Apartment Hunting

[zippy-kat]

I've called around looking for an apartment today and now I feel like crap. At several places, I'm treated like a criminal for owning the critters that I do. God forbid I don't have my cat declawed and/or own a rabbit. (Which for their FYI really ISN'T a rodent but a lagomorph. And I suppose if I wanted to get down right nasty, I could point that out to them - but what would it change? Not a durn thing. 'Sides that, they'd probably make it hell for me to live there.) One lady was exceedingly nice until she got to the Piper (she was fine with K'Cee), where she promptly added 50.00 to the pet rent and upped *all* deposits.

Don't get me wrong, I understand they have investments to protect but gosh darn it, contrary to belief, THERE ARE RESPONSIBLE PET OWNERS OUT THERE!

[Miss Meow]

That sucks.

Apart from not being completely open about owning Piper and K'cee , can you offer to pay higher pet rent for three months and revert to normal rent if the owner is happy with the apartment inspection? Or let the owner inspect the place every couple of months so he/she is a little more secure that the apartment is being looked after?

I'd rather a pet owner than a heavy smoker inside, drug dealer, party animals etc in my home, but some people are prejudiced against pets I guess

[Uabassoon]

You could try what I did, I went to an agency that charged $50 and you tell them exactly what you are looking for like the price range, side of town and of course pet friendly. Then they print out a list that meets all of your specifications, you can go in once a week and get an updated list and you can do this as often as you like for 3 months, if you haven't found a place after three months then bring in a bill showing you still live there and they will keep giving you the updated lists until you find a place. For me it was a total life saver and saved me so much time.

[micki76]

I hated living in apartments for that very reason Tonya. I lived in one apartment where I was told the pet deposit could be made in three payments. There was mass confusion on her part and mine and I thought it was $250.00 and I could make 3 payments of $84. Turns out that was 3, $250.00 payments!! The pet deposit was $750.00!! Most apts here have a pet deposit of around $300.00.
That was a bad six months, I had to leave Stolly with my dad. Not a bad place mind you, sorta like the Hyatt Regency for dogs, but I missed him so!
Have you thought about renting a house with roommates?

[Uabassoon]

OMG that's one high pet deposit! Mine was only $100 and it's fully refundable. The last apartment I lived in we took the cats to meet the lady working at the office and she fell in love with them and didn't charge us a deposit but did make me pay $10 pet rent a month.

[zippy-kat]

Thus far (with exception to the one who hiked up the prices), it's been a 250 deposit plus 250 fee per pet and 10-20 for pet rent! That adds up quickly!

[micki76]

Ouch!

[Chinadoll]

Are you looking at mainly apartment complexes? I think complexes are much more stricter than renting from an individual. When I moved a couple months ago everyone assumed that I had a hard time finding a place because of all the critters. It wasn't that hard surprisingly. I scoured on-line ads and in the paper and never called any place that said no pets.

I found that the most lenient landlords about pets were the ones who owned doubles and places with yards. Most places with yards that I called were relieved that I didn't have a dog when I inquired about pets. Those landlords with rentals with a yard assumed that most people who inquire about pets have a dog. In fact, a lot of the places I asked about pets were just so happy that I didn't have a dog that the cats and ferts were no problem.

I'll never go back to apartment living. I love the double I'm living in...of course there's no one living in the other half so I essentially have the place to myself. Good Luck! All I can say is to keep looking. I must have called at least 20 to 25 places, as well as drove up and down the neighborhood I wanted to live in looking for *for rent* signs. Out of all the places I called I looked at about 10 of them before I decided that I wanted to very first place I saw...go figure.

Another idea...ask your vet and local shelter if they know of any pet friendly rentals.

[lovemyshiba]

I totally understand what you are going through.
This town is not very pet friendly for renters--I suppose it's all of the students. Many of them just say no dogs too.
When my husband and I moved in together, we knew we wanted to get a dog. We looked for a while for a place we could have a dog--we finally found one, and paid an extra $15 a month pet fee--there was no pet deposit. The ladies in the office fell in love with Kito too!!!!

Good luck on the apartment hunting

[PJ's Mom]

Around here, we had the same problem finding a house. When people found out we had 2 cats, 2 dogs, a rabbit, a guinea pig and 3 large aquariums, they usually didn't call us back. We ended up finally finding an easy going landlord who charged us a deposit of $200 per pet, but only the dogs and cats counted. We have to pay $200 for any other dogs or cats we get. That's why hubby won't let me have a rottie puppy.

[2kitties]

It's an awful situation. I know there are responsible pet owners out there, but you'd just not believe how some people live. And, the renter doesn't know you, they have no idea what will happen to their property.

I'm not taking sides, just saying it's a tough call on the part of the owner. I worked at my apt. complex while in college and you would not believe some of the crap that went on. Perfectly normal looking people with wonderful animals- and they lived like garbage. Often, the urine was so deep into the pad and floorboards, that there was no hope. Everything replaced. And the things some dogs would chew. Vinyl almost always had to go.

I know we are all responsible pet owners, but it absolutely blew my mind when I was working rentals. You'd never imagine it from meeting these people.

On the other hand, we had a 30lb weight limit. However, some larger animals were "grandfathered in" because they were there before the limit was started. There was this one Husky- huge dog!!! Largest Husky I've ever seen. And this apartment was immaculate! Best dog I've ever known. I miss that doggie

Miss Meow's suggestion is a very good one. You can negotiate more if you're dealing with privately owned stuff then with larger reit communities. They have more strict corporate policies that the manager couldn't override even if he or she wanted to.

[Cataholic]

Keep searching..this is where the personal contact is VERY important. When I lived in Massachusetts, I rented three places that advertised, "no pets". I found the area I wanted to live in, went to visit the place, got a feel for the landlord, not to mention the apartment, and THEN dropped the T-bomb (Tex) on them. You would be suprised at the reaction- no problem.

People make compromises for people they like. You are a total stranger to them. I know you can't go all over the city with this, but, it is worth a try. I usually found that the apartment wasn't even what I wanted...so, no need to negotiate. I remember the one person I rented from first. Turned out, after talking for a few minutes, we had a slight connection from Cinti (in mass!), AND they had a cat (not the connection, the landlord). Once they met me, we hit it off, really well.

Good luck!

[RICHARD]

I got my first apartment with a 12 gauge bolt action shotgun.


The manager wasn't thrilled about it.....i had to patch the walls myself.




good hunting!

[slick]

Originally posted by RICHARD
I got my first apartment with a 12 gauge bolt action shotgun. The manager wasn't thrilled about it.....i had to patch the walls myself. good hunting!

**snicker** **snort** LMAO!!!
Over the past few years our local Humane Society has been working hard at trying to get the "no pets allowed" rule overturned but it's really hard to fight city hall. I really really hope that you can find a decent place!

[lizbud]

Wow, looking for a good pet friendly place to rent can become
very depressing. I wouldn't have been quite as honest as
you where about Piper, but think you were right about going
about this as you have. I think a lot of people who have no
experience with how a bunny is properly kept would fear the
worst. Please try not to get discouraged. People here have
already given some good tips for you. Hang in there Zippy.