this post was submitted on 20 Nov 2025
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A Boring Dystopia

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My landlord partnered with a financing company - I can pay $15/month for the luxury of making weekly payments on my rent (lemmy.world)
submitted 5 days ago by andros_rex@lemmy.world to c/aboringdystopia@lemmy.world
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[–] flamiera@kbin.melroy.org 1 points 20 hours ago

Yeah my apartment landlord posted papers on the building doors about these guys. I looked into it myself, signed up but made no commitment to the system. I've read a few reviews from people who tried it, all were nightmares for them. I had actually thought this business was where you can pay some of the rent now and payback later, preferably on a payday.

However, the logic doesn't add up since landlords typically want everything by the first day of the month when its due. So, Flex didn't align with my thoughts which honestly would've alleviated some pressure financially, but they cram everything to be due by within the month. It is like, why the fuck bother?

[–] rozodru@pie.andmc.ca 200 points 5 days ago (6 children)

after looking at their site....oh fuck no.

they offer lines of credit to pay your rent. but you have to pay back said credit by the end of the month so....why? If you're having trouble paying your rent getting a line of credit to cover it and then having to pay back said credit by the end of the month on top of a percentage AND membership fee it just sounds exactly like a payday loan where you KNOW they hope you roll over so you'll never be able to catch up.

[–] chemical_cutthroat@lemmy.world 94 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Its the same model as payday loans. It's predatory lending plain and simple.

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[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 41 points 5 days ago (1 children)

They now have “freedom” to abuse their customers.

I’m sure you’ll feel that warm wet trickling down any day now

[–] flamiera@kbin.melroy.org 1 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

I expect a judge ruling or something to hopefully come in and put a stop to that. Like having to force the SNAP benefits thing to be funded.

Anything this administration touches, turns to rigor mortis.

[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 1 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

I don’t understand how that didn’t happen immediately. My understanding was cfpb was somewhat unique in that Congress created it as an independent thing and with its own source of funding.

[–] flamiera@kbin.melroy.org 1 points 17 hours ago

We are going to see a lot of this happening for years to come. Where this administration will literally and has done throughout this year alone. As they try to dismantle one government agency after another only for the leftover and relatively sane representatives remaining having to step in and be like "no, what are you doing? are you trying to throw this country into anarchic chaos?"

This administration: "UH-HUH!" with a dorky dumbass looking grin.

And yes you'd be right, it was Congress who passed a law that included the creation of this agency, Obama signed it into law. So once again, unsurprisingly, this loose-excuse of an administration breaks the fucking law. Because of course that's all that they're good at.

[–] mechoman444@lemmy.world 39 points 5 days ago (2 children)

It is a payday loan in the most classical sense that's why it exists.

Sometimes people aren't able to pay by the first so they have to get it paid somehow it absolutely relies on getting paid later on to pay off the loan.

They're just one half step above being a loan shark.

[–] JcbAzPx@lemmy.world 8 points 4 days ago

The only difference between them is the loan shark can't take you to court to get their money back.

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[–] its_kim_love@lemmy.blahaj.zone 22 points 5 days ago

Innovation! They cut out the middle man and let's you get screwed by just your landlord instead of the landlord and Copperhawks.

[–] floquant@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 points 5 days ago (1 children)

The US loves their useless, expensive middlemen.

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[–] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 80 points 5 days ago (3 children)

$15 plus 1% of rent plus card processing fees.

If your rent is $1200 and there's a 3.5% processing fee, you're looking at $70/month in extra fees.

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[–] SatansMaggotyCumFart@piefed.world 66 points 5 days ago (1 children)

When you're rich everything is free and when you're broke it costs a lot.

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[–] MadMadBunny@lemmy.ca 48 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

This is clownshit.

[–] SlartyBartFast@sh.itjust.works 29 points 5 days ago (4 children)

Why would anyone do this

[–] SoleInvictus@lemmy.blahaj.zone 58 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Short answer: late stage capitalism

Long answer: Because they don't have enough money to make rent on time and the associated fees are less than the late fees. Being poor is expensive.

[–] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 12 points 5 days ago (14 children)

I just moved from a shithole place that used and promoted Flex. The alternative was $300 late fees.

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[–] BanMe@lemmy.world 16 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Same reason people finance their groceries over 4 weekly payments now.

[–] ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world 22 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Rocket Mortgage has had this commercial for a couple years where some schlub is trudging back into his house lamenting the fact that six bags of groceries has become two (thanks to inflation). Suddenly his house starts talking to him and reminding him that he could get a Rocket Mortgage loan backed by his small amount of equity and use the money to buy groceries. Dude lights up with joy and dances into this house. It's just beyond fucked that this is obviously one of their most successful commercials. It's amazing that they can turn borrowing money for food into a positive.

