ok, so when to follow up on renting?
 

Looked at a house we really liked on Saturday (were the first ones there when the open house started). Filled out the rental app, chatted up the owner. Know that at least one other person was ready to write a check (as was I). Went back towards the end of the open house with some phone numbers to add to the rental app and chatted up the owner a bit more. Sent a short, "thanks, pleasure to meet you and your wife, and let me know if you need any more info" email on Sunday. No word yet. So when do I ping him again? We want the place, and I also want to give notice as I'm looking at a 20 day (and counting) overlap with my existing place. Don't want to seem pushy but seems it shouldn't be that complicated though he likely has multiple prospective tenants.

Cal the guy up. Some folks don't do well with email. Tell him

Don't be all "two day rule" like some girl you met in a bar, it's a business transaction.

I work as a landlord, and we also don't want to appear pushy. So someone has to break the ice. I say call him/her and say."The more I think about the place, the more I like it. Can I provide you with rent references and proof of employment etc".

What bill said, I'd be a little more forward. "Is there anything else needed for us to make this happen?"

Call them - "Hey man, what the F is going on with the house? I'm interested but don't have F'ing forever, ya know?"

Something like that - a real attention grabber; separate you from the the other applicants. Let me know how it goes.

I filled out the rental app on the spot and when I went back later in the day made it clear that I was ready to write the check. He hinted that he thought it would work out. He hasn't contacted any of my references yet. Just not sure how pushy I should be. It is a married couple with 3 and 5 year old girls so while it is a business transaction it isn't like I'm dealing with a management company.

Tell him your clones are gonna die if you don't get the grow room set up in the next couple days so you need an answer asap.

I said I needed enough time to move my weapons. Hope he understands...

Express extreme frustration and anxiety. In fact, call him a nasty name for taking so long.

Or better yet, just give him the exact phone call tbat VaSteve suggested. Communicate. If you are concerned about his time frames, then ask him about those time frames, tell him you don't want to be a pest, but you are (would be) an excellent renter and would like to make this house your home. In sales, it's called "closing the deal." Not in a pushy way of course. Just sayin'.... "I want this job." or "I want to live in this house." And perhaps ask about timelines if that's important to you.

Pick up the phone and tell him you are ready to go. ready to give him the deposit check.

Did the 1-2 punch. Sent an email with links to my work and music sites as well as those for my g/f. Called and left vm with his wife as well. He wrote back saying he's at a retreat and mostly off-grid and that his wife is doing the credit checks etc and we should hear soon.

Unfortunately in some situations you can't just write the check. Certain rentals have landlords desperate for tenants. We looked at one last week - they already dropped the price from $4K/mo to $3690 and it still is over price imho. The one we want is the opposite. There is at least one other family that would have written a check on the spot (and I offered on Saturday). When I went back on for the follow-up I offered to pay from July 1 even though the house wouldn't be ready to move in until probably the 5th. I'm looking for a place to stay for the next 4 years until the boy is out of HS so a little extra money up front washes out. There just aren't that many good houses out there for rent. And about half of those that are on the market are "no pets". As much as we want to move, it would have to be dire for me to ditch the cats. For the life of me I don't understand landlords that won't take cats with a deposit (I'll even do non-refundable) unless they are deathly allergic.

good luck, good places are hard to find

Talked with the owner. Her daughter had a 105F temp last night so they had a trip to the ER. She's better now (kids heal quickly) and I should get the final decision tomorrow.

Just show up in front of the place with all your stuff.



KT

3-day rule! Wait that is something else.....

Sometimes people just want to work at their own pace or have already made up there mind and just don't know how to say no (not saying this is the case).
I am in the process of renting a place I own and if you have something nice at a decent price there are lots of good perspective tenants willing to take it and pay on the spot.
He certainly knows he's got something more than one person wants, which is a great position for him, but there may not be much more you can do at this point

Steve

Maybe playa style would be more effective :lol:

I like what Cdnone1 said. If you decided to call, you should be nice and easy, don't be pushy. Make it's short and firm, just to give him the message that you want the place and are ready.

Where the heck were you in January when I was renting my house!

J/K... from reading your other post it probably doesn't fit your criteria for school or garage space...

Seriously, in this market I can't believe he is stringing you along... he must not need the money... my house sat empty for three months and I was begging people to move in.

On the other hand potently renters can be incredible flakes... at least sixty percent of the people who called about the house never showed up... so it is easy to get jaded.

Totally depends on the location, the property, and the price. There are plenty of places in Santa Monica that are sitting empty. I see apartments with the WestSideRentals signs up for months on end. Other places get snapped up quickly. From what I can tell they aren't stringing me along, but rather life getting in the way. Business travel and a sick kid slowed down the process. I know they ran the credit check though because Quicken Loans woke me up this am to talk to me about my current refi (jackoffs).

Certainly plenty of flakes in the world. I try to avoid being one of those.

OMG. I live in a comfortable house in a decent neighborhood. My mortgage payments is a tad over $1200.

