i HATE my roommates - damn bastards

[NewSc2]

if you guys remember from a thread I started about 3 months back, me and my roommates started not getting along way back then (we moved in in Sept.)

They were being bitches about really little things, and they started to refuse to do the housework (reason? I cook more often than they do.. so most of the dishes are mine.. but still - they've NEVER done the dishes) - i've washed the dishes maybe 10-12 times in a row, taken the trash out almost all the time, etc.... and they've stopped talking to me. It's gotten to the point where this is the situation every day:

(roommates walks in the front door, passes by my room, looks in)
Me: Sup, how was your day? (just to be polite)
(roommate walks into his room, slams the door)
happens twice a day at least

Anyways, just about 30 minutes ago one of my roommates starts blasting his Eminem from his Logitech Z-560's (not the best speakers, but they're still very loud speakers). I don't know if he was trying to be funny or stupid or what... police have come by a few times because at nights (i don't stick around that often) he watches movies at close to reference volume, and his room borders another apartment. Anyways, I knock on the adjoining wall a few times, wait a minute, knock on it again.. and he still leaves it on. Then I go online, say:

Me: Can you please turn your music down? It's fscking 5am
Him (2 minutes later): k (with the silly stupid grin)

Anyways, i'm really pissed off and I can't go back to sleep... and tomorrow i have a full day of classes from 8am-3pm, and midterms at the end of this week. I swear I CANT live with them for another 5 months, I'll go insane. As I was trying to sleep, I kept thinking of ways to get them kicked out or to move out, but I don't want to move into just a random apartment where something like this *might* happen again (I know it probably won't, but who knows). The police have more than once threatened to address a court order against my loud roommate, but I'm not sure if it'll really go through or not. If not, I'm wondering as to the laws as to whether or not I *need* to live in my apartment for the full year (signed a year-long lease).

Has anybody been in this situation before or can anybody offer some advice? Badly needed here :|

 

[Analog]

 

[bmacd]

move out...then you'll find little things to nitpick about your next roommate.

-=bmacd=-

 

Does your school have a legal services department? At the U of M we do and they specialize in real estate consulting - and it's all free as part of tuition - talk to them or your local tenants' union and see what your options are.

 

[jonmullen]

Turn off the power to the appartment. Or overload and outlet and blow a circit. That should do the trick. Or if you want to get really sneaky, put a big resistor on all his speakers.

 

[NewSc2]

Originally posted by: bmacd
move out...then you'll find little things to nitpick about your next roommate.

-=bmacd=-

it's not the little things anymore, every time i come back home to my apartment it's like I'm coming back to a hostile environment. They slam their door when I get home, play music to annoy me, and impose dumb rules. I can go on and on about things.. but just trust me, these things aren't "little".

i.e. Roommates lie about how much the electricity bill is... done it 2-3 times - total overestimation.. like instead of $90 they say it was $150. I confronted them about it and my roommate was just "oh, must've divided wrong"

I stocked the fridge with a good amount of alcohol.. probably about $40-50 worth a couple months ago. Roommate threw it away - I ask him why - he said "I don't want that kind of stuff in my fridge - we can get arrested for that - we're underage"

Roommate went beserk on me when I told him I reset the power to the router once because my internet connection dropped.. and I pulled the wrong cord (pulled out his computer cord by accident). Because of that, they moved the router into their room and he locks the door every time he leaves.

 

[MichaelD]

Your description of their actions is identical to what my GF (at the time) did to me when we lived together back in 1996-1997. What a bitch. Your friends too. :|

Move out dude. Then when you see them out and about, just give them the one-finger-salute.

 

[Thegonagle]

Mini off topic rant here, I'm sorry, but the abbreviation U of M bugs me. There are eight states that begin with the letter M, and no doubt, countless individual campuses in all those states!

On topic: get your own apartment. That's how I ultimately dealt with all my roommate troubles.

