In case you’re wondering where all the white poop has gone

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/643437/what-happened-white-dog-poop-used-be-everywhere

Meh, they can just build a lil' hut of Legos over at Methadone Mile.

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Yeah this is right- when I got my first apartment in college with 2 roommates, we got the bog-standard Boston lease with brokers fee/last month up front. We all sent it to our parents to check if it looked reasonable, and our parents (PA, CA, WA) were like "all seems normal except this extra month of rent for no reason???" pretty much exactly like OP said.

No we didn’t sign anything. I’ve looked back through all of the correspondence. Nothing there, not in the lease, it was only sent and explained after I signed the lease which is why I assumed it was fishy.

Did you sign anything else when you first met this realtor? That’s when they usually do it, when they’re asking for your name and stuff, you write it down on a document that says they’ll charge a realtor’s/broker’s fee. It’s so normal here, I’d probably just pay it unfortunately.

You just discovered the broker fee. Welcome to Boston.

> GE stock has dropped like 90% from it’s high, so I don’t think the company is doing well.

Exactly. That’s the joke.

> I’m sure LEGO is doing fine though.

For now. But they just announced their move to Boston.

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If the heads are missing and you see the shoulders and arms, exactly where are you walking when you want under it?

Or driving on Tremont where even more will see it.

It was also probably a part of the ad you saw for the first apartment or on listings for the other apartments you look at. OP- it's a racket, but not a scam.

You really need to get over it.

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Cool

The balloon one, oh man, yeah didn't air traffic and all

I dunno about the others, 10 million for this atrocity

>But I'm also curious where you're from that a broker's fee is such a completely alien concept?

I agree with the rest what you're saying, but be aware broker fees are a real rarity elsewhere and aren't as entrenched as they are in the Boston area. You might see them in NYC if you are struggling to find a place, but rarely elsewhere unless you specifically go to a broker agency (and even then they're often hired by the landlords rather than the renter).

#TIL There is a Nauset Beach in Orleans AND Eastham!

We used to rent a place at the latter and the stargazing there is joy too.

And people wonder why no one can afford to live in Boston. Boston has the real potential to become the next silicon valley housing nighmare. It already has priced many out, now unless you make millions, you are not going to live in Boston and surrounding areas.

Why does Lego have to move to Boston and not another area of the state to abate the over development, dense congestion, and turning Boston into a city that no one recognizes any more.

So long Boston, it was nice knowing you.

The cheap and quick building solution the city needs

We have ecoBees on all floors. We prefer warmer nights. This spring we are re-doing the attic so we are spray foaming.

FYI, I did look up the average consumption of homes in Cold weather climates. 50 deg ambient = 2.0 gals per day avg 40 deg ambient = 3.7 gallons 30 deg ambient = 5.3 gallons 20 deg ambient = 7.0 gallons

So it looks like we are below / on par with that with this seasons averages.

average usage article

St Louis, MO. Rented a couple places there and never paid or was asked to pay anything more than rent + security deposit.

What's the question? You found the relevant law. Throw it back in their face. Tell them to produce this agreement or pound sand. Assuming you're not forgetting that you signed this thing, they won't be able to and they won't have a leg to stand on.

But I'm also curious where you're from that a broker's fee is such a completely alien concept?

The lease doesn’t mention a broker fee.

Welcome to Boston, where the "broker fee" is a time-honored tradition. Waaay back in 2001, a friend of mine was moving out of her apartment at the same time I was looking for one. I ended up paying one months' "broker fee" and all the broker did is literally hand me the key.

When my lease was up, my landlord (I think he owned a bunch of apartments) tried to sue me for not returning the keys to the broker.

You didn't get scammed any more than anyone else who rents in the city. If anything you should look at all paperwork and check to see if the "written notice" was there in 5-point text.