aurigus

My wife and I are looking into a moving to a new place in the next few months. We found this great spot, beautiful location, lots of room, large deck. The price is right. It is basically an apartment above the garage of the main house; and my wife know's the owner through her work. Previously; it was the place where the landlord's mother lived, but it was upstairs and she couldn't do the steps.

The one thing, that is really bugging me, is that it shares a mailbox with the main house. She said it is a shared mailbox, I'm guessing that means the mail is delivered to it and then you just pick your mail out.

I started thinking about this; it isn't really that great. I think I expect a certain amount of privacy in the mail and this just wouldn't cut it. Some things are delivered that you just don't want others to know about.

We thought about getting a PO Box which we might do. But, I was wondering, why not get a 2nd address for this new place? What is involved in getting a new address at an existing location? I googled it and checked out usps.com, couldn't find much on the subject. So, just for this, and future knowledge; how does one go about getting a new mailing address? For example if you build your own home. Do you pay for it or is it free?

And second of all, are we being too paranoid about this kind of thing? I would think anyone would want a separate mailbox rather than sharing with the landlord.

maleficent

Is what you are living in a legal apartment or a legal two family? You might want to check with the owners, otherwise it could cause problems for you down the road.

Some places, unless it's a legal two family residence, you aren't allowed to have two families living there, so having two mailboxes is a moot point. If it's a legal two family, then you should have no problem getting a second mailbox installed.

__________________

SinisterMotives

I think municipal government assigns a street address to each new single-family dwelling, but I'm not positive. Perhaps there is an agency of the city government you need to notify that yours is a separate residence from your landllord's.

aurigus

I'm reading the zoning laws for the township now. Found something interesting, the land is zoned Agricultural

nash

I don't have any information to help you out, but, what does "zoned Agricultural" mean? Is it a farm or ranch? Just curious.

choskins

Usually "Agricultural" zoning is a catch-all for areas on the fringe of the city that don't fit into commercial and lot-size residential. It probably means the zoning is very slack there, which is good.

Just petition the City Planning Dept. or equivalent for a new address. You should have no problem. I do this all the time, when I divide rental houses into duplexes or with commercial developments.

__________________
"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."
- Sigmund Freud

aurigus

choskins: Thanks for the advice.

Yes, it's in the middle of amish country and surrounded by farms. So veryunderstandable that it's zoned Ag.

Rubyee

Put up your own mailbox, and if anyone comes to your door asking what is going on, just say "Moo".

denim

Can't you just put an "A" on the number? Like, if you live at "123 Foobar Drive", make it "123A Foobar Drive" and label the new mailbox 123A?

Cynthetiq

One could but then the USPS is under no obligation to put mail into it.

The USPS is the group that handles giving out the numbers and such at least that is what I've learned about the new subdevelopments.

Also, I'd suggest talking it over with the landlord before you go stirring up the local municipalities. You may inadvertantly screw up extra income for the family and also put yourself out on the street.

I kept a PO box for many years when living with my parents. They didn't understand why and not that I kept lots of things from my parents but I did like the privacy of my own mailbox. I never got anything questionable or even remotely sexual in nature, I just didn't like the questions of "who's that" "why do you have that bill" etc.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.