r/Eugene • u/danielediabla • 2d ago
$200 late fee on $2000/month rent
This amount seems very unreasonable to me. That’s 10% of my rent. 5% seems much more reasonable. I’ve lived here for 2 years and have never been late with rent but somehow I totally spaced making my payment until 5 days after rent was due.
UPDATE: I took some of ya’lls advice and emailed property management and got the fee waived! Thanks for all of the help :)
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u/Slut_for_Bacon 1d ago
I mean, the late fee amount is in your lease. Either the landlord is charging more than what is in your lease, or you signed a lease agreeing to pay 200 for a late fee.
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u/danielediabla 1d ago
Yes I did look at my lease and it is $200. I never had a reason to look at it until now. That wasn’t really my point to my post though. I was just wondering if anyone else thought this was unreasonably high.
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u/geneva_illusions 1d ago
I'm sorry... But you had every reason to look at it. You signed a legally binding contract.
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u/danielediabla 1d ago
I did look at it when I first signed it. That was long ago so I had forgotten what it was and the late fee was never a deal breaker for me when considering all of the other aspects of this apartment and the complex. But I’m just now realizing how unreasonably high the fee is. So again, I am just asking other people’s opinion on the amount.
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u/Captn_Insanso 1d ago
Don’t be late on your rent again! I know that’s easier said than done though.
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u/danielediabla 1d ago
Oh I know definitely won’t do this again. I’ve always been very good at making payments on my bills. Just some crazy life circumstances caused me to forget. Costly lesson learned!
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u/Captn_Insanso 1d ago
Exactly this! Just an expensive lesson. I just learned an expensive lesson as well. Mine was a 10k lesson though. Just gotta keep going.
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u/danielediabla 1d ago
Damn sorry to hear that! It’s always the hard lessons like that that stick the most.
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u/LyannaSerra 1d ago
You might also try reaching out to your property manager directly. Sometimes, on your first late payment, they will waive the late fee.
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u/refriedgreens22 1d ago
First, try imagining you paid late 4 times, and the late fee was $50 each time. Finally after 4 late fees paid, you learned your lesson.
Now, in the real world, you have paid the same amount of fees but saved three months of stress. 😃
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u/RosellaDella93 1d ago
A "legally binding contract" isn't legally binding if parts of it are illegal, actually. Oregon law states (ORS 90.302) that 5% is the cap for late fees. He needs to take his contract and go report his landlord.
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u/Slut_for_Bacon 1d ago
It's high, yes, but not to the point where it's worth trying to fight. The law is pretty vague when it comes to the exact wording of how much us too much.
Basically, you're gonna have to pay it, sorry.
I strongly recommend people read through all that stuff in their leases. Information is power.
Personally, I wouldn't want to live somewhere that charges that much for a late fee, just because it tells me how greedy they are, and makes me think they're gonna try to get other money out of me somewhere.
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u/geneva_illusions 1d ago
The time to adjudicate whether you thought it was unreasonably high was before you signed the lease. Sorry to be blunt.
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u/danielediabla 1d ago
Honestly, you are rude. Im not angry about it, or will trying to fight it. It does not matter what I thought when I signed the lease as there were so many other factors that overrode the late fee percentage. I’m literally just asking other people if they also think it is high. Just was wondering if it’s out of the norm for future reference.
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u/geneva_illusions 1d ago
You know how you could have avoided all of this? Communicating with your landlord. Understanding the terms of your lease. Not missing payments.
You know what doesn't help you? Being offended by strangers on the Internet giving you a reasonable response to your issue (that you asked strangers to opine about).
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u/danielediabla 1d ago
Dude holy shit….. Why would I communicate with my landlord when that’s the rate they set for late fees for everyone? Not much to do there. I literally said it was my fault and I am not angry at anyone but myself for missing a payment. Also I’m not offended, I’m baffled by your lack of understanding of how simple my post is. I wanted to know other people’s opinions on the amount. Not because I’m angry, not because I want to fight it, but because I am CURIOUS and want to know for future reference. Your responses have been everything BUT reasonable because you’re pointing out issues that I never asked about.
