Renters (Who chose to rent vs. buy) NTR

LSzwaya · June 2011

We are going to be renting in the suburbs of Chicago soon as we're out growing our condo and really feel like we should save a bit more before buying. So we plan on renting and signing a longer lease, probably 18-24 months. Am I being unrealistic thinking that I can negotiate things like letting us paint DS's and a future LO's bedroom because of our willingness to sign a longer lease? Also, and this sounds like a dumb question but, if you rent a single family home, who does the out door upkeep like lawn care/snow removal? Thanks!

4realyo · June 2011

i own 2 rental properties. i dont see why anyone wouldnt let you paint your kids rooms, however, they may stipulate that you paint them back to neutral colors when you want to move out as part of the lease. i dont think the length of your lease has anything to do with it really. on the upkeep of the lawn & snow removal -- this is usually negotiable. on my single family property, the tenants are responsible for lawn care (mowing, etc) and snow removal.

LSzwaya · June 2011

4realyo:
i own 2 rental properties. i dont see why anyone wouldnt let you paint your kids rooms, however, they may stipulate that you paint them back to neutral colors when you want to move out as part of the lease. i dont think the length of your lease has anything to do with it really. on the upkeep of the lawn & snow removal -- this is usually negotiable. on my single family property, the tenants are responsible for lawn care (mowing, etc) and snow removal.

I just meant a longer lease might make a landlord who wasn't willing to let the renters paint change their mind as that means they have some stability and do not have to worry about finding a renter again in 12 months.

NewFamily09 · June 2011

I think that's totally reasonable. I used to rent before I was married and the places I lived were all okay with me painting as long as I primed it before moving out. A lot of places have a rule about that. If you plan on signing a longer lease, I bet you can even negotiate on the price a little. You are saving them the hassle of having to find a new tenant each year. Every time someone moves out, it means cleaning and painting and stuff for them, so you are saving them a lot of work.

ZacksBride · June 2011

we are moving and are going to be renting for the next year. for our lease, we are not allowed to paint the walls, but honestly we never asked about if we could if we painted back to neutral b/c for a short term thing we didn't care enough about it. as for lawn, it is in there that we are responsible for all landscaping

Blue1299 · June 2011

We rent and we are not allowed to paint, we even said that we would paint it back when we left but the landlord wouldn't budge. Most of the times from what I understand painting can be negotiated. Our landlord pays for a lawn service to come out and cut the grass, but we are responsible for snow removal.

af2004rn · June 2011

We live in the west Chicago suburbs. We will not buy a home here because we hope to move to the Carolinas at some point. Most landlords will let you paint, but will tell you you have to re-paint before you move out. We happen to live in a townhouse and it is part of a condo association so they do the yard and snow removal. Since we've lived here the landlord has had to buy a dryer and repair a toilet.

simplyatomic · June 2011

Blue1299:
We rent and we are not allowed to paint, we even said that we would paint it back when we left but the landlord wouldn't budge.

This. We also are in charge of lawn AND snow removal.

ASmallWonder · June 2011

Both of those things will depend entirely on the landlord. We've lived in our place for 5 years and are not allowed to paint at all. Of course, she's never stepped foot in our apartment in that time so we joke that we totally could have and as long as we painted it back before we leave she never would have known :-p She takes care of landscaping but we (all tenants of a three family house - none of them being the landlord) are responsible for snow removal in the shared driveway.

RaeAnt · June 2011

It all depends on the property owner/management as to whether they allow you do paint. One house we looked at, the owner said we could pretty much do anything. Quite frankly, in that house, anything we did would have improved the value, especially painting. The one we are in now is run by a management company and is a pain in the arse. We are suppose to get permission to do anything. If we want to paint we have to have it professionally done and the color has to be approved. To have ceiling fans put in, the same.

For yard work, some places include the lawn maintenance with the rent to ensure they don't get cited, if there is an HOA. Others, the lawn and outside maintenance is all your responsibility. We actually use a service for our yard. They come in and mow, edge, and blow for $25 We also had them weed and trim the bushes and tree the other week,too. for us, it's just worth the extra.

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Renters (Who chose to rent vs. buy) NTR

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