Mike Akerly
ContactPosts by Mike Akerly:
Q. I recently hired a broker to rent out my apartment in Manhattan. I wanted to rent it as fast as possible, so I thought it would be best to list it as a “no fee” apartment. I agreed to pay the broker one month’s rent if he found a tenant within ten days.
He did, but I later found out that he also collected a one month fee from that tenant. Is that appropriate?
Q. I recently signed a lease at a brand new rental building and paid first month’s rent and one month security. The leasing agent said I would be able to move in within two weeks.
When I called this week to schedule my move-in appointment, I was told my apartment won’t be ready for 4 weeks. This is a problem because I’ll have nowhere to live during that time. Can they do that?
Q. My husband and I are moving to Manhattan and want to buy an apartment. We were thinking about renting to get to know the city before deciding on a purchase, but I’m having trouble justifying the prospective rent payments that would be substantially more than our last mortgage. What should we do?
Q. I live in a 19th century building in the Village and my landlord recently informed the tenants that some work needed to be done to bring the building to code. Off and on for months now, there have been contractors in the building, inspectors in my apartment, and my super escorting workers everywhere.
At first I wanted to be helpful, but it’s really become an inconvenience. Do I have to allow my landlord access to my apartment to do all of this?
Q. I intended to cook dinner at my apartment over the weekend but when I went to use the gas range the burners were not lit. I contacted ConEd and they confirmed everything is fine on their end. My super suggested that I light the range with a match, which worked. However, I don’t want to have to light the range every time. Who is responsible for fixing it – ConEd or my landlord?
