Things to consider before becoming "neighbors" with your landlord

Landlord and Tenant: Natural Enemies?

Damon Winter/The New York Times

Dorothy Lashley, left, is landlady to Barbara Morris in Harlem. The women often share stories and dinner.

By JOANNE KAUFMAN

A young woman spent the night with Rob Curtin at his apartment in Astoria, Queens, some while back, and a good time was had by all.       

Mr. Curtin’s landlady, who lived in the ground-floor unit of the two-family house, made no secret of her disapproval.

“She said: ‘You shouldn’t be partying with girls this late. Girls like that are no good,’ ” recalled Mr. Curtin, 33, who works in television production. “She was very interested in my love life.”

The landlady’s assessments of those friends, while not necessarily or consistently off the mark, were disconcerting, said Mr. Curtin, who had previously — and happily — lived in a landlord-occupied building. There, the owners had given him espresso, not advice.

Read the full story here: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/realestate/landlord-and-tenant-natural-enemies.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&partner=rss&emc=rss