Typing And Print An Apartment Lease On Line: Fill & Download for Free

I dated a woman for a number of years. She lived in Section 8 Housing (Taino Towers in NYC/Harlem) and still does. While with her, I learned a number of ways Section 8 and Food Stamps (SNAP) and WIC and welfare are defrauded from her, her family and her friends.Just judging from Taino Towers, at LEAST 30% of residents are involved in some type of fraud and feel entitled to it. The program at Taino provides rent and utilities for one monthly fee, which is based on your income. You HAVE to have at least a minimum income to cover the minim rent of $217/month (at last I knew in 2015).Fraud Methods:Work off the books. Report weekly income of $50 for “babysitting”. This covers the minimum rent and entitles you to the EIC when you file your false tax return.Typically, the woman would have the lease. Move a boyfriend in. He is NOT on the lease and his income not included in the subsidy calculation. (My ex used to call it “Musical apartments”). A guy finds a girl with a job and benefits and moves in with her. When he gets tired of her, he starts cheating with someone else with an Section 8 lease in the building. He either gets caught, or dumps her and moves in with the next woman. All the while sponging off the woman and Section 8.Rent out your couch or a spare bedroom for cash to cover your rent and don’t declare it.Use fake w-2’s and 1040’s to keep your rent lowMove people in that are not on the lease and so not included in the subsidy calculation (Such as a boyfriend/girlfriend.Put people on the lease (A grandchild) who does not live there to get an extra bedroom to rent out.Management: Take bribes ($5k-10k depending on the size of the apartment) to move people up the list. If you have 50 open apartments, print out the letters to people on the waiting list to let them know they have an apartment available. Print the envelopes and postage meter the letters and shred/dispose of 30 or so. This get’s no response and everyone moves up the list. Keep this up until the person who bribed you is next in line. Takes 6–12 month.Go to a local bodega that accepts SNAP/Food Stamps and does not have a POS system, just a regular register. They will sell you anything, including alcohol, cigarettes and blunt wrappers on your card.Sell your SNAP dollars for $0.50 on the dollar. I can’t even count the number of times I was on line at Pathmark and people were using multiple SNAP cards to pay for groceries.If this is indicative of all the 650,706 subsidized apartments in NYC, then there are millions being defrauded and people stuck in shelters waiting while lifetime, lifestyle criminals have big apartments that should not.EDIT: This is my personal ANECDOTAL experience of EXAMPLE within the circle my ex moved in. It included people in Taino and other complexes and “Walking Section 8”.

In addition to everything else said here, there are 28 things you should look for when choosing a new apartment:(Credit: www.thingstoconsiderwhen.com)Message to first-time apartment renters in New York City: accept the truth. Most brokers and landlords don’t give a shit about you. They just want to close the deal. The brokers want the commission as quickly as possible. It’s in their best interest to rent the apartment to the first person they show it to—assuming that person meets all the financial requirements. So they're going to do pretty much do anything they can to persuade you to take the apartment. They're going to cover up smells, they're going to hide damages, and they will even lie. Of course there are loyal and ethical brokers and landlords out there (Django Gilligan is one of them), but most of the time, that’s not the case. It’s wise to not believe anything a broker says. Instead you must try to verify everything empirically. In order to do that, you need to be prepared and you need to know what to look for.Pack a gear bag. This sounds ridiculous but if you really want to outsmart a broker and the landlord, then you really need to be prepared:FlashlightA cell phone that also takes good picturesSocket testerNotepad and penTape measurerPrint out this checklist (PDF) that I made and bring it with youEliminate possibilities. These five websites will save you a lot of time and effort. There are five things you can do before you even request to see an apartment that may cause you to want to cross it off your list:Check your apartment’s reviews. Visit apartmentratings.com and check to see if there any reviews about your building or unit. It’s like Yelp for your apartment buildings. If you see several blatantly bad reviews, cross it off and don't even bother going to see it. Keep in mind though if it’s just one bad review, it might just be a single pissed off tenant.Verify criminal tenants. Check national sex offender registry (http://www.familywatchdog.us/) to see if there are any living in your building. If you do decide to see the apartment, ask the broker if the landlord accepts section 8 assistance (http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/section8/section8.shtml) or convicted felons.Look up crime statistics. Check New York City crime statistics (http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/crime_prevention/crime_statistics.shtml) for