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u/geneva_illusions 1d ago
You seem very unstable. Good luck.
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u/danielediabla 1d ago
Explain how I’m unstable? I was trying to be nice at first, but you just kept getting more rude and acting like you are intellectually superior. Even though you clearly couldn’t understand that I asked a simply question and that’s it.
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u/BeeRepresentative27 1d ago
Some people cared to respond to you. And now they regret it due to your attitude.
You signed a lease with a high late fee. Pay the bill, don't be late again and move on.
Or be an asshat. Your choice.
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u/danielediabla 1d ago
I know what has to be done. I wasn’t arguing against having to pay it whatsoever and made it known that I know it was on my lease and took responsibility. I was an asshat because they were an asshat first. I am moving on. The entire point of my post was to just get some opinions on the fee amount and if other people thought it was unreasonably high…… that’s literally it.
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u/geneva_illusions 1d ago
I think OP is a decent person and the comments I made were judgemental. We should try to lift each other up instead of tearing each other down. I was out of pocket to trash someone. I apologize to OP and I'll be a better person. I'm sorry.
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u/geneva_illusions 1d ago
I treated OP that way because I was having a frustrating night. That's really stupid to be mean to a stranger just because you're overwhelmed. I really do offer an apology. I don't know why I thought it was helpful to me to be cruel. I'll be better.
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u/geneva_illusions 1d ago
Ok... Well I don't care if I was rude. Sure, that seems high. What does it matter though? You agreed to a contract and you're now in violation of the agreement. So you get the agreed upon penalty. Is $200 a normal late fee... No. That's higher than I'm familiar with. The time to adjudicate that point is before you sign the contract. What do you want anyone to tell you? You signed a contract and now you'll be beholden to it.
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u/danielediabla 1d ago
I literally don’t fucking care if it was in the contract. I know I have to pay it and I’m not angry because it was my fault for getting a late fee. My SOLE AND ONLY point in making this post was to see other people’s opinions on the amount of the fee for future reference and also just curiosity. What do I want anyone to tell me?? THEIR OPINION ON THE AMOUNT. That’s literally all. You’re making this way deeper than it actually is
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u/geneva_illusions 1d ago
YOU agreed on a legally binding document to pay that amount if you were late on payments. What does it matter what other people think about the amount? You agreed to it when you signed the contract.
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u/danielediabla 1d ago edited 1d ago
HOLY CRAP!! I KNOW!!! I KNOW HOW LEASES WORK YOU MISERABLE HUMAN BEING!! I AM ASKING BECAUSE I AM SIMPLY CURIOUS OF WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK!!! ITS NOT THAT DEEP!!!! THERE DOESN’T HAVE TO BE A DEEPER MEANING TO EVERY SINGLE THING SOMEONE ASKS
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u/geneva_illusions 1d ago
Yikes.
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u/danielediabla 1d ago
Yikes? You’re miserable. I asked a simple question to get other people’s opinions out of curiosity. Not because I won’t pay it, or am angry, or want to fight it, or because I don’t think I should pay it. I know I signed a lease with that set amount and that it is legally binding. I am simply curious of what other people think. That’s it. It’s not any deeper than that. And you come at me with all of this shit I never asked about, being horribly rude, and speaking to me as if I lack intelligence.
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u/BeeRepresentative27 1d ago
You signed it.
You have zero recourse. Sorry.
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u/danielediabla 1d ago
I never wanted to see if there was recourse. Read my post. I am simply asking for other people’s opinions on the amount and if other people think it is unreasonably high.
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u/L_Ardman 1d ago
The late fee should not exceed the "customary amount charged by landlords for [this] rental market". But that's a bit hard to prove.
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u/trash_dad_ 1d ago
This^
And here's the link to that law
It's super frustrating because it feels like oregon law is created to support landlords and the only way to be treated fairly is to know the law and advocate for your needs. Landlords can essentially do whatever they want because there's no oversight.
