Comments on: Young professionals with cat seek apartment…

By: Gigi

Gigi — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 04:04:00 +0000

I actually live in Naperville and have a townhouse that I’m thinking of renting out (no dogs). What service did you use to find the apartment?

By: Nicole

Nicole — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 21:34:00 +0000

The reason I wrote about the cat was because his post initially said NO PETS in the description. I had to mention it upfront. I just got so frustrated with all the rentals saying NO PETS that I thought I’d e-mail somebody to see how stringent they were.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 15:48:00 +0000

I guess you won’t be buying this shirt then
http://tinyurl.com/fwwz4

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 18:56:00 +0000

Not only would I leave out the ‘young’ part, but I’d also limit the description of the relationship to ‘couple.’ Landlords want stability – I’d avoid the words ‘boyfriend’ and ‘girlfriend.’

By: The Travelin' Man

The Travelin' Man — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 11:47:00 +0000

Anonymous (3:09 pm) had some excellent advice. I rent out a space in my condo, and while I have been fortunate to not have to seek a new renter for many years now, I almost never rented to the guy based on his initial phone contact.

Tell any potential landlord as little as possible, but enough to get an initial meeting. Show up with contact information from a previous landlord (I wouldn’t want your current landlord – you may be a horrible tennant, and he may just want to get rid of you – an older landlord can be truthful), and volunteer for a credit check, and offer to pay an extra pet deposit. After meeting the landlord, if he likes you, and you like the place, he may be less likely to take you up on the offer of credit check, referral check, or even the extra deposit.

If that doesn’t work – find another place!

By: judyyann

judyyann — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 23:42:00 +0000

I have owned my home for years, but in my younger days I would ask landlords if they minded my using them as a reference to potential landlords in the new town. They always said, “Sure, you’ve been a great renter, I wish you didn’t have to move.” I don’t really know if it was a factor or not, but I rented a house easily although I had two small children, two cats, and a dog.

By: Angela

Angela — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 23:17:00 +0000

The yuppie comment made me roll my eyes, but at least he was being honest. I could never understand why some landlords hate cats. They’re so clean, quiet and low-maintenance.

By: IRA

IRA — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 03:00:00 +0000

Do you have your heart set on Naperville? If you’re hoping for cheaper rent, you could try Wheaton or Glen Ellyn. There are a ton of folks who rent older homes to grad students near the Wheaton college campus. Most people move to Naperville because it has a wonderful school system. If you’re not planning on having kids any time soon, you should try looking in some of the suburbs that surround Naperville (e.g., Lisle, Woodridge, Downers Grove, etc.).

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 20:54:00 +0000

HA! This is the second blog I’ve been reading where, months after reading, I find out the blogger is in OP, where I live. How bizarre, since that’s now how I found it.

Good luck with the apartment hunter. What an odd response from that landlord.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 20:09:00 +0000

I don’t know that he was being a jerk — tone doesn’t come across well in emails.

I’d make the suggestion that you leave off the “young” part and just say you are a professional couple. There really is no reason (legal or otherwise) to state your age. This might help you get in to see more places. Also, you might not want to mention the cat until you meet the landlord in person. It’s been my experience that if a landlord really takes to you, he/she might make and exception to the “no pet” rule.