OT: apartment advice

[UConnTrumbull]

Hey all,

Looking to move out of my parents place after graduating from uconn last spring. Trying to rent an apartment for me and my girlfriend in the Fairfield-N Bridgeport-Stratford-Milford area (I work in Fairfield). Wondering if any of you have advice. I've heard you can negotiate monthly rent, not sure if this is true so any kind of help would be awesome. Orrrr if any of you work in real estate and want to help a fellow BYer out, I'm your man.

 

[mets1090]

You guys can share a room with me if you pick up 2/3 of my rent.

 

[TasteofUConn]

I've heard you can negotiate monthly rent, not sure if this is true so any kind of help would be awesome.

A lease is a contract. Pretty much any contract can be negotiated, you just need to be talking to the right person. If it's a 200 unit complex, probably not going to get a lower rent than advertised - if it's an extra room in a house, definitely can negotiate on that. Keep in mind that people take it personally, sometimes.
I'd say, however, more important than the rent are the other provisions of the lease. Notice clauses, lease breakage clause, damages clauses. What do those say? If you want me to review any lease you are thinking about signing, pm me.
If and when you do rent a place, always use checks to pay rent, or get a written receipt, make sure all lease changes are in writing, signed by both parties, and make sure you take a video of the place right before you move in and fill out - in detail, a sheet indicating defects in the rental, get a signature from the landlord, and make sure you have a copy of it. Flag everything noticeable on a walk through - scuffs on walls, damage to door trim molding, and so on, and most importantly, the condition of the flooring - spots/stains and carpets and the like. Most tenant calls I get involve arguments over the carpets, with the tenant claiming they looked like @ss on day 1, and the landlord claiming they were professionally cleaned an spotless. Good luck young fella!

 

[61cygni]

I believe GemParty is a real estate guy, might be worth dropping him a message

 

[OkaForPrez]

I believe GemParty is a real estate guy, might be worth dropping him a message

@GemParty

 

[TerryA88]

Make sure your credit / FICO
score is 720 + , go to Credit Karma and get your score. If your credit isn't at LEAST 680 +...good luck. Your young , your paycheck/ limited trade lines will reflect that this is your initial step into ' adulthood' .

If your girlfriend doesn't have at least a 680....DON'T move in with her. Rent is a number. Electric , cable , heat , food , auto insurance , renters insurance (if you're smart ) . Forget about gas , lunch cost. Sign a 6 month lease. ...I'm sure she's wonderful; but you don't a years lease on your back.

If your rent is a combined over 40% of you and the Mrs. combined income. ..it's not going to work. Despite the numerical / quantitative facts I mentioned above. ..not mentioning hair / nails etc. This is the most important thing you should take from this post. ....DON'T NOT GET HER PREGNANT !!

 

[fatlucy]

I'm a multifamily developer. I don't manage but I do market studies all the time. The advertised prices are base line. The unadvertised adds to your rent can be expensive such as parking, amenity fee etc., so ask up front what is added. Go with a professional development, not a homeowner with a garage apartment. You'll get the amenities and professional perks and attitude associated. Yelp and other ratings are taken very seriously by the industry so check them out. Do your homework. And follow TasteofUconn's advice. All of it. It may seem cumbersome and unecessary at the time but IF something goes wrong, you'll be protected.

 

[GemParty]

Many great suggestions mentioned, & thank you for thinking of me. You can message me anytime. I primarily work with home buyers/sellers only all over the United States, with heavy concentration on my home state- CT. I'm in a referral network that has multiple agents on my team that I can count on in every town & state.

Every sale requires a different expertise & I oversee your journey. I've helped a number of fellow Yarders already. I'm honored to help in the future.

Mike-

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Hey all,

Looking to move out of my parents place after graduating from uconn last spring. Trying to rent an apartment for me and my girlfriend in the Fairfield-N Bridgeport-Stratford-Milford area (I work in Fairfield). Wondering if any of you have advice. I've heard you can negotiate monthly rent, not sure if this is true so any kind of help would be awesome. Orrrr if any of you work in real estate and want to help a fellow BYer out, I'm your man.

UConnTrumbull

If you are in need of furniture for your new apartment send me a PM. I have quite a bit (due to my son moving back in) very new that you can have for pennies on the dollar.

 

[TasteofUConn]

If your girlfriend doesn't have at least a 680....DON'T move in with her. Rent is a number.

This is horrid advice. Rent might be a number, but your S.O. is definitely not. I look for a lot of things in a woman - FICO score is not at the top of the list. A woman can have many, many desirable . . . attributes . . . notwithstanding an uninspiring FICO score.

But as bad as that last advice was, this is worse . . .

