Articles: House Or Apartment

Dear Consumer Ed:  Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, my landlord has been forcing residents to pay their rent online, which incurs an $18 to $30 fee. Is this legal?

Dear Consumer Ed:  Is it legal for pharmacies and doctors’ offices to require me to provide them with my date of birth? I’m told they can’t look up my file without it, but it seems like I’m giving out my DOB on a daily basis and I worry about identity theft. 

Dear Consumer Ed:  I believe that my homeowners association is misusing homeowners dues. What can I do to figure out how this money is actually being spent? 

Dear Consumer Ed:  How do I obtain the name of a property owner?

Dear Consumer Ed:  I just found out that there is a judgment lien against my house.  How does this affect my house?  How long will the lien be there?  What can I do to get rid of the lien? 

Dear Consumer Ed:  Our apartment lease is up at the end of this month, but our landlord is requiring that we leave the utilities on for five days after our lease expires for the move-out inspection. Can they require us to pay for utilities almost a week beyond the end of our lease?

Dear Consumer Ed:  I told my mortgage lender that I would prefer to pay my property taxes in full each year instead of having a portion rolled into my monthly mortgage payments and held in escrow. Are they allowed to charge me a fee if I do that?

Dear Consumer Ed:  By law, is it the landlord’s responsibility to provide a fire extinguisher and smoke detectors in the apartment? 

Dear Consumer Ed:  I am having difficulty getting a price list for all services and fees from my cable company. When I ask for this information they just try to sell me packages that include phone service I don’t want and equipment I don’t need.

Dear Consumer Ed:  I just received a certified letter stating that my family and I need to move out of our rented home in 60 days. The landlord wants to sell the home, but I have a signed lease that doesn’t expire for another six months.