unusually high crime in your neighborhood. This will actually help you eliminate entire neighborhoods from your list. I can tell you right now that although rent is super cheap in Brownsville, it's probably not a place you want to live.Look up your potential new landlord. Search New York City property records (https://a836-acris.nyc.gov/DS/DocumentSearch/BBL) for any information about the building you’re considering. Poor landlords and building owners will have liens against them and may have properties in foreclosure.Look up the building’s bed bug history. Check the Bed Bug Registry (http://www.bedbugregistry.com/) and ask if the building has a history of any pest problems.Request to view the exact apartment you will move into. Don't fall for the bait and switch. This seems obvious. But you'd be surprised how many tenants were shown apartment C2 but moved into C3; it’s classic bait and switch. Sometimes brokers or landlords are doing work to an apartment that will be soon available and in the meantime, they show a showcase apartment or an apartment that is very similar to the one you will move into. Be sure you are actually viewing your apartment. If the broker or landlord does not show you the exact apartment, ask them why. Typically they'll explain that it’s because they're doing construction work. If that’s the case, say that it doesn't bother you to view the apartment under those conditions or that you will come back another time. Never sign a lease without actually viewing the apartment.Check the mobile reception. Call someone and walk around the apartment testing different areas to see if the call drops.Check for bugs and rodents. Look at the top of cabinets, behind the stove for rat droppings or dead cockroaches. If there are reddish brown stains in the corners of walls near the ceiling it may be bed bugs. If there is not evidence of bed bugs, it doesn’t mean there wasn’t any in the past: if there is a line of white powder along the baseboards, it may be likely that a bedbug treatment had been performed at some point in the past.Check the water pressure and heat.Turn the shower to cold and then and hot and note how long it takes to get warm. Also note how strong the flow is. If the flow is low, it may just mean that there is a faucet aerator installed. Inspect the showerhead and look for anything that a previous tenant may have added to reduce the flow of the water.Check drainage. Check the sinks, bathtub, shower, and toilets to see how quickly they drain. Let the water run for a few minutes to make sure there’s no backup. You can do this as you're checking the water pressure.Check the outlets. Bring a socket tester and test all outlets. Count the number and placement of outlets in each room to determine if they will meet your needs.Check for mold and water damage. If you smell anything musty, it could indicate water damage, which could lead to mold. If the apartment smells like incense or air fresheners, it could be because the broker or landlord is trying to cover up a musty smell. Check under the sinks for mold. Look on the ceilings too where the tub or kitchen would be in the apartment above you to see if there are any leaks from upstairs.Check for storage. Make sure that there are enough closets or shelves to store your things.Check the circulation. Note if there is central air or not. If there’s not, the circulation in the apartment will be poor, so check the windows to see if they will hold window fans and Air Conditioners in the summer time.Talk to a neighbor. You can do this in front of the broker or landlord. If you happen to see someone in the building, stop them and ask them what it’s like to live there. Ask them what the best and worst parts about living in the building are.Visit the area at night on a weekend and on a weekday. Get a feel for the neighborhood to see what the nightlife is like. Is it safe? Are there sketchy people hanging around your apartment complex at 11pm?Note what is in close walking distance. Is there a grocery store or convenience store close by? How far is the nearest bar, restaurant, and Laundromat?Clarify all lease terms. Important things to look for: what utilities are you responsible for? When is the rent check do? What are the penalties for late payment?Check Internet and Cable Providers Service. Visit Verizon.com or TimeWarner.com and type in your address to see if they will even service your address.Check the windows. See if the windows open, close, and lock properly. This is especially important if your apartment is on the first floor or one or more of the windows is directly connected to a fire escape platform outside because your apartment will be susceptible to burglary.Find out if you have in-building laundry or in-unit laundry. Will save the most money if you are fortunate enough to have laundry in your unit. The next best option is if you have laundry in your building. They're typically in the basement. If you don't have either of these things, ask the broker if you have the ability to install your own washer and dryer units. Some apartments are set up for this but the landlord and previous tenants have simply chosen not to take advantage of the situation. If you don't have any of these