Daria Scatton thought she had found the apartment of her dreams last year when she and her sister signed a lease on a one-bedroom flat in Chicago`s Wrigleyville neighborhood.
Not only was it ”urban cute,” but it was also within cheering distance of Wrigley Field. The monthly rent on her little find was $395, which the sisters split down the middle.
”This was not a luxurious place, but it was nice, and okay for the two of us,” Scatton said. ”It was a great location and I thought it would be fun living there.”
But it turned out to be anything but fun for Scatton and the other tenants in the building when they were without running water for almost a week.
”We could not use the toilet. There was no running water of any kind. Nothing came out of the faucets,” said Scatton. ”I knew I was in trouble-we all did-when we had trouble getting a hold of the (landlord). I realized I really didn`t know how.”
Then, when she and other tenants in the building agreed to withhold a portion of their rent until repairs were done, Scatton said her landlord sought revenge.
Looking back on it all, Scatton said she made the mistake many prospective tenants make when choosing an apartment.
”I went to look at the apartment and I liked what I saw at the time,”
said Scatton. ”I didn`t ask any questions about the landlord. It never occurred to me.”
Switching places
While it`s standard practice for landlords to check the credit and employment history of prospective tenants, it`s not as common for renters to check out a landlord. But you should, and the time to do it is not when problems arise, but when you go to investigate the place you want to rent.
”All too often tenants looking for an apartment get caught up in the nice touches that have been added and they forget to really look at the apartment for what it is,” said Michael Pensack, executive director of the Illinois Tenants Union. ”Some people don`t look past a fresh coat of paint.” ”It`s just amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do,” he said. ”The problems, the signs, are there, but some people are easily impressed with a good paint job.”
So, before you fall in love with the contemporary-looking peach and gray walls, tenants organizations suggest you start thinking like a landlord, and remember that selecting the apartment means selecting the landlord.
For example, the landlord of a multifamily building and a coachhouse in the Lake View community said she recently showed her coachhouse to a couple who ”just loved the place.”
The couple did not bat an eye at the $1,000-a-month rent or the one-month security deposit, but they were rattled by the landlord`s request for a credit and employment check.
”They told me it was an invasion of their privacy,” the landlord said.
”They felt I was prying, but it`s a standard request if you want to rent or buy anything. I can`t have someone move in here without knowing some of their history.”
Doing some digging
That same sense of history is needed by the tenant as well. There are public records on file in your local city hall`s building department office that will tell you if a building has been cited for code violations and county court records can tell you if a prospective landlord or management firm has been involved in any court cases. To begin your investigation, you need the building`s address or the landlord`s name. With the address and the landlord`s name it is also possible to check with the tax department in the county offices to learn whether your prospective landlord is delinquent on taxes.
No news is good news, according to a clerk in the building department office, who said that if a file is not found on the building, then the building has not been cited for violations. If the landlord you`re planning to do business with has been involved in court cases, the landlord`s name will appear as the defendant or the plaintiff. The subject of the court case will provide some insight into your prospective landlord.
”Naturally, if you`ve got a landlord who is always being hauled into court for holding his tenants` security deposits after they move out, you don`t want to do business with him,” said Pensack.
Some tenants organizations also keep a list of landlords who have ”done tenants wrong.” For example, the Illinois Tenants Union and the South Shore Tenants Organization said they keep reports filed by tenants on ”difficult” landlords and encourage tenants who have questions about a landlord or building to check with local tenants groups.
Still, most people shopping for an apartment don`t have the time-or don`t want to spend the time-going through files or microfiche to determine whether the landlord is reliable, and tenants who already live in the building are going to be ”mum” on any problems while the landlord is showing a prospective tenant around the building.
”You have to remember the landlord is also a salesperson,” said Sharon Ghent, executive director of the South Shore Tenants Organization. ”They want to rent the apartment. They are not going to tell you anything you don`t want to hear.”
What you see . . .
But there`s no excuse for not utilizing the most accessible record to check out the landlord: the apartment and the building it`s in. How they`re kept up will tell you a lot about the landlord.
That means trying out faucets, flushing toilets and making sure electrical outlets work. It also means opening closets and cabinet drawers for evidence of mice or roaches.
Your investigation also means looking at the common areas of the building, such as the lobby, the laundry room or parking facilities.
It`s also wise to come back to the apartment without the landlord and talk to some of the tenants who live there.
Ghent suggests that prospective tenants ”be frank” and ask tenants who live in the building if they have had problems with the landlord or the management firm that may operate the building.
”You can talk to (tenants) as they leave the building,” Ghent said.
”Tell them you are interested in moving in and ask questions.”
Pensack said first impressions of an apartment building are often correct.
”A good rule of thumb in giving the landlord a thumbs-up is the lobby,” said Pensack. ”Take a look at the mailboxes. If the names on the mailboxes in the lobby are uniform, then you know the landlord has taken the time to put in the names himself. If you see a hodgepodge of labels with names on the mailboxes, you know the tenants have put the names up themselves. If you see mailboxes partially opened or magic marker writing on them, then you know you`re in a place where there are going to be problems.”
Naturally, there are some limitations for tenants when they try to check out landlords, but Douglas Pensack, field director of the Illinois Tenants Union, agreed with his brother that ”there are things they can do to protect themselves from getting a pig in a poke.”
”The biggest mistake is they accept verbal assurances that something will be corrected prior to tenancy or immediately thereafter,” he said. ”In no circumstances should a tenant take property if it is not in the condition you want it to be in before you move in. They should have any work that is going to be done in writing.”
Ghent said tenants often feel it is not their place to ask questions or express their wants when looking at the apartment.
”They`ll just go along looking at the nice features the landlords point out,” she said.
But Ghent said that if a landlord is hesitant about answering questions or won`t commit firmly to making repairs, that`s probably your cue to walk.
”There are other apartments and better landlords,” said Ghent. ”You have to be aware of your rights as a tenant, and you`re within your rights to ask that something be repaired before you move in or after you`ve settled in.”
Michael Pensack put some of the blame on tenants.
”We`ve talked to people who complain about extermination problems and then admit that when they moved in they never opened a closet or a cabinet,” he said.
After seeing her Wrigleyville dream apartment fizzle, Daria Scatton learned her lesson. When she went looking for a studio in Rogers Park, she took a long checklist with her.
”I went through the place, opening doors, closets and tested the plumbing,” said Scatton. ”I know who my landlord is and I know how to reach him.”
People who complain they don`t have time to check out the landlord
”really don`t have the time to look for an apartment,” said Douglas Pensack.
”The saying `Act in haste, repent in leisure` is a good one for tenants to remember,” he said. ”The place you rent is going to be a place you call home. You should know some of its history.”