They may be assholes, but you sound like a bit of a pushover yourself. What kind of "rules" are they imposing? And are you following them while they're not?

And why don't you look at the electricty bill for yourself?

 

[rudder]

Who's name is the apartment in? If its in yours, I hope you learned a valuable lesson. If its in your roomates name, let him come back to an apartment where all your stuff is gone.

 

[TheGameIs21]

You reference "Roommates". If there are 2 or more of them and they both or all are problems... could you be the one with issues?

 

[NewSc2]

Originally posted by: axiom
It's best to make your roomate as aware of your schedule as possible. I had some problems like this early on in my lease. I had the bedroom closest to the living room. I start work at 6AM so I am up at 4:30AM. I have to get to sleep at 10PM or I will be dead tired. I traded rooms with my roomate that had the bedroom furthest from the living room. I also requested that they keep the volume to a min after 10PM. We tested out some volume levels and they marked their speakers so they knew how loud it could be after 10. For Christmas I bought each roomate a nice set of headphones as a gift of appreciation.

So far this worked pretty well for me.

Noise usually doesn't bother me, but at 5am I don't see how it couldn't bother anybody.

 

[NewSc2]

Originally posted by: TheGameIs21
You reference "Roommates". If there are 2 or more of them and they both or all are problems... could you be the one with issues?

Yeah, I have 2 roommates and I live in my own room. All this stuff though is coming from just 1 roommate (threw away my alcohol, overcharged me on my electricity bill, blasts music, gets noise complaints, went beserk on me because I accidentally unplugged his computer, etc.) The other roommate is a big pushover, when it's just me and him we're pretty cool, and he kinda just falls in line I suspect, but since he's roommates with the other guy, the other one's always talkin crap behind my back and he doesn't really stand up for me or himself I guess - not to blame, but he's really shy.

 

[h8red]

is your name on the lease?

 

[Tallgeese]

ROOMMATES = TEH SUCK

Here's what I would do, since they obviously don't give a chit:

* Wash no dishes but your own.
* Take out your own garbage (separate can if need be).
* Clean no room but your own. Let common areas get filthy.
* Ask to see ALL bills before turning over any payment.
* Let them fvck themselves over with the music.
* Ignore them just like they ignore you.

I don't remember the other thread completely, but I'm with them on the alcohol thing (and didn't you mention dope before?). Especially if the cops have already been there before about noise complaints.

Unfortunately the ONLY cure for this is prolly to move out. The best way is to find someone to take your place on the lease.
First I would clandestinely try to find other housing, or someone to room with (scary after this situation, I know)
Then, quite frankly, I'd flat-out ask your current roommates if there was anybody they knew who would want to move in with them to take your place.

If you do this:
* Keep it calm and cool
* No yelling or arguing from you (even if they do)
* DO NOT offer to keep kicking in on rent for any reason (they sounds ballsy enough to try to guilt you into paying)

Depending on how your lease is structured, if it's really bad, you could just find yourself another place to live, and give them like two weeks notice (or less) to find somebody else. After that, move out and let them figure out a way to pay their now higher expenses.

Check your lease VERY CAREFULLY before doing this. You don't wanna be on the hook to pay ANYTHING having to do with that hellhole of an apartment once you were gone.

 

[NewSc2]

Originally posted by: h8red
is your name on the lease?

Um... not sure, I'm pretty sure all three of our names are on the lease.. but I wasn't the one who did any of the paperwork - my roommate last year got the apartment and when we all moved in I went to the apt's leasing office to sign myself in - which is why I think I'm locked in until July.

 

[h8red]

if your name isn't on the lease, you can basically do whatever you want. Since your roomates probably won't tell you the truth, I would go to your landlord and get a copy of the lease. Just to see who they have down for names. Also there may be clauses in there that you can use against your roomates

 

[Nitemare]

Originally posted by: TheGameIs21
You reference "Roommates". If there are 2 or more of them and they both or all are problems... could you be the one with issues?

