apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Help! I really need some advice on the best tactics to deal with this situation. This is probably way to rambling, but I'm just trying to give you a sense of how crazy it is:

I enlisted a broker to help me find an apartment in Brooklyn and settled on an a floor-thru on the parlor floor of a brownstone with the owner living in a duplex below. The broker described the landlord to me as a bit eccentric, which he was when I met him. He kept on saying stuff about how it was important "to get a good vibe' and asked me if I had any problem with him keeping cats or smoking 'liquor cigarettes'. What the broker failed to mention to me was that this guy is a full on nuts. Why am I sure that he knew this? Because he was friends with the prior tenants who were moving out!

In the past year, my landlord has engaged in three screaming matches with me where he tells me that I'm racist and trying to drive him crazy by stomping around my apartment and dropping things on the floors. I moved up to the second floor when it was vacated by the tenant thinking that this might solve the problem, since he didn't seem to have these issues with the landlord and I'd no longer be right above his head. Well, it now turns out that I'm 'bringing eight people over every night to run up and down the stairs to drive him crazy'. This weekend he screamed at me and my girlfriend for about half an hour, to the point where finally our next door neighbor came out and yelled at him to stop. This just led to him and the neighbor getting into a screaming match. This guy is a full on lunatic!

And now a new kid moved in on the first floor, brought in by a different broker! This poor kid is getting the same treatment I did and even had his mother called a 'racist devil' by our landlord. He wants to get out too. I've tried to deal with this and probably let it go on too long, but how can we get our money back from our respective brokers? I can't believe we paid money to deal with this!

I have no idea what to do and am really considering starting a negative press campaign against these brokers if they don't refund us or come up with an equitable solution.

I'd say you and your downstairs neighbor should contact your landlord-tenant relations office as a first step. This is harrassment, and you shouldn't have to put up with it. You should at the very least be able to get out of your lease. try to document it--get a signed statement from the next door neighbor. Tape him. Anything.

Even if you do bring 8 people over every night, you are paying rent and this is within your rights. The harrassment is not justified or legal, even in the presence of an obvious mental condition. Contact the Attorney General's office at (212) 416-8000 to file a complaint.

Two issues here, though... dealing with lunatic landlord, but also determining if the broker knowingly withheld any information, and is there any cause for restitution...

I'd say file a BBB complaint against the broker.

But start putting things in writing asap...

this is so new york, we're so dazzled by an available apartment that we ignore the negatives to get that space. riz, this is such a negative and uncomortable situations, that i would follow bk's advice make your complaint, thenmove of that building asap.

Thanks for the advice. I will follow all these steps.

As a side note, does anyone know of a 1.5BR or 2BR in Brooklyn for rent in the

I'm assuming that railroad flat that was posted here a couple of weeks ago is taken by now? It was in B'lyn and I think it was $1500. Anyone remember that?

riz, at least you have others in the building to back you up in your claims. That's a big plus.

not that this is any help to you now, riz but I've heard that one should always ask around the building about the conditions for living a peaceful and safe life there. Things like: coming home late at night, crazy neighbors, reliable building services, streetlife, etc.... IMO, nothing is worse than having a destructive home environment. I live in a HUGE complex with neighbors on all sides and I'm the luckiest person in the world for having great (read:quiet/nice) neighbors. But I've lived in situations where that wasn't the case and it's a miserable existence.

Anne,

Believe me I wish I had!!! What's so sad is that it's a beautiful apartment and a fantastic block. It's quiet residential and super safe. My landlord is just the anomaly, the crazy guy on the block. The new guy on the first floor told me that one weeekend the landlord was yelling at kids on the block and the parents said nothing. It's still a bit shocking to me so many people just passed by or just stood there and stared when my landlord was screaming at us.

I'll keep these tips in mind as I look for my next place.

Thanks,
Riz

I'm still shaking from how terrible the conversation was with my broker. Basically, they're telling me it's not their problem and that there not willing to discuss restitution. What do I do now?! Is there a lawyer or someone I can talk to?

