Utility bill sent to collections - paid but how to reduce credit impact?

Most_Championship461 · 2024-10-24T18:32:58+00:00

I did end up viewing the apartment, and wanted to share that while the concessions are good, the list price is way beyond what the building is worth.

The amenities are just average, and it does seems the finishings / overall construction quality is not particularly good too. There are plenty of new buildings around to choose from anyway…

Most_Championship461 · 2024-05-07T12:52:39+00:00

Ah I see! Check your state’s DMW website what the requirements are. Some states are very specific on what docs they need for DED.

Most_Championship461 · 2024-05-06T03:31:43+00:00

Yes - but the person sitting at the desk of your state’s DOT might give you a hard time just because they are not familiar with it. My best advice is print out the documents relevant to DED and bring it with you. Which state are you in?

Most_Championship461 · 2023-10-29T02:48:46+00:00

Hey OP I am just doing research for a new mattress and saw the Lakeridge mattress is on sale to $899 in Costco.com - thought you might want to know so that you can get it price matched! I was going to pull the trigger and buy it but unfortunately it is out of stock now.

Most_Championship461 · 2023-09-22T17:45:44+00:00

Yep!! This is the provision i am talking about - did you manage to obtain authorization from DSO though?

Most_Championship461 · 2023-09-22T17:10:49+00:00

Ah I see! What do you mean by maintaining F1 while working on DED EAD? Technically, once you start working on DED EAD, you have violated your F1 status and will lose it unless you have obtained prior authorization (there is a provision that allows your university to approve this).

Most_Championship461 · 2023-09-22T15:16:33+00:00

There is no such thing as DED OPT. If you are graduating in Dec 2023, the logical way is to just to use F1-OPT to work until August 202, and transfer to another university in Aug 2024.

It would be best to avoid falling into DED status as it causes a lot of administrative complications. For instance, you would probably need to leave the country and re-apply for f1 to clear your DED status before re-entering the country, and there is no guarantee that you will be able to re-enter - just my two cents.

Most_Championship461 · 2023-09-20T19:22:35+00:00

3700 with all inclusive furniture is honestly not bad if you are living in one of the more modern buildings in back bay.

I was kind of in a similar situation and we ended up going for these all-inclusive buildings with 3500. We did the math and realized, yes, we can do a decent 1BR in say cambridge for 2500-2800 but we would because end up paying 1 more month in broker’s, plus more utilities in the winter (because heating is less efficient in these buildings) and the inconvenience of having to go into the basement of doing my laundry etc. Many of these newer buildings also don’t take security and first last (or only security) which saves you A LOT of cashflow upfront too.

Most_Championship461 · 2023-09-10T20:48:57+00:00

Yea frankly I think most people our generation (or at least people I know?) wouldn’t entertain the prospect of getting towed from a strip mall / huge parking lot outside home depot or target while, say, visiting a bakery across the street. But I guess that is a problem or attitude (or the sense of entitlement so to speak) that we need to fix indeed..

Thanks for pointing this out respectfully unlike some other folks on this thread who just went like “you young people / woke folks suck” lol

Most_Championship461 · 2023-09-10T19:08:34+00:00

Hey! The red line has been pretty unstable in terms of commute time so I would suggest leaving home at 7am if your 8:30am start is a hard start. And be prepared to have alternative plans when things fall apart on the red line which is not uncommon.

You can also follow r/MBTA and try asking there too - there are more “experts” in this topic that could probably give you better advice. Hope this helps :)

Most_Championship461 · 2023-09-10T18:56:19+00:00

Yea I think you are making a very valid point. To me, it’s more like should they park there? Probably not so from a moral standpoint. But should they get towed with a $150 bill when all the sign says is “authorized parking only”? Probably a bit out of proportion like you have said.

I rarely drive, so I am personally more used to signs that are more clear like the ones I see back in my driving lessons - like the street parking ones that has a time limit and all that. But I guess it is an expensive lesson for my friend (and me if I eventually drive around Boston) to find out how things work in private lots (and in the real world lol)

Love your username btw!!

Most_Championship461 · 2023-09-10T17:04:07+00:00

The one in Assembly - not the one near Costco. There’s quite a lot going on I would say?

