by Stacey Carroll, Contributing Writer

This apartment living horror story is from 2011, but there are still plenty of people living this rental nightmare. Here is my story.

From the time I got up this morning to right now, my neighbors have been absolute terrors. Their child started screaming at 8am this morning. They started slamming doors at 8:30am this morning. At 1pm they threw a bucket off the porch and into the yard. Two hours later, they moved it back onto the porch.

Currently, their kindergarten aged child is screaming his head off. He probably got slapped. In between the child’s screams are his father’s and mother’s telling him to shut the F up.

This is by far the worst apartment complex I have ever lived in. If I didn’t know better I’d swear it was in the inner city. It’s not. It’s in a small town. The buildings look nice on the drive in, the grass is mowed, and maintenance is all right.


Apartment Living At Its Worst Doesn't Usually Start Off That Bad...

Prior to moving into this building I met with the office lady, talked to her about the complex, and asked some very important questions. I also told her my needs. I told her I was a writer, and that I am in constant need of complete and utter silence. I don’t have kids. I don’t want to hear anyone else’s kids.

She assured me that the building was quiet and that all the kids played at the back of the complex. Most importantly, she told me there were no kids in my building. The latter was a lie. I found out two weeks after moving into the building that every other unit had at least one child and the unit below me had a screaming, whining toddler. The parents played music way too loud, and on occasion I could hear every word from their TV.

I told the office. I repeatedly told the office. Eventually, I was told that the loud occupants would be moving soon. That was six months ago or longer. They have not moved, and I still have days like today where I can’t get anything done because their child’s incessant screaming has put me in a murderous mood.

It is beyond frustrating. The worst part about it is that today is Sunday and the office is closed. Even if I wanted to talk to the office today, I can’t. It’s days like today when I really wished I had picked another complex, rented a house, done anything but moved in here.

Do you have a story about apartment living at its worst you'd like to share?

Author Bio:

Stacey Carroll is the author of the thriller series - Avia.  She also authors the paranormal erotica series - The Blooddoll Factory. Stacey grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. she went to college at Indiana State University (ISU) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in aerospace in the professional pilot program. She has flown Cessna 152s, Cessna 172s, the Piper Seneca and the King Air. She also graduated with a minor in computer science that specialized in web design.

She has always been interested in reading and writing, and the first book she was ever read was the Grimms Brother's Fairy tales. From the ages of 6 to 11, she read the Nancy Drew series. By the age of 11, she had graduated to Stephen King novels. A few of her favorites include Carrie, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower Series up to book 3 (That's where it stopped in the late 80s/ early 90s), Pet Semetary, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, It, Cujo, Christine, The Eyes of the Dragon and Thinner (Richard Bachman). In her teen years, she moved on to Anne Rice and got through about four of those books before they degraded. If you've ever read Anne Rice, you know book 5 isn't readable. Stacey has read a couple Harry Potter books as she was introduced to them in the early 2000s, and she's never read or watched anything Twilight or 50 Shades. Sorry. I'm a vampire purist, and nothing needs to be said about the latter. You already know.

She is currently an author and freelance writer. She received an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2008 for a short story entitled The Field. In 2014, she was published in 13 Stories by Us by MacKenzie Publishing.

Other books by Stacey

• AVIA II
• AVIA Memories

by Stacey Carroll, Contributing Writer

Don't get caught in a rental agreement where you will end up unhappy and can't wait for the end of your lease to come. Oftentimes, renters won't tell you a lot of important things up front. That's why it's important to ask these 5 questions before renting anywhere.

What is included with the rent?

Some properties include water, sewer, trash, heat, and gas or some variation. At the very least they should include water, sewer and trash. Properties that include nothing can add $50.00 or more to your rent bill every month. I rented an apartment that included nothing. The base rent was $574.00. Once they included water, sewer, and trash, it became $630.00 and sometimes higher. Can you afford it?

How is the rent paid? What types of payment do they accept?

Most properties accept cash, money order, and check. A few accept on-line payments, credit cards, and sometimes even PayPal. Many properties don't accept cash, including one that I've rented. It often has to be a money order or personal check. There is a drop box for after hours rent payments.

Another of my rental properties accepted cash, money order, and personal checks, but there was no drop box. She came around on the first of the month and physically picked up the checks. It meant I had to be at home every first of the month.

Find out what the grace period is for rent. Most apartment complexes give you until the fifth of the month. One of my last complexes had no grace period.

Who does the maintenance? What are you responsible for?

In one of my last apartments, we had one maintenance guy. I ended up doing or starting a lot of my maintenance myself. If I spend my own money; new faucet filter, toilet kit, paint, knobs, I do not get reimbursed via a rent reduction.

Figure out who does the maintenance and how much of it you are responsible for. Find out what they consider to be “normal wear and tear”. Otherwise, you could find yourself fixing a lot of someone else's property.

What types of people live in the community? Are they well-behaved? Are their children well behaved?

Get honest answers on who your neighbors are before you sign that lease. I was very clear with one landlord when I told her I was a writer, single, childless, and needed endless amounts of quiet. She assured me that there were no children in the building I was moving in to.

A week after I moved in I started hearing “Woohoo’s!” and a screaming toddler. It turns out almost every apartment in that building has a child. The other tenants are loud, slam doors, and stomp feet. The walls and floors are paper thin. That meant I was outright lied to. So, sometimes you may even have to ask around to find out the truth.

