(Part 3) Top products from r/Landlord

I can't help you on what is legal in NM, hopefully someone else can chime in on that. Your landlord may let you break your lease early if you don't feel safe with him moving in early. Worst you could do is ask and she says no. The landlord may require you to get a restraining order before she will allow that. Alternatively your landlord may let you find someone to take over the lease if they qualify with the landlord.

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The rest of this is not really landlord advice but personal security advice.

You are ultimately responsible for your own safety and security, not your landlord or the police. If you don't feel safe you need to make it a priority to get out of the situation. Document everything that he does that is pushy or unwelcome, it may help you legally if there is an incident that you have a paper trail.

You need to up your situational awareness 10x and have a plan for how you will defend yourself if he gets aggressive with you. You cannot be on your phone while entering or exiting your house any longer. Always lock your doors on your house and car (You can check the vehicle manual to disable it auto unlocking if your vehicle does that inappropriately like my mazda did).

You can visit /r/homedefense to learn about how to prep your home, they often have good tips even for those who rent and may not be allowed to make changes to the door/window frames. These kind of tips will help you keep him out of your home if he does try to enter.

If he does get in though which is always a possibility no matter how well you prepare you need to be able to physically defend yourself. I recommend you have 1-2 canisters of oc spray with you at all times and pursue ccw if you don't already in NM (from what I understand the process is pretty bad in NM so this may take 6+ months). Firearms are the great equalizer as even smaller women are able to defend themselves against large aggressive men with them. I do not recommend knives, batons, or stun guns as they are less effective than oc spray and firearms at the victim surviving an attack.

Stay safe, and if you get a bad vibe about how he is acting or posturing immediately remove yourself from the situation. Don't gamble with your life if you think this guy is going to get aggressive with you.

Association Treasurer here, few years ago we installed these 1 for each half of a 12 unit building.
They work great and easy to reprogram. Has lasted over a year on a single battery.

Schlage FE575 CAM 619 ACC Camelot Keypad Entry with Auto-Lock and Accent Levers, Satin Nickel https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001RFDB6C/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_KktBxbR7R5TJW

upvote for this comment! We just purchased a smart key lock set and will be installing these in our units moving forward. At $40-50 per lock set and having the ability to rekey them on the fly, without changing out any hardware, they're definitely worth it!

You and your tenants will be happier with these. They’re easy to install. You’ll need to buy an “in baseboard” thermostat to go with it.

Cadet Manufacturing 05534 120-Volt White Baseboard Hardwire Electric Zone Heater, 1000-Watt, 8.33-Amp, 48-Inch, 1000 W https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000IG81OI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_EVrCCbXPXM6BJ

Tell the landlord to completely clean upstairs. You should put all food in plastic containers. Mouse traps are cheap and easy to use, especially in vacant apartments. Even on the exterior of the house:

$20 will cover the whole perimeter.

http://www.amazon.com/Protecta-Mouse-Bait-Station-Stations/dp/B003DDE23C/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1449368427&sr=8-2&keywords=exterior+mouse+trap

As someone who has removed a lot of crap from glass in my time, mix some dish soap and hot water and spread it over and around the sticker. Then get a good flat razer blade like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Hyde-Tools-13050-Delta-Scraper/dp/B000BPEPSC/ref=sr_1_13?keywords=scraper&qid=1569900031&s=gateway&sr=8-13

And go at it gently.

You can offer to put gel nails on. My friends cat used to have ones like this:
https://www.amazon.ca/Soft-Claws-Feline-Take-Home-Small/dp/B003WP5O5G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1484082759&sr=8-2&keywords=cat+nail+covers

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001COEZTU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Installed them as the common entrance locks several months ago. Tenants love them. So far, so good.

I hate SmartKey locks because you can't create a master key. Learn how to rekey Kwikset or Slage keys and get a builder's kit on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Kwikset-236-Builders-Keying-Kit/dp/B000NKHKS2/ for Kwikset) and learn to do it yourself. It's honestly really freakin' easy if you have some half-way steady hands. Give me a drill and I can have a lock off, rekeyed + master, and re-installed in 5 minutes.

But if you don't need/want a master key, smarkeys are way faster.

If the place has central air/heat, get the vents cleaned and deodorized (~$200 depending on the size). If you haven't already you can paint as well, this usually makes a huge difference.

If it really bothers you, you can also rent/purchase an ozone generator. Make sure no one is home if you end up using this, typically 1 hour treatments per area are sufficient for most odors.

http://www.amazon.com/Sylvan-Variable-Generator-5000mg-Adjustable/dp/B001J2GNW2

This is the brand I have. If you look around I think they come in 4 packs. If you want to get fancy, I would look into getting one hardwired in, so you don't have to worry about changing the batteries.

https://www.amazon.com/US-Wire-74100-Heavy-Duty-Extension/dp/B0020YKLQW

I’ve lived plenty of places without in NYC. I would just get baits and a pest strip. Hang up the pest strip, leave the place for a couple hours to a couple days. Air out the when you get back. It’s like an odorless bug bomb. Do it until roaches are gone. Works for any bug.

https://www.amazon.com/Hot-Shot-No-Pest-Strip2-HG-5580/dp/B0019BK8AG

Tell your "friend" to buy these and these and to stop leaving crumbs and food laying around.

These are very cheap and do their job in preventing future damage (and covering the exiting one): Door Stop Wall Protector. You can just buy and affix one or buy it in advance and offer to the landlord during your move-out inspection. We have them installed for all doors in our apartment buildings :)

I got my dad a drill bit sharpener last year. Drill bits get dull with use, and my dad didn't even know they could be sharpened.

Does the door open in our out, if I were standing inside your apartment?

If it opens in, while you wait for a resolution from your landlord, I suggest buying a safety stop bar, like this one. Even if they unlock the door they would need to batter it down before entry.

I wholeheartedly agree that this is both a safety and a privacy concern. I would not have let anyone move in to one of my units if I knew this issue existed.

Don't let anyone tell you that's you're getting what you pay for, or that it's you're responsibility, that's bullshit from bad landlords who think they shouldn't have to spend money.

Of course, it's in the way you approach your landlord about this that is going to get a response. Would you like it if someone came to your job and said "You there! I DEMAND that you X, Y, Z..." etc, etc.

Tell your Landlord what happened with the neighbor, let him know that you feel unsafe and that you need this to be addressed quickly, or you'll be forced to look for a safety dwelling space.

If he drags his feet or doesn't take you seriously, that's the time to escalate.

Let us know what happens.

For some reason, everyone thinks oil spots are impossible to remove or at the very least really difficult. A quick google search will show you a quick and cheap way to remove almost any oil spot without hassle. I know because I'm a Landlord in an HOA that has had to do it several times.

FYI - I also thought they were impossible to remove (without a pressure washer or something) for a long time because that is what everyone kept telling me, but no totally wrong.

In case you're wondering I used Simple Green 19128 Crystal Industrial Cleaner/Degreaser to pull huge oil stains out of some driveways with no problem. I know you're on asphalt, but I'm, sure there something that will do that too.