Apartment hunting

Apartment hunting

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THE COST OF AN URBAN APARTMENT

Apartments costs in urban, or city, areas in the United States can be quite high. In cities like San Francisco, California, Manhattan, New York and Boston, Massachusetts, renters are paying up to $2,000 per month or more for a one bedroom apartment. There are many different ways to explain how much one is paying in rent. Here are a few:

1. I am paying ______ per month for my apartment.
2. I spend _______ a month on rent.
3. My rent is _______ a month.
4. The rent of my apartment is _______ per month.

Notice that the first two use the verbs spend and pay while the second two sentences put the rent in the subject position in the sentence. One can either say a month or per month . Both expressions are correct.

Are apartment rentals expensive in your country? What percentage of one's income does a person spend on rent or housing costs?

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WHERE TO FIND APARTMENT LISTINGS

Where do you start looking for an apartment in the United States? There are a few places where you can begin your search.

Which way do you think would be the easiest and cheapest way to find an apartment? Which way do you think would be the most expensive way to find an apartment?

1. classified advertisements in newspapers
2. classified advertisements online in city-based web sites
3. housing offices of universities
4. real estate offices
5. listings placed on public bulletin boards
6. asking friends or relatives about places to rent

If you chose 5 and 6 as the cheapest way, you are correct! It doesn't cost anything to respond to a public bulletin board listing or to ask a friend or relative about their recommendations for places to live.

If you chose 1, 2, 3 or 4, you have picked some of the most expensive ways to find an apartment. You may have to pay money to the people who help you get the apartment. This money or fee is equal to one month's rent and is paid to the realtor who shows you the apartment and helps the owner rent the apartment. In newspapers and online advertisements, most of the ads are from realtors who charge this kind of fee, or cost.

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REAL ESTATE, REALTORS and REALTY

Two of the nouns listed below mean land or homes and one means the person who sells or helps to rent land or homes. Which ones are which?

1. real estate
2. realtor
3. realty

A realtor is a licensed person who can sell homes and land and rent apartments. A realtor helps to pick the right people for the apartment for the people who own the apartment. A realtor checks that the new tenant (person moving into an apartment) doesn't have bad credit (owes too much money). A realtor can only look at a person's credit and cannot refuse to rent an apartment because of a person's race, skin color, age, religion, gender or because a person may be a homosexual or lesbian. In the United States, it is against the law to discriminate against people for these reasons and it is especially bad to discriminate against people seeking housing.

Real estate , or realty, is land, homes or condominiums. Condominiums are apartments that one can buy.

When you are talking about someone who can sell land and homes, you call him or her a real estate broker .

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SECURITY DEPOSITS

Secure means safe. Deposit means something you put somewhere. For example, you deposit money or checks into a bank. What do you think security deposit means?

A security deposit is money that you pay to the owner of the apartment to hold until you move from that apartment. The reason for the security deposit, which is usually the amount of one month's rent, is to pay for anything broken in the apartment when you move out. If you break a window, the owner will take money from this security deposit to pay for the damage , or broken things, in the apartment. If you do not have to give the owner money, you should get your money back with interest , the amount that a bank gives you when your deposit is put into a bank account. The security deposit helps make sure that you will keep the property in good shape. It also is like having money in the bank.

Do you have to pay a security deposit when you rent an apartment in your country? What does an owner do if you break something in the apartment? Does the owner have to pay or the renter? Come to the Hosted Chat and tell us!

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QUESTIONS TO ASK A REALTOR

When renting an apartment, there are many questions that you should ask whoever is showing you the apartment. A good structure to follow in asking questions is the five W's and an H .

They are---who, what, where, when, why and how.

Who do I write the rent check to? (Whose name goes on the check?)

What happens if there is a leak or if there is no heat? (Who should I call?)

Where can I store extra boxes? (Where can I park my car?)

When do I have to pay rent? (When do I have to tell you that I am moving out?)

Why is that wire sticking out of the ceiling? (Why doesn't the water drain from the tub?)

How should I put out trash? (How can I call you if I need to ask more questions about the apartment?)

Can you think of other questions you would ask an owner before you moved into a new apartment? Think about these questions and come up with your own answers.