Community Chat

[2blonde]

@Laura14  This area (NE Ohio) is well known for being an inexpensive area to live (in comparison to other parts of the country).  My condo is not a stand alone.......I'm in the middle of a long building of 12 condos.  With condos on either side, I do benefit with regard to heat and A/C.  Stand alones are more expensive in that regard.

[ccassaday]

We just finished renting. The water bill was always divided by the number of apartments in that building and then added to rent. They also added trash and pest control. We paid the electric and gas ourselves. We always paid rent by check and dropped it off in the box by the leasing office.

[kaydee50]

I live in downtown Chicago.  When we rented it included everything but electric.  There are a LOT of apartment buildings here in the city and many condo owners rent out their units.   The rent was automatically deducted from our checking account.  

[Laura14]

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@ccassaday wrote:

We just finished renting. The water bill was always divided by the number of apartments in that building and then added to rent. They also added trash and pest control. We paid the electric and gas ourselves. We always paid rent by check and dropped it off in the box by the leasing office.

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@ccassaday  Thanks!  So your water went by number of apartments and not people.  Good to know what one complex is doing.  And I forgot about pest control.  I noticed that new fee as well.  

[ccassaday]

Even though our water bill was divided by the nimvber of apartments in that building it was always consistent around the same amount. I don’t think you really have to worry much about subsidizing some ones water usage. Also if they do run sprinkler systems to keep the complex nice the tenants should share in that cost.

[Laura14]

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@kaydee50 wrote:

I live in downtown Chicago.  When we rented it included everything but electric.  There are a LOT of apartment buildings here in the city and many condo owners rent out their units.   The rent was automatically deducted from our checking account.  

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@kaydee50  I've thought about Chicago because I would love to give up my car.  But I still would like to have it around if there was a secure, inexpensive place to keep it with the apartment since it's practically brand new and paid off.

I've noticed looking northward that they still seem to be doing things the traditional way without putting more bills on the tenants.  I wish my area would have kept it that way.        

[Spurt]

@Laura14

I think it depends on the state you live in and what their rent range is and the type of apartment you are looking for is it average or upscale etc....

My sister and a couple of friends used to live in a couple of complexes.  My sister had a large one bedroom apartment with a fireplace,  it wasnt a community water bill they paid a small fee for water/trash/sewer and that came to about $16 a month.  No valet trash they had dumpsters.  Her rent not including the fee was $800. You have to normally get your own cable, some apartments give you basic cable with your rent but you have to pay to upgrade (thats how my sisters old apartment worked).  She paid her own electric.  

She moved to a brand new high end apartment, that has a parking garage, full gym, valet trash pickup at your door, high end pools with barbeque area.  She pays $1200 NOT including a $36 fee for trash pickup, or $20 for sewer/water etc.  AND they expect her to replace the filter in her brand new refrigerator every six months at a cost of $29.  And if its a new apartment they dont have dinning rooms ---I went with her to check apartments and the leasing agents all said millenials eat in their living rooms and they dont want dinning rooms so thats how new apartments are being built. She pays for her own cable, Spectrum.  And Spectrum was the only option she couldnt get AT&T or Dish or Direct TV-apartment rules they arent allowed on the property or allowed to install....

If you have pets they charge you a non refundable pet fee $150, plus another pet depositt of $250.  And if you have a dog there is a DNA fee (so if you dont pick up after your dog you are going to get fined--they can track it with DNA).....

To me the newer apartment looks like a hotel its all enclosed, the kitchen is large, living is kinda small she could only fit her couch one large chair and one small chair.  I really liked the layout of her old place it was large and had a dinning room and that fire place....but the old management company sold it to some one else and they started not to keep up the property and maintenance service was awful, and her A/C went out on a weekend and they wouldnt fix it until Monday and it was100 degrees......she stayed the weekend at my place

Here the apartments that come with paid utilities are dumps....since rates are high in summer due to A/C running constantly thats the only way they can attract tenants...

READ REVIEWS dont rely on a leasing service to help you find an apartment...

[Laura14]

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@ccassaday wrote:

Even though our water bill was divided by the nimvber of apartments in that building it was always consistent around the same amount. I don’t think you really have to worry much about subsidizing some ones water usage. Also if they do run sprinkler systems to keep the complex nice the tenants should share in that cost.

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Thank you again @ccassaday.  That was honestly one of my biggest concerns.  I don't want sky high bills in summer and then reasonable ones during other parts of the year based on someone else's usage.  Consistent is what I am going for since I'm on a budget.  Glad to know it's out there even with this new math.     

[Laura14]

@Spurt  Thanks!  I found a review site for apartments along with Google and Yelp that I am taking as many comments as I can get.  Eliminated quite a few that way.

A DNA fee?  Do they swab the dog's mouth?  I don't have pets anymore but good for the apartment complexes obviously policing the people who can't be bothered to bend over and pick their pet's mess.  That must be expensive for them to enforce.  I wonder if it's just a show. 

I did have a dog and no one ever heard her or cleaned up after her except the one who loved her.   

[CrazyDaisy]

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@Laura14 wrote:

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@kaydee50 wrote:

I live in downtown Chicago.  When we rented it included everything but electric.  There are a LOT of apartment buildings here in the city and many condo owners rent out their units.   The rent was automatically deducted from our checking account.  

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@kaydee50  I've thought about Chicago because I would love to give up my car.  But I still would like to have it around if there was a secure, inexpensive place to keep it with the apartment since it's practically brand new and paid off.

I've noticed looking northward that they still seem to be doing things the traditional way without putting more bills on the tenants.  I wish my area would have kept it that way.        

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In reality the costs are the same.  Apartment rents have always had to cover the bills.  They are simply itimizing the various costs now so the rent will not seem so high.