Renting - basic costs etc
 

Hi, I have been reading through some really useful threads in this forum so far, but can't find a post covering fees / taxes for renting a property in the US.

My company have offered to relocate me to a US office (L1) visa - my wife and young children would be coming over on dependant visa's

My company has offices in lots of locations across the US, so far we have narrowed our desired location down to either Atlanta (GA) or Pismo Beach(CA) - both of which are easy commutes to main company offices.

Obviously there will be a big difference in standard of living between the two. However I wondered what one could expect in terms of bills / taxes.

For instance we would be looking at between $2-3k on rent - in the UK we would expect to pay council tax, water, waste etc however I can't seem to find info on what this would be in the US. Would anyone have any advice on rough tax / rates breakdowns?

Thanks in advance

Re: Renting - basic costs etc
 

I cannot give any input for the 2 locations you've mentioned but here in Central Florida Orlando area rents could be half what you have quoted. My home model which is single story 4 bed 3 bath 1700 sq ft rents around $1500 including lawn/pool/waste service and includes property tax (council tax)paid by owner. Water bill monthly which could be between $50-100 depending on the lawn sprinkler system control. Electric bill for me (without little ones at home) averages $120-150 pm yearly although they all can vary tremendously as to where you live and how on top of controls you are prepared to be, I recall a 2 story larger rental home near to me having an electric bill of over $500 pm some years ago and then found out the pool was running all day! If you are renting then the agent/landlord should take care of any equipment breakdowns.

Re: Renting - basic costs etc
 

Thanks! thats great to hear that the tax & waste is included, I did read similar on a Californian website also, seems electric is pretty cheap on in the golden state too. Will definitely speak to a few agents, thanks for the suggestion!

Re: Renting - basic costs etc
 

Electricity is not cheap in California: nothing is cheap in California and the closer to the coast you are, the more expensive things get. The good news is that for several months of the year you need neither A/C or heating so your gas/electricity bills will be lower. Rentals in CA usually include water/waste but not always and this is mainly for multi-home properties (duplexes, apartments). If you are renting a stand alone home you will most likely be paying water, electricity, gas and waste. You'll almost certainly need to get home insurance as part of your rental contract.

Note that in CA you'll also pay the highest state tax rate in the country - 13.3%.

Re: Renting - basic costs etc
 

[QUOTE=
Note that in CA you'll also pay the highest state tax rate in the country - 13.3%.[/QUOTE]

Note that in CA you'll also pay the highest state tax rate in the country - maximum 13.3%.

Re: Renting - basic costs etc
 

Thanks, luckily my company pay a higher salary dependant on location (California, NYC is the highest band)

I read that electricity was reasonable in CA https://smartasset.com/mortgage/the-...-in-california I will have to check this out with a supplier. Thanks for the heads up on the home insurance, thats not something I would have thought off

Re: Renting - basic costs etc
 

You probably won't pay any property taxes as part of renting, but the rest will vary.

Re: Renting - basic costs etc
 

We rented twice. In CA property tax is always included in rent. Water, gas, electric and waste pickup are all separate. You will also need renters insurance and be able to pay up a month or more as deposit.

Pismo Beach is a very nice area. It's expensive. But it's all expensive.

With regard to electricity you will have one supplier and they will charge what they want. They have a monopoly. Same with water and gas. To be a "green" state they actually legislate that the more electricity you use, the MORE expensive it gets. For example 19c per kWh upto 350kWh and then 35c for the next level, etc etc. It can get costly. People without solar where I live can see $1000 a month over summer if they like to be cold all the time.
For an idea of rental costs: https://www.trulia.com/for_rent/Pismo_Beach,CA/

I don't know anything about Georgia other than it's where the Walking Dead is set :-)

Re: Renting - basic costs etc
 

We don't call it waste but rather garbage pickup and it is weekly and while we don't pay separately for pickup it is assumed it is included in the property taxes. So that depends on the homeowner you are renting from as property tax is often part of their mortgage payment. If they turn the water meter over to your name, you will be paying that separately. If they don't, it is assumed that the rental fee includes mortgage, sewer, garbage and water. Atlanta doesn't get a lot of snow in the winter but they do have a lot of icy conditions. Find out who is responsible for clearing the driveway in those conditions.