Maybe they think you are nagging them..


No one wants to live with a nanny, specially a college kid.

 

[Codewiz]

Originally posted by: NewSc2

Originally posted by: h8red
is your name on the lease?

Um... not sure, I'm pretty sure all three of our names are on the lease.. but I wasn't the one who did any of the paperwork - my roommate last year got the apartment and when we all moved in I went to the apt's leasing office to sign myself in - which is why I think I'm locked in until July.

I would be willing to bet there is one person that is MAIN person on the lease. If that is the case just pack up your sh*t and move out. It is their problem to pay rent even if you move out.

I know right now I am an occupant of my apartment. My fiancee signed the lease. While my name is mentioned on the lease as an occupant, I am in no way responsible for making sure the rents gets paid. If I moved out then I wouldn't have to worry about it at all.


EDIT: BTW even if your name is on the lease with your roommates making you responsible, you could just move out anyways. You would be breaking the lease BUT you roommates would still be required to pick up the rent completely(this is how one of my leases was handled). To get money out of you they would have to take you to small claims court. In small claims court you can always claim that they made it impossible for you to live with them anymore and there was no other choice.

 

[NewSc2]

Originally posted by: Tallgeese
ROOMMATES = TEH SUCK

Here's what I would do, since they obviously don't give a chit:

* Wash no dishes but your own.
* Take out your own garbage (separate can if need be).
* Clean no room but your own. Let common areas get filthy.
* Ask to see ALL bills before turning over any payment.
* Let them fvck themselves over with the music.
* Ignore them just like they ignore you.

I don't remember the other thread completely, but I'm with them on the alcohol thing (and didn't you mention dope before?). Especially if the cops have already been there before about noise complaints.

Unfortunately the ONLY cure for this is prolly to move out. The best way is to find someone to take your place on the lease.
First I would clandestinely try to find other housing, or someone to room with (scary after this situation, I know)
Then, quite frankly, I'd flat-out ask your current roommates if there was anybody they knew who would want to move in with them to take your place.

If you do this:
* Keep it calm and cool
* No yelling or arguing from you (even if they do)
* DO NOT offer to keep kicking in on rent for any reason (they sounds ballsy enough to try to guilt you into paying)

Depending on how your lease is structured, if it's really bad, you could just find yourself another place to live, and give them like two weeks notice (or less) to find somebody else. After that, move out and let them figure out a way to pay their now higher expenses.

Check your lease VERY CAREFULLY before doing this. You don't wanna be on the hook to pay ANYTHING having to do with that hellhole of an apartment once you were gone.

Dope is all gone, they got mad over it countless times - even though it was in my own room. The alcohol I stocked was after they set the rules I know, but I was just keeping it there to bring to a party later on in the night - but my roommate just threw it all away - that's what I'm pissed over - he didn't even just leave it in my room or anything or ask me before he threw it away.

The thing about the new leaser is kinda iffy - I think the whole reason they started acting up was because one of their friends was looking for a place to stay, because once they found that out, it was like night and day - one day we were perfectly fine, playing games and stuff together, but within a week they'd be slamming their doors and acting like dicks to me. Their friend found a place - basically I didn't want to be muscled out of my room, but now that I think about it maybe I should have. I'm going to go check up at the leasing office today to see what my options are, and I've already started looking around for housing. Last option anyways is that I could move back home, which is about 20 minutes from campus (with rush hour though, about 45 min). I really don't feel like doing that though, because I feel if I did that I'd be excluding myself out of the whole college routine. I'm willing to chance new roommates, but I kind of want to room with somebody I at least know a little bit about before I move in - that's why I'm cautious about moving out =\.

 

[h8red]

I know usually you can find pretty good deals on leases from students who just graduated in December. I'd look into that....if you can get out of your lease or your name doesn't appear on it. As always, from this point on, get everything in writing with signatures. You will thank me later. This is just to protect yourself from lawsuits.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: NewSc2

Originally posted by: h8red
is your name on the lease?

