Renting a first apartment and buying a first home are important milestones in many American’s lives.  There are many factors that a person has to think about before moving out on ones own, but the first big question often is: should I rent or buy?
Buying a home is a big investment and not something most American are ready to do until after they have established themselves at a steady job and saved enough money for a down payment and to qualifying for home loan, called a mortgage.  A down payment on a house is a large sum of money, often 15-30% of the total cost of the home, that is paid upfront to the bank at the time of purchase, before moving in.  A mortgage is another word for a home loan; most mortgages in the United States are paid off monthly, over 30 years or so.  When a person is ready to buy a home, they often start looking for homes for sale by driving or walking around the area they are interested in living, looking for ‘For Sale’ signs.  In the United States signs are often placed in front of homes that are for sale to let people know the house is “on the market”.  Another place to look for homes for sale is online.  Most real estate companies list homes for sale online.  Looking at houses online is a great start, but in order to look at a home in person you will need a real estate agent.  A real estate agent is a person who is authorized to act as an intermediary between parties wishing to buy or sell land and houses.  A real estate agent works connecting buyers and sellers is only paid if s/he makes a sale.

Now, you may decide like many young Americans you are not yet ready to buy a home, which means you will need to rent.  Most young people in the United States rent their first apartment or house after finishing high school, during college, or after leaving college.  If you are renting, you don’t need to have nearly as much money saved up as you would for a down payment, but you will need to have a little savings to pay a deposit on your rental.  A deposit (also called a security deposit) is money that is paid in advance in case you cause damages to the apartment you rent while you live there.  Renters (also called tenets) pay their deposits to landlords, not the bank.  A landlord is the person who runs a rental property, taking care of it and fixing appliances, like the refrigerator or stove that come in rentals, if they break.  The cost of the deposit a person has to pay can vary widely, as can the cost of rent.  Rental apartments and homes in big cities are generally much more expensive than those in the suburbs or out in the country.  An alternative to renting an apartment or a house is renting a condo (a word that is short for the word condominium).  A condo is and apartment or house that is individually owned or rented while all other common facilities like hallways, elevators, heating and air conditioning systems, and outdoor areas are owned as a group and controlled by an association to which a person pays a fee.  No matter what type of property you want to rent you will have to find your ideal living quarters somehow.  Finding a rental property is most often done online these days and a very common place to look for apartments is the website www.craigslist.com.

Here is a rental property advertisement from craigslist.  You can see here the type of information that is often listed about rental properties.  You may notice the word ‘room’ refers to ‘bedroom’ and ‘bath’ refers to ‘bathroom’.

2-room, 1½-bath,  2000 sq ft apartment includes garage parking space, washer/dryer, and small storage area in basement.  Half bath off of entry way. You pay electricity ($20 – $50 depending on season/use), cable/internet, and condo fees.  The unit is on the third floor and faces the backside of the building.  Please email with questions. Pictures available.

If you need help deciding if buying or renting is right for you, you might want to check out this New York Times article for help and more information.  Also reading this article is a good way to practice your English: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/business/buy-rent-calculator.html.  If you are looking for more resources to help you practice and learn English check out all that is available to you at www.transparent.com.