Big Dogs Need Apts, Too!

So let me guess: you’ve been searching for an apartment in Florida that will take your beautiful Black Lab, or perhaps you have a gentle German Shepherd.  But you’re not having any luck!  Maybe you live with a lovable Rottweiler, or even a Pit Bull.  But you keep running into the same roadblocks.  You need to move but your gentle giant is coming with you – no matter what.  He’s part of the family now, right?

Yet every time you call or stop by an apartment community, you get the same “sorry story,” as in: “Sorry, we have a pet weight limit and we can’t help you.” Or, “Sorry, your dog is on our “aggressive breeds list” and we can’t accept her!”  Sometimes the answer is “yes!” …. but there’s a catch:  they want to charge you pet deposits and extra fees that are worse than three of your car payments! Some of them even add monthly pet rent! What is that?

We know it can be tough to find an apartment, condo or rental home in the Tampa Bay area if you have a large pet or multiple pets.  Large pets over 40 pounds are frequently subject to very large deposits or not allowed at all.  It can get even worse if you have what’s known in the industry as an “Aggressive Breed.”  Some of the most common breeds that fall into the “Aggressive Breed” category include:  Pit Bulls, German Shepherds, Dobermans, Chows, Rottweilers, Boxers, Great Danes, Dalmatians, Presa Canarios, Alaskan Malamutes and Huskies.  And it doesn’t matter how sweet and gentle your dog may really be; the apartment communities will want to follow their policy based on breed alone.   In some cases, you could luck out if they offer a “pet interview” prior to making an application to the community.

If your pet has any mixture of any of the above breeds, many properties will not accept you at all.  Often, with mixed breeds, they will go by what your dog looks like.   In other words, if your Lab/Rotty mix more closely resembles a Lab, you could be in luck.  If not, you’re probably out of luck.  It’s also important that you do not try to “sneak” it past the manager or explain that “it isn’t a Pit Bull; it’s only a “Staffordshire Terrier!”  It could be a violation of your lease and result in your eviction if found out.

Yes, your choices are pretty slim and those pet fees and deposits can be a budget breaker.  You’ve probably thought about renting a vacant house from the owner, but that’s a big risk in today’s foreclosure market, to say nothing of the HOA pet policies.   So, you keep calling around, hoping that you’ll get lucky. Well, if you want to get lucky now, just contact Apartment Hunters.

We know you don’t need this doggie drama. You just want to find a nice pet-friendly place to rent, for you AND your perky pooch. Apartment Hunters is also a FREE apartment finding service that is always personalized for WHATEVER your pet needs might be. We already work closely with hundreds of Tampa Bay and Orlando Area rental communities, so we can narrow down your dog’s apartment search quickly, easily — and best of all, for FREE!  Got a big dog? –or even 2 of them- let our licensed Rental Specialists help you find the right place, at the right price, for when you need it.   And, we promise to put an end to your doggie drama.

According to a WTSP News (CBS) Tampa report airing earlier this week, if you are renting a house or condo from a private owner, then YOU could now be liable for any unpaid Homeowners Association (HOA) fees! Why? Because as of July 1, 2010, Florida law now makes it possible for condo or homeowners’ associations to come after you for the unpaid HOA fees that your landlord should have been paying out of your monthly rent. That’s right, even if you are just the tenant renting from the homeowner, these fees can now be your problem. And it could be a big problem, even resulting in your eviction. As the WTSP News story explains, “Letters are already flying out from law firms throughout the Sunshine State threatening thousands of renters with eviction if they don’t start paying their landlord’s fees.”

So how do you know whether your landlord is keeping current? Well, you could certainly ask, and then hope that you receive an honest reply. If you’ve known your landlord to be reliable in the past, then it’s unlikely that you’ll have a problem. Typically, your first clue about any delinquency with HOA fees will arrive in the form of a letter requesting payment. “If you receive one of these letters demanding you pay your landlord’s fees – don’t, I repeat, don’t put the letter in your drawer and expect it to go away. The homeowners association has the ability to evict you for non-payment.” said the WTSP report, and “Your first call should be to your landlord to demand that he/she/it pay the fees within 48 hours.” If you are unsuccessful after contacting your landlord, you do have the right under Florida law to pay the delinquent HOA fees directly yourself, and then deduct that amount from your next rent payment to your landlord.

Unfortunately, if your landlord is delinquent in paying the HOA fees, then it is also possible that your landlord is similarly behind in making the mortgage payments! Thus, even if you pay the overdue HOA fees, you may still find yourself facing eviction by the bank, compounding your problems yet further. The bottom line, according to the WTSP report: “a landlord who fails to pay their homeowner’s fees after repeated warnings from the homeowners association is probably a landlord you want to cut ties with when you can.” Sounds like a good idea to me. For the full WTSP story: http://www.wtsp.com/news/columnist/story.aspx?storyid=140520&catid=79.

RB