All Forum Posts by: Johann Jells

@Kim Meredith Hampton See my edits, its PC word games. You can ban smoking but not smokers. Just like there are no more homeless, but people experiencing homelessness.

I looked again at the response I got to my inquiry, and they're playing PC word games. Bold is mine.

Hello Johann,
Thank you for contacting Apartments.com Support.
I can clear that up for you. So we follow the context of the fair
housing association and by stating "No Smokers" you're excluding a group
of individuals. Which the FHA deems a violation.

So it's best to just change it to "No Smoking". You can ban the actions
of an individual, but the not type of individual they are.

Lots of interesting takes here, but the bottom line is what actually is the dynamic of cities for the attractive jobs crowd that drives the economies of NYC & SF? Do the educated and desirable young employees come to the cities looking for the jobs, or do the companies locate in the cities because that's where the educated and desirable young people want to live? IMO educated people under 35 generally aren't looking to WFH from a bucolic farm in the Hudson Valley or Montana. They want arts, excitement, world class dining, nightlife. This is what cities provide.

That said, there's no reason to think the RE market will recover soon 100% to it's ridiculously overheated highs. My rents are down. My 1BRs that rented in the $1600 range are now $1400. We will survive, as we are not heavily leveraged. Investors in negative cashflow condos may take a haircut, but this is what market corrections are all about. Something always causes them, whether it's 9/11, the subprime meltdown or Covid. But the key fact is the market is often overheated by people who think they can't lose. Right now you have people in their 30s in RE who never saw a downmarket before in their careers, and people in finance who still haven't. When that happens, what out!

I was placing an ad on Apartments.com and it refused to load unless I deleted "no smokers"! It explained that was discriminating against a class of people, and that was a no no. Just....wow. Another reason to hate that site.

I raised my two children and still live with my wife in a 1200 ft four bedroom apartment, something that many if you out there would consider hardship and not what you would do if you have choices. But to me two adults and a child in 450 ft is  several levels different from that.  They could easily get a two bedroom in a neighborhood the next tier down of gentrification not far away.

However, the law is the law, so I will certainly not be turning down anyone based on their family situation.

I know family status is a protected class, but must I rent to an applicant that while they don't violate the state occupancy limits, seems too much by my judgement? 

I have a 450 ft 1BR that a family of 3 is inquiring about. That seems too small even though the state allows occupancy of non-bedroom space. Of course I wouldn't be kicking out a couple that had a baby while in residence, but I'd expect them to move soon, and they usually do, even from my small 2BRs. 

I've actually had inquiries of 4 adults for these units! I'd rather lose a month than rent to people so close to the edge. I stated in the ad I required 3x gross rent in income, and had an inquiry that wasn't even 1.8x!  I Don't know what they're thinking never mind how they manage.

Wisdom here. Why take someone who makes themselves a PITA from the get go?

It's also not up to current code, which is 15" on either side of center of the commode. I've had issues with this in small lavs. But I think existing gets grandfathered in if there's an inspection.

OP, I'd double down on the black trim you already have and use a black base vanity. Doing a larger inset mirror also looks great, and you can trim black tile around it if that's in your skillset. The vanity below is wider than you have room, but you get the idea. I like these 'eurostyle' sinks, they give plenty of storage but can make the room seem bigger with their smaller floor footprint.

You are incorrect about this. Of course there are tenants who don't know their rights, but the law is quite explicit. You either need an evictable cause or they decline to take a reasonable rent hike. The rent raise cannot be "unconscionable", as defined by the presiding judge at a hearing. It's generally assumed the line is 5-10%.

A landlord must follow the requirements of the Eviction Law and cannot refuse to renew a lease without good cause (See Causes for Eviction), except in the case of owner-occupied two and three family dwellings, transient or seasonal tenants

https://www.state.nj.us/dca/di...

That's not an option here in NJ, lease renewal is mandatory per our "anti-eviction" statute. Saying 'yes' is the last choice a landlord gets.