options, find out where the nearest Laundromat is. You don't want to be walking 10 blocks with a pile of laundry in the snow in January.Ask about maintenance. Ask who the super is and why he is responsible for fixing. If it’s a small building, the landlord probably contracts the work to a local repairman. If it’s a large building, there will likely be a dedicated superintendent and he may even live in the building. Ask what the policies on work orders are: how would go about getting something fixed? Can it be submitted online? What is the landlord’s response time guarantee for after hour emergencies? If the super is on vacation, is there a backup? Ask about your financial responsibilities when it comes to maintenance related issues. Some landlords require you to pay repair costs for things such as a stopped up toilet or clogged shower drain. Find out what your responsibility is if an appliance breaks. This should be in your lease, so you can either consult it or ask the landlord or broker.Check local supermarkets. Visit the supermarkets nearby and see what the conditions and offerings are. Note when they open and close. Note the type of food and if the establishment is clean or not. If there aren't any grocery stores near you, you can always use Fresh Direct.Check your responsibilities as a tenant. Some landlords require you to pay the cost of a stopped up toilet, pest infestations, and require you to shovel snow from sidewalk/mow the grass on areas around the house, or clean gutters. They may also require you to pay the cost to fix supplied appliances.Observe the trust of neighbors. If you notice belongings left on the porches or benches on the sidewalk or in a park nearby (toys and decorations, for example), it's a good sign that there is little or no theft in the neighborhood.Ask about a homeowner's association. If there is one, find out its rules, when they meet, and what they are responsible for.Ask about the policies. Find out the policy on smoking, pets, noise, and visitors.Check the lease breaking consequences. If you must break the lease, ask what the consequences are.Check the price. Go on Zillow.com and compare other comparable apartments in the neighborhood to see how the price compares.Take pictures of each room. When you decide on your apartment, note the time on the photographs, write any damage, and make sure the landlord is notified of the issues in writing prior to your move-in so you aren't blamed for it when you move out. This is more common than you think. When you move out three years later, some landlords will attempt to withhold your security deposit by claiming that you caused damage to the apartment. This will allow you to avoid any future issues.Get everything in writing. If the landlord agrees to do anything, whether its fixing the tile in the bathroom or painting the walls, make sure it’s in writing. You will need proof to challenge the landlord in court if it comes to that. Most likely, if the landlord realizes that he signed an agreement, he will know he has no chance in court and you can avoid the whole situation.

As a teacher in the 70s I was expected to attend, what were called, human relations weekends where I discovered a talent for communicating feelings and fears that most prefer to ignore and deny.Encouraged by the feedback (from the teachers in my group and the psychologists/psychiatrists running the event) I foolishly quit teaching and invested my life savings (about $2,000, which was about what I’d paid for a VW bug back then) to start what was essentially a greeting card company that should have failed. When my first line of cards didn’t work I came up with a line of business sized cards called Pocket Cards.The cards’ sayings included, “Help me face my fears and I’ll help you face yours.” “Sometimes Life Scares Me.” “Be Happy!” “Hello!”Since not knowing what I was doing was never a concern, I taught myself how to do the paste ups and mechanicals the printer would need to shoot the negative to make the plate to print the cards. When an excess of rubber cement caused one card style to come apart, rather than postpone the printing, I substituted a card created as a joke. It had a fancy border (made with a product called Press Type because you used a burnisher to transfer letters and border artwork from a plastic sheet onto paper). The words (in fancy script) read, “You are cordially invited to go fuck yourself!”I honestly do not know why I made the mockup in the first place. Not expecting to print or sell the card, I left off the company name and copyright.When I returned from the printer and stacked the printed 13 designs up I noticed the stack of invitations was two inches shorter than the others. I wasn’t sure why and didn’t care, since I only wanted a few for personal use. (It eventually occurred to me the printers had liberated about two hundred cards.)I counted and stuffed ten Pocket Cards (one style) into little bags, taped the bags closed, and placed them into 13 amateurish cardboard displays that held 12 designs. Then I loaded my VW bug and set out to convince a baker’s dozen of Manhattan retailers to take the cards on consignment in an effort to test market my latest brainchild.As a last minute thought, I bagged, taped, and