Question about leasing an apartment

[IZ]

a lot of the lease break fees center around what sort of "deal" you got when you moved in.

I got 2 free months, so I would have had to pay that back along with losing my security deposit.

Yup!  That's the case with the current apt and why it's so much to break it. 

[junior varsity]

My job requires me to get fingerprinted every 5 years. I guess that's so if my prints should happen to change or something... 

hahahahahahahahahahahaha breath hahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahh

[il d00d]

Yeah, I'd have a hard time giving up that info.  Nowadays, I am worried about whoever has that information protecting it.   Unless they can assure me that the info will be on lockdown, I don't want to hand over my bank account info to the future pissed off ex-employees of their organization.

May not apply in this case, but a source of really good info for Texas apartment tenants:
http://www.texastenant.org/index.html

[Nitewaif]

Thanks for the link, but this is CA.

[Doctor Woodrow]

So, it's been ten years since I actually rented a place.  I've had this travel gig for a decade now, but now I'm thinking I'll settle down for a year or so until the job market picks back up.  The companies have cut benefits so much that right now, it makes more sense for me to stay put.

Anyway, I found a place I liked and brought home the reference/application form.  It seems damn intrusive.  It's been a long time, but I don't recall the process being more than pulling a credit report, proof of income, and listing past addresses.  In addition to all that, this company is asking for my bank and checking account numbers, my drivers license number, automobiles and thier license numbers as well as make/model/color, etc. and extensive work history with supervisor names and all that jazz.  This just seems overly intrusive to me.  Have things changed that much?

I manage my apartment complex here in Vancouver Washington. I know you're in Cali, but maybe this will help anyways. They want your work history to see how long you can hold a job and if you will be out of work quickly (and thus unable to make rent). I don't generally ask about this, only how long they have been on the job where they work presently, and if it hasn't been for long then I ask a few more questions.
Giving them your bank information is Bulls**t, if they run a background check (which they should) they will get anough about your bill-paying history and credit that they won't need your bank info. I say don't give it. Sometimes our applicants don't and it really doesn't matter in the end. If you aren't comfortable giving it out then don't.
As for your social security number, they need that for a background/credit chack and NOTHING ELSE!!! If they aren't doing one, they don't need it. If they are, then you are going to have to cough it up. If they want your liscense number ALSO, that is again bulls**t. The Soc. number is good enough.

The vehicle stuff is for your eventual file so that they can learn quickly what vehicle is yours and they don't tow it. TRUST ME towing is fun. Sorry to say this but a certain amount of vengful glee is found in having someone's car towed. (Maybe this was because they tried to pick a fight in my parking lot and then tried to run me over twice in a row, oh wait and then left their car there for ten hours the next day after being ordered never to come on the property again. Oh yeah and they didn't live there either.)

Sorry, that became a rant. I hope some of this was actually useful.

The Doc

[kristan696]

The one that got me, was that in our lease we not only had to state how many dogs we had and the breeds (understandable)... But their sex, age, weight and name. I'm surprised they didn't ask for their bank account numbers too :]

[Nitewaif]

I manage my apartment complex here in Vancouver Washington......
Sorry, that became a rant. I hope some of this was actually useful.

The Doc

Thanks, Doc.  Rant away, we all work with idiots.  There are too many in the world to avoid them all.

I finalized the paperwork today.  No, I didn't give them my banking numbers, just the other information.  The parking is a private garage spot (with key), so they didn't really need my car information either.  I got by with a credit check and I showed them last year's tax forms to prove income.  I took a folder of stuff I would allow them to view but not keep or copy, and that worked out just fine. 

It's insane, though.  They (until recently) required less information to buy a house!

[Mother]

Thanks, Doc.  Rant away, we all work with idiots.  There are too many in the world to avoid them all.

I finalized the paperwork today.  No, I didn't give them my banking numbers, just the other information.  The parking is a private garage spot (with key), so they didn't really need my car information either.  I got by with a credit check and I showed them last year's tax forms to prove income.  I took a folder of stuff I would allow them to view but not keep or copy, and that worked out just fine. 

It's insane, though.  They (until recently) required less information to buy a house!

two things

you gots an indiana?

and

Cali?

we are going to miss you come halloween

the band just wont be the same

[Statler]

It's insane, though.  They (until recently) required less information to buy a house!

It's still easier for a bank to forclose on a house than it is to kick non-paying renters out in many states.  The mortgage lenders have the house as collateral, the property owner renting space is different.   Bad tenants can be a very awefull thing...you're seeing more info requested because frankly, landlords can.

Glad it worked out.

[Nitewaif]

two things

you gots an indiana?

and

Cali?

we are going to miss you come halloween

the band just wont be the same

Yup, I gots an Indiana.  It handles surprisingly well, not like a cruiser at all.  It sits kinda high, though.

And yup, Cali.  The travel market is drying up with the rest of the economy.  Because I have been so many places over the years, I wasn't having any trouble finding a job, but the pay has dropped to the point where I could do better waiting tables, and because jobs are so scarce, the hospitals aren't granting requested time off any more.  The companies are nickel-and-diming the travelers so much that I decided to take a break. 

Cali wasn't my first choice, but after making a few phone calls, I realized that if I just stayed put in SF for a year, I could save more than if I went most anywhere else.  I did look at Portland (it was my first choice) but their funding has dried up so much that the staff nurses aren't getting all their hours.  Plus rents their have not fallen as drastically there as they have in California.  I am still paying more for a very small place here than I would pay for a mansion back home, though.   

My plan is to stay put for a year and maybe figure out what I want to be when I grow up.  Then I'll either go back to school or hit the road again.

[cyrus buelton]

The one that got me, was that in our lease we not only had to state how many dogs we had and the breeds (understandable)... But their sex, age, weight and name. I'm surprised they didn't ask for their bank account numbers too :]

That seems pretty standard from what I have seen around here.

Did you also have to furnish proof of vaccinations?

[Popeye the Sailor]

Cali wasn't my first choice, but after making a few phone calls, I realized that if I just stayed put in SF for a year, I could save more than if I went most anywhere else. 

You should pop into a zeit night now and again.

[cyrus buelton]

You should pop into a zeit night now and again.

Is that the west coast equivalent of the Blue Oyster Bar?

[Popeye the Sailor]

Is that the west coast equivalent of the Blue Oyster Bar?

Nah-local SF monster people get together once a month.


Zeitgeist

Fast

Friendly

Service

(pick one)

[somegirl]

Nah-local SF monster people get together once a month.

http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=22670.0