A typical apartment in New Jersey - what is it like?

After a month and a half, we move to a new place, but not so far: a kilometer away from Hudson. Our lease expires. And since we very successfully received a discount on the current apartment last year, then with the expiration of the lease term, our price has grown decently. I summarize all the main features of the search for apartments for rent in NJ (Jersey City and Hoboken neighborhood), all of a sudden it will be useful for someone, but for some it is just interesting. Of course, I do not pretend to be an experienced expert, this is just our life experience.

In the US, a contract is signed for renting an apartment, for this period the price cannot grow, you cannot be evicted without very good reasons, but you cannot just move out ahead of time. Our Landlord also necessarily increases the cost of the apartment at the time of termination lease contract. Accordingly, if the apartment is at a standard price, not at a discount, then the increase is completely imperceptible. And if it’s like ours, then the increase is added not to the discounted price, but to its original cost. The interesting thing is that you can bargain about the amount of the increase; this is normal practice. We received a letter from the administration - and we went to discuss it that same day. They gave a very good discount, but we found a more interesting option and we immediately liked it. Here are the advantages of new housing:

• proximity to school (150 meters)
• proximity to the park (200 meters)
• price (we kept the cost that was paid for this apartment)
• number of floors (total 6 floors, and we will live on 3)
• free gym in the house next door (it is free for residents of the entire complex)

While we were waiting for a letter from the administration with proposals, I carefully studied the options available on the market, and in this post I would like to tell you what it is like - a typical apartment in a multi-story building. Let me make a reservation right away that we only looked at houses that belonged to the owner of the New Port residential area; these are new houses with their own characteristics. As the story progresses, I will try to explain what is less common or more common in other places.

So, the first thing to remember: rooms in the apartment are counted by the bedrooms. Those. 2 bedroom - This is a three-room apartment by Russian standards. Main room - living room - yes by default. Of course, it can be very different: from huge to the size of a large corridor. The rest are bedrooms. In our state 1 bedroom (two-room in Russian) a maximum of 3 people can live: two adults and a child.

The kitchen is a room for preparing food; people do not eat in it. Kitchens can be of a closed type (a separate very small room) and an open type (it is in fact a part of living roomseparated visually by either a bar-type table or a so-called island). Dining table is located on the territory living room. Therefore, I personally find it more interesting than an open kitchen.

Kitchen always fully equipped. There will be all the furniture, stove, microwave, refrigerator and dishwasher. This mandatory minimum in any apartment.

Full bathroom too staffed. Often there are as many of them in an apartment as there are bedrooms, but not always. Not everyone has a bathroom, and if there is, they are small. Shower here love more. The washing machine is not always in the apartment, often there is laundry room on the floor.

The apartment always has built-in wardrobes. In the corridor, in each bedroom is required. There may still be intermediate options. Some apartments in the bedrooms have walk-in-closetin other words wardrobe.

Many buildings have a concierge. In some places it’s open 24 hours a day, in others it’s not. Their main task is to accept delivery of purchases via the Internet and mail. Its 24-hour availability increases the cost, and if it is not there, then the price is even lower.

Some houses have a whole list of public places - amenities. These are recreation rooms with large TVs and billiards, children's games, gyms, a swimming pool. In some houses for the use of them take a monthly fee (for all at once), in some all included in the rent.

Pets are allowed at an additional cost per month. There are houses where they will not be allowed to live with animals at all, they will be allowed to go somewhere only with dogs. There are places where animals are free, but, as a rule, you need to pay an extra amount per month for them.

How to search for an apartment in Jersey City

While fresh in my memory, I summarize all the main features of the search for an apartment for rent in NJ (neighborhood Jersey city and hoboken), suddenly it will be useful for someone, but it is just interesting for someone. Of course, I do not pretend to be an experienced expert, this is just our life experience.

So first types of removal conditions:

From Lease Company:

There are houses (mostly new buildings) whose owners These are not individuals, but companies - Property Management Company. When you rent a house through Lease Company, then you will enter into a contract with the company.