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[–] VitoRobles@lemmy.today 9 points 5 days ago

I just got a postcard of this in the mail!

It wasn't from the landlord though and it didn't have any identifying information.

What a garbage company.

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[–] Lumidaub@feddit.org 36 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Can he force you to enter a contract with them? Sounds illegal.

[–] andros_rex@lemmy.world 58 points 5 days ago (6 children)

No, I still have the option of paying it all at once without going through this finance company. But they’ve been spamming my email letting me know about the “new payment option.”

[–] kkj@lemmy.dbzer0.com 22 points 5 days ago

Report the emails as spam, especially if they're from the loan shark directly.

[–] foodandart@lemmy.zip 23 points 5 days ago

That's when you reply to the company and tell them that you find their policies rather predatory and not too dissimilar from low-class "payday loan" companies and that you want them to remove you from their mailing list and you will from now on mark any emails from them as spam, and sent straight to the trash.

CC it to the landlord as well.

He has the right to use their services, but you have the right not to do business with them. Your agreement is with the landlord NOT a third party that came in after the fact.

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[–] RBWells@lemmy.world 28 points 5 days ago (1 children)

14.99 plus payment fee of 1% of rent amount. So if your rent is 2k that's another $20 per payment.

For what? Please tell me this is not the only payment option.

[–] Bytemeister@lemmy.world 15 points 5 days ago (4 children)

My apartment complex tried outsourcing their payment portal, attaching a fee to it, and making it the only way to pay.

I ended up going down to the office to write a check in front of them once a month, making sure to complain loud enough to be overheard when they had other people inquiring about apartments.

Apartments these days will nickle and dime you to death. Late in my tenancy, they wanted me to sign up to have my pets put into a database. They were also going to charge $25 per pet per month to have them in the database. You bet your ass I was in their office the next day with my pet addendum to discuss their breach of contract. My rabbits were not the dogs that kept getting loose and shitting all over the place.

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[–] Doc_Crankenstein@slrpnk.net 12 points 4 days ago (1 children)

All landlords are leeches. Every single one of them.

[–] Atropos@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago (11 children)

Many are. But I'll stick my neck out here for when I rented in socal.

My landlord Randy was a retired dentist. He had built an ADU on his property in order to care for his very elderly mother. She had since passed away, leaving him with an empty mobile home in his backyard.

It sat empty for a few years, as his now-adult children and friends didn't need it. He couldn't sell it because of minimum plot size, setbacks, and utility issues.

I ended up renting from him for two years, and it was an excellent situation with reasonable rent and a great relationship.

I think a great many landlords are garbage, and I don't think it's possible to be a corporate landlord without being garbage. But there are some situations where a landlord is just a person who finds themselves in a situation where renting a space out makes the most sense. Open to other perspectives on this.

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[–] Fmstrat@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago

Ours emails us this crap to. It's going to be in my review when I move out. Ever since the Texas megacorp bought this place it has gone downhill.

[–] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 7 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

This could actually be interesting if it was the opposite...

You can get a small discount, and pre pay the next month in advance. You can miss any of those payments up until the end of the month when the remaining balance is due.

The discount is based off how much you paid early.

Landlord gets a reduced risk as every early payment is money that is in his hands and available up to a month before.

[–] perry@lemy.lol 18 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Which country is this? Do most landlords do this? /gen

[–] Witchfire@lemmy.world 42 points 5 days ago (8 children)

When I lived in NYC, one of my apartments had a tipping option on the website

[–] Agent641@lemmy.world 34 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Hollow tip are best, they spall inside the landlord and are less likely to exit out the back and damage anything of value.

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[–] titanicx@lemmy.zip 13 points 5 days ago (3 children)

I'm sure this is the US. And this is the first time I've heard of it in 35 years of renting.

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[–] maudelix@lemmy.world 20 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

Same shit as with pet screening. I already have to pay a $200 deposit for having a cat, a $30 per month fee for both cats and now $40 per cat per year for pet screening.

[–] bdonvr@thelemmy.club 23 points 5 days ago

Lmao my landlord sent me a link to some pet screening thing I was meant to pay for.

But they forgot that that isn't actually in my lease so I just ignored it.

[–] No1@aussie.zone 18 points 5 days ago (9 children)

What does your lease say about payment and methods of payment?

I would suggest physically handing a nice big bag with a mix of nickels, dimes and quarters to a designated recipient.

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