DON'T NOT GET HER PREGNANT !!

Your advice here is to get her pregnant! I suppose your intent was to advise the opposite, but your weak grammar did you in.
Regardless, of all the bad advice ever administered unthinkingly on the Boneyard, this post right 'cheer just vaulted into first place. Think!!

 

[Jay-Bone]

Hey all,

Looking to move out of my parents place after graduating from uconn last spring. Trying to rent an apartment for me and my girlfriend in the Fairfield-N Bridgeport-Stratford-Milford area (I work in Fairfield). Wondering if any of you have advice. I've heard you can negotiate monthly rent, not sure if this is true so any kind of help would be awesome. Orrrr if any of you work in real estate and want to help a fellow BYer out, I'm your man.

Move to a city not in CT. Nobody told me that and it took me 6 years after graduation to figure it out. The rest will work itself out.

 

[TerryA88]

Make sure your credit / FICO
score is 720 + , go to Credit Karma and get your score. If your credit isn't at LEAST 680 +...good luck. Your young , your paycheck/ limited trade lines will reflect that this is your initial step into ' adulthood' .

If your girlfriend doesn't have at least a 680....DON'T move in with her. Rent is a number. Electric , cable , heat , food , auto insurance , renters insurance (if you're smart ) . Forget about gas , lunch cost. Sign a 6 month lease. ...I'm sure she's wonderful; but you don't a years lease on your back.

If your rent is a combined over 40% of you and the Mrs. combined income. ..it's not going to work. Despite the numerical / quantitative facts I mentioned above. ..not mentioning hair / nails etc. This is the most important thing you should take from this post. ....DON'T NOT GET HER PREGNANT !!

 

[TerryA88]

TasteofUconn....good catch on my typo. The points I made are nonetheless valid. Your response clearly shows your age...late 20 's , early 30' s . Single , nothing in your name except a vehicle your parents consigned for....or did you trade THAT vehicle in and you have under 24 months left?

PUS%Y is PUS%Y. What you fail to recognize is business is business. Be young and enjoy yourself while you attempt to f%ck anything that would give you the time of day ....your going to grow up one day.

 

[Fishy]

The points I made are nonetheless valid. Your response clearly shows your age...late 20 's , early 30' s . Single , nothing in your name except a vehicle your parents consigned for....or did you trade THAT vehicle in and you have under 24 months left?

PUS%Y is PUS%Y. What you fail to recognize is business is business. Be young and enjoy yourself while you attempt to f%ck anything that would give you the time of day ....your going to grow up one day.

Actually, your advice was simple-minded, dated and not particularly helpful to the young guy who asked for our help.

Signed,

Someone who isn't in his 20's or 30's, who has a fair amount of stuff in his name, who actually works in real estate and who doesn't offer half-assed relationship advice in the persona of a thawed-out caveman.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

Move to a city not in CT. Nobody told me that and it took me 6 years after graduation to figure it out. The rest will work itself out.

ditto, most of my friends moved out of area to different cities and/or countries after graduation, i stuck around for way too long before finally moving away. CT will always be home but i wish i had done the move sooner.

 

[TerryA88]

Fishy. I'm not going to have a passing match with you, but since you called me out- I'll Holla at you. Comparing your knowledge of credit / finance to mine is like comparing an account to a CFA / CFP..designations I have. You show properties on weekends .

Are you so stupid that you don't realize that
the lack of a 2 year work history is working against him? FYI you moron , it's reflected on the paystub.

I don't post often , and generally I've always enjoyed your posts. ...but this comment is the dumbest reply of yours I've ever read. I'm 43 , and own investment properties, and my own home in Danbury, CT.

Are you so stupid that you don't know any credit score below 660/ 680 is going to require a cosigner / double security deposit?

If you aren't aware of the significance of a credit score. ..you must not be a good realtor.

 

[breezy]

Fishy. I'm not going to have a passing match with you, but since you called me out- I'll Holla at you. Comparing your knowledge of credit / finance to mine is like comparing an account to a CFA / CFP..designations I have. You show properties on weekends . Are you so stupid that you don't realize that the lack of a 2 year work history is working against him? FYI you moron , it's reflected on the paystub. I don't post often , and generally I've always enjoyed your posts. ...but this comment is the dumbest reply of yours I've ever read. I'm 43 , and own investment properties, and my own home in Danbury, CT. Are you so stupid that you don't know any credit score below 660/ 680 is going to require a cosigner / double security deposit? If you aren't aware of the significance of a credit score. ..you must not be a good realtor.

I can't tell if this is your voice or if you're rebutting as Donny Trump would.

 

[TerryA88]

Fishy, one day you'll learn to respect your elders, or neutral advice in general. I hope that starts Thursday.

