Daily on A2 Slumlords
Jared Goldberg outlines some rules for surviving sketchy A2 landlords, unenthusiastic legal representation and his roommate’s girlfriend.
Jared Goldberg outlines some rules for surviving sketchy A2 landlords, unenthusiastic legal representation and his roommate’s girlfriend.
Yeah gosh, where were the cops when his friend was “almost mugged?”
posted by Justin on November 9th, 2006 at 1:55 pm eMadison Property Company is also a shitty company who fucks you on utilities. You want me to pay $133.44 for gas in the summer? How bout you suck my balls? Their billing system is shitty with bills never coming on time, and they try to use their incompetence and shitty billing as an excuse to overcharge tenants. We had to threaten legal action to recover some of our utilities.
Funny thing is I would have rated them as an excellent landlord, with timely repairs, had it not been for their billing. But dealing with disagreements about money shows you the true side of all landlords. I think a lot of the problem revolves around Zach, Francis (the owner) seems to have his act together, Zach is a bumbling moron.
posted by Mark on November 9th, 2006 at 2:33 pm eIt’s more like six vague and futile observations than six rules, really, isn’t it?
posted by Nitro on November 9th, 2006 at 3:12 pm eMark, you seem to have had nearly the opposite experience with Madison’s people than I and my housemates. It was Francis who signed a lease with us that overlapped a previous lease on the house by four months, and then, when the mistake was discovered, the day before our lease started, tried to convince us and the old tenants that we could all just live together for a few months, right? It’ll work out fine.
We started interacting with Zach near the end of our lease, when we wanted to extend it month-to-month, and he was much easier to deal with.
posted by Francis?! on November 9th, 2006 at 3:13 pm e“There are too few statutes outlining landlord and tenant rights, but there don’t seem to be any at all defining rights between two tenants of the same property. If a roommate does something objectionable, there aren’t a whole lot of options to pursue.”
Jeez, kid, you need the government to come and wipe your ass for you, too?
posted by Dave on November 9th, 2006 at 5:22 pm ecome on, we all know that he’s just jealous that he couldn’t score some freshman tail, too.
posted by Anonymous on November 9th, 2006 at 7:57 pm eI’m sorry, but if you’re spending all your time obsessing over how bad Ann Arbor is, I think you need to get a life.
posted by Alexis on November 10th, 2006 at 4:52 am eI HATE GALLATIN! That man did the same thing to me. Screwed me out of $1200 while living in a total shit hole. I had a 3-foot hole in my bathroom wall for 7 months while the super kept saying “oooh yeah, I’ll fix that on Tuesday” (Said in thick Indian Accent)
posted by Ben Dover on November 10th, 2006 at 11:27 am eWas anyone else surprised that this guy complained about his CURRENT roommate and mentioned the girlfriend by name in the newspaper? I can’t imagine that will lessen the pre-existing simmering tension in their household.
posted by Carolyn on November 10th, 2006 at 4:07 pm eOh there are probably a ton of Lindseys in Markley… isn’t there? I mean Lindseys who are freshmen… who are dating an upper class guy who… lives with a guy who writes sometimes for… Nah couldn’t be… I’m sure he used an alias.
posted by abc on November 10th, 2006 at 8:41 pm eMy worst experience was with a groundskeeper who would steal my wife’s underwear. His MO was to tap lightly on the door, let himself in– the first time I was in the shower and came out just in time to see the door shutting as he fled. I didn’t know it was him yet. The second time was X-mas eve, and my car was in the shop so he thought I wasn’t home. As he started to come in I made a noise, and he split again. Only later did I consider that I should have trapped him with a camera. He bagged nine pairs of panties over the course of a year.
posted by toasty on November 10th, 2006 at 9:16 pm eBring back the Tenant’s Union!
posted by Ingrid on November 11th, 2006 at 9:07 am eHell yeah, thanks annarborisoverrated for linking my column! Ok, now on to the comments . . .