The burden is always on the tenant. And it sucks
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u/Greedy_Disaster_3130 1d ago
Oregon has the most pro-tenant laws in the country
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u/Jmfroggie 1d ago
Which is sad considering how hard it is as a tenant.
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u/Greedy_Disaster_3130 23h ago
I think it’s hard because inventory is low and rents and competition are high; I don’t think being a renter is hard because of the laws in Oregon
I think the laws in Oregon are more than fair for tenants
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u/Hatronach 1d ago
I would just call your landlord. Everyone here is very quick to get into the legal side of things. Of course there’s no recourse there.
If it were me I’d call my landlord/ rental company and have a conversation. Something like “I’ve been a tenant for 2 years and have never been late. I just spaced it this month and am reaching out to check if there’s any leniency in the late fee?”
Just be pleasant and maybe they’ll help you out. Good luck.
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u/danielediabla 1d ago
Thank you this is great advice. Yes I never wanted to pursue this in the legal sense. I was merely asking for other people’s opinions on this amount but thanks for giving some helpful tips.
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u/trash_dad_ 1d ago
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u/danielediabla 1d ago
That’s interesting wording. How do we know what is a “reasonable amount”? Seems like an easy way for landlords to get away with charging high amounts but I could be wrong
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u/TargetSufficient229 1d ago
I’d ask them to waive it and explain what happened. The late fee is high where I live to, but they will waive one late fee per year. I bet your landlords will that for you especially because you’ve been so diligent until now. Good luck to ya
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u/HelpfulRoyal 1d ago
Gosh, that seems high :(
And of course housing is hard enough to find without trying to argue over the finer points of your boilerplate lease. States sometimes have laws about how much landlords can charge for things like late fees and rent hikes.
You might try these guys: https://www.reddit.com/user/HotlineAtSETA/
I suspect that the people giving you hostile replies probably had a tough childhood or something. Try not to take it personal, you asked a decent and well worded question.
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u/danielediabla 1d ago
Exactly. For what my apartment offers, a high late fee wasn’t a deal breaker. I just never gave the amount much thought until it actually came into play. Just was wondering if it seemed high to anyone else because I don’t know a whole lot about it. And thank you I will take a look at that. Thanks for being kind!
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u/Viktor_Vildras 1d ago
Depending on how long you have been there, and the reason for the fee, might be worth asking your landlord to waive it.
Good tenants suck to replace, and it might not be worth the $200 to them to deal with it.
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u/PVT_Huds0n 1d ago
That does seem high, but as you stated it's on your lease. Also if you know you're going to be late on your rent, why not just talk with your landlord to see if there is any flexibility?
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u/danielediabla 1d ago
I never knew I was going to be late. I’ve never been late in a payment before in my life but some crazy life circumstances made me totally space making my payment for some reason. They have payment plans in place so you can pay rent in smaller amounts 2-4 times per month. I don’t need that payment plan because I’m not short on cash, just totally spaced it. My question was simply out of curiosity of what other people thought about the amount.
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u/PVT_Huds0n 1d ago
Well I agree, it does sound high. It would make sense if rents were more affordable, I think with rent exploding and wages stagnating, that it should just be a fixed amount.
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u/geneva_illusions 1d ago
Literally all I was trying to say. I still offer my friendship to op. I bet we have more in common than any of this conversation suggests.
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u/danielediabla 1d ago
Honestly you came at me rude from get go. You didn’t ask questions, you just made tons of assumptions about me. You also couldn’t understand that I don’t care about anything else but what other people think about the amount of the fee, even when it tried explaining that to you. Then when I got more frustrated with your responses and will-full lack of understanding, you called me unstable and reported me to Reddit.
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u/Shoddy-Violinist-608 1d ago
Bring it up with management and if your record is clean you should have no issue getting this fee removed!
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u/RosellaDella93 1d ago
State of Oregon has a 5% cap on late fees (ORS 90.302) he can't charge you 10%. If you've already paid it, take your contract and your invoice and go report your landlord for illegal practices.
