Question regarding renting an appartment.?

Question

When I rent an apartment, what things have to be considered? I'm new to this and I was thinking about sharing an apartment with a friend.

Now, I'm not a permanent resident, but on a Student VISA. Do I need to establish a credit score, before renting an apartment becomes possible? Can someone with my status rent an apartment at all? Is there any additional paperwork when 2 people rent an apartment? What expenses am I expected to pay (apart from rent. like property tax, etc.).

What is a good price for a 2 bedroom apartment in a small city (<100,000)? Will I pay a flat rate for electricity and water? Do I pay rent in advance? If I haven't a established a credit history, yet, is it possible to pay 2-4 months in advance and then be accepted?

I guess most of these answers vary...

Etc., etc.

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

1. Property tax is paid by the owner, not you.
2. Normally, you pay the first month's rent, a security deposit, and sometimes, but not always, the last month's rent, when you arrive, and pay each other month's rent at the start of that month.
3. You usually pay electricity directly to the electric company, and it is usually not fixed; it varies based on how much you use. If there is not a separate meter, you may be asked to pay a certain fraction of the bill for the building. Do not agree to this. If someone else uses a larger amount of electricity than you, you will have to pay part of the bill for the electricity that they use.
4. Water is usually paid by the landlord or management company, not you. Heating of water is paid by you if electric (included in the electric bill). If water is heated with natural gas, see below.
5. Natural gas may be used for heating, for hot water, or for cooking. Typically, this is paid by you if you apartment has a separate gas meter and by the landlord or management company if there is one meter for the entire building.
6. You need to pay for any of telephone, cable television, satellite television, Internet access, etc., that you want to use.
7. You may need insurance and/or furniture.

Answer 2

As long as you have a student Visa things will be fine. College students from other countries do it all the time. Most places require a lease which is usually for 12 months. If two of you are living there both of you will be on the lease and responsible for paying the rent. Most places require first and last months rent and a damage deposit. Some landlords will check your credit report and references. You will have to pay your own utilities which are usually metered for useage(gas/electric) and your rent. The landlord covers the rest. I'd advise to get renters insurance to cover your belongings. Its cheap but important to have. The prices for two bedroom apartments vary depending on the part of the country, the neighborhood you choose and how fancy the building is. You may be able to find some inexpensive places for $800/mo but I would expect you may pay more than that. Check the local paper where you are going to see what is being advertised or look at Craigs List for that city to see what is for rent.

Answer 3

First of all, call down. If you have no credit history, the landlord/management company may ask you for a) a bigger security deposit, b) a co-signer who has good credit or c) pay several months of rent in advance.

If they ask for a co-signer and you don't have one, then you can ask instead will they take 3 months of rent in advance etc. . . however none of this may be necessary because what really hurts is bad credit--if you have no credit history chances are the will accept you. Landlords cannot discriminate against you because you are an immigrant, and landlords in college towns deal a lot of with international college students and landlords tend to like to rent to college students.

As for rent, a lot depends on what state you are living in. In California, you can find a decent 2 bedroom between$800-1200. Different apt. complexes have different rules when it comes to utilities. If you have cable, high speed internet, phone, electric, gas, water etc . . . I estimate around 200 a month (altogether not per person). Some landlords will pay some of the utilities as part of the rent.

Finally, go to your student housing office and ask them for help finding a good apt. Also check out http://www.craigslist.org/ and look under your state/city under apts/housing. You can find good deals via this site.

Answer 4

Usually, all people who will live in the apartment must be on the lease (the rental agreement). You don't have to have credit, but it helps. You must have income, or whoever is being responsible for the lease must have enough income to qualify for. They usually want your income to equal at least 2 or 3 times what the rent is. That means, if rent is $1000, your incomes combined must be $2000 - $3000 per month.

Both people sign the papers, which the rental office or manager will give you. READ IT!!!

What city? Here in San Jose, CA, rent is very high. 2BR = $1500 to $2000 a month. In Columbus, Ohio, rent can be found for around $800. St. George, Utah you can get a 2 BR for about $700.

Utilities usually are NOT included in the rent. You or your roommate will have to call the electric and gas companies and get the utilities in your name. They will send you a bill every month. Mine is running around $100 total but I live in a warm climate. If you live in a place that gets cold for winter, the heating bill (usually electric in apartments) will be $100 - $200 just for the electricity. You usually don't need to pay for the water (it's often included in the rent price, along with sewer and trash fees).

Normally, you need to pay a security deposit when you sign the lease. That can be anywhere from $99 to a full month's rent. Check local apartment guide magazines and online sources for specials that will discount the deposit. Rent is usually due on the 1st of the month, with a grace period of about 5 days. If you don't pay during this time, they will tack on a late fee of around $50.

try these sites:
http://www.apartmentguide.com
http://www.forrent.com

Answer 5

You can rent the apartment all right, but what usually happens is that your friend will move out and you will have to pay his share of the rent.
You may not even know this friend but he will probably move out or will ask you to lend him money for rent and then move out, or worse.

Answer 6

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