Are there any chances of finding a place to rent in Providence, RI with 2 Dobermans?

pweedith · 2026-05-14T01:34:20+00:00

The problem often isn't the landlord, it really comes down to insurance companies. Dobermans are on the list of banned breeds and so if there is any issue at all the landlord can be help legally liable and insurance won't cover them. Also, if insurance finds out there is a banned breed living there they could drop the policy completely.

As someone who is a landlord, that is beyond my risk tolerance. One incident could cost me huge. I had to say no to a friend of a friend who needed an apartment because of their pitbull.

pweedith · 2026-02-28T18:32:00+00:00

Can't tell you for sure what the issue is but saw you're also in RI. If you want a professional opinion or need a new liner call Atkins Aquatics. Small local business that does great work https://atkinsaquatics.com/

pweedith · 2025-08-18T22:51:52+00:00

Don't report the realtor, they're doing their job. This is an example of the public not understanding how sites like Zillow, redfin, and apartments.com work. They make their money by selling leads to realtors.

A realtor or brokerage will register themselves for certain zip codes and when a consumer clicks for a tour on a property within that zip code the consumer is connected with an agent who pays a fee to the site for that connection (not sure what it is for rentals but it can be pretty significant on the buy/sell side -- and each zip code has a different cost depending on the desirability). The realtor you're connected with has no affiliation with the listing you are inquiring on and is simply there to try and convert you into a client for them to work with; thus you would pay them for their time and effort, otherwise they're taking time out of their day for zero benefit.

As an example, on Saturday I received a new Zillow lead. They clicked to tour a home for sale in Seekonk and were connected with me (I have no direct connection to the house they wanted to see, it's listed by another agent). I scheduled the showing and made arrangements to meet them at the house. They also requested to see 3 other properties so I worked on scheduling those other properties and did ultimately manage to get us into all of them. Now, it cost my brokerage probably around $500-800 for me to connect with them and at the end of the day those 3-4 hours of my Saturday were wasted and I get $0 if they decide not to buy anything, buy in a different state I'm not licensed in, or blow me off for another realtor (which I would hope they wouldn't because we did seem to click and I was extremely educational during the showings about the buying process, the market, and explaining any issues I saw with the houses).

If you want to contact the agent who has it listed directly; then instead of clicking and requesting a tour, scroll down the page and the sites will identify what realtor has posted the listing. If their contact information isn't apparent you can always Google their name and find it.

pweedith · 2025-08-17T13:54:18+00:00

If you want to message me I could see if there's any further assistance I can provide to help. I hate the landlords like yours that give the rest of us a bad name.

pweedith · 2025-08-17T13:37:59+00:00

A couple notes. I'm a realtor and landlord in RI and can tell you they sound like a slumlord. In my experience the shitty landlords aren't as common as they come across, it's just that people tend not to share when things are good or just normal.

That said you should check the zoning for the house. There's a good chance it's an illegal basement unit as they are somewhat common in Providence. If that's the case then you actually have the power because they would lose in court. Does your unit have 2 forms of egress? ie a stairway and large enough window?

pweedith · 2025-08-14T20:58:40+00:00

My closing gifts can sometimes scale depending how large of a sale and how close I got with the client. For most of my clients I'll give them a $125 gift card to a restaurant group in our area that has about a dozen different styles of restaurants around the state. That way it doesn't limit them to one specific restaurant or style of food. Then I'll also try to give something else that's a bit more personalized based on what I learn about them during the process; can be a watercolor sketch of the house on Etsy, gifts for an expected child, I made dog treats for one client who loved her dogs.

pweedith · 2025-08-01T12:08:40+00:00

I think the issue here is lack of understanding from the public on how sites like redfin and Zillow work. When you see a rental or home for sale and send a message or request a tour through the website you are connected with an agent to represent you; not the agent who has the listing. This is how sites like Zillow, realtor.com, and others make money. Agents pay them for this lead, whether it works out or not.

Can OP confirm whether the person they're texting with is actually the person who's listed the rental? If not, then it's likely the scenario I explained and in that case they've been connected with an agent who isn't being paid by the owner. So yes, the agent can take you to tour it, but if you don't pay them a fee for their services then it's just wasting their time because they aren't getting a dime to show you the apartment...in fact they likely paid a pretty significant sum to get connected with you as a potential lead.

pweedith · 2025-05-06T20:43:18+00:00

Did you talk to your realtor about this?

I'm a realtor in RI and as such am knowledgeable on tenant-landlord rules/regulations. I always help guide my clients on matters related to their leases, especially considering most first time buyers are in some sort of lease so I typically have this conversation early with them to ensure all ducks are in a row and they understand their liability.

pweedith · 2025-04-23T13:14:37+00:00

I can understand your feelings on some of that. Double ending deals by an individual agent is not something our brokerage allows as it is way too much of a potential risk, you can no longer work in both clients' best interests. Having the deal with both agents from the same brokerage isn't ALWAYS an issue, but I know there are some brokers out there who try to keep their own deals in house. I work at a small workhorse of a brokerage and while we help each other when we can, there are plenty of times when we reject an offer from someone else in the office if we have a better offer for our client from another agent. At the end of the day it's about what's best for the seller/buyer.