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u/geneva_illusions 1d ago
Look at your lease documents. If you signed the lease agreeing to that... You'll owe it. If your lease says something else... You have a leg to stand on. It does seem quite high.
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u/danielediabla 1d ago
Why are you making THREE separate comments to be rude??? I feel sorry for the people in your life. MY ONLY QUESTION WAS IF THIS AMOUNT SEEMED UNREASONABLY HIGH TO ANYONE ELSE! I never said I shouldn’t have to pay it, I never said I was angry, I never said I wanted to fight it. Also, what the fuck do you mean by my leg seems high?
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u/geneva_illusions 1d ago
"a leg to stand on" is a very common adage and most people wouldn't read that comment and think it's about a literal leg.
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u/danielediabla 1d ago
Im well aware of that term. I was asking about your add on about how high it is. As in I’m on a high horse? Or what? What were you implying there?
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u/geneva_illusions 1d ago
I said that if your lease doesn't state that amount of money for penalty... That you have plenty of recourse to argue against it. I really don't care at this point. Leg to stand on = you have something to fight back against. I really don't care. You're obviously a problematic person which is probably why you don't pay your bills. Enough talking to the clown
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u/danielediabla 1d ago
I know what leg to stand on means. You said it was high so I asked what that particular part meant. Also, I literally stated that I have never been late paying my rent in 2 years except this time I forgot due to some crazy life circumstances, which I way I am not angry at the landlord for that price. You just made up the fact that I don’t pay my bills based on one single late payment. Crazy. Also, reporting me to Reddit is psycho work.
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u/geneva_illusions 1d ago
If someone "reported you" it was not me. I said if we hung out I bet we would find common ground. I have no motivation to "report you". I don't dislike you. I honestly think if we met we would have more in common than not.
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u/geneva_illusions 1d ago
I have no animosity towards you. We didn't see eye to eye on a discussion; however, we don't know each other. Maybe one day we will meet. In the interim... I wish you good tidings. There's no reason for us to be enemies.
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u/shrimpywimpyguy 1d ago
I work in property management in Eugene and $200 is wild. We charge a flat $50 fee no matter the price of rent.
I would definitely bring the updated housing code with you to have a very friendly chat with your landlord. You know, flies and honey. Eugene has passed soooo many renter protection ordinances in the last couple years that apply to ALL renters, not just those that signed a lease after they were passed.
If your landlord or PM company is not amenable, then quietly report to the city. If you mention anything to do with lawyers, they will stop talking with you and refer you to an attorney, which likely won’t work out in your favor.
Doubly frustrating since you don’t have a history of kate payments. Always worth a shot requesting the charge be removed. Good luck!
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u/Jmfroggie 1d ago
Usually places will waive a late fee once.
Usually rent has a grace period of 5-6 days.
Find out what other rentals charge as a late fee and present this to the landlord if they refuse to waive it one time and say you’ll take it to the tenant association for help.
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u/XandoToaster 1d ago
Just to add data, I've lived three places in the last six years, and their late fees were $75, $75, and $100, with the last one having a rent similar to yours
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u/RiotsAndWarfare 1d ago
Pissing away $2000 a month is rediculous.
You could get a new motorhome for less than that per month.
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u/danielediabla 1d ago
Wow you seem like a LOVELY person. Are you assuming I live alone? We have a 2 bed/2 bath apartment and the complex is only about 3 years old. All utilities except electric included. In unit washer/dryer. Security that patrols the grounds at night. The entire complex is beautiful and has great landscaping. Just a nice place to live. Not sure how that is pissing away $2,000... I’m extremely happy with my living situation. You seem to be projecting. Go seek therapy.
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u/seaofthievesnutzz 1d ago
and just live in a motorhome on the side of the road with no utilities?
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u/RiotsAndWarfare 1d ago
There are options that could still work out less than 2000 a month where you have utility hookups...
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u/danielediabla 1d ago
Do you think that if I wanted to live in a motorhome, then I would? Ever think there might be people out there that want to live in a nice place that feels secure?
