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So today, my sister called 4 - count em 4 apartment complexes near the school district where she is teaching in January.
Her first question - do you allow pets?
Second-are there certain dog breeds that you do not allow?
Well, that is about as far as we got, because I'm sure that you can guess the answer to my second question!
NO PIT BULLS!
One apartment complex, when I first inquired about American Bulldogs said, " You don't mean a Bull Mastiff do you?"
Even if I can have an American Bulldog in this complex(one said that I could), I WILL NOT support a business that supports breedism. Furthermore, American Bulldogs share several characteristics with Pit Bulls, none which are negative, so what is the real difference here?
I was too angry to even question it, I just hung up. Has anyone else had this experience? Did you ask for an explaination?? Perhaps I should have, but I was too disgusted by their ignorance to even WANT to live there in the first place.
Home is starting to look quite appealing right now...
Honestly, do I have to wait and buy a home to practice my rights in this country?? Yeah, then I'll have to worry about insurance!
Grrrrr!!! Misery loves company-I'd love to hear your opinions/experiences.
Sabrina To break- injustice we- must break- silence
Barked: Wed Nov 2, '05 12:45pm PST
Hey Gwenie,
I'd look around at apartment complex reviews. I think there are lots on either rent.net or move.com or the apartmentbook.com.
We lived in an apartment complex that had major breed restrictions. However, there were tons of pits, an akita, lots of rotties, boxers, german shepards and other banned breeds. The reason is that a lot of apartment complexes are run by larger management companies that have blanket policies. These policies may or may not apply in the particular complex you are looking at. So maybe there is an apartment complex that by policy doesn't allow pits, but looks the other way if you have one.
There is a danger, though, of living in a place like this, then having management change and suddenly your dog is a problem.
Have you thought about renting from individuals? Like renting a cottage in someone's backyard, an apartment over someone's garage, someone's extra basement room with your own private entrance etc. These types of places usually are much more flexible. If you have craigslist in your area (craigslist.org) it's a great place to look.
Thanks Sabrina! I'll look into those. My school provided me with these housing resources, because they were nearby, so they are the ones I contacted first just to get a ballpark figure on apartments in the area-but my most important question was about the dog breeds, so that was as far as I got. I'll look into the resources that you provided, thanks!
OK, Gwenie, a lot of our friends have been in your shoes, and have done just what Sabrina suggested. In fact, my fiance and I did as well. I truly think private individuals are the best to rent from. Before we were w/ a large company (Triad Inv.) and they sucked more than anything else possibly could. Now, we rent from couple who will use our house when we're through for their daughter (when she's old enough), they are so wonderfully helpful, VERY dog friendly (they have a Rotti and GSD), and even brought us sweet corn this summer. You can truly foster a better relationship with private landlords and that alone will make your whole life a lot easier. Hit up craigslist.org (literally, everything is on there!), and best wishes to you and your pack!
Ruv,
Sully, Bailey & Rylie
I sympathize with your situation. I was recently forced to look for new housing for my mixed breed dog. I called all the apartments on rentnet etc. and most of the ones that said they were pet friendly- only accepted cats or dogs that were under 10 pounds. Then the majority of apartments that accepted larger dogs wanted signed verification from a vet that my dog was not any of the so called agressive breeds. Luckily I found a place but it took a lot of research and time to find one.
I think Sabrina had some great advice if can rent from an understanding individual that would be great. Rentnet is a good resource but you will still need to call the apartments because pet policies are always changing. By the way I called over 40-50 apartments and private rentals and only had 4 places that would take my dog.
I know how you feel. Most of the apartment complexes where I live won't allow breeds such as Rottweilers, Pit Bulls, Boxers, Chows, etc. I don't really think it's fair to ban a dog based on their breed, but what I think would be fair is if the management asked the owner to bring the dog in so they can see how he/she acts around people and see for themselves the temperment of the dog. I know for a fact Pit Bulls can be one of the best breeds to own, it's just bad owners who can turn ANY dog, regardless of breed, into a mean dog.
Pit Bulls were banned at an apartment complex where I used to live. One day at this place I was going to my car and guess what kind of dog came after me with a look like he wanted to bite my head off? A Cocker Spaniel!
Haha! I've probably bitten my sister more than she's been bitten by all of the strange(new, frightened,etc.) dogs she's worked with combined(pound and picked up RAL) LOL! She takes me to the vet, she's just asking for it! Ah whatever!
GBD
I'm going to start looking again this weekend(for an apartment). A few more places I contacted charge extra for having a pet(+$100 a month). I'll keep searching-and look into the resources that Sabrina provided. If all else fails, my parents can be blessed with my presence a bit longer, lol! Thank you for your responses!
Sabrina To break- injustice we- must break- silence
Barked: Thu Nov 3, '05 3:22pm PST
Unfortunately it is legal to charge extra per month for a pet. Back when we first got the cats we lived in a place that charged $15/month per pet. Luckily they said we could put both cats on the same thing, though! After that we made sure to only rent from places with a refundable (or at least partially refundable) pet deposit. $100 per month is crazy!
With 6 animals and two adults, there is no way we can ever live in an apartment complex again (though we were legal with 7 animals in one apartment complex... but that is a different story on how to get your people to let you have more animals once you havea good relationship). When we moved out here we didn't even bother looking at any apartment complexes! And you know what, only a few people turned us down because of the animals. Most were fine with it.
Here is what you do: go visit the aparment.. Impress them by being really nice, dressing nicely, bringing references etc. Then while your looking around and after you feel you've made a good impression on them you ask about their pet policy. If they already think you're a responsible person they'll be more willing to bend their normal rules for you. If you already have the animals, bring good pictures of them, preferable with small kids or other animals in the picture. If they've been through any training classes, bring all their certificates or even a resume of sorts with the classes listed. If possible, get them CGC tested and show that certificate. Also, if you've rented with the animals before, get those people to write a reference that mentions how they've never had any complaints about your animals and your apartment had no damage etc.
LOL! Yeah, you'd think that it would Sesame! That was in addition to a pet security deposit. Sabrina, those are great ideas. I think I won't mention the pets until I visit the apartments, make a good first impression, and let them see that I am responsible. Thanks!
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