Life

[tegan]

Though I'm guilty of the exact opposite, kinda judging friends who say they're completely broke and can't afford food but then decide to buy a pint when we're at the pub.

 

[dibs]

Probably to keep their meth in. amirite?

[SuperBiasedMan]

And you know if they can afford them they also have food and electricity, poor indeed!

[MrHoatzin]

I am kinda freaked out/impressed by the .4% of the "poor" who don't have refrigerators.

[Gwardinen]

Yeah when I moved recently, I didn't have a working fridge for about two and a half weeks and it SUCKED. You either have to eat ramen noodles and soup, or spend even more money on takeaways. It's basically impossible to have fresh food without a fridge unless you have the time and money to go to markets - which since you have no fridge, you almost certainly don't.

[tegan]

Plus, I mean, what apartment doesn't come with a fridge?

[brkl]

You sell the fridge and tell the landlord you lost it when you move.

[Gormongous]

Plus, I mean, what apartment doesn't come with a fridge?

 

Maybe it was a phone survey and the people who said no just thought they were getting the "Is your refrigerator running?" prank pulled on them.

[SuperBiasedMan]

Plus, I mean, what apartment doesn't come with a fridge?

 

I've been apartment hunting recently, and I've seen things. There was even one pretty good house that had no freezer, and the agent had to explain to the landlord how he was legally obligated to get one.

 

I think there's a group of landlords that really just don't want to bother with figuring out the rules and regulations of tenancy and want to own a place they can earn rent money out of.

[Gormongous]

I think there's a group of landlords that really just don't want to bother with figuring out the rules and regulations of tenancy and want to own a place they can earn rent money out of.

 

I've definitely seen this sort of thing. There's a class of landlord that think they just buy a space and then various people will pay good money to fix it up and maintain it for you (while coincidentally living in it)

[Dewar]

I've been apartment hunting recently, and I've seen things. There was even one pretty good house that had no freezer, and the agent had to explain to the landlord how he was legally obligated to get one.

 

I think there's a group of landlords that really just don't want to bother with figuring out the rules and regulations of tenancy and want to own a place they can earn rent money out of.

 

Hmm, I guess this says something about my upbringing, but when my parents started to rent they went to a lawyer friend to ask about the difficulties involved and he mentioned the lawsuit horrors that can happen if you violate one of like 100 rules. They just decided it wasn't worth the hassle. It boggles my mind that landlords get away with that stuff.

[SuperBiasedMan]

Hmm, I guess this says something about my upbringing, but when my parents started to rent they went to a lawyer friend to ask about the difficulties involved and he mentioned the lawsuit horrors that can happen if you violate one of like 100 rules. They just decided it wasn't worth the hassle. It boggles my mind that landlords get away with that stuff.

 

I think this is a particularly prevalent concept of irish culture, where the idea of administration and rules are seen much more fluidly and not strictly necessary.

But if you're offering something cheaper than others, people will take it even if it's illegally subpar because they might not afford the full price places that have all the required facilities. And of course crazy housing prices don't help this situation.

[Nachimir]

People rent out some horrific stuff in London:
http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/aug/22/london-landlord-fined-renting-small-flat

 

There are also guardianship schemes, which come at about half the price of domestic rent for a given city and basically supply line-in security to stop buildings from being squatted. They have none of the rights of tenants: as little as two weeks notice to leave, landlord/agents can turn up to inspect without warning at any time of the day or night, you need permission to have guests overnight, you can't be away for more than a night at a time, and you might end up in an office block with a portable shower pod installed.

 

Maybe it was a phone survey and the people who said no just thought they were getting the "Is your refrigerator running?" prank pulled on them.

 
Poor people with refrigerators and phones? Luxury.

[syntheticgerbil]

Our duplex came with a fridge but it specifically states in our lease that if it breaks down, it's our problem to get it repaired or replaced. Why that appliance, I don't know?

Does that mean we get to take it when we leave?

[Mangela Lansbury]

When I moved into my current apartment, I was asked multiple times if I had my own appliances that I wanted to bring with me. I'm still really confused by how that would work. Where do they put the ones that are in here now? If the water line going into the fridge broke, would I be responsible for fixing it myself or would maintenance do it? Would they install the appliances I brought for me or is that something I would have to do myself? If I don't want them when I leave, would I be penalized for leaving them here? What kind of person is renting a shitty apartment like this but has a stove and fridge they're so attached to they want to bring them along?

 

Not asking more questions about it is one of my biggest regrets in life.

[Dewar]

I have a friend who brought his own stove, and I was considering doing the same. Generally they want you to store the old unit and put it back when you are done, or agree to a deal ahead of time where they will purchase the appliance from you when you leave at a fairly depreciated price. I believe my friend bought a $1500 oven and got something like $400 when he moved out two years later.