Write a (paper) letter to the head of the brokerage company indicating you feel you had been willfully mislead regarding the living conditions in the apartment and that you are preparing to seek legal recourse and/or report them to the BBB or the National Board of Realtors (or whatever the organization is). If nothing comes of that, get a lawyer.

You'll also have a better case against the broker if you can track down the exiting tenants you replaced who you indicated were friendly with the broker you dealt who mislead you.

You should also (simultaneously) solicit support from other tenants and write a letter to the landlord indicating you will ALL pursue legal action if the harrassment doesn't stop. Document and cite days, times and places, and ESPECIALLY any slurs or specifics of language.

Riz,

Check out the link to my name. There is a complaint form you can fill out on that page. A friend of mine had a bad situation with a broker, and I called 311. They were very helpful and directed me to a number of useful places. I can give you more details if you like.

Also, I know a 1.5 bedroom apartment in Park Slope that will be coming on the market in June.

Changing the subject - I noticed a new company that's going to be at the ICFF show and they have gorgeous bedding. Worth checking out:

http://www.unisonhome.com

For Hakari & Jili and David & Im:

Your apartments are mentioned here:
http://tinyurl.com/nua3o

Thank you Anne! I like the colors (most of them) and the patterns (most of them). I won't be seeing them in my home, alas. I figure these days they aren't talking about bed size when they say "King" and "Queen", they're talking about inherited wealth and position. Who else but royalty pays $150.00 for a top and bottom sheet in white cotton percale? No pillowcases even.

Please join me on my new show "Lifestyles of the Poor and Pathetic". Where we'll discuss how to identify edible weeds.

I'm always sending in links in bunches to Maxwell and Co., and I guess with all the things available to post, they aren't up in the top ten.

So maybe I'll post some here. I don't know whether to call them "Links for people as bored as I am in the middle of the night" or "Stuff I thought was really cool (in the middle of the night)".

These are from REAL + LIFE Decorating.

Manipulate your digital photos into works of art:
http://photofiddle.com

Winsor and Newton Paint-It-Yourself canvas art:
http://www.dickblick.com/zz742/91/?obs=y

Recycled paper vase (check out all their vases):
http://www.hipandzen.com/rscpv.html

Thatched Platter:
http://tinyurl.com/ectrk

Recycled aluminum Bark Vases (must send to knotwood):
http://tinyurl.com/ksavp

Lori 2 - Can I get info on that 1.5BR! Thank you so much. I'm moving out ASAP.

Hi, Just to let you know out there, the reason we offer white sheets only in fitted+flat is to go with our duvets and quilts which have their own matching cases. They're super soft even at 220 thread count which is the same as rest of the collection. Of course you can find white sheets just about anywhere, but if you want a "set" from unison, one that will have the same quality throughout, you might be interested in these sheets.
At lease your comments help us think about adding cases. Thank you.

Alicia
unison

That Unison stuff IS gorgeous.

And while these may be out of the price range of some, they are definitely NOT the highest priced bedding around. Not even close.

Plus, in a small space, the impact you get from bedding is huge, and considering the amount of time we spend in bed (no comment), this is one area worth whatever the splurge you are able.

Andree--
You might have better luck sending links and tips to Maxwell if you do them as "one tip per email". I'm guessing it's easier for him to sort and reference them that way, since I'm sure he's working with a backlog of reader submissions, not to mention the emails he gets from vendors hawking their wares.

The other thing that will increase your chance of getting your tips published is having them relate to the theme of the month, like this month's cleaning theme.

http://photofiddle.com/ is a great place to make art from your digital photos. Beter Homes and Gardens rated the #1 site of it kind for decorating. Oprah put it on her OList and said that it was an amazing gift. If you wanna check out http://photofiddle.com/ it is free to use and to order use promo code: forum for 10% your order.