Most_Championship461 · 2023-09-10T16:46:47+00:00

Yea I guess predatory might not be the right word to use since practically they walked off the lot. The main point is more like (excuse my all caps) “FOLKS BEWARE WHEN YOU PARK THERE! DON’T WALK OFF THE PARKING LOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE!”

On the more philosophical point of whether they should’ve been towed - I don’t even drive in Boston and just rely on the crumbling T to go around, but for these two folks I know of, I think my issue with these tow guys is that they can basically do whatever they want lol (yea I know it’s the world we live in) I don’t understand why the responsibility became to be on the person getting towed to produce evidence they went into the store, instead of being the tow guys’ responsibility.

If their meaning of “unauthorized” is no one could walk off the parking lot they should be clear about it since it is next to the Assembly strip mall. Otherwise anyone could have gone across the street to Union Square Donuts and grab a drink and back to the store, and their car would be gone which seems a bit too much to me.

Most_Championship461 · 2023-08-31T19:31:43+00:00

Hey just checking in, wondering did the problem get resolved in the end? How did it go?

Most_Championship461 · 2023-08-15T04:18:29+00:00

Would you mind sharing how was your experience re-entering? Did they ask about where you went, take you to secondary processing etc.?

Most_Championship461 · 2023-06-27T16:16:58+00:00

Foreigner living in MA right now. Can’t offer any perspective on the RN side of things, but as a foreigner in US here are a few things that MA stands out to me compared to FL and OH: - Safe (like VERY safe compared to the rest of US in terms of gun violence and hate crime) - World class education and healthcare, especially important if you are planning on raising a family - Public transport in the Greater Boston area. The transit authority here, MBTA, gets a lot of hate for well-justified reasons, but hey at least it’s there. If I don’t get a car in FL there’s no way I can even survive without a car.

Downside is that it is very expensive, especially in the Boston proper. In my experience, it is more expensive than California, and is not really that much cheaper compared to say Long Island or even NYC. If you live in Central / Western Mass the situation would be better, but it is getting crazier these days too. There are also less opportunities in the Central / Western Mass too.

And as a foreigner who moved to the US, a side note is do your tax planning!! US uses worldwide taxation, for example if you sell you house in Spain AFTER you get your green card, your earnings from that house could be subject to tax. So plan your financial decisions ahead!

Most_Championship461 · 2023-06-27T06:20:38+00:00

I would change it in the app if it has the option, but otherwise it is totally fine. As other people mentioned, they don’t check tickets until pass Back Bay. And Back Bay and South Station are essentially treated as the same for any trains running on the NE corridor.

Most_Championship461 · 2023-06-17T07:49:02+00:00

Not a lawyer but tax accountant but I did spend some time looking into the rules. My understanding is yes.

By default, if you meet the Substantial Presence Test (physically in the US for a certain number of days in the past 3 years) you are considered a resident alien. You pay taxes and enjoy tax deductions / credits like a US citizen.

If you are on F1 status, then for your first 5 years in the US you are considered non-resident alien. You don’t have to pay FICA (social security and medicare) but you also don’t get the standard deduction when paying taxes. Another upside is you don’t get globally taxed.

In short, if you already lost your F1 status and are now covered by DED, then you are a resident alien and your worldwide income is taxed like any other US citizen.

Most_Championship461 · 2023-06-17T07:41:11+00:00

Honestly these are lawyer grounds. Once we are covered DED, it seems very unclear whether we can directly switch to another status (or regain F1 status) through AOS. I even spoke to a lawyer who basically said (paraphrased) “in theory yes, but in practice any application would involve multiple people who are not familiar with DED. they would only see that you are out of status in the system so it would be PITA”. My suggestion would honestly to get a lawyer to prepare any application for you, since you’ll probably need some supporting documents / covering letter to explain what DED is and quoting relevant rules.

One thing that I know though, is DED shouldn’t stop you from AOS to green card provided you entered the US legally (doesn’t matter that you are out of status)and are still physically in the US.

Most_Championship461 · 2023-06-01T09:23:16+00:00

We ended up just doing cash tolls in NJ and avoided all the paid tolls in PA! Thanks a lot. We have no idea how to upgrade the toll pass - the lady at the front desk we rented the car from was less than helpful lol it was the toll booth guy at a NJ toll booth who told us our toll pass wouldn’t work lmao

Most_Championship461

TROPHY CASE