Moving in Dystopia
On another thread, I recounted my effort to move to a new apartment or condo. Things have changed for the absurd. A credit check and a security deposit are no longer satisfactory to rent a dwelling. Now you have to prove you can afford it and to make sure you don't blow money stupidly -- if you do, it does not matter how much you make.
I balk at giving my bank account number and password. Period.
I have been wrestling with the three headed monster that is 2026 apartment management -- the property manager, the corporate owner, and the background check operation. You have to get past all three to be able to move in.
Here is what I got from the website of the background check creeps:
Can I use SSI or Social Security paperwork for income verification?
Unfortunately, SSI or social security paperwork is not supported in our system. This means uploading a non-pay stub document to our system will not result in a successful verification.
Are you fucking kidding me? The "system" does support reading numbers off a piece of paper.
If and when some troll contacts me, I will again offer to pay one year of rent in advance. When they turn me down, I got a plausible lawsuit -- or at least the perfect anecdote for a city council or state legislative hearing presentation.
I hate this decade with infinite rage.
Comments
Sounds like the infamous short-form tax document
.
Q - How much did you make last year?
A - $000
OK, then send it in.
1040EZ or I'm from the government and here to help you!
Are people really that gullible?
Zionism is a social disease
Resigned
I suggest is a more generous take on humanity's response to irrational power.
I cried when I wrote this song. Sue me if I play too long.
Good grief.
My secretary had a similar experience recently. She had to show the landlords her 10-99 and proof of a bank account.
This is that time of life where you consider buying an rv and living in an rv park.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Oh yeah
.
China produces some nice models
for less than half of the cost of an
American behemoth. Efficient and affordable.
Chassis Maxus-based Starting Price (USD) $32,000 Compact design, easy driving
Isuzu NPR Class C Isuzu NPR Lithium-Ion $58,000 Durable chassis, good resale
DFM Off-Road 4x4 Dongfeng DFAC Lithium-Ion + 400W Solar $95,000 All-terrain capability
Zionism is a social disease
Her plight was mild compared to what these scumbags want
I sent our 1099s to the management company and it would be ok if they wanted to see a page of my bank statement showing my SS income and my current rent. Not good enough.
They want my password so they can review everything I do with money. And they could simply steal every penny.
I still hope that this particular overreach is not universal among landlords.
I cried when I wrote this song. Sue me if I play too long.
What happens
if, after they get your password and inspect your bank account, they decide not to accept your application? Might they determine you spend too much at the liquor store, or for adult toys? Or for donations to the wrong political candidate? And how do they give you definitive proof your info doesn't remain in their system or given to others? How many of their employees are citizens bound to uphold our laws?
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
lawyers think alike
You give a nice summary of the reasons why I am not complying with the "request." And why this cynical old fart was shocked by it and why I am SO pissed off.
Thus my sarcastic dismissal of "industry security standards."
I cried when I wrote this song. Sue me if I play too long.
Socratic Method
Issues, issues...
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
To be serious,
although I am not interested in risking my life savings on this thought, I do not think these jokers working in the background check business are likely to steal my money. But once this "data" exists anywhere, nobody can guarantee that it stays put. Companies get bought out often. As OTC mentions, employees sometimes go rogue. And they can get hacked. If this cockamamy scheme becomes SOP and all these background check companies build up a catalogue of bank accounts, you can bet on hackers horning in.
Bad idea, and the more I dwell on this, the more committed I am to telling them to take their apartment and stick it where the sun don't shine.
I cried when I wrote this song. Sue me if I play too long.
There has to be a way
to sit down, produce assorted documents, have them handed right back to you without using the internet.
I had an experience with booking a vacation apt. in Illinois a year ago. After I was able to book it tentatively, they wanted things like dl photos or passport info for me and hubby, my receipt for payment of travel insurance, some info about how long I had lived in my home, although I was not officially booked. I emailed them to just forget it, that I didn't appreciate doing the paperwork required for obtaining a visa for Russia. The smart ass agent emailed me a good riddance to bad rubbish because he was not required to trust me without good reason. That made me wonder if they have had some past experiences with bad actors. I began to doubt the complex was safe.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
I'm wondering if your problem
is a regional thing. I don't rent so I'm not certain, but I don't hear people talking about having to jump through all those hoops in order to rent here in San Diego.
MAGA
Morons
Are
Governing
America
Too small a sample so far
to tell if this is common practice now. I have some hope.
My first try with another apartment that we liked ended abruptly when the background check company told me that they had no way of processing my inquiry. When I tried to contact the person who showed the property, I got no response. That was when I first encountered this multi-headed beast.
So I am now O for 2 in renting a place that I was shown and liked well enough to apply for.
This bank account password crap is SO ridiculous, I need more proof before I call it the new normal.
I cried when I wrote this song. Sue me if I play too long.
Logjam breaks
Yesterday, the apartment management company agreed to let me pay a years' rent in advance, rather than take my bank account number and password. I'm not sure how this plays out, and I will not be surprised if a dealbreaker crops up as I jump through the hoops of "wiring" the money to their bank.
I got three days to figure that shit out and my wife is justifiably leery of kissing away so much money so fast. The logic is that we will live without paying rent for 14 months as our pension checks accumulate.
So "Baby Boomers in Hell" is a movie in progress.
I cried when I wrote this song. Sue me if I play too long.