Advice needed... CC's for all involved

[CFH]

I've got a bit of a problem, nothing serious or scintelatings though. I need some advice on whether or not to move into a new place.
It's in a really nice, old part of town, close to downtown and right now we live in a pretty shitty part of town. It's a 2 bedroom and the rent is dirt cheap $500/mo and its bigger and waaay nicer than the place we have now, which we pay almost $800 for. Its private as hell, the only other place in the building is a dance studio downstairs, which will be loud at times but not all the time. Hardwood floors, huge rooms with french doors, a nice yard, and we're allowed to have a dog. And my girlfriend is friendly with the landlord (which is why we have this opportunity.
Now for the problems...
It only has a mini-fridge, so we'd have to buy a freezer or something. Also, the floor is sloped a bit, which feels kinda fucking wierd. The big problem is that there is no heating. so we'd have to buy space heaters or something, which wouldn't be too bad except that I'm freaked out about how safe it is to do that.
Thanks for reading this.

[BoxingGorilla]

As far as I know space heaters are safe so long as you keep them clear of flammables and get the ones that shut off if they tip over.

I know heating with a gas stove is a dangerous habit. Many poor folks do that though.



"Keep all flammable objects at least three feet from space heaters." I typed space heater saftey tips into the browser and that is all the info I found. There was a comment about not using them to dry clothing, but I didn;t think that needed to be said.

[BoxingGorilla]

BG&E (Baltimore Gas and Electric) sent me a bill yesterday for $230 bucks. That's one month. I'm not sure if I could afford to run space heaters all day and night.

How much do you pay for electric in Canada?

[Kev]

Well if you're saving $300 a month you can afford to buy a fridge and some heating no problem.

The sloping floor......depends why it slopes and how much. If it's a deliberate design and minor then who cares......unless you've got a pool table you'll never notice.

If it's sign that the house is subsiding and could collapse however then obviously not the best idea to move in.

Hope this helps....coolclick please

[AdamGB]

I'm with Bilbo.. that's a lot of outgoing $$$ you're saving... so a one off payment of a fridge shouldn't hurt.

The heaters shouldn't be too bad, as long as you get good safe ones and use them properly. Not too sure about the slope... find out more if you can... a lot of older houses do that over time and it's nothing to worry about.

And bilbo... they can adjust the pool table!... :P

[CFH]

Thanks for the responses, cc's have been doled out.

[CFH]

BG&E (Baltimore Gas and Electric) sent me a bill yesterday for $230 bucks. That's one month. I'm not sure if I could afford to run space heaters all day and night.

How much do you pay for electric in Canada?

I wouldn't run the heater all day and night I don't think, probably just heat 1 or 2 rooms... but it would end up costing a shit load of coin. Its pretty warm here in spring and summer, so it'd only be an issue for 1/2 the year. My biggest concern was the safety issue

[Mark TKO]

the sloping floors would give you the 1960s Batman effect in your own home !


How cool is that - go for it !

[donnydarkoIRL]

Well good luck with whatever you decide,
It wouldn be an option to take the place on a hire purchase scheme?
In that case any money spent on repairs or rectifications would be seen as an investment in an asset. All money put toward the place would in fact be working in your advantage as you would be increasing the value of the unit.

Alternatively u may be best served to agree a long term rental period, lets take for instance twenty years. There is no way in hell you want to invest money into a place where u will be leaving within five-ten years. Additionally you may want to investigate ur legal rights to almost operate as a sub-contractor. i.e Renting thge place for twenty years, obviously meeting all payments, living there for say, five and then in turn renting it for a profit to a third party?

Contemplate the potential pros n cons, think of a plan that will benefit the future while satisfying ur current needs.

[Wayne]

I'd go for it. With the money you would be saving you could plunk down $600 bux for a new fridge in only 2 months time (I don't know how much a really good one costs, the fridge in my kitchen came with the house). Even if you had a $230 heating bill per month that's still a savings of $70. Not to mention in the summer months when you wouldn't need to use it at all, that's $300 in your pocket right there.

And don't underestimate the human ability to cope. In no time at all you wouldn't notice the floor slanting. And don't be too shy to haggle. Ask for the first month or two rent free and state your dissatisfaction about the mini-fridge and floor. Worse comes to worse he says no and you move in anyway. But you might be able to get that new fridge within a month's time.

[themusic]

Simple. Move! not having a radiator or freezer isnt really a downside as a electric heater will cost hardly anything and neither will a freezer, you will have saved more than your loosing on rent in the first few months if you move. and a sloped floor you would prob not even notice after the first month or so.

[Violent Demise]

Freezers and heaters are shit you can work around. Move.

[CFH]

Thanks again for the responces, CC have been doled out. After some serious reflection, I *think* we're gonna stay at our current place as there are just too many questions about the other place, particularily the safety of it. Also there would be no lease, so we could be kicked out basically at the whim of the owner...

[Kev]

Thanks again for the responces, CC have been doled out. After some serious reflection, I *think* we're gonna stay at our current place as there are just too many questions about the other place, particularily the safety of it. Also there would be no lease, so we could be kicked out basically at the whim of the owner...

Actually the lease is the biggest issue of all, don't move somewhere where no contracts are signed.

[CFH]

Thanks again for the responces, CC have been doled out. After some serious reflection, I *think* we're gonna stay at our current place as there are just too many questions about the other place, particularily the safety of it. Also there would be no lease, so we could be kicked out basically at the whim of the owner...

Actually the lease is the biggest issue of all, don't move somewhere where no contracts are signed.

Yeah, that became evident to me over the last few days. Living in a place when rents are skyrocketing and having no lease could make for a troubling situation.