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Rental Information and FAQ

  • About my Apartments:   I have some of the nicest student apartments in the city.  I spend $100,000 – $150,000 renovating each house and put a lot of work into maintenance, repair, and ongoing upgrades to keep the apartments in very nice condition.  The plumbing and electrical systems in these 100+ year old houses have been completely upgraded– unlike many other student apartments.  When you move in, your apartment will be clean and in almost new condition.  I require that you take responsibility for keeping the apartment in good condition, keeping it clean, and let me know about any needed repairs so they can be taken care of.  
              If you are looking for an apartment you will be proud to show off to your friends and family you are in the right place.  If you are just looking for a typical student apartment, don’t think you and your roommates will be able to keep it clean, or want to have parties – you will be much happier elsewhere.

  • Parties:  Having a nice high-end apartment and having large house parties are completely incompatible.  You are welcome to have your friends over and enjoy yourselves in your own apartment, but parties of 20 or more people are not allowed and will incur a $200 fine per occurrence. Any kegs will incur an additional fine.

  • Utilities:  Tenants pay for Electric, Gas, and Cable / Internet.  They contract directly with the utilities.  Each apartment has separate gas and electric meters.  I pay for water, sewer, & trash.  Most apartments have gas fired boilers (radiators).

  • Is an apartment cheaper than campus housing?  Yes. Much cheaper.  It is $4,500 - $8000 a year cheaper per-person to live in an apartment instead of the dorms.  A tenant in a $500/month apartment will spend about $545 with utilities & internet - saving almost $2,000 a year vs. UAlbany dorms or saving $5,460 a year vs. UAlbany's Empire Commons.  And the apartment is yours for all 12 months including Xmas and summer break.  For food costs - using USDA's highest estimate of $80/wk per person for groceries you would save $2,700 compared to the UAlbany standard (MyFlex#2) meal plan over the 30 school weeks and save over $3,400 compared to St.Rose (meal plan #2).  

  • How much do utilities cost?  During the renovations I take extensive steps to improve the energy efficiency of the apartments including insulation, air sealing, weather stripping, caulking windows, new windows or storm windows etc. So my apartments range from more efficient to MUCH more energy efficient and more comfortable than most other rentals.  My tenants pay an average of $37 per person per month (averaged over the course of a year) for gas and electric. 

  • Lease Dates:  All apartments are rented from June 1st to May 26th.  (All student apartments in Albany are rented for 12 months.)

  • Lease info:  You can review a reasonably up-to-date copy of the lease below.  I will bring your copy to the lease signing meeting.

  • Deposits:  At lease signing I will collect a Security Deposit equal to one month’s rent.

  • Rent Structure:  The listed rent is your average monthly rent over a one year lease.  Each of the first 11 months of your lease you will pay one 11th of the total annual amount of your lease.  You final month will be free.  For example if your rent is shown as $500/mo you would pay $545/month for the first 11 months and your final month would be free.  

  • Ready to Apply?  When you are ready to apply fill out a rental application and I will take an application deposit of $20 per person.  The $20 will count toward your security deposit.  I will collect name, social security #, drivers license #, address, phone numbers on the application form and may do background and/or credit checks.  If you are not accepted as tenants I will refund the $20.  I will have a decision usually within 2-3 days.
    Within 7 days from your acceptance we will need to sit down to review and sign the lease as a group which will take about an hour.  At that time I will collect one month’s rent as security deposit.  You will pay the first month’s rent later, just before moving in. 

  • Washer / Dryer:  All of my apartments have a washer & dryer available in the basement.  Use of them is an additional $10 /month/person.  Use of them is optional, but everyone in the apartment must opt in or out.

  • Pets?  I do not allow dogs in my apartments in any circumstances.  Cats and other small animals may be allowed with my written permission

  • My parents have questions:  Parents are welcome to email me or call me with questions if they are not answered here.

  • Rent Payments & Discounts: Rent is paid monthly to me, usually separate payments from each tenant.  I accept Venmo, checks & money orders, and cash (if you come to me).  There are discounts available if you pre-pay your rent: $15/month off if you prepay the remaining 11 months or $10/month off if you pay 6 months + at once.  I suggest using your bank’s free web based billpay system, they will then send me a check each month on time.  Rent is due by the 1st, late fees apply if it is not postmarked by the 3rd of $20, another $20 after the 15th.  More details are available in the lease.
     

What do I need to sublease? 

 

Subleases do happen and are allowed with my written approval.  I will need a written sub-lease agreement, signed by the existing tenant and the new sublessee that, at a minimum, contains the following:

  1. Agreement by both named parties to sublease

  2. Dates of the sublease

  3. How any partial months rent is being handled

  4. How the security deposit is being handled and who I return the balance to.

  5. How any prepaid rent is handled.

  6. That the sublessee has received a copy of the lease and agrees to abide by its terms

  7.  I will also need the sublessee’s Name, cell, email, home address, home phone, and social #.  You can put those in the sublease agreement or they can be sent to me separately.  
     

I have created a sublease agreement that you can use if you wish. This is not legal advice and you may want other provisions in there to protect your interests.  Other sublease examples are available on the internet

 

Here is my suggested sublease agreement in PDF format: SUBLET AGREEMENT.pdf  or in Word format.  SUBLETAGREEMENT.docx

 

There will be an administrative charge of $50.  Finally, I will usually need to meet the sublessee before they move in.  The process is not over until I send written notification of approval (by email) to both parties.

 

Forms & Documents
 

Here is the apartment application form

 

Here is a copy of the lease. 

 

Here is a copy of my Move in Letter, with helpful information for new tenants.

 

Here is a copy of my Move Out Letter, with information on cleaning and return of the security deposits

 

Here is my Tenant information sheet, which should be hanging in each apartment

 

Here is information on Avoiding Damage In Your Apartment which should be also be hanging in each apartment.

 

Save Money
Sublease
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