[SweetMutt]

I just left my apartment in the suburbs and subleased a loft in the city to cut down on my commute. Any of you who have lived in San Francisco recently know the rental market is miserable and that apartments pretty much rent out the day they're listed. I've lived a number of places here before so I figured I had the routine down. I guess not!

Saw the place once, liked it, agreed to the sublease. As soon as the guy had my deposit, suddenly he started dragging his feet on clearing out his stuff, cleaning up, getting me info on setting up utilities, etc. Move in day comes and I find the place still dirty, belongings stored in one of the bathrooms, closet full, and a puddle of water from a big window left open during the rain. I clean up, Finally settle in, and discover my first night... No hot water in my shower. Text to the guy I'm renting from is thus far unanswered.

I feel incredibly dumb for getting into this. I don't know at what point I should have known better, but I'm thinking I can't stay here as it will only continue or get worse over time. I don't have the time or energy for any legal battles, so it looks like this might be a lesson costing me my deposit.

Anyone else out there who's had a bad rental experience and can commiserate or offer some advice?

[ybiaw]

Right now I'm dealing with my landlord going into foreclosure on the condo that I'm renting. So that's been pretty fun.

[fivehorses]

yup, me.
I moved to aiken last winter and rented from the landlords from hell.
they would come by and scream and shout, throw things, threaten eviction, etc, etc.
hated my goat, and i was afraid they would run him over. anyhow, it was hell, and i became very afraid to be alone with them. they would come over a few times a week, and just have a screaming yell at me. I think they were frustrated and dysfunctional, but that did not help me when i had 9 horses and a 1000 miles from home. And, ever try to find another place in aiken in december? not going to happen for that many horses.
I had to hire a lawyer to keep them from their 'inspections', but they ignored the letter.
Later found out that some realtors refused to deal with them they were so quacko.
In my adult life, it was a horrible experience to be somewhere new and have such a negative, disruptive experience. It certainly did not help endearing me to Aiken when my life was train wrecked llike that.
So, it happens, and hopefully things will work out. Good luck

[fivehorses]

yup, me.
I moved to aiken last winter and rented from the landlords from hell.
they would come by and scream and shout, throw things, threaten eviction, etc, etc.
hated my goat, and i was afraid they would run him over. anyhow, it was hell, and i became very afraid to be alone with them. they would come over a few times a week, and just have a screaming yell at me. I think they were frustrated and dysfunctional, but that did not help me when i had 9 horses and a 1000 miles from home. And, ever try to find another place in aiken in december? not going to happen for that many horses.
I had to hire a lawyer to keep them from their 'inspections', but they ignored the letter.
Later found out that some realtors refused to deal with them they were so quacko.
In my adult life, it was a horrible experience to be somewhere new and have such a negative, disruptive experience. It certainly did not help endearing me to Aiken when my life was train wrecked llike that.
So, it happens, and hopefully things will work out. Good luck

[trubandloki]

My bad rental experience comes from the landlord side. When I bought my double I inherited a tenant with the place. OMFG, she banged around all night, made huge holes in the walls (boyfriend liked to throw things), complained about everything and anything and then sued me for her deposit back even though she left the place in shambles.


OP, do you have the contact information for the landlord (not the person you sublet from)? Can you contact them about the lack of hot water?

[Ainsley688]

Um, yes. Too many times. Just be thankful you don't have a "to-good-to-be-true" house with a very violently bi-polar drunk for a landlord...who has a wood shop on the property, where he goes ALL THE TIME to make bowls...with a lathe...sh!tfaced...it's a miracle he has all of his digits and limbs! That was really awesome finding that one out...

That was fun...oh, he also threatened a friend of ours on the way in, and said he was going to kill his dog if he couldn't shut it up. Totaled his truck on the main road, and then tried to beat up his wife when she found him. Lovely.

He also came into the house to chat, and alternated between crying and getting angry. He also freaked out and almost beat the crap out of my boyfriend when he asked if he made spoons...? Oh, and he stole our beer off the front porch when we weren't there.

This is a married man with a wife and two toddlers, and we lowly renters were 21, 24, and 25. It's now a bit of a joke, but at the time it was awful!

So it could be worse. We should have known when we found the Al-Anon papers under the side table...

[NJRider]

You need to contact the landlord or property manager for this loft. However, many places disallow subletting so you may be opening a can of worms if it is not allowed. He most likely did not notify them of the change in residency.

[Emryss]

You need to contact the landlord or property manager for this loft. However, many places disallow subletting so you may be opening a can of worms if it is not allowed. He most likely did not notify them of the change in residency.

In San Francisco, that may not matter (as the sub-leaser) - the laws are more tenant-friendly than most places. Once you're in an apartment, you have duty of habitability, and that includes hot water.

SF is an interesting place. I lived there for years, but my bad experience was sharing an SF apartment with a couple, and they were complete slobs. They also had no problem eating my food, which I couldn't afford to replace. The husband used to berate me for bringing in food he couldn't resist! I dropped over 15 pounds living with them - moved out at about 103 pounds.

[SweetMutt]

SF is an interesting place.

Interesting is one word for it. I got a response around midnight promising to take care of the hot water today, so we'll see. The nice part about subletting is that there's not a whole heck of a lot the main tenant can do if I decide to clear out on short notice (besides withhold my deposit). I doubt he informed the landlord of the sublet - because of rent control, a lot of SF landlords don't allow sublets since a change in tenants is the only chance to raise the rent, and giving up your lease means you're never getting back into that apartment.

