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I'm going to be signing a lease for a new apartment in an old colonial house in San Jose downtown. The house has been completely renovated exterior/interior with new carpet and paints.
I'll be taking a 1 bedroom apartment in the house. The apartment has all new carpets and hardwood ground. The kitchen is pretty big and comes with a huge granite countertop and new stainless steel kitchen appliances (fridge, microwave, oven, dishwasher). I also have a parking space in the back yard. The back yard has parking spaces for each unit and it's uncovered. It also has a barbecue for tenants use.
I will be paying $1598 for this apartment for a 6 months lease. (For San Jose this rent is pretty average for above average apartments) The landlord only covers the gardening. The rest of all utilities will be on me.
HOWEVER, there is one thing I am confused. I was told the water bill and heating will be calculated on square footage. What is this supposed to mean? Does that mean I will pay a fix amount of the total house bill? If this is the case, is this a norm? I mean I felt like it should be dependent on the usage. If this is the case, is this a deal breaker?
Honestly, I like the place much. Within this price range, usually the apartments I looked had very old kitchen appliances and limited cabinets.
I'll be signing the lease tomorrow (friday) so any quick help would BE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!!!!
Thanks.
P.S. I'm including pics of the apartment to help you.
I'm no real estate expert, but my guess is that because it's a house, not an apartment building, there is probably only one water and electricity meter for the whole building, not separate meters for each unit. Therefore the landlord believes that the only fair way to divvy up the bill would be by square footage. If you really like the apartment and the price is right, I wouldn't consider this to be a deal breaker.
Thanks for the response. I kind of don't like how stuff is handled. My questions are not answered right away and I always have to call them. I'm not sure what will happen once I sign the lease and a problem arises.
For example there are still no blinds yet but I was only told they would be taken care of sometime next week. Is this how this process should take place?
I'm no real estate expert, but my guess is that because it's a house, not an apartment building, there is probably only one water and electricity meter for the whole building, not separate meters for each unit. Therefore the landlord believes that the only fair way to divvy up the bill would be by square footage. If you really like the apartment and the price is right, I wouldn't consider this to be a deal breaker.
^^^^^
100% correct. You are essentially renting a part of a renovated house. There is most likely only one meter, so usage will be based on your sq ft because generally speaking a 800 sq ft 1 bedroom unit will use less water than a 1200 sq ft 2 bedroom unit. It's not a deal breaker unless you are renting the largest unit and it's just yourself living there.
Thanks for the response. I kind of don't like how stuff is handled. My questions are not answered right away and I always have to call them. I'm not sure what will happen once I sign the lease and a problem arises.
For example there are still no blinds yet but I was only told they would be taken care of sometime next week. Is this how this process should take place?
It sounds like you simply have a lazy realtor. Maybe he/she has bigger fish to fry, which is bad business, but I've seen it done before. If you are worried about them folding on the blinds, have it written in your lease agreement.
^^^ It seems to be fair.
Just make sure that everything what they promise to do, and everything what they expect you to do is written in the contract.
You can download lease contracts online to see what you have to watch for.
Make detailed pictures of everything in the apartment, so they will not say later that you took something or damaged ( spots, stains, holes, cracks, missing parts, chipped or broken etc.) You are not responsible for the normal wear and tear.
Thanks for the response. I kind of don't like how stuff is handled. My questions are not answered right away and I always have to call them. I'm not sure what will happen once I sign the lease and a problem arises.
For example there are still no blinds yet but I was only told they would be taken care of sometime next week. Is this how this process should take place?
Make sure that written above the signatures and initialed by both parties that the blinds are included and will be installed by "X" date.
You will be paying a portion of the utilities based on your square footage, not use.
Make detailed pictures of everything in the apartment, so they will not say later that you took something or damaged ( spots, stains, holes, cracks, missing parts, chipped or broken etc.) You are only responsible for the normal wear and tear.
I think you mean "you are not responsible for normal wear and tear" (like carpets getting worn in high traffic areas or the finish showing wear on cabinet pulls if you stay there long term.
For example when you move out the carpeted area under your bed is likely to be pristine, while the carpeted area as you walk into the bedroom will likely show heavier wear than the rest of the room. That is normal wear and tear and not the responsibility of the tenant.
Yeah... a typo. I am going to correct it.
However he might be responsible for a very detailed cleaning of the whole apartment, or there would be deductions from deposit. It should be addressed in the contract. http://rhol.org/rental/WEAR.HTM
Yeah... a typo. I am going to correct it.
However he might be responsible for a very detailed cleaning of the whole apartment, or there would be deductions from deposit. It should be addressed in the contract. Wear and Tear Vs. Damages
True.
I'd also get it in writing if that cleaning needs to be done by a service or if you can do it yourself. A service deep clean and carpet cleaning company is going to run around $500 or so. You can do it yourself for about $100 in Rug Doctor rental fees and cleaning supplies.
Some leases only stipulate "broom clean" which means swept, mopped, clean bathrooms and kitchen, but deep cleaning is not required.
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