Setting up a flat. Your thoughts/opinions/help!!!

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tomgeeknz

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#425470 9-Jan-2011 16:21

My dad works for the City Mission :-)

alasta

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#425481 9-Jan-2011 17:05

mattRSK: My other advice is get everyone's names on the lease and bills etc. Otherwise you get lumped with all the responsibility.

Best practice here is to ensure that anyone who has liability over the rent or bills has signing rights on the flat bank account. There is nothing worse than having a bill to pay but not being able to pay it out of the flat account, because you can then end up paying it out of your own pocket in the hope that the flatmates will deliver on their promises to reimburse you for their share.

I've been flatting for a number of years now and it's saved me a lot of money but it's been a rocky road with quite a lot of conflict. I'm fortunate enough to have a very good group of people where I am now, but I'm planning to rent a small unit on my own next time I have to move.

tomgeeknz

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#425482 9-Jan-2011 17:08

Yeah, Ideally I would like to flat by myself, but it is just not feasible.....

richms

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#425509 9-Jan-2011 18:38

Dont believe that having someone elses name on things too lessens your liability at all.

If they dissappear, end up in prison, bankrupt whatever you will get the whole bill, none of this crazy "I only owe half of it" crap that some people come up with.

IMO, one persons name on it, and others pay a greater share of it since they are not shouldering the risk.

If there is more than one person on the TA, then you are liable for their actions as you cant kick them out, and if they dissappear you are again left holding the whole bill for damages. If they are not on the TA, you can get rid of them as boarders so then your insurance will cover the damages if they cant be charged, like if they come back and smash some windows in etc.

Richard rich.ms

kyhwana2

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#425548 9-Jan-2011 21:10

dontpanic42: To be honest, I personally can't see the benefit of Naked DSL. It costs roughly the same for a Naked DSL package with, say, 10GB of data, compared to a 10GB Broadband + Phone package. I just don't understand what the appeal is when it costs the same, but WITHOUT a phone line.

Naked DSL is ~$20 or so cheaper without/with 5-10GB of data (depending on ISP). To a student, that's a weeks food!

nickb800

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#425554 9-Jan-2011 21:27

I would recommend powershop, we have it in our student flat in ilam and its great. Many houses in Chch have smart meters so powershop updates your usage each night so no wild estimated read bills. Also lets you pay power weekly (most other companies are monthly) which is easier to budget with especially if receiving student allowance/loan weekly.
They are also pretty cheap, although genesis will probably be a little bit cheaper atm.

Supershed ftw - has supplied most essentials for our flat.

Paknsave shows a board each week comparing prices with countdown and are usually 15% cheaper (even if they do say so themselves)

Most of all, enjoy the experience!

Damager

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#425557 9-Jan-2011 21:38

organize the power account asap.. if the property has been vacant for a while.. it may be due for a vacancy disconnection by the current retailer.. nothing worse than moving in.. and having no power and organising an after hours reconnection..

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xpd

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#425634 10-Jan-2011 09:04

Damager: organize the power account asap.. if the property has been vacant for a while.. it may be due for a vacancy disconnection by the current retailer.. nothing worse than moving in.. and having no power and organising an after hours reconnection..

Or getting it connected then having it disconnected because the power co. lost the paperwork....... was not impressed. :)

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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timmmay

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#425714 10-Jan-2011 12:25

kyhwana2:Naked DSL is ~$20 or so cheaper without/with 5-10GB of data (depending on ISP). To a student, that's a weeks food!

A weeks food if you eat noodles once a day! $20 is a meal for me, maybe two meals, and I don't even eat meat and very little dairy.

TC might not want to sell you just internet... but if you press them they usually will. Awesome internet speeds, just be prepared for occasional downtime.

webwat

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#426187 11-Jan-2011 16:24

mattRSK: Comparison of Genesis plans, http://genesisenergy.co.nz/genesis/index.cfm?3B5AAB37-C09F-4299-6D65-F873B2318884

Broadband details for Snap, http://www.snap.net.nz/home/broadband/

Guide to flatting, http://www.dbh.govt.nz/flatting-101

My other advice is get everyone's names on the lease and bills etc. Otherwise you get lumped with all the responsibility.

Well i have to disagree with how to handle bills. You probably dono't want to be "joint and severally liable" for your flatmates phone or rent, so if you do have a major dispute at least one of you can decide to get a new flatmate without needing to get bond transfer documents signed off and paying their share of phone bills (that you cant get back from the bond). Cost me quite a bit to learn that gem, and problem flatmate was a chef too.

Its useful to have phone for local calls with the broadband line, but do put a toll bar or secret password on it. Any toll calls should be on each individual flatmate's mobile or personal voip account so any dispute will only be with the phone provider.

And some chefs need a kitchen hand for washing dishes... But don't let yourself get blamed for a messy kitchen/bathroom either -- easiest to do cleaning whenever needed instead of having rosters unless one of you needs a push to do cleaning.

Time to find a new industry!

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