Logistically the place is great (has parking, close to work, in one of the few parts of the city that is not covered in fog most of the year) so I'll just put up with it for a few months. I knew I couldn't be the only one - and yes, all of your stories are worse than mine!

[purplnurpl]

just a side note to the OP.
If you could add more subject to the subject line that would be great. I wasn't sure what you were asking about..

I rented Flight the other day. I hated it.
I bought Ted. Bad idea. Seth is a genius but it wasn't a movie that I would watch again.
Though the lasting memory of Mark Walburg calling 911 and yelling, "someone stole my Teddy Bear", (in a Brooklyn accent) still cracks me up.

[atlatl]

The people we bought our first house from didn't seem to think that they needed to remove all their stuff from the garden shed. It was raining the day we moved in; their stuff went out in the driveway, our stuff went into the shed and the gate was locked.

[tinydragon]

One place I rented, the previous tenant left a mess when he moved out. Old food bits everywhere, hair and surface grunge all over the bathroom, stacks of pamphlets and take out menus in every kitchen drawer. Oh, and the lovely cockroach problem he failed to mention to the landlord.

Don't get me wrong, the apartment was lovely once I got through cleaning it and the cockroaches had been taken care of. But really, some people.

[HighFlyinBey++]

Right now I'm dealing with my landlord going into foreclosure on the condo that I'm renting. So that's been pretty fun.

I went through that in 2008. How many antacids are you eating per day?

[JanM]

Better a bad choice in a rental, than a bad choice in buying. Though both situations really suck.

[glitterless]

Me! I had to move quickly and needed something big enough for my daughter and I and pet friendly. I even went through a reputable agency.

Apartment looked great. Neighbours seemed quiet. Rent was low for what I was getting. I should have clued in.

A friend came over on moving day to help out. When we arrived at the new place, she informed me that my neighbours are all drug dealers!

I've signed a 1 year lease which is up in August. I am already looking for new apartments. You'd think the woman from the agency I dealt with or the landlord would tell a single mother of a young child about the neighbourhood. I have learned my lesson and will definitely investigate further next time.

Good luck, OP! I hope you can get out or that things improve.

[danceronice]

I've signed a 1 year lease which is up in August. I am already looking for new apartments. You'd think the woman from the agency I dealt with or the landlord would tell a single mother of a young child about the neighbourhood. I have learned my lesson and will definitely investigate further next time.

As far as a leasing agent goes, at least in MA where I had my license, we LEGALLY could not comment on the safety or lack thereof of a neighborhood or building. I could tell you, for example, "Yes, that building across the street is public housing", but I couldn't say "This is a dangerous neighborhood." It was literally against the law. The broker I worked for dealt with this by not representing certain buildings or areas, though for Boston that meant we were not generally showing cheap apartments, or if they were it meant they were going to be the size of a closet.

[glitterless]

As far as a leasing agent goes, at least in MA where I had my license, we LEGALLY could not comment on the safety or lack thereof of a neighborhood or building. I could tell you, for example, "Yes, that building across the street is public housing", but I couldn't say "This is a dangerous neighborhood." It was literally against the law. The broker I worked for dealt with this by not representing certain buildings or areas, though for Boston that meant we were not generally showing cheap apartments, or if they were it meant they were going to be the size of a closet.

OK, that would make sense. And I honestly didn't ask too many questions. Definitely my fault as much as anyone else's. Thank you for the insight

[CVPeg]

First real job out of college, moved to New Haven, rented a room in one of the best 'burbs. Home owner was a woman divorced from a doctor, and who had found God. Fine that she had her bible meetings at the house. But screaming at me if I went out frequently and didn't get home until 1am? Had the nerve to call me several names, basically based on being a "wanton woman". Let me tell you, that's a stretch!

And, it was one of those houses where all of the good furniture was covered in vinyl. And she was a cat person who allowed her cats to eat up on the kitchen counter. Mine does, too, but has his own away from the rest of the food preparation area!

Her poor high school son kept his door closed at all times and practiced his drums with the stereo. Would only come out at times to talk with me if no one else was home.

Didn't take me long to find my own place!

[SweetMutt]

Right now I'm dealing with my landlord going into foreclosure on the condo that I'm renting. So that's been pretty fun.

Ick. I had an apartment where the building went into foreclosure. Wasn't a problem until move-out time when they told me they simply didn't have my deposit. I pitched a fit and eventually got them to apply my deposit to my last month of rent (which worked out to be the same amount, so I guess they just didn't want to write me a check for whatever reason.) It was certainly not fun and I hope that's the last time I have to deal with that.

I very much wish I could get out of renting entirely, but there's hardly a thing for sale around here under half a million (and hardly anything I actually like for under a million.) With these rental prices, saving up the kind of cash I'd need for a down payment will take me a looooong time on a single income.

[kateh]

Well right now I'm sitting in a one bedroom I can't really afford. Started grad school in spring semester and didn't want to worry about the hassle of finding a roommate and didn't like the idea of paying for a 2BR on the assumption that I'd be able to find someone in the first few months. Aaand now I'm stuck here for 10 months.

(PS SweetMutt I LOVE your sig!)