Many people know that there is no registration in the United States. But this is not the case. A person must have a postal address to which mail would come to confirm residence (permanent residence), issue bank cards, get a driver’s license, because each state has its own rights. The tax rate also depends on the state of residence – there is no way without an address. It is possible to rent a post office box at the post office, but this is not always enough.
What a new immigrant needs to know
Liz (lease). In fact, this will be the confirmation of your registration. Why is this needed? When you go to the bank to open your first account, the first card, you may (not always do this) ask for an envelope with your address and name, that is, confirmation that someone is already sending you mail to this address, which means that you really live there. It can be an envelope with an electricity bill and the like.
In addition, your rights and obligations are prescribed in the lease. By law, any contract (in our case, a lease / lease) must be in writing if it is for a period of at least one year.
Typically, homeowners offer a one or two year contract with an option to renew. If you read / watch sad stories about how someone was evicted “just like that”, know that these people did not defend themselves with an agreement, otherwise they would have already sued the owner.
By the way, in New York, tenants are protected by law so much that you still have to try to evict someone. Hence the high rent.
An agent / realtor must necessarily have a license, which he is obliged to show you upon request. If he does not have a license, then you are involved in illegal activities. You can do without it, but in this case, the owner of the home may refuse you, since the realtor is responsible for who he brought.
Large buildings (apartment buildings) often have their own management companies (management) that handle paperwork without a realtor.
Be careful! If you are offered to rent a house “from the owner” and without a contract, you move in “on bird’s rights”, and you can be evicted at any time. There are many stories when people lived without a contract, paid the owner in cash, had no receipt for payment, and then they were kicked out as if for “non-payment”. It will be very difficult to prove everything. And why are there unnecessary problems in a new country?
Deposit. Usually it is equal to the size of one monthly rent. It will be returned to you after you vacate the apartment. But only on condition that the apartment remains safe and sound. Sometimes the deposit can be less than the monthly rent, and sometimes, on the contrary, more.
As a rule, multifamily housing management companies carry out an audit of your financial soundness.
Since the new immigrant does not yet have any credit history, the owner can request payment several months in advance. In any case, the issue of the deposit, like the issue of the amount of the monthly rent, is individual in each apartment and for each owner.
“To survive” under someone else’s agreement. Beware of those who will offer you to “live” in the apartment according to their agreement. The fact is that if the contract is concluded for a year / two, it cannot be simply terminated before the end of the term. If the owner agrees, then you’re lucky, if not, then the tenants can be added to the “black” list, which will significantly complicate the search for a new apartment later.
In order not to bring the matter to the “black” list, they are looking for those who will “live” to the end of the contract. In this situation, your name will not be included in the contract. Although it is possible that the owner will meet halfway and rewrite the contract for you. This is ideal.
How to find an apartment?
The first way is to contact a real estate agency. By the way, from this year you do not need to pay money to the realtor – now the owner pays for it (we are talking only about New York). So far, this is only being introduced. The second way is to google the buildings where apartments are rented and contact them directly.
Discrimination. The only circumstance for your discrimination is your financial condition, or rather, even the absence of a credit history. Know that you cannot be raised rent or denied housing if you are a family with a child, if you are a single mother, and the like. This is all discrimination. In New York, they do not have the right to refuse to rent an apartment if a person belongs to sexual minorities. While in some other states this category of people is not yet protected.
Help from a friend. As you already understood, in the United States, a financial check can significantly complicate the search for housing. In this situation, your friend, who already lives in the United States, has a credit history and can vouch for you, can help.
Renting a home in the United States gives you all rights other than ownership. Sign a contract, read carefully what is written in it in order to protect yourself in the future. The tenant cannot be simply evicted – there must be substantial grounds for that, which are presented in the contract. Don’t listen to the nightmarish stories of those who live illegally. Be smart about renting a home.
