Renters Ranting

The picture above is a really crappy picture of me standing in front of our first apartment with each of our keys.  We had just gotten off work and I found a voice mail on my phone that the landlord had left the apartment keys attached to her office door in an unmarked envelope.  Besides being impatient to step into our first, new place for the first time by ourselves, I didn't want to leave our apartment keys where anyone could just come by and take them.

Anyway, Jason and I have only been here since April of this year and have learned a lot about renting.  Some things that are good and others that aren't so good.

Noisy neighbors -- I didn't really realize it at first, but now that Jason goes to work at night by himself and I sleep at night, they do make a lot of noise.  The wife isn't American and doesn't speak an ounce of English, they have two kids; one three years old and one five years old.  The husband is American and speaks English, but he is never home except on the weekend.  They run around and pound on the walls all day until just about midnight.  It's so loud that it makes me nervous that my wall hangings will fall off.  It's sad because we only have one neighbor attached to us.

I mean, I'm not the type of person to shut my mouth either when I don't like something.  I've tried texting the landlord and she spoke with him.  He even came over here and spoke with us on the matter, apologized, and everything.  So, while he's home, it's not as bad ... but when he leaves for the week, it's like "Oh, here we go again!"

No renovations allowed -- You can't do anything to better your apartment if it means doing something permanent.  Where we live, the neighborhood is cookie cutter, so they like for everything to stay the same.

Won't fix cosmetic problems -- Our landlord won't fix cosmetic problems.  We have cracked tile at the front door and pulled carpet upstairs and they won't fix it.  They only fix major things like plumbing and electrical.  Almost makes me wonder where the security deposit goes.  They only take money out of the security deposit when it's because of something that we did.  So, if the people before us cracked the tile and pulled the carpet, why didn't you take money out of their security deposit and fix it?

Once contract is up, rent can go up -- This makes me kind of nervous because it can definitely happen.  With the way the economy is, nothing surprises me.  However, Jason and I can't afford to pay any more than what we're paying now.

Can't have any yard obstructions --  This doesn't really bother me all that much because it's not like I have children or anything, but if you have children, you can't have anything stay on the lawn such as swing sets or trampolines because of the guy that comes over to mow the lawn.

Trash doesn't pick up anything that isn't in trash bags -- I can understand that, but they won't even pick up card board.  That's a pain in the butt for us, especially when we have pizza boxes or the boxes that hold cat litter.  Just to avoid taking a trip to the transfer station for a few things and my apartment doesn't look like a dumpster, I take the time to cut the cardboard up and put it in the trash bag which is really difficult to do when you're not a strong person like me.

Limited space --  We had to get use to having a laundry room in the kitchen which isn't all that bad.  It's different having the washer and dryer in the kitchen, but luckily our washer and dryer are quiet and we have slider doors that hide it.  The one thing that we can't get use to is having the cat boxes in the kitchen.  There is really no other place for them.  The living room is carpet and the down stairs bathroom is way too small.  I must say, it really does stink (literally) when you are eating dinner and the cat drops a fresh one in the litter box.  We tried attaching stick-on air fresheners, but haven't had much luck.  Simba is really stinky.  I wouldn't trade my cats for the world though.

Security deposit and pet fee -- Our security deposit was how much our rent costs and our landlord only made us pay only one pet fee even though we have two cats.  However, the pet fee is a one time fee of $120 per pet.

Can't have any big parties --  Our drive way only really fits two cars which is just enough for Jason and I to park.  We could possibly fit one more car horizontally in the drive way in front of our cars and maybe one or two on the street, but that's it.

Not as private -- Jason and I like to sit outside and talk on the phone, but when we do so, we have to watch what we say because our neighbors are so close that they could literally hear what we are talking about from inside their apartments.  Also, I find that more people ring your door bell in an apartment area.

So, those are just some of the few things that suck about renting that Jason and I have encountered so far.  We are blessed in a way though because we are not responsible for paying taxes or fixing anything in the apartment which really does save us some money, but on the same hand, we feel like we piss money away in rent because we don't own the place.

Do you rent or own?  Please feel free to share your experiences down below!