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How Newcomers Can Rent a Place for Living in the USA
The process of renting property in the USA is significantly different from the one in Ukraine.
It is very difficult to accept the fact that a good and a dangerous area can border each other. It is unusual for newcomers that apartments can be unfurnished or that realtor's fee comes from the landlord but not the tenant. Moreover, the list of documents, that must be shown to the landloard in order to decide whether he or she wants to rent out an apartment, is terrifying in the USA. But do not be afraid, everything is not as scary as it seems at first sight.
What Place is the Best for Living?
Firstly, let's consider the question of choosing a city by those who have not yet decided where to move. In this case, you should listen to your heart, brain and wallet at once. The cost of the same apartment in different parts of America can vary in 3-4 times. Take into account, that the minimum number of rooms you can rent depends on the number of people in your family. For example, according to the rules in the USA, a family with a child must rent a two-bedroom apartment so that the child has his or her own room.
The main criteria for choosing a location are:
- Rating of schools. It influences the cost of housing and the level of the area, so even if you don't have children, this is the first thing you should pay attention to;
- Do you plan to use a car? Not many places in America have everything you need within walking distance;
- Climate. The uniqueness of this country allows you to choose the climatic conditions that suit you the best;
- The possibility of employment in your field. Very often, people move to cities and only later they find out that it is difficult to find a certain job there or any other job.
- Decide whether you need a community of Ukrainians. There are several states with very large groups of compatriots, Ukrainian churches and various aid centers.
- The level of support given by a certain state under the U4U program. States have different laws regarding the issuance of documents and assistance to those who came under the U4U program. So, be sure to study these questions in advance.
Where to Look for Housing?
If your sponsor can't provide you with a house or apartment for a couple of months and there is no one to turn to, the safest way for you is a short-term rent on AirBnB, Craigslist or FB Marketplace. While you are waiting for the documents, you have time to decide on your future place of residence according to your criteria.
For long-term rentals, the most popular search platforms are:
- Trulia
- Zillow
- ForRent
- Apartment Finder
Sites like Facebook, Marketplace, Craigslist and OfferUp are not recommended for direct rentals. It is safer to use them only to find options which a licensed realtor can help verify.
As mentioned earlier, realtors receive their fee from the tenant. You can ask the Telegram/Facebook groups of the city you have chosen for advice on a professional. Those who have language barriers should find a countryman in their area. A good realtor will help you collect all the necessary documents and sometimes even negotiate favorable terms for you.
What Challenges do Newcomers Face?
Because of the lack of documents and a credit rating, the landlords do not risk renting out housing on loyal terms, so Ukrainians, like other migrants without a full list of documents, have to pay in advance for three months and up to a year.
There is no single list of documents for signing a lease agreement. Taking into account all the circumstances, we have compiled a minimum list so that Ukrainians can easily rent an apartment or house:
- SSN (social security number - American identification code)
- Bank statement about your account balance. If your savings are on a Ukrainian bank account, not an American one, you can order online a statement in English from your bank.
- Certificate in any form about your salary for the last 6 months.
- Id or passport.
To increase your chance of receiving a positive response from the landloard, we suggest finding a guarantor (co-signer). It is someone who lives in the USA and can vouch for you by entering his or her SSN in the lease agreement, submiting his certificate of income, id and tax statement).
And the last significant feature is that the most housing in the USA is completely unfurnished. There are many alternatives for those who want to save money on furniture, but we will talk about them next week.
