College renters pitch year-round solution

REAL ESTATE

Landlord unsure of deposit protocol

By Inman News Feed

Add Comment | Comments: 0 | Posted Jun. 18, 2010

You have two options. First, you can contact the owners of the building and see if they are willing to add insulation or soundproofing to the building. I recently saw an older building from the 1920s that underwent a major renovation. While architecturally desirable in many respects, the building suffered from many of the same problems you described.

So the owner incorporated the installation of insulation and soundproofing as part of the work to completely upgrade the building electrical and plumbing systems, which required the removal and replacement of significant portions of the lath and plaster walls. This type of work would likely be cost-prohibitive unless done as part of an overall building system upgrade.

Second, if your landlord is unwilling to take on such an ambitious and expensive renovation, then you can either adapt to the situation or relocate to another property.

This column on issues confronting tenants and landlords is written by property manager Robert Griswold, author of "Property Management for Dummies" and "Property Management Kit for Dummies" and co-author of "Real Estate Investing for Dummies." E-mail your questions to Rental Q&A at rgriswold.inman@retodayradio.com. Questions should be brief and cannot be answered individually.

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