Now for the followup:
Once you move in, walk through the place while recording video on your phone, describing each item of furniture and item of value. That way, you have proof of everything on which you might ever need to file a claim. If you still have receipts, take photos of those. You may not think you have much, but replacing a computer, printer, TV, guitar, etc, really adds up.
How much is your deductible? You probably don’t want to file claims for small amounts of money over the deductible, in csse your rates go up if you do.
Once the policy is in force (probably immediately?) you might want to consider taking a few detailed pictures of any of those valuables (TV, computer, memorabilia, etc.), and make sure you have the receipts for them somewhere — just in case.
When you’re all moved into the new place, take a few min to do a video walkthrough of the place too, pausing a sec or two in every room and at every significant possession.
Upload all of that online somewhere, or at least away from your home.
In the event of a catastrophic loss (like a minor volcano eruption), such documentation can help you get a claim to replace the stuff. It’s not strictly required, but would make your case a lot stronger. It’s how I’ve managed to get thousands of dollars worth of bicycles replaced under renters’ policies, and more than that under auto policies. If you get a nice claims adjuster it won’t matter, but the stricter ones might insist on evidence or lowball you.
For any one single item that’s worth a lot (like the autographed thing?) you might consider getting it individually itemized in your listing too, as a specific rider.
Hopefully none of the above will ever be necessary! But if you really care about any of those things, they’re relatively easy precautions to take.
$500. Probably won’t be relevant except in the event of some kind of total loss.
I’m going to make a video of the unit when I tour it on Monday (I saw a model unit when I visited last week, but I still need to have a full tour of the grounds, which includes a game room and a gym and a business center and a patio and a lounge and a restaurant and cafe and laundry and virtual golf) and once I’ve got my stuff moved in.
Well, excuse me for suffering from clinical depression and taking advantage of the systems that our government has established to allow people like me to enjoy the legal protections our Constitution provides us such as it is in this moribund decaying late-stage-capitalist endeavor in which we live.
And after you take possession and before you move in, walk through the place while recording video while describing each room and literally any faults you find. Turn on everything that’s part of the apartment & test every outlet too. Anything not working report in writing to the landlord. It’s possible they already have a form for you to do this, don’t skip it.
Hear, hear. Also, fuck the concept of add-on extra charges for “pet rent” in general. Renters in properties that allow pets should be able to share their living space with their pets, just as they share it with their musical instruments and their exercise equipment and their videogame consoles and any other potentially disruptive possessions, without getting preemptively surcharged for it.
If the pet causes damage to the living quarters, that’s what security deposit withholding and similar financial penalties are for. If the pet causes disturbance for other tenants, that’s what neighbor and landlord-tenant negotiation/enforcement meetings are for. But just using the scarcity of pet-friendly housing as an opportunity to extract more rent money from pet owners across the board, right from the get-go, is kinda bullshit.
The building used to be one of the nicest hotels here in Olympia. It had a ballroom that was a popular site for high school proms and the like. It closed down during the covid shutdown IIRC and the new owners have renovated it into apartments and it just recently had its grand opening. The ballroom has been split up into the gym and game room. As I said in the OP, I honestly didn’t expect my application to get approved, but since they have a lot of units they’re trying to rent all at once I figured I might as well take the chance.
I did say that the lease prohibits me from inviting gang members onto the grounds, didn’t I?
On a serious note, I dropped $800 today on Ikea furniture to furnish the place with. I’ve never had to own much furniture - I have a bed, a computer desk that used to be my grandma’s kitchen table, an end table, a desk chair, and that’s it. The room I’ve been living in came with a dresser and bookcase that I have to leave behind, so I’ve ordered a new dresser, bookcase, couch, coffee table, dinner table, and two chairs to go with it. It should all be delivered about a week after I move in. It’ll be nice to be able to occasionally have a guest over.
They actually have a tenant portal on their website that you can submit maintenance requests through.
That is great, but I think what is meant is a form to list any problems you notice on move-in, so when you move-out you don’t get charged to fix them. Many places will include this form with your lease, so you can fill it out and return it (keep a copy), very soon after you move in.
This will generally be cosmetic damage (for example, scratch and dent on refrigerator, stain on carpet in hall). Take pictures, too. Stuff that is non-functional you should report to get it repaired, but they’re not going to withhold part of your deposit because the diverter valve in the shower didn’t work when you first moved in.
It sounds like the place is newly refurbished, so there might not be anything. The flip of that is as the first tenant, they will definitely want to hold you responsible for any damage when you move out (no one else to blame).
I also strongly recommend reading your lease, and reading through any tenant guides your city, county, or state publish that explain your rights. Hopefully you never need to use any of that information, but knowing what your landlord is and is not allowed to do will go a long way to making sure you are not taken advantage of.
Similarly, read through your insurance policy, mostly paying attention to the things it covers and it does not cover.
Yeah. I’ll be the first person occupying this unit since it was a hotel room 5-6 years ago.
The lease includes an itemized list of things that can be charged against the security deposit. A diverter valve is not among them. I can apparently be charged $11.99 for a “shark bite”, which it turns out is a plumbing fixture and not the act of being mauled by a marine predator.
What echoreply said. When you move in, inspect it for anything wrong. Even if you don’t care if they fix it (like stained paint in the corner of the ceiling), having a record of it defends you from getting charged for it when you move out.