You can search for such housing:

— through searching the websites of such companies (it’s easy to Google using the keywords city, street, apartments):

— by searching for advertisements on houses, you see a house you like, look around to see if there is such a sign:

— through a search on ad sites, most of them on http: //www.apartments.com

All methods will lead you to the office as a result. Lease Company, which is a kind of intermediary between you and the owner company.

• Obvious advantages:

- Easily;

— A minimum of paperwork for those who have just arrived and have no history in the USA;

— Often there are NO small ones Fairy (These are any additional payments, for example, for the gym or for pets);

— There is always NO BROKER FEE (the huge amount that brokers want for pimping you and the owner);

— The houses are new, which is a plus for many;

— You can be the first to live in the apartment.

• Cons:

— New houses, housing is sometimes more expensive than the old stock (but not always);

— They may not allow pets (both dogs and cats), look for information pet friendly or ask about it in advance.

Using Broker:

Everything is elementary here, there are agents, they select housing for you according to your conditions and - naturally - they want money for it. Most often, the monthly (!!!!!) cost of the apartment.

• Obvious advantages:

- Easily;

- They will do all the work for you, just walk and look;

— They will complete all the paperwork, you have guarantees;

— When viewing apartments, they will adjust to your time.

• Cons:

- 95% will be Broker FEE, there are agents who have apartments, paid by the owner, they are few, they fly away for the 1-2 of the day;

— There may be problems with your status New comer, the owner may want more papers, more advance, more deposit or refuse at all.

Most ads on

• http://www.forrent.com
• http://www.zillow.com
• http://www.trulia.com/

This is the announcement of such agents, carefully look at this mark:

A huge number of brokers do not bother themselves with this FEE mark, and you will know about it after calling or writing to them.

Directly from LandLord:

Honestly, we could not find such apartments, they say that they are on craiglist.

I am afraid that there may be problems with the lack of history if you have recently arrived. It is not clear how to arrange the paper correctly and not run into a dirty trick.

Now we shall deal a little with the accompanying payments for an apartment, except for the rental value:

1. Apartment cost: This is the amount you pay for rent, in many new houses it is now organized through a personal account on the Internet, very convenient;
2. Deposit + deposit: This is the amount that you take as a safety net, it is, at best, the amount of the monthly rental price, in a worse version, any additional items are added there. amount (deposit for an animal) or in the worst case it can be equal to twice the cost of a monthly rent. It all depends on how much you trust. This amount will be returned to you at the end of the rental if everything is fine with the apartment;
3. Surcharge for amenities: In some houses there is a swimming pool, a large recreation area, a gym, sometimes they may charge an additional fee, and sometimes they may not;
4. Additional payment for animals: In some houses they charge an additional monthly payment for an animal, the amounts vary, and they may not charge you anything at all - for example, in our case cats live for free);
5. Utilities: Examine carefully here, conditions are very different. As a rule, water is included in the rental price (Section 1). Sometimes more, and you only pay for electricity, and gas, for example, is also included. Clarify this question, sometimes the apartment is obviously cheap, because you will be paid for all services;
6. Internet and TV: Of course, always paid separately;
7. Parking: In our area, finding free parking for the cost of housing is like winning the lottery, so check this point, sometimes the cost can be significantly beyond your pocket.

Another small tip: be sure to look in advance at the area where the apartment is located. The areas here are very contrasted, in the neighborhood there can be very good and very bad areas.

I did this: I printed a list of apartments and walked around all the places on foot, before calling there, half of the places were deleted during a visual inspection: the house is immediately visible, the neighborhood is immediately visible, etc.

And of course, it is important what kind of infrastructure nearby you are interested in, the availability of transport, parks, shops - all this must be taken into account when choosing housing. This puzzle needs to be put together. As practice shows, if you immerse yourself closely in the process, then a week is enough to search, again with a specific “I want” list. If it is minimal and the budget is not limited, you will find it in a day.

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