Justin:
“Yeah gosh, where were the cops when his friend was ‘almost mugged?’” Is this a sarcastic comment? If it is, well, that’s ok. If not, have you even been to the student neighborhoods on a Friday or Saturday night? Especially during Welcome Week? They’re everywhere. By the way, when I say almost mugged, I mean that quite literally. She had to go to the emergency room with a black eye and a concussion. I say “almost” because she was able to fight the guy off long enough to keep him from taking anything. But this was on a Monday, so no parties to break up or underage drinkers to ticket, so . . .
Nitro:
“It’s more like six vague and futile observations than six rules, really, isn’t it?” Maybe. But they’re true. And the difference between a rule and an observation in this case is the action taken, isn’t it? They’re not futile (if you listen to them and remain vigilant) nor vague (actually quite specific, if you read closely).
Dave:
“Jeez, kid, you need the government to come and wipe your ass for you, too?” Well Dave, for those of us who use the judicial system to pursue, oh I don’t know, JUSTICE, knowing what laws you have on your side just in case a roommate is completely intransigent isn’t such a bad idea.
I sure hope you’re not one of those libertarians who view any kind of government advocacy as evil . . . because that would be completely predictable.
Anonymous:
“come on, we all know that he’s just jealous that he couldn’t score some freshman tail, too.” Umm, not really. They were dating when she was still in high school (and he was a junior in college). The issue was and will continue to be about having someone live in my apartment who isn’t contributing any rent or utilities. Call me jealous all you want, but walk a mile in my shoes and see how you feel.
Alexis:
“I’m sorry, but if you’re spending all your time obsessing over how bad Ann Arbor is, I think you need to get a life.” Thanks for the ad hominem attack. As usual, you can’t refute any of my arguments so you stoop to attacking me personally. Good job, you’re Blaine Coleman.
Besides, I’m not obsessing over how bad Ann Arbor is. I would not have spent as much time here as I have if I didn’t like it. But, I’m not going to sit back and take the crap that is thrown my way as a student simply because you think I should “get a life.” What life are you referring to? Your life? Life as a sheep? Please.
“Ben Dover:”
“I HATE GALLATIN! That man did the same thing to me. Screwed me out of $1200 while living in a total shit hole. I had a 3-foot hole in my bathroom wall for 7 months while the super kept saying “oooh yeah, I’ll fix that on Tuesday†(Said in thick Indian Accent).” Here’s a little bit of info for ya . . . between 1979 and 2004, Gallatin had been involved in over 70 lawsuits with tenants, according to one of my former roommates. I’m not surprised.
Carolyn:
“Was anyone else surprised that this guy complained about his CURRENT roommate and mentioned the girlfriend by name in the newspaper? I can’t imagine that will lessen the pre-existing simmering tension in their household.” I wanted her to not spend every night in the apartment. I needed some way for her to get the message. As for making the apartment more pleasant, well, only time will tell . . .
abc:
“Oh there are probably a ton of Lindseys in Markley… isn’t there? I mean Lindseys who are freshmen… who are dating an upper class guy who… lives with a guy who writes sometimes for… Nah couldn’t be… I’m sure he used an alias.” Nope. No aliases. Lindsay is her name. I could provide her full name, although I’m not sure how kosher that would be.
posted by Jared Goldberg on November 12th, 2006 at 12:30 am eI’ve rented from most of the big companies in town over the last ten years. Madison properties treated me well and Francis was always very nice to me. The best, however, is Varsity Management. Their rent was fair and they always did exactly what they said they were going to do when they said they were going to do it.
posted by donnak on November 13th, 2006 at 1:33 pm eMost people (and kids) don’t realize it, but there is a housing glut in this fair city. Take time. Don’t waste daddy’s money (or do, I don’t give a shit). Don’t be lazy. Walk/bike/take a bus. It’s simple, really.
posted by Liz on November 25th, 2006 at 7:36 pm e