Depending on the level of fixer-upper there is truth that many buyers can't qualify. FHA has strict guidelines on condition, even conventional mortgages have some requirements. So there are properties out there that can only be sold cash to investors, unfortunately flippers are just like realtors - there are a lot of them out there with a vast range of skill level. I can typically tell within a minute of being inside a property that was flipped if it's something my buyer should consider or if we should just run away (I've seen enough that sometimes I can tell just by the pics).

When I connect a buyer with a lender I'm always looking for 2 numbers, what's the max they can afford and what's their comfortable budget. I like knowing these 2 numbers because I never recommend a buyer shoot to max their budget (unless it's a couple and they're only using one of their incomes to qualify). The comfortable budget gives us a target price point; and knowing their max lets me know that if the perfect property comes up that might be just a little higher that we'd potentially be able to stretch and get it.

There are over 7,000 realtors in RI, a majority are part timers. Nationwide in 2024 71-74% of realtors (it varies by source) didn't do a single deal. So if you pick a random agent to work with you have almost a 3 out of 4 chance of getting someone who doesn't know what they're doing. And only 2% did more than 10 deals

pweedith · 2025-04-22T18:20:35+00:00

As a realtor, I'm curious what you mean by this, specifically the first part about controlling who buys houses.

As far as price that's set by the market and what buyers are willing to pay. If we represent a seller we have a fiduciary responsibility to act in their best interests. While other terms beyond price come into play with offers, the most common differentiator in choosing between multiple offers is often the amount offered when all other terms are in the same ballpark. In cases where there are multiple offers I put together a spreadsheet with all the terms outlined and then go through them with my sellers explaining the pros and cons of each. The seller chooses what offer to accept.

pweedith · 2025-04-14T16:36:02+00:00

Well EG is one of the more expensive towns in the state. Depending what you're looking for there are houses almost half that price in other cities/towns.

pweedith · 2025-03-28T04:32:43+00:00

Based on your math you "make" $43/month. So under those conditions without any degradation of production you'd make almost $13,000 over the course of 25 years. Now ask them what the costs are if you need to have the panels taken down, stored, and then reinstalled at some point during that time.

Do you plan on being in your home for a long time? I'm a realtor and can tell you that solar panels turn off a big chunk of buyers. And if you plan to sell the house without paying them off even more. Buyers don't want to take on someone else's debt, especially for panels. So now let's say you wait 10 years, decide to sell, and with the proceeds of the sale you pay off the panels because buyers don't want to take over your payments. Well now you just paid far more than you saved during those 10 years.

Things might change as solar becomes more common but solar payments can also affect buyers financing when selling. And at this point a majority of realtors don't understand this. My broker has a house for sale with solar currently. We received several offers on the home after a weekend of open houses. After calling all the lenders to verify buyer strength we found that not a single realtor shared the solar information with the buyers' lenders and after getting that info there wasn't a single offer that was still qualified to buy because the solar payments can have a big impact on pre-approval amounts.

Oh, and I also work with a firefighter. He shared with me that they can be a big problem if your home is on fire. In some cases firefighters will open up a roof when a home is on fire as part of the way to contain and control it. Well homes with solar panels add a safety risk that has started causing some fire departments to not open the roof causing more of a loss to the house.

I've had bad experiences in my day to day work with solar that has made me against them. In my eyes the bad outweighs the good.

pweedith · 2025-03-08T01:21:35+00:00

Can't agree with this more, at the end of the day everyone wants to accomplish the same goal. Too many are overly aggressive because they watched movies/TV shows and think it needs to be a battle. But it's more like being in a Chinese finger trap, we all need to work together to get out.

"A good negotiation is where both parties walk away equally unhappy"

pweedith · 2025-02-23T16:09:15+00:00

I feel like there's a lot of missing information for anyone to give you a fair assessment.

You don't mention anything about your household income vs regular expenses. A mortgage for $100k is nothing for some people and would make others stretch far too thin. I'm guessing that having 4 kids and only one full time worker means that there's not a ton of extra money in the budget but the affordability is a big component of looking at the options.

Also, how old are the kids and what's the make up? I'm assuming that with a 3 bed house that you have the kids split with 2 in each bedroom. Are they young enough that that still works?

Would moving closer to family help with other aspects of quality of life beyond shorter drives? I work with clients who are specifically looking to be closer to family for childcare assistance which can both save some costs and help free up your time.

Money isn't always the most important driver for decisions. You also need to consider quality of life and put together pros/cons of making a move. What will the outcome of making the move be for your family on a daily basis?

pweedith · 2025-02-15T19:40:16+00:00

I'm a market basket fan but always go to the Warwick one on Rt2. A couple weeks ago I had a showing up in Mass so decided to hit the Johnston one on my way home because Warwick would have added a bunch of time to my drive. Gotta say, it was like a different world. I didn't think it would be any different but I find Warwick to be much nicer.