Is there a lot of crime, theft in the complex or surrounding area?

Contact the police department and ask about criminal activity on the block and surrounding neighborhood. Visit the complex at night and see how many people are outside. Observe their activities. After 11pm, you should not see people loitering unless it’s on their porches.

Author Bio:

Stacey Carroll is the author of the thriller series - Avia.  She also authors the paranormal erotica series - The Blooddoll Factory. Stacey grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. she went to college at Indiana State University (ISU) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in aerospace in the professional pilot program. She has flown Cessna 152s, Cessna 172s, the Pipe Seneca and the King Air. She also graduated with a minor in computer science that specialized in web design.

She has always been interested in reading and writing, and the first book she was ever read was the Grimms Brother's Fairy tales. From the ages of 6 to 11, she read the Nancy Drew series. By the age of 11, she had graduated to Stephen King novels. A few of her favorites include Carrie, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower Series up to book 3 (That's where it stopped in the late 80s/ early 90s), Pet Semetary, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, It, Cujo, Christine, The Eyes of the Dragon and Thinner (Richard Bachman). In her teen years, she moved on to Anne Rice and got through about four of those books before they degraded. If you've ever read Anne Rice, you know book 5 isn't readable. Stacey has read a couple Harry Potter books as she was introduced to them in the early 2000s, and she's never read or watched anything Twilight or 50 Shades. Sorry. I'm a vampire purist, and nothing needs to be said about the latter. You already know.

She is currently an author and freelance writer. She received an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2008 for a short story entitled The Field. In 2014, she was published in 13 Stories by Us by MacKenzie Publishing.

Other books by Stacey

• AVIA II
• AVIA Memories

by Stacey Carroll, Contributing Writer

I’m always careful when I rent an apartment. I don’t want anything too big. I want water, sewer, and at least trash included. If I can get gas or heat included, I do that, as well. I want central air conditioning and washer/dryer hookups. I don’t care if the complex has a pool, gym, Jacuzzi, tennis courts or any other frills. I won’t use them, and it means higher overall rent payments.


Rent

The first thing I do before I choose any apartment is figure out the rent I can afford. Typically, this is 25% of my net income, or roughly one week of net pay. I do net pay because I never see gross pay. I can’t base my rent off an amount I never see.

This means that if I am making $35,000 a year, I can expect to take home $26,250 a year. That’s $505 a week. That’s the rent amount I start with because it’s guaranteed that I will have no problems paying it.


Location

Next, I look at locations. I generally want an area that has been historically safe. In Indianapolis that means living outside of the beltline or in the Northern part of the city. Since I know I can’t afford the rents North, I looked South and West and East outside the beltline. I know that living outside the beltline is more expensive than inside the beltline. Inside the beltline I can find rent for $350 - $400 a month, but I also know that I’ll sacrifice safety and security if I do. With that in mind, I’d rather pay a little more and have peace of mind.


Water, Sewer, Trash, and Heat

When I look at apartments, I look to see what’s included in the rent. I had the misfortune of living in an a la cart complex once where water, sewer and trash were not included. The base rent was $574 a month, but after they added water, sewer and trash to the bill, it was closer to $630 a month. Those extra fees put the apartment well out of my price range, and I struggled with the payments for the entirety of the lease. Needless to say, I will never do that again. My rent has to include at a bare minimum water, sewer and trash. I don’t want any hidden fees, and I don’t want to guess what next month’s rent is going to be.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find an apartment of any size for $505/month. The apartment I did find included water, sewer and trash for $550 a month with a $10 discount for paying rent before the first of the month. Being that it was only $35 more than my budget, I decided to take it. If it had been $50 or $75 more than my budget, I would have kept looking until I found a better deal.

Author Bio:

Stacey Carroll is the author of the thriller series - Avia.  She also authors the paranormal erotica series - The Blooddoll Factory. Stacey grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. she went to college at Indiana State University (ISU) and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in aerospace in the professional pilot program. She has flown Cessna 152s, Cessna 172s, the Pipe Seneca and the King Air. She also graduated with a minor in computer science that specialized in web design.

She has always been interested in reading and writing, and the first book she was ever read was the Grimms Brother's Fairy tales. From the ages of 6 to 11, she read the Nancy Drew series. By the age of 11, she had graduated to Stephen King novels. A few of her favorites include Carrie, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower Series up to book 3 (That's where it stopped in the late 80s/ early 90s), Pet Semetary, The Shining, Night Shift, The Stand, It, Cujo, Christine, The Eyes of the Dragon and Thinner (Richard Bachman). In her teen years, she moved on to Anne Rice and got through about four of those books before they degraded. If you've ever read Anne Rice, you know book 5 isn't readable. Stacey has read a couple Harry Potter books as she was introduced to them in the early 2000s, and she's never read or watched anything Twilight or 50 Shades. Sorry. I'm a vampire purist, and nothing needs to be said about the latter. You already know.

She is currently an author and freelance writer. She received an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 2008 for a short story entitled The Field. In 2014, she was published in 13 Stories by Us by MacKenzie Publishing.

Other books by Stacey

• AVIA II
• AVIA Memories