Photo by PoPville flickr user Joseph Leonardo
“Dear PoPville,
Can anyone recommend a good tailor? I live and work in DC so would appreciate places that are within the city limits. I’ve tried a couple of places based on Yelp reviews but haven’t really had any luck so I was hoping I could get some good recommendations from the PoPville community. Just in case this is important: it’s not for a wedding or anything…I just have some pants I would like taken in. Thanks for any feedback!”
Photo by PoPville flickr user Joe Flood
“Dear PoPville,
I recently moved into a new condo building, which had been redone (it used to be a 4 unit apartment building).
While we have moved in, before we closed on the condo, we signed a separate document with our seller acknowledging the work they still need to do on our place, which includes fixing our call box (which currently does not work for our unit), and a number of other minor things.
Although we have minor problems, our neighbor in the building has more serious issues, and the contractors never finished the neighbor’s closets that she request built in the condo as part of the settlement.
We also recently found out, upon the transfer of the DC Water bill, that he had not been paying the water bill for months. (more…)
Photo by PoPville flickr user washingtonydc
“Dear PoPville,
I recently bought a 110-year old rowhouse that appears to have some original interior wood trim around the window frames and baseboards. I’m interested in finding someone to repair/replace the old baseboard and interior door frames, interior staircase handrail, other assorted woodwork. Any recommendations for carpenters or woodworkers?”
Photo by PoPville flickr user Beau Finley
“Dear PoPville,
I’m a Ward 1 homeowner with a 50+ foot tall cherry tree in my enclosed (alley-less) backyard. While I’m an admitted “tree-hugger,” this one has already cost me several thousand bucks to prune after a limb fell on a neighbor’s house after the 2012 derecho. I’d like to save the tree, but a professional arborist said it requires pruning every 5-6 years to prevent overgrowth which can act like a sail during high winds. At several thousand dollars per haircut, I’m afraid it’s an unaffordable proposition in the long term. Curious if other homeowners have the same problem and what recommendations exist from the hive.”
Photo by PoPville flickr user James Crane
“Dear PoPville,
I was wondering if anyone knew if a landlord can charge you for cleaning/maintenance fees after you’ve moved out if they weren’t stipulated in your lease or move-out letter. I paid $250 to move into a building back in 2012 and recently moved out due to the horrible management (this is not an isolated incident; long-time tenants of my building are moving out in droves) but was never required to pay a security deposit. This new management company (Alvin L. Aubinoe – run!) is the third one to take over since I moved in, and the fourth overall. When I asked for a copy of the move-out policy (at least three times) the property manager didn’t provide it. After never receiving anything and securing a new place, I submitted my 30-day notice and received an acknowledgment letter. The letter outlined the basics – return your keys, don’t leave anything in the apartment, clean the fridge and stove. I did all of these things, returned the keys, and never heard anything for over a month.
Over the weekend I received a letter from my ex-landlord with photos of my stove and freezer, and a broken kitchen cabinet latch that had been broken for a LONG time, along with a bill for $400 (a $300 cleaning fee and $100 for the broken latch).I had asked previous management companies to fix it to no avail, and the new company had done three inspections in the past six months (including one for “improvements”) but didn’t fix it. I was present during all of these inspections and they saw it, and acknowledged it – but never did anything to fix it. I also don’t believe wiping down a freezer and oven (not stove) would cost $300 and if so, shouldn’t they have mentioned that in my move-out letter?
My partner and I went above and beyond to clean the apartment, including abating the mold in the bathroom ourselves – something they ignored for some time.
While I am not against paying reasonable, and warranted, fees, I believe if I am not contractually obligated to under my lease, they should have at minimum provided me with this potential fee in writing.
This rental company has been a horror to work with, and my building went downhill FAST since they took over in October 2016. Packages were stolen, the property manager screamed at my partner on the phone after he asked a simple question, and she ignored my emails and shrugged off my requests. (more…)
“Dear PoPville,
I live on the 2nd floor of 800 P St, the west building of City Market at O. Early Saturday morning (July 15th), a 6-inch pipe on or at the roof level burst, damaging maybe 3/4 of the apartments (some are near total losses). The building owners, the construction company, and management do not seem to want the city involved, and even tried to prevent residents whose units were flooding from calling the fire department. HUGE mess throughout the building, poor communication from management, and parades of workers filing throughout the building day and night, going apartment to apartment and ripping up flooring, drilling holes in walls, and leaving large industrial fans and dehumidifiers in place. (more…)
Photo by PoPville flickr user Phil
“Dear PoPville,
I’d love to know what people are planning to do for the Aug. 21 total solar eclipse. I’ve been looking at flights to various cities in the path, as well as just an 8 hour drive south.”
“Dear PoPville,
I noticed that very recently the crosswalk countdown timers now only display the countdown numbers when the “don’t walk” hand begins to flash. The countdown timer used to begin as soon as the “walk” was lit up. Not sure if this is everywhere or just downtown (where I both live and work). Any idea why they made the change?”
“Dear PoPville,
Crazy driver waving gun out window
Driving up 14th street a car was driving into my lane so I honked to alert it to my presence. When behind me, he gave two middle fingers. Whatever. When he later passed me, he waved what looked like an assault rifle (but I’m guessing is just a paintball gun or something similar) out the driver side window. This was a 30-something white hipster looking guy in a silver/gold-ish Smart Car with a sticker that said something like “your car may be fat but mine can fit anywhere.” Immediate called 911 who took the info, then asked if I wanted them to respond to where the incident happened (despite my saying both cars had moved on from there).”
Photo by PoPville flickr user dcsplicer
“Dear PoPville,
My husband and I live in a one bedroom apartment in Shaw (hubs bought it over ten years ago). We love our location. It is a tight space for two people but we make it work (dimensions are similar to a train car: long and narrow but with higher ceilings). We are expecting our first baby (a baby girl!) in January. What advice do you have to offer on making a small space work with a newborn? We’d like to stay here until she is walking. We know it will be challenging but am also aware that we are blessed with what we have. Thank you for your help PoPville people!”