A few questions about my new place.

[diabeticman]

I do have a few questions and I don't want to sound like an idiot but it is honestly the truth.


What do I look for in the lease I will be siging.

You need to understand This apartment is my wife's and I first apartment. She basically found it 2 months before we got married. Before that we had been in college and living with our parents in a sense.

The first landlady own the home and lived in the big house next door. She and my wife became like sisters until the last six months of her life. She was seriously hurt and her medication made her not think right. We had verbal agreements BUT never did we sign one with her and this butthead said he wanted us to sign one but we never got one from him.

So this is all new to us.

Also my wife says we don't want our stuff (gas eletric water) shut off but those we pay for that isn't included in the rent needs to be transfered BUT she is concerned about transfer fees. Could anyone help give us an idea of the cost?

My wife hasn't slept well since all this started and I thought now we have a place to go to she's relax BUT now she keeps calculating and recalculating the cost of all the money we need to move.

How do I get her to relax?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. If you have one, talk to your realtor...

I wish you all good fortune as you begin your adventure!

[diabeticman]

6. we didn't have one

[X_Digger]

2. Ask (or read about) what notificatation your landlord has to give you before coming into your place

If there's routine maintenance to be done, what kind of notice are you given?

Do they hire a pest control service? Does the guy come on the same day of the month? Does the landlord just let him in to your place, or can you stipulate that you want to be there when he is?

What's the turnaround time for critical repairs? How about during weekends and/or holidays (ie, let's say your heat goes out at 5:01pm on a Friday evening of a holiday weekend. Are you frozen until Tuesday?) What's the turnaround time for normal repairs?

Those are the things off the top of my head that have come up when we were renting.

[diabeticman]

4. Thank you those are very helpful.

[MADem]

3. Find out how long the lease is, for starters, and if you can renew at regular points in time.

As for your utilities, call the utility company to get those moved--cable, phone, for sure. They will tell you, straight up, if there are any costs associated with moving these and how much they are.

Find out if the rent includes heat and hot water--they sometimes do (and sometimes they don't, depending on the set-up). Usually you're on your own for electricity but if you are in a converted duplex you want to make sure you aren't paying the bill for both your floor and the upstairs--there should be two meters; otherwise there should be an equitable division of the bill.

That will all be in the lease paperwork.

If you never signed a lease at your old place you were a tenant at will. They can't come after you for more money; they might try to keep your security deposit if you gave them one.

[diabeticman]

5. We gave one to our first landlord. She died and I just continued to pay rent on a regular bases

except when I withheld due to items not getting fixed.

[MADem]

7. Well, if the agreement was made with the lady who died, you were a tenant at will after she died, I

think....if it was an agreement between you and her, and not you and some corporate entity...!

Keep track of the money you spent on fixing things--receipts, etc.

[msongs]

8. rental agreements are regulated by law....read this pdf

read this pdf from california department of consumer affairs, it is very helpful:

A guide to landlord/tenants rights and responsibilities

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/catenant.pdf

Your state/city should have something similar

term of lease - 30 days/month to month, or fixed term such as 6 months/year
what is included - utilities, trash, sewer fees, etc
make sure your utilities are for you unit only or whether they are shared. if shared, terms of division of bills
pets or not
access - usually landlord has to give 24 hrs notice except for emergency such as fire/water leaks

search the internet for your state and city for things like rental agreements,