Charlestown Rentals

Monument Square 2 Bedroom

2009-03-28T13:01:00.002-07:00

108 High Street

2009-03-28T13:01:00.001-07:00

16 Harvard Street

2009-03-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

How To Get A Resident Sticker

2008-12-27T10:37:00.001-08:00

While the resident sticker for a Boston car is free, the car must be registered in Boston. Depending on where the car is registered prior to Boston, there may be an increase in the insurance premium on the car.

To get a permit, bring an updated registration, a filled-out resident parking permit application, and one of the following proofs of residency bearing your name and Boston address, postmarked within the past 30 days to the Office of the Parking Clerk (Boston City Hall Room 224 1 City Hall Plaza Boston, MA 02201):

Gas, Electric or Telephone Bill
Cable Television Bill
Monthly Bank Statement (excluding mortgage)
Credit Card Bill
Water and Sewer Bill

Moving BACK to Boston?
If you have previously lived in Boston and are moving back to the city, you may not be eligible for a new parking sticker UNLESS you’ve returned your old sticker. Call the Parking Clerk for more details before making your way into City Hall: 617.635.4410

MBTA Trip Finder: "How far is the apartment from my place of work?

2008-12-27T10:36:00.001-08:00

Getting around Boston means learning how to ride the "T". The "T" consists of lines. For schedules, maps, and price quotes, visit the MBTA Subway Website.

To see how long your commute will be use MBTA TRIP PLANNER. Type in the address of your prospective apartment and the address of your job and see how long (or, hopefully, short) your commute will be.

Health Clubs In Boston

2008-12-25T16:27:00.001-08:00

How To Get a Charlestown Resident Sticker

2008-12-25T16:26:00.003-08:00

Moving To Charlestown, What You Need To Know

2008-12-25T16:26:00.001-08:00

All moving companies operating in Boston must be licensed by the Department of Telecommunications & Energy, Transportation Division. They must also be bonded with the city of Boston Public Works Department (617-635-4909). Your moving company should be aware of this, and if they are not, consider getting a quote from another company more familiar with the process. The moving industry has its share of con artists and scams, so beware, the lowest quote is not always the best quote to go with.

The moving company will be issued cardboard signs with the moving date and time to post on the street a minimum of 48 hours prior to the moving date and time. Without the signs you will be unable to reserve a space for your move. Click HERE for more information.

How To Change Over Your Utilities

2008-12-25T16:25:00.001-08:00

If utilities are not included in your monthly rent you will need to call to set up an account prior to your move.

Gas: National Grid is the gas provider for Charlestown. Call 617-469-2300 to set service or set up an online account.

Electric: Nstar is the Electrical Company. Call 1-800-592-2000 or set up an online account .

Oil: Oil is provided by private companies. Search online for a vendor. Or call B&B Oil at (617) 242-0526.

Phone/Cable: Comcast is the most prevalent cable provider for the area. Call 617-787-6616 to initiate an account or visit the website. Verizon offers phone services as well.

Water and Sewer: Boston Water and Sewer Commission will issue you a bill (if you own) View your bill online. Unless you are renting a single family or the building is separately metered, you, as a tenant, will not be responsible for water and sewer (although you may be responsible to HEAT the water).

Craigslist Scams

2008-04-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

Craigslist.com's entrance into the internet scene has revolutionized the way tenants find apartments and how landlords are able to rent their apartments without the assistance of a broker.

While the landlord does avoid paying a leasing fee to the agent, he or she may be exposing him or herself to potentially problematic situations by not having the tenants go through a professional screening process.

Currently 95% of the scams on craigslist.com housing forums are directed at BY OWNER rentals. While most owners are savvy enough to avoid the obvious scams, the more subtle scams, namely troubled tenants, can pass under the radar undetected.

The other day I asked an owner if it was acceptable to do an experiment with the apartment I was trying to lease for him. I posted two identical posts on craigslist.com; one for a studio by agent with NO FEE, another, the same listing, by owner.

Although neither ad carried with it the promise of a fee for a tenant, the owner's ad got more attention. When tenants were directed to the agent for a showing most did not follow through. Those two that did made appointments and did not show up when the arranged time came (geeez don't I love my job?!?).

To be fair I did receive calls on my agent NO FEE ad, one in particular that I remember most. When the woman found out I was not the owner she canceled and told me she found another apartment. (5 minutes after her scheduled appointment) Then, she responded to the owner ad only 45 minutes later. When directed back to me, she said that she did not want her credit checked and did not want a broker reviewing her salary.

Moral of the story? It is great to save a buck, but be careful and wary of a prospective tenant that does not want to go down the conventional channels of a credit and background check, especially when (with Net Share) it costs them nothing to do so....

How Much Do You Pay A Month For Heat?

2008-04-29T19:40:00.000-07:00

It is a common question prospective tenants find themselves asking: "How much are utilities per month? ". Usually the agent does not have the information handy, and even the current tenant or landlord may have a fuzzy memory of the actual bills. Your best bet, then is to go to the source, that is, Keyspan or Nstar.

If you have the address of the apartment you are inquiring about call the respective numbers (they can be found in the right hand column of this website) and press zero until you get an operator. Tell them that you are seeking the average bill for the apartment. They typically will give you the average as well as the highest and lowest.

Remember that if you are asking about an empty apartment make sure you inquire about a time period when it was inhabited or the bill will be artificially low. Make sure too, that you know a bit about the tenant's habits before jumping to conclusions. For instance, if you know the tenant has three kids then it may be fair to assume your heat and hot water bill will be significantly less given you do less wash, cook less, and consume less heat, overall.

Online Rent Payments

2007-11-14T18:21:00.000-08:00

One of the major hassles of a landlord is collecting the rent check. Between forgetful tenants and tenants who are neglectful or purposefully errant on their payments, it can be an owners worst nightmere.

More and more, landlords are requesting auto-payment from their tenants. In this model, the monthly rent payments are withdrawn directly from the tenants bank account and dumped into the landlord's account. The landlord is not breaking the law because he or she is not collecting over one month's rent in the 30 day period, rather, she/he is acquiring security that the rent money will be paid on the proper day. At any time the tenant can, techincally, stop an online payment, if a situation arises where rent witholding is lawful and called for.

This arrangement works well for tenants too. Between work, family, play, and general survival, sometimes it is easy to forget to pay rent. Auto-debits will afford tenants the luxury of not having to worry about paying on time, or even being in the apartment when the rent is due--it is withdrawn automatically!