Choosing a rental house

[bonz]

Hello farmers, i rented and grew in a house for 12 years, owner sold house, im looking for a new one and would appreciate any input, gonna be runnin' 4k give or take. thanks:sun

 

[GreenThumbBill]

Don't tell the landlords what you're doing, avoid school zones, try to find a place through a property management service or rent from an owner who lives far away. Avoid the "right around the corner" landlord by all means.

The more distance between you and your neighbors the better. Pre existing 6ft privacy fences are good. Make sure you future proof by finding a place with 200 amp service. Pre existing sub panels are desirable, but at least take inventory of the main panel and make sure there is space for 30-50amps.

Unfinished basements are better than spare bedrooms. Pre existing work sinks are nice. Finished basements with lowered ceilings are a pain to deal with when it comes time to hang lights. Try to avoid those.

Make sure there is a water source in the area of the house you will be growing. Transporting water across the house sucks.

That's about all I can think to say right now...

 

[AzGrOw-N-sMoKe]

Sound advice, as far as landlords id look for a large rental firm that handles tons of properties... they mostly never show unless called.... Az

 

[GreenThumbBill]

Sound advice, as far as landlords id look for a large rental firm that handles tons of properties... they mostly never show unless called.... Az

Hey whatup AZ. You still killin the hempy buckets bro? Your thread over at that other forum inspired me to run hempies. Did them for about a year solid I liked em so much. Anyway, good to see you around.

 

[ogplatinum]

Sound advice, as far as landlords id look for a large rental firm that handles tons of properties... they mostly never show unless called.... Az

Seconded, property managing landlords more than likely have over 10 rentals they oversee, so if you just sent your rent on the 1st every month they more than likely WILL NEVER SHOW UP. Unless you call or they give a 24hr notice.

In the same situation as you bro....My property owner just came by (24hrs notice) to take measurements for a "future renovation to sell in a year or two".
Yeah im pissed lol.


Good luck!

 

[bonz]

thanks GTB and Az, forgot to mention im in CA, med grow, wish i could find a basement, rare in cali, visited a friends attic setup, huge A frame house, awesome setup, lotta tracts where im looking using pre-fab trusses, so thats out. Good thing is rents are low:) found 3 bdr 2 ba for 975. :)

 

[bonz]

howdy ogp, yeah it really sucked, had my place dialed to say the least, the last year i was there owners were in and out alot, i had to hide and cover things and finally just shut it down. good luck to you :)

 

[Seed Buyer]

Always change the locks or have them re-keyed before you set up shop.

 

[ttystikk]

So it sounds like you're going to be forced to do a spare bedroom grow rather than an attic or basement. Nothing wrong with that- just be sure that door is ALWAYS locked and no one else has a key. Keep everything related to your grow in that bedroom, nothing laying around in the livingroom if 'maintenance' does decide to drop in on you.

 

[singingcrow]

I kind of like using spare bedrooms. Lots of times there is an attached bathroom and you can run a hose connector to the faucet if you plan on doing hydro.

Locking the room is a good thing. Incase it's not mentioned... if you use the spare room you will need to do a few things to make sure the landlords don't stick you with thousands of dollars of dmg: don't remove carpet, but cover with a thick plastic or tarping and tape with painter's blue tape above the baseboards, at least 6" high (incase of major water issues). Make sure the room has a glossy coat of white. Don't bother asking the landlords if you can paint.. they will always say yes to white (even if they don't love gloss). Without a gloss, moisture and smell from the plants will permeate sheetrock and basically make the room uninhabitable for a non-growing tenant.

Lastly, Im in CA too and know.. try to avoid those popcorn ceilings at all cost. Make a huge mess when drilling. Plan on finding studs and mounting heavy wood on walls to keep ballasts up. Much better than on the floor or on a shelf. No matter what room you use, this will be best. Anyway, popcorn ceilings just shed all the time.. ugh.

Good luck!!

 

[FromGROtoFLO]

From personal experience (it doesnt sound like youre trying to make an operation out of this) change rentals often avoid snooping landlords and neighbors entirely. Look for a 1 year lease then move on. Best way to cover your ass.

 

[PotDragon]

House Thoughts....

Been doing this more than a dozen years over 4 states....

1- ALWAYS call a locksmith DAY ONE and have the LOCK CYLINDERS changed. DO NOT let the locksmith "change" the lock or upsell you to a new deadbolt or whatever. This makes the landlords key still slide into the lock....just not work. No visual change to door/lock.

2- If you need a lock on the bedroom door, you are in the wrong spot. You should have complete control of building access and no one should be, or will be, ever by the bedroom door who needs to be locked out.

3- The amount of extra enviroment control to run either a basement or attic grow is simply not worth it; the extra cash is better spent on a larger, more upscale residence. Basements are stangnent, drainage involves pumps, basement stairs are terrible to haul stuff down. Attics are so freaking hot you need 2 dimes worth of insulation, plus extra fans & ac units; all to have too little headroom & the thrill of climbing into the ceiling daily sloshing buckets. Yippeee!

4- Choose a house in a neighborhood you fit in. Don't be the only white dude on the block. Don't have a crap car in a gated community. Don't park your new Lexus at a $750 a month rental.

5- Don't rent from a property manager you don't like. Certain people rub us the wrong way, and we play the rubber sometimes too. (Rubber?) If you do not "gel" with this person, RUN.

6- Pick a house you like, because you, my friend, are going to be home. If you dislike the color of the kitchen tile today, you are not gonna be able to go make eggs after about 6 months. That shitty little bathroom will not be more appealing after your funk gets added. Bottom line...spending all your time in a shithole makes you feel like shit.

7- Don't assume your neighbors are stupid. As I watch a dude set up a grow in the rental accross the street, I am amazed how obvious it is to me. The house looked weird to me right away but I chalked it up to "projection", but when I saw him carrying a bag of Ocean Forrest...shrug. He is now less than a month in and I already KNOW what he is doing. DO NOT get seen moving in equipment. Garage anyone?

More than I planned to write, but those are the highlights I had not seen mentioned. Stay safe. Choose wisely.

Peace.

 

[CALIbis]

On the dot pot. -CALIbis

 

[s33dling]

Good tips so far. look for a place that is not with in 1000 feet of any type of K-12 school or you are asking for trouble.

Look for a place that allows you to vent hot air from your grow with out alerting FLIR cameras. Like venting exhaust through a dryer vent or into the sub floor or basement. These things will dissipate the heat of the grow evenly and mask it from heat sensing cameras. A house with a large laundry room or a spare room very close to one would work well.

If you can afford it and stand the silence a rural rental on a acre or two is perfect. Some come with shops wired for 220v as a bonus. A lot of times these rentals are bigger and cheaper then sub urban homes.