2.4. Understanding a lease or tenancy agreement

Listening 3 A. PHONING A LANDLORD

Pre-listening task.

1. What things do you think you might hear on a telephone? Complete a list of 10 words and word combinations.

2. Listen to the following telephone conversation between Angela, a student at university who is looking for a room to rent with the landlord and compare your list of expressions with what you’ve heard on the tape.

3. Listen to the following song “No Vacancy” by Neil Sedaka and fill in the missing words or phrases.

NO VACANCY Neil Sedaka I'm livin' in a house on the other side of town They're makin' a highway so they're (1) ….. my buildin' ……….. I gotta find a place, within a week Or else I'll be sleepin' out on the street (2) ….. is me, I'm lookin' for a vacancy All day long I'm walkin' 'round (no vacancy) Walkin' up and walkin' down (no vacancy) I've been (3) ................ ………. the town (no vacancy) No apartment to be found (no vacancy) On my (4) …………. ……… (can't find a place to stay) I found myself a place but the rent sure is a (5) ……… It's a (6) ……. ……… ………. that was built in Lincoln's time The paint is (7) ……. right ……… of the wall Good (8) ………, the bathroom is in the hall Woe is me, I'm lookin' for a vacancy I could budget myself, (9) ………… and save to get along But it ain't no fun givin' up wine, women and song So I'll have a roof up above my head But under those conditions I (10) ……… ……… ….. ………. Woe is me, I'm lookin' for a vacancy All day long I'm walkin' 'round (no vacancy) Walkin' up and walkin' down (no vacancy) I've been searchin' 'round the town (no vacancy) No apartment to be found (no vacancy) On my dishwasher's pay (can't find a place to stay) All day long I'm walkin' 'round (no vacancy) Oh, All day long I'm walkin' 'round (no vacancy) All day long I'm walkin' 'round (no vacancy) All day long I'm walkin' 'round (no vacancy) All day long I'm walkin' 'round (no vacancy)

4. Can you understand what is written in the following ad? Using information from the ad make up a dialogue between a Landlord and a potential Tenant.

A flat to let A lux. s/c sgl. furn. gdn. flt. 1 rm., k & b. C.H. Cpts., Col. T.V., tel., frifge, ckr., h/c. $180 p.m. Refr. rqd. Avail. mid. Apr. Tel: 01-678-1234 Evgs after 7.

Listening 3 B-C. OWNING vs. RENTING

Pre-listening task.

1. Discuss with your partner what is better: to own or to rent a flat or a house. Present your idea to the group.

2. Listen to the following conversations between Todd and Akane, Todd and Mark who debate renting vs. owning a house and compare your and their points of view.

Ex. 1. Read the following text and fill in the blanks with the suitable words from the box.

Apartment for rent.

If you enjoyed your …………..(1) in Ukraine on your first visit and decided to return to work and live here, you know that you'll have to look for a more permanent place …………..(2) than simply shacking up in a hotel. Here are some tips on finding a place to live, some situations you should try to avoid and actions you should take.

I once met a foreigner in the Kyiv subway, better known as the Metro. He saw me reading an English book and decided to approach me. He said rather …………. (3), "I don't like this country," which surprised me a bit. I turned to him to find out what his problem was. It appeared that he was from Denmark and …………. (4) in Kyiv for only a few days. This surprised me even more, since most people I meet fall in love with the country …………… (5) first sight. Anyway, getting back to the man from the subway, we both came out to the newly ……………. (6) Maidan Nezalezhnosti or Independence Square. Naturally, I asked him what the problem was he had with Ukraine. It appeared that he had nobody to help him when he came to Kyiv and he did not think about his life in Kyiv in advance. This is where some tips may come ……………… (7).

Tip # 1. If you know that you are staying in Ukraine for some longer period of time, make …………. (8) for everything including a guide and a translator. This is your best friend in a foreign country. The man from the Metro found this out the hard way.

Indeed, he ……….(9) an apartment here in Kyiv and complained to me that one day he was just coming out of the shower, when he saw his …………..(10) standing in the room. Surprised to see him, the foreigner asked what the guy wanted. It appeared that the landlord had forgotten something he needed and also wanted some money as an advance …………… (11) for rent. Not knowing the language, he was clearly very frustrated with the whole situation.

Tip # 2: It is strongly recommended that you have a translator when you are speaking with the …… (12) and the owner of the apartment you are checking out in order to avoid any unneeded problems. Unexpected visits by the landlord when the person renting is not home must be avoided. In order to do so, simply insist that the landlord call in advance and set the dates when you are to pay the ……….(13) each month. This, of course, much easier to do through a trustworthy translator and an agent from a reliable agency.

If you want to rent an apartment, one way is to contact an agency. There are quite a lot of agencies in the city. For example, you can easily access some of them through the Internet.

In addition to that you can try picking anyone of the local publications with listings of all kinds of apart­ments for rent. You will probably need a translator to help you select and make phone calls, as all of them are in Russian or Ukrainian. Among them are Rio, Ekspres obyava, and Aviso, the three most popular ones available at any kiosk in town. Once you've found an agent or had a chance to go through the………….. (14) listings, make a choice.

Tip # 3: Prices differ depending on the part of town, left or right bank, proximity to a Metro station and access to public transport, like buses and taxis.

In any case, in the ……………. (15) and central areas of Kyiv you can find one-, two- and three-room …………….(16) going for US $300-500 per month. However, the prices can go as high as over US $3,500 and more for ………….. (17) downtown apartments and suites.

Of course, as typical for many cities around the world, one- and two-room apartments …………. (18) from the city center will range anywhere from US $80-250 per month.

The final consideration when ………….. (19) a place is where your new office is situated. For example, if your office is on the left bank, there is absolutely no need for you to look for a place downtown, because if you intend to use the subway, you will always be going against the flow of people who travel in the morning from outlying parts of town to their work places. Furthermore, life in the city center overall is more expensive. If you live further from the city center, even shopping is cheaper. Another thing is if you are into nightclubs and nightlife. Most entertainment is situated closer to the downtown core. The nightlife in Kyiv is well organized as well, and a ride home is not too expensive. In fact, many foreigners say it is cheaper than in their home countries.

So, all this in mind, with a good, reliable translator, and a good agent at your ………….. (20), you are bound to find a decent place to live while working here in Kyiv. Best of luck!

1	A	journey	B	stay	C	trip	D	life
2	A	to dwell	B	to lodge	C	to rent	D	to settle down
3	A	unexpectedly	B	quietly	C	angrily	D	suddenly
4	A	has been	B	was	C	had been	D	is
5	A	at	B	on	C	with	D	after
6	A	renewed	B	rebuilt	C	repaired	D	renovated
7	A	useful	B	vital	C	in handy	D	helpful
8	A	preparations	B	arrangements	C	necessities	D	useful things
9	A	rented	B	let	C	lodged	D	squatted
10	A	grantor	B	owner	C	host	D	land­lord
11	A	payment	B	deposit	C	money	D	charge
12	A	tenant	B	real estate agent	C	lessee	D	heir
13	A	mortgage	B	interest	C	rent	D	debt
14	A	rental	B	letting	C	available	D	flats
15	A	outskirts	B	upper town	C	suburbs	D	downtown
16	A	lodgings	B	apartments	C	hostels	D	cottages
17	A	expensive	B	precious	C	comfortable	D	luxury
18	A	fur­ther	B	closer	C	near	D	far away
19	A	buying	B	letting	C	renting	D	evicting
20	A	disposal	B	service	C	hand	D	office