An Old Rental Scam With a Bizarre Twist
The "phony landlord" scam happens every so often, but this time the impostor went as far as using the court system to protect his rights as a landlord.
Last year, a tenant moved into her new digs in Baldwin, New York only to learn months later that the man to whom she was giving her rent money wasn't the landlord after all. He was an impostor with no claim to the property, trying to make a quick buck off an unsuspecting victim in need of housing.
Before the scam was uncovered, it took a turn for the bizarre. When the tenant stopped paying rent because the man didn't make promised repairs to the apartment, he didn't just take his profits and run. Instead, the impostor pulled his landlord hat down tighter and actually sued the tenant to collect the unpaid (and illegitimate) rent!
A tip led police to arrest the man this morning on charges of burglary and grand larceny, after he allegedly pocketed over $10,000 in illegal rent, according to NBC. He reportedly faces up to seven years in prison, if convicted.
Everything But the Kitchen Sink
If you're evicted from an apartment, you're expected to take your things and leave. But one tenant who was just evicted from a Kaisertown, New York rental decided to help himself to a number of furnishings and other things that weren't his to take.
The landlord reported that over the weekend the tenant made off with an array of items, including rugs, smoke detectors, sink pipes, lighting fixtures, landscaping, and even trees, according to today's police blotter in The Buffalo News.
The total bill for the theft is estimated at over $3,100.
Get Your Landlord to Pay Attention to Your Heat Problem
If it's cold outside and your apartment just isn't getting enough heat, you don't want to have to spend weeks, or even days, waiting for your landlord or super to respond to the problem.
Nor should you. Landlords have a duty to keep your apartment habitable, and many cities, such as New York, have laws specifying exactly how much heat tenants are due.
If you have trouble getting through to your landlord about a heat problem, here are some communication tips you can use to help ou get the prompt attention you need from your landlord.
(Photo © Tom Grill / Getty Images)
Does Best Friend Equal Best Roommate?
When it comes to finding the perfect roommate, many renters assume that their closest friends would automatically make the best candidates.
But likeability isn't the same thing as compatibility, which is the key to a successful roommate relationship. Rooming with a friend can work, but only if you're both on the same page about issues such as paying your rent on time, sharing expenses, cleaning your apartment, how often you'll invite guests over, and how quiet or noisy you'll agree to be during the day and night.
What types of people, then, generally make the best roommate candidates? Find out with this handy guide.
Got a story to tell on how you went about finding the right roommate? Share it here!
(Photo © Image Source / Getty Images)
Holiday Tipping in an Apartment Building
If you live in an apartment, you may have one or even a few people to consider tipping this holiday season. The most common candidates include your mail carrier plus your doorman and super, if you have them.
Of course, these people are paid to do their jobs, but the point of giving a tip is to show that you appreciate what these folks do for you, and you're happy to help spread holiday cheer. Also, your token of appreciation and generosity will hopefully encourage the recipients to show you the prompt attention you deserve when an issue with a package or a repair inevitably arises.
Rent.com notes that holiday tips can range from $30 to $100, depending on your building and city and how often you interact with the recipients or utilize their services.
Whom do you tip for the holidays, and how do you decide how much to tip? Have you asked neighbors what they do?
Related Articles:
- Keep Christmas Tree Wet to Avoid Fire Hazard
- Options for Dealing With Your Mail When You Go Away
- How to Practice Neighbor-Friendly Entertaining
(Photo © Carlos Davila / Getty Images)
Dealing With the Unexpected Nuisance
Sometimes, despite your best efforts to check an apartment building for noise issues before you sign the lease, a nuisance develops that you just couldn't have contemplated.
A good example of this is what has been happening recently at an apartment building in Newport, Australia. According to a report this week from The Manly Daily, no sooner did tenants cheer the arrival of a next-door supermarket than they discovered that the noise from the building's outside air-conditioning unit was driving them crazy.
Fortunately for these tenants, their complaints aren't falling on deaf ears. The supermarket and the building's owners appear to be working to find effective ways to lower the noise level and remove the nuisance.
Have you ever had to deal with an unexpected nuisance at your apartment? If so, what did you do to resolve the problem?
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(Photo © Mark Lewis / Getty Images)
Fighting Crime by Cleaning House
How do you effectively combat a serious crime problem at an apartment complex? One way to do it is to kick out all the tenants who are committing the crimes -- even if it means mass evictions.
That's what the management of a complex in Jacksonville, Florida decided to do in an effort to clean up the neighborhood, according to a report from First Coast News. On Friday, several tenants across multiple buildings at the complex were reportedly ordered to vacate for criminal activity.
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Decking Another's Halls Was Act of Folly
When a family returned to their Herscher, Illinois apartment last Monday, they found, much to their surprise, that it was dressed up with lights and other decorations for Christmas. No one in the family could have done it, they didn't hire any contrators, and the building's management certainly didn't provide such a service.
It turns out the culprit was a teenage friend of the family, who managed to gain access to the apartment and quietly accomplish the holiday adornment while the family was away for the weekend, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
The girl apparently only left decorations and, according to the Associated Press, took nothing from the apartment. Luckily for her, the family has reportedly decided not to press charges.
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(Photo © Mieke de Leeuw / SXC)
Having People Over for Thanksgiving?
If you're hosting a Thanksgiving get-together this Thursday at your apartment, catering to your guests will no doubt be your top priority.
But don't be a turkey and forget about being considerate to your neighbors. It doesn't take much effort, and it can be a great way to maintain a respectful relationship with the people who live around you.
Here are tips for how you can practice "neighbor-friendly entertaining" at your apartment this Thanksgiving.
(Photo © David Sinofsky / SXC)
Unusual Circumstances Lead to Unrelated Apartment Marijuana Arrests
It's not at all uncommon for police officers to find drugs on suspects and arrest them for it. But here are two recent stories of arrests involving marijuana possession at an apartment that you don't read about every day.
Today, apartment roommates in Wichita, Kansas called the police to report that robbers were making off with their marijuana. After the police apprehended the robbers and found the drugs in question, they proceeded to arrest the tenants, who now face charges of possession and intent to sell within 1,000 feet of a school, according to UPI.com.
On November 6, a landlord in Cambria, New York was arraigned on charges of second-degree criminal possession of marijuana and unlawfully growing cannabis, and a tenant has been indicted on the same charges. But, as The Buffalo News reported, the police only discovered the drug and indoor plants because of a 911 call about a man with a gun, which turned out to be false.
(Photo © Jorge Barrios / Wikimedia Commons)