Um... not sure, I'm pretty sure all three of our names are on the lease.. but I wasn't the one who did any of the paperwork - my roommate last year got the apartment and when we all moved in I went to the apt's leasing office to sign myself in - which is why I think I'm locked in until July.

TallGeese gave excellent advice. Now, about what you posted (above). You need to go the complex office and ask to see the lease. You may be listed as a OCCUPANT of the apartment, i.e. you have a legal right to be there. If that's the case, you ARE NOT repsonsible for the rent, nor the condition of the apartment, my friend. I learned this from my ex (the one I mentioned above) she WAS the MANAGER of the apartment complex we lived in. She taught me all the tricks.

People say "on the lease" and they don't really know what they are talking about. You can be a LEASEHOLDER or you can be an OCCUPANT.

Example: I rent this apartment. Just me. I am the leaseholder. You get thrown out by your wife and I offer to let you stay at my place for a few weeks so you can get back on your feet. I put you down as an OCCUPANT on the lease so that you may legally enter the apartment and have the office LEGALLY let you in if you lose you key.

Hope this helps.

ps
Move the hell out of there, fast.

 

[skace]

I fight my battles in odd ways, so this advice may seem strange to you... but eh.

First, I'd get some noise canceling headphone doodads. Not ones that you plug into a cdplayer to play music, the ones you wear to cancel ALL NOISE. These will benefit you regardless of roomate, as you will always be able to get to sleep.

Second, using my new fangled headphones, I'd completely block out annoying roomate #1. I'd let him play his music as loud as he wants, let him slam his door, and wouldn't bother saying hello when he comes home.

Third, this may just apply to me and not you. But I am very efficient with plate use and barely make any dirty dishes on my own. Knowing this, I would only wash my dishes, directly after use and ignore all other dishes in the sink (IE: I eat ramen and then wash the bowl and put it away). This saves you from having to bother with other peoples dishes. If worst came to worst, I'd move my bowls/plates into my own room for storage so that when he ran out of dishes, it would not affect you.

Fourth, I would want to see any and all bills before paying any cash. It is normal and intelligent to have more than 1 person look the bill over to make sure the math is done right / etc, which ensures proper payments.

Once I've done these things, I would basically be cut off from annoying roomate #1 and let him deal with his own problems. He would either want to break off, giving you and your other roomate the ability to find a decent 3rd. Or you could slowly search for a better place to live, while not being too inconvenienced at home.

 

[h8red]

skace brings up another good point. Don't pay your bills in cash. Write a check for everything. On the memo line write "electricity bill for December" or whatever so that you have proof that you paid it. Again, make sure everything is in writing

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: h8red
skace brings up another good point. Don't pay your bills in cash. Write a check for everything. On the memo line write "electricity bill for December" or whatever so that you have proof that you paid it. Again, make sure everything is in writing

Related: I do this w/my son's mother. When she hits me up for extra money for this or that, I always write a check. You can request copies of checks from your bank going back pretty far in time. Might save your @ss one day....

 

[stev0]

Originally posted by: Garfang
Mini off topic rant here, I'm sorry, but the abbreviation U of M bugs me. There are eight states that begin with the letter M, and no doubt, countless individual campuses in all those states!

On topic: get your own apartment. That's how I ultimately dealt with all my roommate troubles.

They may be assholes, but you sound like a bit of a pushover yourself. What kind of "rules" are they imposing? And are you following them while they're not?

And why don't you look at the electricty bill for yourself?

exactly.

whos router is it? yours? take it back! get sick of doing their dishes? clean the ones that you use right after your done with them and put them back, let theirs sit out. eating your food? get yourself a little fridge and put it all in your room, lock the door when you leave. (this works with booz as well)

then again... maybe it could be because your asking so much from your roomies and not giving anything in return.

edit: ... i guess tallgeese covered this already... not sure where i am today