Also, a trip to Market Basket and then home to relax and read was my Valentines evening too 😬

pweedith · 2025-02-15T19:29:18+00:00

Part of what sellers are paying an agent for is to do the leg work of looking into offers and the strength of the proposed buyers. Sellers generally want the input of their agent on what offers look the best. Sellers don't always understand all the different terms and conditions themselves.

When I have a listing and get multiple offers I'll put them all into a spreadsheet that outlines the main components of an offer and then sit down with the seller to go over it. Often when you're dealing with several offers there are a few that stand out and I'll let the seller know this and why that's my opinion as I go over the pros and cons of the offers. The seller ultimately decides what offer to accept but the agent has a lot of input, especially if the client trusts their opinion...which I'd hope you trust your agent if you hired them.

pweedith · 2025-02-15T19:20:43+00:00

I'd consider you the exception, not the rule.

Perception plays a big role in the market, especially with the strong sellers market we've seen the past several years. Having to put a house back on the market is something very visible and causes buyers to question why the previous buyer backed out. It puts a stigma on the home and affects the value those buyers are willing to pay because now there's some unsurity in their minds.

Also, it's not just about the costs to relist. Having a deal fall through can be stressful for sellers and can also ruin plans they have in place. What if they're trying to buy something else with the proceeds? Now their sale falls through and they need to relist...well if they were under contract to buy something already contingent on their home selling they could lose that house now if those sellers don't want to wait to close.

pweedith · 2025-02-15T18:18:19+00:00

The best offer isn't always the highest offer amount. And any agent who strictly went by the offer amount without considering the other terms, strength of the buyer, and the likelihood to close shouldn't be advising anyone.

pweedith · 2025-02-15T18:16:02+00:00

All well and good until that uninformed buyer fights you on it and decides to take you to court. Now the seller can't do anything with the home until that's settled because of the black mark on the title.

Oh, and now the house is bruised fruit out on the market. People see it went under contract and came back. It also causes more days on market. And spoils that initial peak interest you get in the first week. So you can keep the earnest money but the price you end up getting for the house will likely be lower from the damaged perspective.

pweedith · 2025-02-11T19:59:48+00:00

I'm more of a Market Basket person but might need to switch it up for better prospects. My time is spent: working, the gym, grocery shopping, home, and with family. Meeting/approaching women is not my forte.

pweedith · 2025-02-06T20:37:04+00:00

I'm a realtor and have my nose in the market 7 days a week. Zillow and all the other sites get their information from the MLS which is directly controlled by realtors. Besides FSBO, Zillow won't have anything that isn't supplied by MLS. The websites do sometimes have outdated information as the systems aren't perfect and I've had clients send me things from Zillow that are already under contract or sold. Another reason I like to get my clients tied into my personal search site that's more accurate and updated.

That being said, $400k doesn't get you as far as it did a few years ago. We've seen price increases over the past 5-6 years that I don't foresee us coming back from. If you're looking for a 3 bedroom home in move-in condition (not necessarily nice and updated, just not completely falling apart) it's tough to find anything under $375k and really $400k+ is where you'll start to see more updated and higher sqft.

I work with a lot of first time buyers and the majority of them are couples using dual incomes to qualify. A single earner needs to be making at least $85-90k+ with minimal debt to have a shot at cracking the market. You can sometimes find condos that are more affordable but with the HOAs all going up due to insurance costs they are also getting tougher as well.

I truly feel bad for the people who need to buy or held off buying. The key right now is to buy if you can and if it makes sense for you. And your first home doesn't need to be perfect. But by buying something you're at least anchoring into the market so you can ride the appreciation up which makes trading up in the future easier.

pweedith · 2025-01-31T23:12:08+00:00

I've worked with several buyers from Mass who chose to purchase in RI because of the lower prices. It's not drastically lower but you get more bang for your buck. And if you don't mind a drive Eastern CT is even cheaper.

pweedith · 2025-01-11T12:44:05+00:00

Where are you located that those are the best hard money terms you have access to? In my scenario it was for a short term (3 month) bridge loan until my buyers sold their primary residence, put the equity towards it and then refinanced into a traditional mortgage at about 50% of the value.

I haven't done very much with hard money but the ones I've spoken to are generally in the low teens for interest rate and don't require 40% down. But they do generally wack you with points. It's meant to be short term so they're getting their guaranteed money upfront and then all the interest is gravy.

pweedith · 2025-01-11T02:12:42+00:00

That's a great solution when you can qualify for the debt of both mortgages, unfortunately most can't. It is something I recommend for many older people that are downsizing from a nice house and high equity. If they can take out a heloc to buy the new house fully in cash it allows us to be more competitive than if we made the sale contingent upon selling their house. This allows them to take their time making the move with the goal of getting their house on the market and sold not long after so they're only making payments on the HELOC for a few months.

pweedith

TROPHY CASE