 

[Rocktheworld]

PUS%Y is PUS%Y.

Yeah you're clearly not in the 20s-30s age bracket. Definitely 10-19.

 

[Fishy]

You have "investment properties" and a house in Danbury? Near the mall? Well hello, Mister Trump! Sounds like you're doing well for yourself and that's fine, but nevertheless...

Your advice was tone-deaf and beyond advising him to check his credit score, all but useless to the original poster.

Your follow up defense of your advice where you lay out why the original poster will basically not be able to rent an apartment, remarkably, might have been worse. Your assumptions of what a professional landlord will and will not accept in terms of younger renters and their issues are not correct. If you're a guy with five units to rent, your idea of acceptable risk is far, far different than the guy with a few thousand.

Your relationship advice screams "I am planning to die alone!". ("PUS%Y is PUS%Y"? First, who talks like that? And second, no, it's not.)

Alls we do at my lil company is own and manage real estate in the city and Westchester. (Note - we don't work weekends and if you want to see an apartment, I'll not be the one to show it to you.) There's nothing written on the walls of my office that says 680/660 or bust or that a kid just starting out isn't fit to rent an apartment from us - when you have studios and one bedrooms to lease, that's who you're going to be dealing with and it works out rather well for us.

And not for nothing, but I'm actually a year older than you - so defer to your wizened elder here, junior.

 

[TerryA88]

Fishy , you aren't being honest. A 720 + credit score beats out a 660 + all day long and twice on Sunday. I'm by no means Donald Trump. ..but I will respond occasionally Boneyard members who's inquiries are in my wheelhouse.

The original poster inquired about flexibility in negotiating a lease. Been there done that.

He mentioned his girlfriend. ..I assume she's also employed. Been there done that.

Nobody on either this particular thread , or the Boneyard in its entirety is paying my bills. ..so what's my motivation to give what you / others call ' caveman advice' ? I got out of school and found myself in a similar situation that the original poster was in. First 4 months were great , next 4 were suspect , and for 4 months I paid for somewhere I didn't live.

FYI - the 43 was a typo. I was born in 1970. I'm just trying to guide a young man...no more , no less. I'm not looking for 3%-5% on anything; and I'm sure your company does a great job exploiting the uniformed. Keep up the bad work. Please tell us the name of your firm..I'm sure you'll be able to find some victims on the board.

I'm telling the truth, and you're looking for a client.

 

[TerryA88]

Yes Fishy ..Aunt Hack / King St.
area is where I live. Would you like to meet me? Anywhere you'd like. ..White Plains , New Rochelle , Brewster. ..what works for you. Danbury has some nice food options near the Mall. Or , I can and would happily meet you anywhere in New England before the huskies first exhibition game. I'll buy the first 2 rounds.

If your feeling manly , just give me a non- public place. I'll be there. Red 4
Door car.

 

[HuskyNationJE]

Hey all,

Looking to move out of my parents place after graduating from uconn last spring. Trying to rent an apartment for me and my girlfriend in the Fairfield-N Bridgeport-Stratford-Milford area (I work in Fairfield). Wondering if any of you have advice. I've heard you can negotiate monthly rent, not sure if this is true so any kind of help would be awesome. Orrrr if any of you work in real estate and want to help a fellow BYer out, I'm your man.

Depends on what you're willing to spend. I moved to Milford and it's very centrally located but all the areas you're looking at are going to be pricey. Bridgeport will be your best bet for the cheapest rent. Milford you will pay a little more because downtown is where everyone goes in the summer and the most local "bar scene" and it's on the water but it's probably the best for what you're getting.

 

[methodology]

Don't over extend yourself with the cost of rent. Whatever you and your gf make per week should be your monthly rent baseline. So if combined you guys make $1500/week that's the range you should be looking at. All the other utilities and cost of living on your own start to add up. You don't want to start having to live paycheck to paycheck and falling behind on bills or the such because you signed a lease for a place more expensive than you can comfortably afford.

I personally have preferred private residences vs condos or multi family units. You have to decide how much you value privacy/quiet because in condos/multi families you aren't exactly getting that.

If you just graduated and have a reliable job you may also be better off staying at home if that's an option. Stay home for 2 years or so and save/put away what you would have been spending if you were living in your own. Then after 2 years you could go buy a house and have equity instead of renting and renting without actually having equity.

If you don't have any real credit history go get a secured credit card that reports to all the credit bureaus. Don't spend more than 40-50% of the credit line and pay off in full each month. Take your credit score seriously as later on when you actually want that new car or house or whatever it may be that credit score will help you immensely

 

[TasteofUConn]

I don't post often . . .

No reason to change what's working.