<p>My son will be moving out of the dorm next year and is getting ready to sign a lease for an apartment in Philadelphia and was told that the apartment he is interested in does not include utilities.</p>
<p>We are from the west coast and we really have no idea what utilities would cost… It is a two bedroom and will be shared by 4 guys but what is the average cost for:</p>
<p>1) Cable/Internet
2) Electricity
3) Gas</p>
<p>How are most apartments heated and how much more does it cost during the cold months?</p>
<p>My parent in law are in PH area, two bedroom apt.
Cabel/Internet (very basic) 49.99. If your son wants sports channel, it can go up to 100
Gas summer 40, winter 150 ( they cook everyday and they turn low the temp when they are not home and during night time)
Water 20-30
Electricity 60 - 80</p>
<p>This is hard to answer. Some of the places are so poorly insulated (i.e. all the shanty student houses around Penn) that the utilities were out of sight. It was truly awful. It will be a lot, is all I can say.</p>
<p>Is their heat gas or electric? That will be their most expensive bill. Cable/internet will vary depending what they want. I pay about 100 a month but I have a ton of channels, HD box, and a few regular boxes in the house… I also have relatively fast internet. </p>
<p>Gas or electric will vary depending what their heat is. I have central air for my house and oil heat in the winter. My electric bills in the winter are 50 a month. In the summer they are about 150 including central air. My oil… I think I spent about 1200$ on that this winter from nov to current with its crazy costs. This is for a house though as opposed to an apartment so I’m sure they would use less then me.</p>
<p>I also suggest asking the landlord who their utilities companies are and calling them. They’ll give you the averages.</p>
<p>I spoke to my son today and he will be seeing the apartment on Friday. He will ask the landlord about the aprox cost of utilities. My son has no clue if the heat runs via gas, electric, oil…or even if the apartment has air conditioning!! He is learning that renting an apartment is a bit more entailed than he expected…lol! He actually asked if I could take a look at the lease, I am glad he asked as opposed to me asking, I guess he is growing up!</p>
<p>At my S’s school, they have lawyers who come to the Student Union Building twice a week for a total of 4 hours a week and will review a lease for students for free (well, it’s not really for free - I’m sure the charge for the lawyers coming to the school is built into the outrageous tutiton the school charges). The lawyers have some changes they always make in the standard lease.</p>
<p>Maybe they have such a program at your S’s school, too?</p>
<p>If he’s lucky, there won’t be central air, but room AC unit(s). I call this lucky for young folks starting out. My S (just outside Phila) has a 2-br apt with 3 AC units. He can just run the one he needs at the moment, instead of running them all. He’s frugal :).</p>
<p>Internet/cable - like has been said above.
IDK his utility bills. He has no gas bill.
Remember to check re water/sewer (included in rent? or not?). Presumably no garbage collection fee if he is in an apt - but check.</p>
<p>Have they signed the lease yet? Two years ago when my S was apt hunting - there were deals to be had. First month rent free, etc. Sometimes advertised; sometimes you had to ask. (Of course, this was with a college grad with a good job; maybe not offered to a group of students. LOL maybe this could be grounds for a cushy lawsuit).</p>
<p>dadinator-Thanks for the suggestion regarding a lawyer, it is a great idea (Unfortunately, I am an attorney so I will be able to review it )</p>
<p>jmom-I will have him ask about all “possible” additional monthly charges. I will also remind him that when they are not home, to turn off the heat or AC, something he never did at home!</p>
<p>Housing laws are pretty location-specific though, do you have any colleagues or lawyer friends in Philly that can review it?</p>
<p>
I don’t let people make changes to the leases I use, you don’t like it, don’t rent it. I’d be surprised if a landlord renting to students would be willing to make any accommodations.</p>
<p>My D is not in Philadelphia but is in Eastern PA. I don’t know who her cable company is but when she tried to sign up for it there were several companies to pick from. We looked at the different company’s and when we put her address in for one it said that her management company had specials for that cable company (I hope this is making sense).</p>
<p>By clicking a link, she was able to get free basic cable with internet. So instead of paying $100/mo. she pays $40/mo. It might be worth investigating.</p>
<p>Also her apartment has a electric heat pump. I think it’s been very economical. Their highest electric bill was $100. The roommates parents have made a stink about it but I’ve been really pleased. It’s a small 2 bedroom apt. on the second floor. I am very happy that she is on the 2nd floor for safety reasons and I think its cheaper to heat.</p>
<p>I never said I knew anything about the law, I just said i wanted to review the lease and i would assume if I had any charnges, they would not go for it anyways.</p>
<p>deb22-If your daughter has the link and would like to pass it on…maybe all those cc’ers in Penn could use it…in any case, I will ask him to ask the landlord…Thanks</p>
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and i would assume if I had any charnges, they would not go for it anyways.</p>