how to rent a house

Some common abbreviations

brm/bed =bedroom

Pw=per week

Apt= apartment

Min=minimum

f/f=fully furnished

Inc=including

n/s= non smoking

tel/ph=telephone

How do Americans send SM

How to phone a landlord for checking information?

You can ask questions directly:

Where is it?

How far is it?

How much is it?

Is it fully furnished?

How many bedrooms are there?

What size are the bedrooms?

Is there a garden?

When can I move in?

If you want to be more polite: I was wondering +

where it is?

how far it is?

how much it is?

how many brm there are?

what size the brm are?

when I can move in?

if it is fully furnished?

if there is a garden?

What does Susan say when she checks the address?

S: Ah hello…I’m phoning about the house in Glen Eden that’s advertised in the paper today.

L: Yes.

S: I was just wondering where it is.

L: 36 Arawa Street…

S: Sorry, 36…

L: Arawa Street, A-R-A-W-A. It’s number 36.

S: Oh Ok…

找房子 (apartment hunting)

Do you have any apartments for rent right now? 你们现在有没有公寓要出租啊？

租屋仲介 (leasing agent)

房东 (landlord, landlady)

Do you have any apartment available right now?

Do you still have a vacancy?

(还有空的公寓吗？)

同样的问法也常见于去旅馆

Do you have any rooms available?

What kind of apartment do you have? (你们有什么样的公寓啊？)

租出去 (lend out)

When would you say that there would be an apartment available again?

(那你觉得什么时候才会有房子空出来呢？)

I’d like to rent either a studio or a one-bed room apartment. 我想租一间小套

房或是有一房一厅的公寓。

What‘s the rent on that? How much is the deposit? 租金是多少？押金又是多少？

How much is the rent?

How much is it per month?

Do I have to sign a twelve-month lease? 我要签十二个月的租约吗？

How long the lease is gonna be?

Do I have to sign a twelve-month lease?

Do I have to sign for a one-year term?

是不是一定要签一年呢？

How many square feet is that studio?

那间套房有多少平方英尺？

How big is that apartment?

Is there a view from there? 从那里有任何视野吗？

Does the apartment get much natural light? /Does the room receive much sunlight? 房子里采光好不好?

house

是独栋的房子,通常有好几个房间,车库,通常家家户户都还有自己的草坪和院子。

condominium [ ,kɔndə'miniəm ] (condo),

一栋建物里分属不同的住户,而且住户通常拥有房子的产权 (property )

townhouse

则是相连的透天住户,通常只有很小的院子,但房子本身都有二到三层楼,以充份利用空间。

如果公寓再细分的话,通常有

studio (中文可翻成是套房)、

one-bedroom (一房一厅)

two-bedroom apartment (二房一厅)

差别在于 studio 的客厅厨房和卧房是连在一起,它除了浴室之外没有其它任何隔间

租一间便宜的房子

--Can you help me to rent a cheap apartment?

---OK, my pleasure.

---If you get some information, You can reach me at 52376652.

--Ok, no problem.

When you have problems in your flat, you may call your landlord and ask for solutions:

Complaints:

I’m phoning to let you know/tell you that…

We’ve got a bit of a problem in the flat. The oven isn’t working…

Solutions:

I was wondering if you could get someone to come and have a look at it for us.

Would it be possible to get someone to fix it?

Could you please get an electrician to come round?

The toilet overflowed. My bathroom floor is a mess.

The water closet is clogged and when I flushed it, it overflowed.

The walls started to crack. The floorboards creaked.

Induction cooker 电磁炉

range hood 抽油烟机

Iron熨斗

wash pot 洗手盆

Susan has a problem in her flat. She phones her landlord.

1. What is the problem?

The oven is broken.

2. When did the problem start?

Last night.

3. What will the landlord try to do?

He will try and fix the oven. If he can’t, he will call an electrician.

4. When will the landlord visit Susan’s flat?

7 pm tomorrow.

可以改到星期六吗？

我时间紧迫。

什么地方都可以。

好，就这么定。

还没确定。

Can you make it on Saturday?

--你今天有空吗？

-- 我今天忙得很。可以改到星期六吗？

I'm pressed for time.

--最后期限要到了。我时间紧迫啊。

--你这周末要加班了？

Any place will do.

-- 哪儿都可以吗？

--这周星期几都行。

Deal./ Done.

--我们放学后去逛街好吗？

-- 好，就这么定。

It's no big deal.

It's up in the air.

--Let's wait and see.

--I haven't made up my mind.

占用您的时间了，谢谢您。

我得挂电话了。

怎么那么久？

勿失良机。

价格很贵、便宜。

Thank you for your time.

I have to go now.

--有人在敲门，我得挂电话了。

--好的，那我一会儿再给你电话。

What took you so long?

--怎么那么久？

--我没赶上车。

Don't pass up a golden opportunity.

-- Don't pass it up.

--Now or never.

The price is too high/ rather low.

--噢， 太贵了。

-- 但我觉得物有所值。