Rent

Greg Cantori plans to downsize when he retires. Really, really downsize. His retirement home is 238 square feet - one-tenth the size of the average new American house - and sits in his Anne Arundel County yard. He and wife Renee can hitch it to a truck and take it with them wherever they go. "It's so cheap - that's what's so cool about this," said Cantori, 52, who envisions a surf-and-turf future, alternating between the house and a sailboat. "We bought the house for $19,000.

As the five-year anniversary of the Lehman Bros. bankruptcy and the collapse of the mortgage market approaches, Americans are still struggling to cope with the consequences of the Great Recession. More than 4 million households have lost their homes to foreclosure. Millions of breadwinners are still out of work. Meanwhile, households have seen an estimated $2 trillion in wealth evaporate. Pundits and politicians have spent nearly five years pointing fingers, but too few have questioned the root cause of the crisis: a deeply held belief that Americans should own their own homes and that the government should help make that dream possible.

For Eddie Germino, being unemployed for a time last year worked to his advantage in a dispute with his Maryland landlord. Germino, 27, had moved out of the house where he had lived with other students. Now he was trying to get his security deposit back. "Since I had so much free time," he says, "I was able to do all the legal research and make all the calls and write all the letters. " And his efforts paid off. A court ordered the landlord earlier this year to pay Germino $2,700 — three times his original deposit.

By Kit Waskom Pollard Spring is a time for new beginnings, and that includes new hobbies. As the air gets warmer and the days last longer, it's the perfect time to try out a new outdoor sport. The Baltimore region offers plenty of opportunities for outdoor fun, from biking to paddleboarding. Thanks to local retailers that rent sporting equipment, budding outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen can try out new hobbies without investing too much money. Gary Weeden, of Annapolis boat and bike rental shop Paddle or Pedal, likens renting to test-driving a car. "Before you spend your money, this is a great way to try things out. Like with cars: Before you buy, rent and say, 'This is what I like and don't like.' " "If someone hasn't been on a bicycle for a while, and they're not sure of the type of bike they'll want to purchase, we offer several types they can try out at low cost," adds Jim White of Monkton Bikes.

If you, like Yvonne Wenger , are in the market for a new place -- either to buy or rent -- then pull up a chair and chat for a while. What do you want? How does that match up with what's available in your price range? Have you learned anything that others might benefit from knowing, too? Oh, and if you have to sell before you can move, how's that going? Because I'm off this week, today's post will probably be it until Monday. So talk amongst yourselves! And check out this list of resources for newcomers (and not-so-newcomers)

Every month, the average renter of a high-end apartment in Baltimore pays $1.92 per square foot of space, according to a study of third quarter numbers released Thursday by the commercial real estate research firm Delta Associates. At almost $2 per square foot, the cost of renting a top-tier apartment was higher in Baltimore than in any of its surrounding suburbs, the analysis concluded. The western and northwestern sections of Baltimore County were the least expensive places to rent a “Class A” apartment, the firm said.

Two men have been arrested and charged with robbing nine people who were waiting in line to pay rent at a Cockeysville apartment complex. A third suspect died prior to being charged, according to statement from Baltimore County police. The suspects were identified as Dacron Hobbs, 34, of the 1500 block of Pennsylvania Ave. in Baltimore, and Dwaun Thomas, 31, of the 1000 block of Herndon Court, also in Baltimore. Both have been charged with multiple counts of armed robbery and are being held without bail at the Baltimore County Detention Center.

Despite the forecasts of snow, spring is here, and that means it's apartment hunting time for college students and graduates who have landed internships or employment --- or simply need a space outside of a dorm. In some of those situations, the fiscally responsible housing arrangement is a shared one. But how do you share the burden of rent fairly when the house or apartment can't be divided equally? For example, one roommate might get a larger master bedroom with a private bathroom, while others have smaller rooms and have to coordinate their showering schedules.

Has your rent increased 10 percent? Real estate search site Zillow believes that's how much rent values have jumped in the Baltimore metro area over the last year. The company's estimate is just that -- an estimate -- because it's trying to value what all residences in the area would rent for, whether they're listed or not. All the stats I've seen on actually rented units are heading up, but generally in the single digits . ( Another example here .) Other housing odds and ends: --How's $32 million sound for a house?