I have never pulled up a living room carpet and not seen pet stains. Cat pee is especially stinky. If a deposit were not refundable, and sufficient to re-carpet the entire house, "treat" the stains in the subfloor and reimburse the landlord for the time delay to have the work done, then maybe.

My house is on Ponit Fermin, block from the ocean/jogging+bike path... small local store half a block... good elementary school a few blocks... cute two bed one bath beach house... utilities included. Was $1600 now $1750.

In the ten years I have rented it I advertised, sifted through the dozens of applications, interviewed the cream of the crop, and had the place rented in about a month.

This time around it was empty from January to April... and I paniced and did $4000 in remodeling to finally get someone in there.

Just can't see a landlord dragging their feet the way things are right now... work and family problems included.

However I need the rent to get by... maybe to this person it is just extra income.

NS, that is close to $50K/yr in rent!
After 5 years that would be $250K in rent money given to someone else.

Sure there is taxes, insurance, and upkeep, but those who saw their $700K house turn into a $450K house still own the place, and the market is starting to reach the bottom of the curve.

Even a small no-maintinence condo in a different part of town with a 5-year garage lease would be cheaper.

Just consider the options...

Have run the numbers. I don't have the liquid assets for a big down payment, and it isn't clear that I'll stay in this place beyond 4 years. The "bottom of the curve" means different things for different areas. Anything in SM of decent size will be around $1M to buy. Tax breaks won't make up for the property taxes, upkeep, etc. Plus in the first years all that money goes towards servicing the debt so you're not getting any equity unless the values go up. And I don't see that happening. Worst case I could be upside down like the g/f was. If I was going to stay in the place for 15 years then it might be a different story.

"Different part of town" is a non-starter. The high school is the main factor in living location. Too many constaints in my situation - staying close enough to the ex for ease of logistics, having enough room to be livable, having a studio space so the g/f can give up her studio rental in the hood, etc. The cost of living is the cost of living. I am willing to pay extra to not be in an apartment any more.

Shucks, you could move to Ann Arbor. We got desent skools, Google/Barracuda/Automotive mag/etc/etc. AND you could buy a new car every single year.

Because they melt right there in your garage each winter...THE one thing I dislike most about the snow-belt.

Just realized that you recently posted the http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/614973-my-weekend-random-bizarre-events.html.
That's freaky. I can see why you want to move.

Not familiar with the Santa Monica area, but I understand California somewhat.
The whole state is a seperate re-evolving nation divided up into tribal areas- each with it's own "peculiaritys".

Depending on your daily schedule and requirements(and you don't need to post this), a commute from a different area during the off-peak rush hour might take the same amount of time out of your day, but get the same mission accomplished without the same stress. Cali traffic is either a clusterf'k, or an open road.
Just another perspective...

The bigger picture is family, job, quality of life. Not necessarily in that order with every situation.
All logistics.

Todd, did you get the place?

Moving is amoungst the top "life-stress experiences".

Still waiting to hear. I'm going to call later this AM as I was supposed to hear something yesterday. Could be we're a backup on their list, or their kid could still be sick, etc. Such is life. We're continuing to look at other listings and if this doesn't come through something else will. There really is no solution other than Santa Monica at the moment - anything else would require a huge realignment for both myself and my ex. Sometimes you just suck it up and do what is needed to make it work.

Stress? Yup. Work is insane at the moment as well so I'm pretty much in survival mode right now. Not the first time, won't be the last.

NS, you gotta find a breather somewhere.
Go to a new place. Then just sit, and absorb the different environment.
Easy logistical problems=easy solutions.
Repeat as necessary.

There are a thousand other places that might be as comperable.

I would call it off, move on and look for another house. If it is this bad to get them to contact you trying to move into the place imagine what's going to happen if you have an urgent repair issue with the house or if you are trying to get your $4k deposit back ... they'll have all their kids sick, be on travel, lost their cell phone ...

I prefer rentals with a property management company.

George

Fixed it for ya.

this just opened up
APNewsBreak: Bulger lived in CA apartment 15 years - US news - msnbc.com

The last place I rented tagged us $1200 at the end for half the cost of replacement of 15 year-old carpet. The reason cited was for cat urine. We had spent about $500 on professionally cleaning the carpet two days before we left, no less. And the management company representative walked through with us the day before we left (the carpet was still damp from the cleaning) and through the place looked fine. Granted we had 2 cats. But not once did they ever soil the carpet. Our kids made plenty of messes, but definitely not the cats.

One of the reasons I'm glad I'm no longer a renter--none of that arbitrary, made-up crap that comes with renting. Of course, now I'm subject (I think that's the proper word) to the arbitrary crap of our state, local, and federal government, instead.

just got the lease agreement via email after a quick phone call answering some credit questions (I'm still on the ex's mortgage). Write checks tonight, have given notice to current landlord, will have to line up movers for both g/f and my place. Going to be a busy July...

Congrats.

Congrats, Todd. Moving sucks, but the new place sounds like it meets a lot of needs/wants.

no carpet in this place - all cherry hardwood floors. I hate carpet...