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u/RiotsAndWarfare 1d ago
You buy a motorhome, live frugaly, buy property, live in your motorhome on that property, build your house.
Or spend $2000+ a month that buys you nothing, where is the SECURITY in that??
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u/danielediabla 1d ago
Nope. My living situation is extremely important to me. I want to be comfortable and happy. I have absolutely no way to buy an entire motorhome, let alone property or building a house. Never would live in a motorhome unless I had no choice. I lived in one half of my childhood and I absolutely hated it. So no. Also never asked for your advice on my rent and other options.
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u/RiotsAndWarfare 1d ago
You posted this BS on a public forum, crying about rent and bs interest... i left a comment not knowing who or what you are... ALSO, I never asked for your reply to my comment.
so you and your rediculous rent can gfy's
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u/danielediabla 1d ago
Show me where I cried about rent? Please show me an exact quote. I included my rent amount because I figured it would give people context for the late fee amount. The entire point of my post is to get other people’s opinion on the late fee amount because I was curious if it seemed unreasonably high to anyone else. Also, how tf is asking people’s opinion “BS”?? And YOU didn’t ask?? This is MY post. Don’t come on MY post replying some BS that is completely unrelated to my question.
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u/RiotsAndWarfare 1d ago
This is MYYYYY post... LOL.
Shaddap, once you wrote your crappy post on reddit, it belongs to reddit.
Enjoy pissing your life away paying rent. How many hours do you work to pay that $2,000? Btw, rents going up, enjoy.
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u/danielediabla 1d ago
How in the world was it crappy? Asking people’s opinion on a simple topic is crappy now? People can’t have discussions about it?
And yes I will enjoy living comfortably in the apartment that I love. It’s well worth the money to me. Everyone values things differently and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. You don’t value it, but there’s no reason to come at me just because I live my life differently than you would.
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u/seaofthievesnutzz 1d ago
So instead of a 3 bedroom house you would rather live in a motorhome with your wife and kids?
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u/RiotsAndWarfare 1d ago
If my plan was building a house, YES.
Not some junker motorhome. But yes, i would.
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u/seaofthievesnutzz 1d ago
do you currently live in a motorhome? and if not why not?
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u/RiotsAndWarfare 1d ago
do you currently go by the name Karin? And if not, why not? Youre awfully nosey.
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u/seaofthievesnutzz 1d ago
so is that a yes on the motorhome? I for instance don't live in a motorhome but a studio for 600 a month. Would you suggest I live in a motorhome instead?
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u/RiotsAndWarfare 1d ago
RENT is a waste of money... You are giving somebody else money, to pay THEIR mortgage basically.
I suggested a motorhome, because it's something you can buy, move, and use as a temporary home on property you purchase while you build a home.
I do not live in a motorhome. Why do you CARE so much where I live?
I made a decent suggestion to get out from under RENT.. Instead of paying 2k a month on something somebody else owns, why not spend half that on a new motorhome, and put the other half towards property? That was the point, and you people got shitty with me for even suggesting that.
The OP here, called me a bad person for even suggesting such a thing.. which is fucking ODD as fuck... but hey, fuck me right!?
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u/seaofthievesnutzz 1d ago edited 1d ago
INTEREST is a waste of money, You are giving a bank money to pay for THEIR home loan. I suggest being homeless while you continue to be homeless forever cause you don't know how to build a house, don't have the money to buy land/pull permits. (bro food is also a waste of money, you just poop it all out in the end!)
I do not live in a motorhome cause I work and live in town and there aren't vacant lots where the city is cool with me just posting up a motorhome here in town.
I'm making a decent suggestion to get from under INTEREST....instead of paying all your money to interest you can live in a stick hut on an island in the Willamette river and eat people who come by. That is my point but you are getting shitty with me for even suggesting living hand to hand to mouth all while remaining carbon neutral.
Many will call me a bad person for even suggesting such a thing.. which is fucking ODD as fuck... but hey , fuck me right?
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u/Accurate_Secret4102 1d ago
I have never received a late fee more than $50. I don't know about legality, but it's not a fair fee.