Baltimore City is considering a sixfold increase in rent charged to a Baltimore County councilman who leases the property to grow hay, flowers and vegetables. Officials from the city comptroller's office visited the Fullerton property next to the home of Councilman Joseph Bartenfelder on Thursday and determined that the $225 annual rent his family pays to use 20 acres leased from the city water system was significantly below the fair-market rate of about $1,200, or roughly $60 an acre.

Jesse S. Weinberg, who practiced law for seven decades and made a specialty of Baltimore's ground rents, died of respiratory failure March 20 at Sinai Hospital. The Pikesville resident was 94. Born in Baltimore and raised near Druid Hill Park on Lakeview Avenue, he was the son of Harry M. Weinberg, a haberdasher, and Minnie Needle Weinberg, a homemaker. According to an autobiographical sketch, he was born on his parents' 11th anniversary. He attended the old Robert E. Lee School, No. 49, and was a 1935 City College graduate.

A federal judge on Monday sentenced a Baltimore County man to 11 years in prison and ordered him to pay close to $200,000 in restitution to victims of a wire fraud and identity theft scheme that victimized Johns Hopkins doctors, among some 250 others, the U.S. Justice Department said. Derrick Hill, 53, of Woodlawn, previously pleaded guilty to the charges, along with co-conspirators Renee Cabell, 51, John Coffey, 43, and Tawney King, 46. Authorities said Hill and the other defendants stole identities, then cashed counterfeit checks and rented apartments in the names of victims.

A few months ago, things were looking bleak for Brooklyn Homes resident Christina Stocks. The 27-year-old single mother of two took a pay cut at work and fell behind in her rent payments. She was facing eviction - and a Christmas on the streets. Searching the Internet for some sort of help, Stocks came across the United Way's Family Stability Initiative. She called, and everything changed. The organization helped Stocks out with her rent - keeping the family in their apartment - and provided her with groceries and Christmas presents.

When celebrity couple Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds were wed in a secret ceremony this year, the actors skipped the splashy Hollywood venue. Instead, their reported 17th-century location in South Carolina boasted an onsite mansion, gardens and a working farm, a setting described as "rustic" and "romantic. " These days, you don't have to be a celebrity or VIP to hold your wedding, party or special event someplace that's fabulous or out of the ordinary. Thanks to a wave of specialty companies, websites and other experts, renting private properties — such as mansions and upscale homes — has become easier and increasingly popular.

Every month, the average renter of a high-end apartment in Baltimore pays $1.92 per square foot of space, according to a study of third quarter numbers released Thursday by the commercial real estate research firm Delta Associates. At almost $2 per square foot, the cost of renting a top-tier apartment was higher in Baltimore than in any of its surrounding suburbs, the analysis concluded. The western and northwestern sections of Baltimore County were the least expensive places to rent a “Class A” apartment, the firm said.

Here's a harrowing case covered in the New York Times today : The Federal Trade Commission accused seven computer rental companies of using special software to record images (via webcam) and other personal information through computers their customers rented. The companies took pictures, video, screenshots and more from the computers of people who were renting their devices. People were recorded having sex. Children were recorded, too. On Tuesday, the companies agreed to a settlement with the FTC, the agency said . A company called DesignerWare designed the software, with a hidden feature called Detective Mode, and sold it to several rent-to-own stores.

The Baltimore County Health Department has received an additional $160,930 in federal funding to provide more rental assistance to people with AIDS, bringing the total appropriation through 2010 to nearly $2 million. The program offers transportation, education, employment services and counseling to low-income residents coping with HIV and AIDS. The additional funds will mean at least eight more housing vouchers for a total of 100 in 2010, in addition to other support services. No county matching funds are required.

Baltimore City Councilman Nicholas D'Adamo wants Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien to rent closed Catholic schools to the city for $1 per year ("Charter schools may emerge from closures," Mar. 8). The archdiocese can't afford to maintain these schools as Catholic Schools. Councilman D'Adamo wants the archdiocese to subsidize the city of Baltimore, when the Archdiocese of Baltimore couldn't afford Catholic Schools. The Catholic School system saves the Baltimore City, Maryland counties, and the state of Maryland millions of dollars.

It would help all of us average guys for someone to explain what politicians are allowed to do with campaign contributions ("Disclose, disclose, disclose," Aug. 13). One assumes they pay office expenses, salaries, rent, supplies, etc., but are they allowed to buy personal items, clothes worn on the job, cars that they use for the job, rent for a house in Annapolis, etc.? Also, what regulatory body ensures they do not abuse any rules? And the accounting of such? Is that information made public?