Renting an apartment for the first time - Questions that need answering!

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Basically, I have a few questions for you people who have your own place. How things work, what we need, etc. It is going to be 5 guys inlcuding me, and we're looking for a place in NYC, preferably Brooklyn or Queens, but we'll take anything. So, the questions!

1. Brokers fees. Who pays them? My dad has always been under the impression that the person who sells the property pays the broker, but from what I'm seeing, the people who rent the place pay the brokers fees. Is this true everywhere or just NYC?

2. What sort of things should we have ready for when we do sign the lease?

3. Will all 5 of us need to be present when we sign the lease?

4. For any of you living in and around NYC, would you suggest New Jersey as an option?

Thanks!

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I'll try to kinda answer your questions from a German POV, just because I feel like it right now. It could very well be that it's a lot different in America, but I'm sure someone else will step in if that's the case.

Originally Posted by sprouticus

1. Brokers fees. Who pays them? My dad has always been under the impression that the person who sells the property pays the broker, but from what I'm seeing, the people who rent the place pay the brokers fees. Is this true everywhere or just NYC?

AFAIK the broker fee is always two monthly rents. Lessor and lessees pay half of it (so you have to pay 1/5 of the total monthly rent, unless everyone of you pays a different price for their individual room - which should be the case when there are several differently sized rooms).

Originally Posted by sprouticus

2. What sort of things should we have ready for when we do sign the lease?

Pen, common sense, second person to read it.

Originally Posted by sprouticus

3. Will all 5 of us need to be present when we sign the lease?

Not really, I guess. Here in Germany, all lessees are present during the inspection of the apartment and they write down their adresses for the lessor who then sends them their individual contract. After you carefully read and signed it afterwards, you send it back to him. So, yes, unless one of you takes the responsibility for the apartment and you just pay him (such a person is generally referred to as "loser"), all of you will have to sign their individual contracts.

Originally Posted by sprouticus

4. For any of you living in and around NYC, would you suggest New Jersey as an option?

Sorry, can't help here.


You see, I cannot really help you 100% accurately, but I just felt like posting. Someone else should be able to assure if it's the same process in America.

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You should probably ask potential landlords questions 1 and 2. I think everyone who will be on the lease will need to physically sign the lease. All I know about NJ is that they make fun of that place in about 9 out of 10 SNL jokes, so it must be pretty awesome. Good luck movin' on up or down or over there. Mostly, don't piss off your neighbors and you guys should be good. In fact, kiss all elderly neighbors' asses at every opportunity. Those are the people who call the landlord every time someone farts.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I've been living with roommates for the past few years. We either go through private owners or rental management agencies, so I don't really know what a broker is. Is it like a deposit? Things must be completely different in Nebraska. We have a law that won't allow any more than 3 people to rent a property unless you're within 1 mile of the state university's campus, so we had to get tricky with the lease and rent payments.

Just like what Prime Blue said, have a witness there when you sign the lease and double and triple check it for errors before you sign it. Everyone whose name is on the lease will need to sign it (and sometimes you might need one or two co-signers that aren't on the lease).

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You may need weird stuff like proof of a job, and you may need to be able to give license and model details on any cars, possibly other things...I'd ask the landlord.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by sprouticus

3. Will all 5 of us need to be present when we sign the lease?

I would recommend it. I knew a guy who wanted in on this lease with several other people, but the landlord made it known to those other people that there was a 4 person limit in the house (even though there were enough bedrooms for more than that; two people were sharing a room).

The 4 people who signed the lease got in the house, and they never bothered telling the guy about the situation until they were moving in.

In retrospect the guy was a retard but you might as well cover your bases.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Take a picture of the entire apartment before you move in and document everything that looks broken/dirty/messed up. Don't let the landlord stick you with things he/she should be paying.

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rented one with 3 others in virginia for a while, and there was a separate lease for each person, signed separately

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