To All Brownstone Owners & Brokers:
As a current tenant experiencing considerable difficulty with the owner of the family-owned brownstone I live in Park Slope, PLEASE be upfront and honest (or have your broker be) with your prospective tenants about “quirks” of family-owned brownstone living. Including, but not limited to: Mail going to the owner’s apartment only, who must then distribute…
As a current tenant experiencing considerable difficulty with the owner of the family-owned brownstone I live in Park Slope, PLEASE be upfront and honest (or have your broker be) with your prospective tenants about “quirks” of family-owned brownstone living. Including, but not limited to:
Mail going to the owner’s apartment only, who must then distribute the mail, at their own leisure. (And please make plans to have someone pick up the mail when the owner goes on vacation.)
Installation of cable that has to be done at the convenience of the owner (because the connection comes through his backyard) or in our case, the backyard of the building next door, so not only do you have to work around the owner’s schedule, but that of the people next door.
If you are not going to employ a super, or barely employ one, please be upfront with the tenants that they will be responsible for all upkeep, including common areas. (In fairness, all expenses are always deductible from rent, but it’s the time factor of finding repairman, etc.)
Please do NOT assume that everyone understands these things about family-owned brownstone living. If someone had explained this to my partner and I what we would have to deal with, we could have at least rented our place with our eyes wide open, instead of having to deal with this retroactively, and being told “well, that’s just the way it is in these brownstones.”
And renters, ask questions! Be persistent. Do just not be bowled over by the beauty of the brownstone, and your luck in finding one…
Thanks.
When you viewed the apartment, did you notice whether there was an external/internal mailbox, or were you so ‘in love’ with the place/area that you overlooked it? As for the cable thing, get over it. These ‘hiccups’ happen.
People who have always lived in apartment buildings aren’t fully aware that it’s NOT the same as living in a private home. A landlord/tenant relationship is a business relationship. When LLs and tenants have “expectations” of each other and do not communicate properly, minor problems start to fester and soon you start making mountains out of mole hills.
As a LL, tenants are not REQUIRED or EXPECTED to clean common areas, regardless of the number of apartments in the building. That’s the LL’s responsibility. Period. That isn’t the way it is in these brownstones.
If you like the place and plan on staying there for a while, speak with your LL about these issues before resentment really sets in and things spiral out of hand.
To all you tenants out there, put your potential LL on the spot and ask the hard questions. We sure do of those scam artists and players who view our apartment. First and foremost, it’s our HOME. Second, it’s strictly a business relationship. Yes, we’ll hold vacation mail, packages and help where we can, but it’s not a bargaining system.
Don’t sweat the little stuff. Done correctly, this too shall pass.
i used to be a renter in an old brownstone and now i’m a landlord of a newer construction townhouse. i totally understand your complaints, having spent 6+ months trying to get cable installed in my old apt. (involving trying to get access from landlord’s apartment & neighbor’s yard at the same time).
from the landlord’s point of view, pointing out all the quirks of your rental seems like a poor sales tactic. were a potential renter ask specific questions i would give straight answers, but i wouldn’t go pointing out issues with mail delivery, cable installation or how frequently i sweep the hallways.
it is a shame your landlord isn’t more responsive. my last landlord was super busy so i usually had to remind her several times about repairs etc. but they were usually taken care of eventually.
just my 2 cents.
I’m an owner too, and the renter has raised some good points. I’m ashamed of the people who posted unnecessarily nasty replies.
It’s inexcusable for a landlord not to have some mail arrangement. We purchased one of the home depot type mailboxes from the local hardware store for our tenants’ mail (and our own) and it never occurred to us that the tenants wouldn’t expect to have immediate access to their mail. Come on people.
The cable issue I have less sympathy for. Welcome to Brooklyn, and not only is this an issue for original installation, it’s an issue for any repairs. And don’t even get me started on phone service, which always take at least 2 visits to fix, and access to neighbor’s yards.
Finally, there’s something we landlords should take into consideration: with rising rents, we are pleased to make so much money from our apartments. But if you charge a tenant the new highest market rent, you better not whine and complain if the tenant expects better, Manhattan-like services. We always charge a bit below market so the tenants feel good about having to put up with some of the quirks of living in a brownstone, and it’s worked really well so far.
I’m both an owner and a renter. Totally sympathize with the poster. It’s nice to be aware of all these things upfront. It’s not crazy to want one’s one mailbox or to be aware upfront that getting cable installed is a PITA or even that one is responsible for hallway upkeep.
Thank you for the mailbox tip.
As far as the cable goes, yeah, it’s a bummer for everyone. I don’t mind that it has to go through several people’s places, and I’m sure it’s a hassle for everyone, but my problem was that no one told us. That’s not unreasonable.
Maybe you guys are the good landlords that do tell all your tenants these things up front. If so, ignore the original post. But I doubt we’re the first people to end up in Park Slope and be unpleasantly surprised by all hiccups, especially given the prices.
Whiners of the world, UNITE!!
Wow, what viscious bunch of responses. I guess there’s a lot of Landlords lurking in these parts.
First of all, I’m so sick of the whining landlord that keeps posting all over this board about how his tenants are bringning up that darned “rodent problem” that he/she swears was fixed years ago.
God forbid a tenant should give their ADVICE.
Look, all you landlords. People work really hard for their rent. All you have to do is keep the place decent and have some consideration for people’s privacy. Is that so much to ask? It’s not exactly a full time job to own a home. A lot of people do it AND work for a living. Actually, most people. And they don’t make rent on the side, either.
So just show some appreciation, because tenants haver rights and choices.
Good for you, whoever you are who posted that.
If you’re not happy about the tardy distribution of mail, make it your business to go to the LL every evening and ask about your mail or better yet as the previous poster suggested ask for your own mailbox.
As far as the common areas are concerned, it should be the LL’s responsibility, but if you’re the only one utilizing the area, how hard and time-consuming could sweeping a small area be. I don’t want to sound like I’m picking on you because I’m a soon-to-be LL, but sometimes you have to pick your battles.
Any valid points you may have had are overwhelmed by the whining, self-centered tone of your post.
God help both your landlord and Park Slope.