Potentially Renting a House

Penguin_Otaku

So I'm looking at a house tomorrow. Rent is 1300, there are 5 bedrooms, potentially 6 people living there (me and my lady will hopefully share a room), 3 bathrooms and two sheds outside. Comes with fridge and washer and dryer.

Sounds awesome. So my question is what do I need to look for? Ask? Ecetera.

MetroidZoid

Remember this: Get everything in writing. Anything you and the landlords agree on, policy wise, needs to be stated on the lease. Anything involving money, people living there, etc.

adytum

Talk to the current tenants about the landlord and any problems with the house. Just go knock on the door one day when someone is home.

Also, from personal experience, make sure you know how clean all these people you are going to be living with are. I currently live with 4 other guys, plus their girlfriends a lot of the time, and all of them are fucking filthy. I wouldn't have moved in if I had any idea, and I am counting down the days until the lease is up.

Kakodaimonos

Get everyone on the lease. Do not have just one person sign the lease and then agree to pay them and they will pay the landlord. That way lies madness.

Find out what happens if one of the persons living there wants to break the lease. Are you responsible for their share of the rent? Are they responsible until they find a replacement tenant?

Who's responsible for utilities? Water, sewer, gas, electricity, trash?

Iceman.USAF

Ask about landscaping responsibilities as well as snow removal. Also, are there any HOA (Home Owners Association) rules that you need to be aware of? Some areas only allow x cars per residence.

MichaelLC

One washer/dryer set for six people sounds like comedy gold!

What happens when one of the other people start bringing their girl/boy/etc friend over for long-term visits?

Look at the appliances, electrical outlets, and plumbing fixtures. Is the landlord keeping the place in good shape & up to code?

Wiley

Take pictures of every little bit of damage before you move in. They will come in very handy when the lease is up and you are trying to get your security deposit back.

Ponge

You better decide now wether the rent will be split 5 or 6 ways. If your girlfriend stays there then will she be paying half of your rent? Or dividing the whole rent equally?

Sometimes people will pay less for smaller rooms etc.

bombardier

Wiley wrote: »

Take pictures of every little bit of damage before you move in. They will come in very handy when the lease is up and you are trying to get your security deposit back.

Not just damage, but everything. Have proof of the state things were in before you moved in.

noir_blood

My first instinct based on all the threads that pop up here is not to do it. But hey, there's gotta be succesful situations right?

And yeah, everything in writing. Talk to all the potential roommates about significant others. Cause 6 people for one house ain't bad. If everyone is bringing their room mates over, 12 people is worse. Also, who's name is the electric/internet/tv bill going to be under?

wallabeeX

I've lived with this many people and it's manageable. As others have said, when friends and SO's start getting involved, it can get a little crazy.

My recommended solution is to break it down so there's a communal house rent and everyone pays a room-rent. Make the house-rent more or less equivalent to the smallest room in the house's rent, and work from there. The logic here is under the situation that someone else moves in and shares a room - in some housing situations I've been in, they'd just split the rent. Problem is, it more than likely inconveniences me more than the person they've moved in with. House rent essentially means everyone gets a little cut when someone else moves in, as well as the person they've moved in with. It's also logical, given they'll be using the bathroom / dryer / washer / kitchen / living room just as much as you.