brought a couple dozen packs of invitations and ended up placing them in one store, the last, because it was in New York’s Greenwich Village where naughty was the norm.A week later I revisited the stores in the order I’d left the displays starting in the east eighties on Second Avenue (because the traffic flowed south and there was metered parking).First store, not a single pack of cards sold. Second store, no luck. By the time I left the twelfth retailer I was crushed. Zero packs of cards sold.I’d quit a secure job, given up a pension, blown my savings, and didn’t have a clue about what I would do for a living.When I reached the 13th store in the Village I had to work up enough courage to get out of the car, enter the store, and do a count. I came close to listening to a voice whispering, “Why bother?” “You already know more than you need to know!”I didn’t think I could handle any more disappointment.Noticing the store was crowded I decided to sneak to where the display was and do a quick count. Seconds after stepping into the store, while darting towards a rack to hide behind, I heard the owner, Joanie, yell, “Hey you! It’s about time you came back. I need more Fuck You cards.” Then she added, “…and don’t give me any more of that Be Happy shit!”She continued to explain (in front of a couple dozen customers) how pissed she was because the cards sold out the day I’d left them and she couldn’t reach me. I didn’t leave a phone number, or include one on the display, and she couldn’t find a listing for my company (because there was no business phone).Stunned, I drove home to my Queens office, design studio, factory, and warehouse facility that doubled as a home and garage, dropped a tab of LSD, and asked myself if, after starting a company to help people communicate fears, I really wanted to be selling Fuck You cards.By the time the ten hour trip ended I’d decided to give it a shot by ditching all the styles except the invitation and, employing reverse engineering, use what I’d learned from that one card (which was soon also available as You are cordially invited to go screw Yourself!). After a few months of coming up and test marketing new sayings I had a line of decent to excellent sellers retailers felt obligated to keep next to the register (the best real estate in any store) because they were great sellers (and so easy to shop lift).To extend what turned into a line of naughty jokes, I added a Sex Coupon and, deciding the displays (upgraded to lucite) needed a bit of sensitivity to provide balance, a Kiss Coupon and Hug Coupon.I’d taught myself how to design and fabricate lucite displays after finding out wire display manufacturers, my first choice, required a minimum order of 100 displays (which I didn’t have the money to pay for or space to store). Meanwhile (and though more expensive) I could afford to order supplies and build a half dozen plastic displays at a time in my garage. The displays turned out so nice, retailers who hated the cards placed orders to get a display. (As my brother recently reminded me, our display design became a standard in the gift industry.)Before I knew it, we were grossing more money each week than my annual teacher’s salary. Soon, daily sales exceeded what I’d been earning in a year.Ten years later, when I was ready to pack it all in and take what turned out to be a decade long sabbatical/vacation, I was thoroughly familiar with all aspects of business, printing, book publishing, display design and manufacturing, hiring/firing employees, employee manuals, health and profit sharing plans, factory and office design, trade shows, finance, working with consultants, attorneys, reps and salespeople, international shipping, letters of credit, negotiating and writing contracts, filing and defending lawsuits, commercial leasing, marketing, publicity, the joys of luxury automobiles, and especially how to keep my fears from preventing me from doing what I wanted to do.The Hug Coupon was never a top seller but soon generated more fan mail than all the other products combined. Almost four decades later I’m proud to say I’ve distributed (sold and given away) millions of Hug Coupons and written/published books on the subject. The little card even helped me discover and hone a talent for public speaking.As a bonus, I’m convinced that one of the reasons my life has been one blessing after another has been because every time people embrace, as a result of a Hug Coupon, another good deed credit (or two) is added to my karmic account.Addendum: While walking out of the store, a hustler delivering products (he sold novelty items out of the trunk of his car to cover the tuition for chiropractic school) asked me if I’d wholesale the cards to him (which I did).He offered a piece of advice that proved invaluable. He said that if I wanted to make it in the novelty business the key was to never trust my opinion. He told me he’d distributed products he was sure were going to be huge sellers that totally bombed and that he’d made killings on products he thought were stupid and certain to fail.I never forgot what he told me and ended up making a nice living creating and selling products I would never consider purchasing (with the exception of the Hug Coupon).