Help, Small Living Area

[Wiglaf]

Due to circumstances out of my control it has become necessary for me to live in a relatively confined space for the next few months. I have several general and important questions.

1) Tech forum be damned I need a television, and this TV needs to be small. I have seen 15 and 19 inch HDTVs advertised, but here is my question. At that small size, does it even matter to have an HDTV versus an SDTV? I have tried asking my neighbor this and he ended the conversation by trying to sell me both his old mac and his car...needless to say he is a douche bag.

2) I have entered into a contract with someone who has forced me into giving him what he terms a security deposit. This is a fancy way of telling me that if I damage anything I will be out several hundred dollars. My question is, how do I prevent this man from scamming me? He clearly is untrustworthy and I have no digital camera. What can I do to ensure he does not fleece me?

3) I was recently in the market for a second dog to go along with Washington, my black lab. What sort of animals would Washignton like to be with? Please remember the space constraints. If the space is too small perhaps another dog is out of the question. Would Washington enjoy interacting with a goldfish or a hamster, or an ant farm for example? Those seem more plausible given the living arrangement.

Thank you for any help and if I have more questions I will need to post them. Again, small space, big questions.

[DRoseDARs]

They allow you to have TVs and pets in padded rooms?

[Cort Haus]

You still here Wiggly?

[Cort Haus]

1. For a few months it's not worth buying an expensive television.

2. Security deposits are completely normal in many countries. Whether this guy is honest or not I can't say, but he isn't necessarily trying to scam you.

3. Surely it is unwise to get a second dog in such a small space.

[Wezil]

Re: Help, Small Living Area

Originally posted by Wiglaf
Due to circumstances out of my control it has become necessary for me to live in a relatively confined space for the next few months. I have several general and important questions.

Welcome back Wiggy. We missed you.

1) Tech forum be damned I need a television, and this TV needs to be small. I have seen 15 and 19 inch HDTVs advertised, but here is my question. At that small size, does it even matter to have an HDTV versus an SDTV? I have tried asking my neighbor this and he ended the conversation by trying to sell me both his old mac and his car...needless to say he is a douche bag.

Go small and cheap. Sounds like your current situation is temporary.

2) I have entered into a contract with someone who has forced me into giving him what he terms a security deposit. This is a fancy way of telling me that if I damage anything I will be out several hundred dollars. My question is, how do I prevent this man from scamming me? He clearly is untrustworthy and I have no digital camera. What can I do to ensure he does not fleece me?

I'd advise a signed inspection of the premises. Do this inpection with your landlord and record all pre-existing damage. You can't be blamed for anything pre-existing when you move out.

3) I was recently in the market for a second dog to go along with Washington, my black lab. What sort of animals would Washignton like to be with? Please remember the space constraints. If the space is too small perhaps another dog is out of the question. Would Washington enjoy interacting with a goldfish or a hamster, or an ant farm for example? Those seem more plausible given the living arrangement.

Sell the 1st dog and get a real pet. I'd advise a ferret.

Thank you for any help and if I have more questions I will need to post them. Again, small space, big questions.

Good luck.

[Lorizael]

Guys, Wiggie's never seen an apartment before.

[ColdPhoenix]

Whenever I've rented somewhere, I've always had to give one month's rent as a security deposit. Once I lost a lot of it for such minor things as dry cleaning the curtains which in my opinion should have been counted as normal "wear and tear" and therefore not an acceptable reason to lose a deposit (they weren't particularly dirty, just a little yellowed from being in a smokey environment for over a year).

What I then did in the place I went to next was withhold the rent for the final month that I was there. The landlord got very stressed about this and was hassling us a lot, we just responded that we would still pay for any damage done to the flat. Before we left we tidied it perfectly and the stressed landlord was very relieved when he went through the leaving check, I think he'd been expecting the place to be trashed. In the end he said that we didn't owe him anything.

If you're really worried about being scammed why not offer him your credit card instead of cash?

[Cort Haus]

In the flats I rented there were sometimes contractual clauses about things like cleaning curtains, windows, upholstery covers, carpets etc.

Hence, check the contract if there is one.

[Cort Haus]

Originally posted by Lorizael
Guys, Wiggie's never seen an apartment before.

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[Krill]

I think it is cheaper to by a tv card for you PC and just get a decent moniter (22 inch is pretty nice). Use the second moniter as a TV and store programs onto a hard drive (and buy a second HD if space becomes tight, as HD are pretty cheap right now.)

[DaShi]

So they're finally throwing Wiggy in the hole.

[Dis]

Originally posted by DRoseDARs
They allow you to have TVs and pets in padded rooms?

my first thought as well

[snoopy369]

Security deposits are standard in this country for apartments. You should get a receipt from him with the full amount listed on it. Once you move out, he is required to give it all back to you, plus interest in most jurisdictions (tiny interest, in chicago it's like prime-1 or something, 0.5% I think). If he does not give it back to you, in most jurisdictions, there are explicit rules for what he must do - usually, provide you with receipts for the specific costs he incurred; and there are usually limits to what he can charge (ie, in many places routine cleaning such as carpet cleaning, touch up paint, etc. is not permissible). Read your local Tenant Ordinance or whatever they call it (call city hall and get info on it.)

[Kidlicious]

Re: Help, Small Living Area

Originally posted by Wiglaf
2) I have entered into a contract with someone who has forced me into giving him what he terms a security deposit. This is a fancy way of telling me that if I damage anything I will be out several hundred dollars. My question is, how do I prevent this man from scamming me? He clearly is untrustworthy and I have no digital camera. What can I do to ensure he does not fleece me?

Security deposits suck. There's not much you can do. He will never give you the whole deposit back, and then you probably won't want to take him to court for a few hundred dollars, cause you probably will only get a fraction of that back.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by snoopy369
Security deposits are standard in this country for apartments. You should get a receipt from him with the full amount listed on it. Once you move out, he is required to give it all back to you, plus interest in most jurisdictions (tiny interest, in chicago it's like prime-1 or something, 0.5% I think). If he does not give it back to you, in most jurisdictions, there are explicit rules for what he must do - usually, provide you with receipts for the specific costs he incurred; and there are usually limits to what he can charge (ie, in many places routine cleaning such as carpet cleaning, touch up paint, etc. is not permissible). Read your local Tenant Ordinance or whatever they call it (call city hall and get info on it.)

I've never heard of getting interest for security deposits. You don't get that in the places that I've lived. You certainly should though.