:14:59.080 --> 0:15:01.840 across town to landlords then you want to and getting 0:15:01.840 --> 0:15:05.640 rejected for properties. So being upfront can help you avoid 0:15:05.720 --> 0:15:08.840 the extra costs of applying for properties that you aren't 0:15:08.840 --> 0:15:10.680 going to get. And I do agree, man, I think 0:15:10.720 --> 0:15:12.840 being up front. You know, I've worked with different tenants 0:15:12.920 --> 0:15:15.400 at different times and been more than happy if they're 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:18.360 completely honest to figure out terms that work for both 0:15:18.360 --> 0:15:21.160 of us. In the case of credit that is less 0:15:21.160 --> 0:15:23.680 in stellar or or whatever it may be. And I 0:15:23.680 --> 0:15:26.480 think as long as you are above board and open 0:15:26.520 --> 0:15:29.520 and honest with your potential landlord, I think that bodes 0:15:29.560 --> 0:15:32.120 well and it helps the landlord know what they're getting 0:15:32.120 --> 0:15:34.840 into before they perform the background and credit check. It 0:15:34.840 --> 0:15:37.120 makes them realize that you're a person then can be trusted. Okay, 0:15:37.200 --> 0:15:38.920 let's go ahead and say now that you've gotten past 0:15:38.960 --> 0:15:41.480 that background check, you've gotten past that credit check, you 0:15:41.480 --> 0:15:43.520 are now at the point we're gonna go through that 0:15:43.600 --> 0:15:46.520 walk through, and that is crucial because that is your 0:15:46.560 --> 0:15:49.920 chance to document the states the current state of the property. 0:15:50.200 --> 0:15:51.440 You want to make sure that you take your own 0:15:51.440 --> 0:15:54.040 pictures before you move in and if you see anything 0:15:54.120 --> 0:15:56.320 that seems that needs to be repaired, and at that 0:15:56.360 --> 0:15:58.440 point you can go ahead and email the landlord with 0:15:58.480 --> 0:16:00.680 any issues that you notice that need fick s. Yeah, 0:16:00.800 --> 0:16:03.640 taking those pictures on your moving date is actually a 0:16:03.680 --> 0:16:07.040 way of protecting yourself from the landlord coming back and 0:16:07.080 --> 0:16:10.360 saying that the property wasn't left in good condition upon 0:16:10.440 --> 0:16:13.640 your moving out. You want documentation of what the property 0:16:13.640 --> 0:16:16.120 looked like when you took possession of it. That's the 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:18.640 best way you can protect yourself in a situation like that, 0:16:19.000 --> 0:16:21.840 you're also going to want to take thorough pictures upon 0:16:22.000 --> 0:16:25.160 moving out to document that you left the property in 0:16:25.200 --> 0:16:28.040 good condition. So if those pictures a year apart time 0:16:28.080 --> 0:16:31.000 stamped on your phone look similar, then the landlord has 0:16:31.040 --> 0:16:34.320 a lot less grounds to hold some of your security 0:16:34.320 --> 0:16:37.880 deposit for repairs. And there's pictures they protect yourself now. 0:16:38.080 --> 0:16:39.840 But then after the break, we're gonna talk about when 0:16:39.840 --> 0:16:41.520 things go wrong with the place that you're living in 0:16:41.560 --> 0:16:52.160 and then what you can do about it. All right, Matt, 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:54.120 stuff happens when you're running a place. It could be 0:16:54.160 --> 0:16:56.920 busted pipes, it could be bedbugs. There are a whole 0:16:56.960 --> 0:17:00.400 host of situations that can negatively affect your experts as 0:17:00.400 --> 0:17:02.400 a renter, And so we have to talk about how 0:17:02.440 --> 0:17:05.159 renters can protect themselves when they're in the middle of 0:17:05.160 --> 0:17:07.720 a lease and things go wrong. And so the first 0:17:07.760 --> 0:17:10.600 and easiest and cheapest thing that you can do to 0:17:10.680 --> 0:17:14.240 protect yourself is to get renters insurance. Oftentimes your lease 0:17:14.280 --> 0:17:17.439 actually requires that anyway. But you know what, only thirty 0:17:17.560 --> 0:17:21.120 seven percent of people have renters insurance, and the typical 0:17:21.200 --> 0:17:24.879 cost of renters insurance is about ten dollars a month. 0:17:25.240 --> 0:17:27.200 That's like less than the cost of Netflix. Matt yeah, 0:17:27.200 --> 0:17:28.880 and the like twelve dollars. Now I think I don't 0:17:28.880 --> 0:17:32.199 even it's not up. Yeah. So most renters think that 0:17:32.200 --> 0:17:35.800 their landlords insurance covers their possessions in case of an accident, 0:17:36.040 --> 0:17:38.480 but it doesn't, So you have to get renters insurance. 0:17:38.760 --> 0:17:42.280 There are easy ways to buy renters insurance online. Policy 0:17:42.359 --> 0:17:45.320 Genius is a great website to check out that will 0:17:45.359 --> 0:17:49.520 offer you quotes from multiple different providers. Just don't forget 0:17:49.560 --> 0:17:52.400 to get renters insurance please. As a tenant, that's step 0:17:52.480 --> 0:17:54.480 number one for sure. And you know, one of the 0:17:54.480 --> 0:17:56.840 great things about renters insurance as well is that a 0:17:56.920 --> 0:18:00.160 lot of times it will cover off premises theft as well. 0:18:00.160 --> 0:18:02.359 So I'm thinking about bikes, like that's something that I 0:18:02.480 --> 0:18:05.600 have that I leave in other places where it might 0:18:05.640 --> 0:18:08.000 be in danger of getting stolen. Well, if you have 0:18:08.040 --> 0:18:10.600 a bicycle, if you have wrinters insurance, that's something that 0:18:10.680 --> 0:18:12.800 for the most part, will be covered if it gets stolen, 0:18:13.160 --> 0:18:15.080 say if you're at the restaurant down the street, or 0:18:15.119 --> 0:18:17.119 if you're at the library or something like that. So 0:18:17.520 --> 0:18:19.960 it really is affordable and there's just a lot of 0:18:20.000 --> 0:18:22.880 peace of mind that comes with taking the proper precautions 0:18:22.920 --> 0:18:25.120 when you're a renter, all right, So what happens if 0:18:25.160 --> 0:18:28.040 there is an issue with the property, whether it's just 0:18:28.119 --> 0:18:31.639 the lawn that's become unkempt, there's an issue with a 0:18:31.680 --> 0:18:35.119