HOUSE HUNTING

What’s the difference between living in a house and living in a students’ dormitory?

There are so many different responsibilities

•You have to provide your own furniture

•Also your own refrigerator

•You have to mow the lawn

•Pay rent on time or you will be evicted

We have three parties; who are they and what is their connection to this house?

Landlord; owns the house

Real estate agent; finds the tenants to

rent it and manages it.

The tenants; pay the rent and live in it.

Who makes the decision to accept the tenants to occupy the house?

The real estate agent

What do the tenants sign before they move in?

A lease; must be for six months or one year.

What do the tenants need to pay before moving in?

One or two months in advance rent, and a security deposit/bond, another month’s rent which they get at the end of the lease if house is in good condition.

Each month the tenants pay the rent, but who do they actually pay?

They pay the real estate agent who then pays the landlord and keeps a commission.

Now that the tenants have moved in and paid all upfront costs, what else do they need to pay each month as well as the rent?

Utilities

Class discussion

What type of house would want to live in?

Example:

Small or largeOne story or two stories

Would live with many or a single room apartment?

What location would you live in, such as urban, suburban or rural.

Would you want to live close to your parents or far away as possible?

You and your partner have just signed the lease, and now it is time to move in. As it is your first time to move out you don’t have any furniture.

You need to discuss what furniture you need to get but also where can you get.

Pair work:

Moving into your new house or apartment.

Living roomMaster

bedroom

Bedroom2

Bedroom3 Bathroom kitchen

Dinningroom

On the handout you will design your own house.

This is a standard design of a house, but you and your partner can create any format you want.

Discuss how many rooms, how big it should be, a small or large room, and how many stories it will have.

Also, what type of furniture and fittings will you have?

TV cabinet

Coffee table Arm chair

lamp

Bean bags

Antiques

What other furniture would you need?

Language focus:

“If you put a chair there, it will block the entrance and no one will get in.”

“Facing the TV against the window will create glare from the sunlight.”

“Having no furniture in the living room is very uninviting.”

“That bright orange couch/sofa will clash with that bright green beanbag.”

“My coffee table and your bookshelf just don’t compliment each other.”

“Placing too much furniture will make the room very cramped.”

Living roomMaster

bedroom

Bedroom2

Bedroom3 Bathroom kitchen

Dinningroom

Now design your dream house on your handout, discuss with your partner what you should design.

You don’t want to hold a lease, you don’t have a lot of furniture and you just want a room to live in, what would you do?

Move in with other people who already have a house.

How do you find a place to live?

Classifieds in a newspaper or online.

Room to rent

Good location, close to shops and public transportation.

Looking for a person, must be tidy, easy going and responsible.

$200 dollars a month plus bills

Activity 2: find a new housemate

Living roomMaster

bedroom

Bedroom2

Bedroom3 Bathroom kitchen

Dinningroom

Activity:

Tenants – you hold the lease for a house but you need to find a new housemate.

This is your house, two of you rent it, one of you has the master room and the other the second room.

A third person will look at different houses, and will discuss about living there, rent, utility bills, pets, location and neighbours.

Prospective tenant

Which one of these men would want to rent out the room to?

What would look for in a new housemate?

•Personality

•Interests

•Occupation

•Reliable

•Responsible

•Clean

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

One prospective tenant per house, spend a few minutes at each house then change.

Review:

When choosing the cost of the rent, at what percentage of your monthly salary should you allocate for your rent?

About 30%

When you sign the lease what else do you have to pay?

One or two months rent in advance

What is a security deposit?

In case you break something, insurance

How much should you pay for the security deposit?

One month’s rent

Do you get it back?

Only if you don’t break something at the end of the lease.

Furniture and fittings:

In western countries are furniture provided in the house?

No; everything such as the fridge must be provided by you.

If you are the lease holder should you provide the fridge?

It is common that the lease holder has the majority of the furniture.

Tenant

Real estate

Landlord

If this breaks whose responsibility is it to fix it?

Window

Water pipes

Furniture

The door

TV

The lights