 

Synthetic, that's really wierd, but apparently legal as long as it is disclosed in the lease. I'm not sure whether you'd get to keep it or not if you had to replace it. I'd imagine a written notification to your landlord that it broke, and their official response of "tough luck" would be enough to cover you in court should you leave with the fridge that you purchased.

[Bjorn]

Kansas politics are EXTRA fucking weird this year. There's a non-story about the Democratic candidate for governor going to a strip club when he was a single young man (because that never happens!), and simultaneously, the state is auctioning off thousands of sex toys seized in a tax collection case. All while the Republican Attorney General is ass deep in a fight over whether or not the Democrats are legally mandated to field a candidate for a US Senate seat (their candidate dropped out of the race), because the current Republican senator is fairly likely to lose to an independent candidate unless the Democratic vote is split between their own candidate and an independent. Roberts (the Republican Senator) has been taking a shellacking due to allegations that he hasn't actually been a Kansas resident for a couple of decades and damn near lost the primary because of those accusations.

 

It's like bizarro politics world here right now.

[brkl]

Hah, legally mandated to field a candidate? Crazy that your political parties are so entrenched. 

[syntheticgerbil]

Synthetic, that's really wierd, but apparently legal as long as it is disclosed in the lease. I'm not sure whether you'd get to keep it or not if you had to replace it. I'd imagine a written notification to your landlord that it broke, and their official response of "tough luck" would be enough to cover you in court should you leave with the fridge that you purchased.

I hope it does us well. To me it's a luxury fridge because it's the first one in a long line of rentals that actually makes some fucking ice. Every time before if they had an ice maker, it'd just dribble out water all over the freezer and coat everything in ice.

 

FUCK YEAH ICE ALL DAY!

[Griddlelol]

I just moved into a place with no washing machine. I've been without one for over a week now, with no sign of a cheap second hand one on the horizon. The landlord said he couldn't be bothered to install one, but reduced my rent by £10/month. So if I find one for £110 or less, I'm winning. Although the thought of installing it worries me. I'm no plumber.

[Bjorn]

Hah, legally mandated to field a candidate? Crazy that your political parties are so entrenched.

That's the thing, they aren't. I haven't seen what kind of legal basis the AG is using for this, because there doesn't really seem to be one. He's already taken one case to the state Supreme Court about it, who practically laughed him out of the chamber (unanimous decision that he was completely wrong). But now he's trying a different tact. I'm rather hoping this results in a lawsuit for abuse of power against him, because it's painfully clear that he's burning the AG office's resources trying help a political cronie rather than taking care of business that needs addressed.

[undermind9]

I just moved into a place with no washing machine. I've been without one for over a week now, with no sign of a cheap second hand one on the horizon. The landlord said he couldn't be bothered to install one, but reduced my rent by £10/month. So if I find one for £110 or less, I'm winning. Although the thought of installing it worries me. I'm no plumber.

 

washing machines are usually pretty easy if the plumbing is already in place.  Usually the pipes are already roughed in and the washing machine just needs to connect with a flexible PVC to the hot & cold (dont mix them up...), then power is simple as plug in

 

ive got to change my lock/latch assembly on front loading washing machine sometime this next week.  i think it'll be pretty easy except taking the rubber liner off the front.  Seeing that it is the only thing holding gallons of water from leaking i have some uneasiness about putting it back in place

[syntheticgerbil]

So if I find one for £110 or less, I'm winning. Although the thought of installing it worries me. I'm no plumber.

Are they really that much over there? Is there a UK Craigslist? That's usually a cheap and easy way to get an appliance if you can pick it up.

[tegan]

I decided to splurge today, just once, until I either get a job or until my birthday, whichever comes first. There was a sale at HMV and I have a friend coming over this weekend with the intention of watching monster movies, plus I've been dying to read Through the Woods and really wanted to frame more of my comics after yesterday's experiment was such a success (this one turned out much worse, but you can't tell since pretty much every goof I made is invisible from the outside. Too bad Wal-Mart only had the two frames).

 

 

 

 

 

Hooray! Shopping!

[Griddlelol]

Are they really that much over there? Is there a UK Craigslist? That's usually a cheap and easy way to get an appliance if you can pick it up.

 

There is a craigslist, but it's proper dodgy. I've been looking on Gumtree (essentially the same thing) and they're pretty damn rare. Contacted a few people who were selling them for about £50, but never got a response, so I guess they already sold them. Getting one into my car might also be a bit of a nightmare! 

 

I think I'm going to go to a laundrette (laundromat) for the first time in my life this weekend. Super excited!