Re: Renting - basic costs etc
 

I'd suggest going to Apartments.com, put in the locations where you're interested and you'll get a general idea of the rental prices you're looking at

Usually on top of the Rental Price you'll pay for Electricity (I think both locations Air Conditioning will push up the price on Electricity), Maybe Gas too and perhaps Water. You may have to pay cable costs for Internet Access, some Apartment Complexes put it in as standard many don't Internet costs from around $40 for DSL up to around $150 for Gigabit Speeds

Property Tax, Waste Collection, Ambulance Service ....etc. are usually only paid by owners rather than renters

I would suspect that Georgia will be much cheaper than California

Re: Renting - basic costs etc
 

Re: Renting - basic costs etc
 

Garbage collection isn't included with our property taxes either, you have a choice of two companies and have to sign up and pay for the service.

Re: Renting - basic costs etc
 

Re: Renting - basic costs etc
 

well for the past 15 years collections have always been included in my property taxes. Also if you need any any extra pickups call in and within the next couple of days its removed ( it has been for me!)
And to add to my earlier post, yes renters insurance is a must have!

Re: Renting - basic costs etc
 

Re: Renting - basic costs etc
 

I would presume that if you go with a Apartment Rental Complex instead of a Private Rental, Garbage Disposal would be part of the Monthly Fee.

In one high-rise complex we'd just drop bags down a chute, larger items could be put directly into the large garbage bins. In another smaller complex you'd just take the bags to one of the collection points

Even when I purchased my own place, Garbage Collection was one of the things included on the 6-monthly property tax bill (Cook County so other Counties obviously do things differently)

if you do go for a complex, then I'd suggest checking out Appartmentratings.com, but take the reviews with a pinch of salt as disgruntled renters tend to post more often then content. But I found it to be useful info to the complexes I was considering

Re: Renting - basic costs etc
 

I lived in Marina Del Rey in California and now I live in Atlanta so hopefully I can give you some comparisons.

We lived and are living in nice areas, so obviously you can do things a lot cheaper than we do (if you want!!)

My rent in CA for 1000 sq ft 1 bed apartment was a snick over $3000 a month, plus a $500 deposit
My rent now for 1400 sq ft 2 bed apartment $2000, with a token effort deposit

Its worth checking with the apartment complexes for additional charges, parking per space costs extra, trash valet is $5

I have never rented privately, always use company run complexes, but that choice is yours, I believe you have more comeback if you have issues eg maintenance etc.

We both earn the same as we did in CA and our money definitely goes further here, gas is something like $1.20 a gallon less, but beware car insurance in Georgia is appalling!! and I thought Cali was bad......................

Utilities wise, we pay a lot less for gas and lecky, even with the AC on since March, and cable telly is much of a much. about $180 a month for everything (yeah a lot but I have lightning fast internet, and every conceivable channel!)

Hope some of that helps.

Re: Renting - basic costs etc
 

Thanks for all the replies, really useful info - I should have specified -by waste I meant 'sewage' 🙈 have a much better picture on costs and can begin to piece together an informed rough costing between the 2 locations. THANK YOU :)

Re: Renting - basic costs etc
 

Sewage comes under the water bill.
We rented twice from private landlords. The first was a disaster but she was the only one out of my list of 5 that would actually rent to us, fresh off the boat with no credit history. The house was dillapidated and she wouldn't fix stuff. In the end we complained so often that she broke our lease and we could move on. The house had been her family home for years so she simply wouldn't entertain the idea that anything could be wrong. Watch out for that sort of landlord. 2nd rental was much better. Guy had also lived in the house but didn't have the same emotional attachment.
In both cases we approached the landlords using a realtor. A British guy we'd been introduced to. Some landlords will never respond unless you go via a realtor.