Файл: House and flat 105.doc

Housework: you need to establish whether you are expected to do any housework beyond keeping your room clean. If you are expected to contribute to the housework, then you might be able to negotiate a reduction in the rent.

The Bathroom: Many people are very possessive about their bathrooms. You need to establish if there is any particular time when you can or can’t use the bathroom. Make sure you find out how often you are allowed to have a bath.

The Kitchen: the same rules apply for the kitchen. It is quite reasonable to expect to be able to use the kitchen to cook your own food. It’s either that or a permanent diet of take-away pizzas and kebabs!

Noise: Are there any rules about playing your stereo at certain times? Also, can you watch the house TV?

The Telephone: It’s vital to get this one right! A lot of arguments have occurred because the rules about the telephone haven’t been properly understood. Find out if you can use the telephone for outgoing calls and what the system of recording and paying for these calls is. Does your landlord / landlady mind if other people ring you at the house? Up to what time?

Smoking: Again, it’s hopeless thinking you are going to get on if one of you smokes and the other doesn’t.

Rules of the House

• You will be issued with your own keys, but these must not be given to anybody else.

• It is forbidden to listen to music or watch television after 10.30.

• You are only allowed one bath a day. This must be taken between 6.00 pm and 8.00 pm.

• The kitchen can only be used before 8.00 am and after 7.30 pm.

• Smoking is not allowed anywhere in the house.

• It is strictly forbidden to have parties in the house.

• Lodgers are expressly forbidden to have friends to stay overnight.

• You may receive incoming calls only.

• You are requested to bring your own sheets and towels. Blankets will be provided.

Pick out advantages and disadvantages of sharing a flat. Think of some others. Exchange your opinions about the advantages and disadvantages of rooming together.

Sharing a Flat

Sharing a flat certainly has some advantages. To begin with, it should be cheaper, and if you are sharing with people that you get on well with, it is nice to have some company at home rather than being alone and on your own. Also the household chores are shared and that is very important. Particularly, when you are younger, and you are living apart from your parents for the first time, it can be very enjoyable to live with people of your own age, whose interests and life-style you share.

However, sharing a flat does have some distinct disadvantages, and the main one is that the flat is not your own. So you cannot do what you want in it. What happens if your flat-mate wants to play music? To a certain extent you have to be unselfish. What is more, there can be little privacy.

I would say that as you get older, it is probably better to live on your own. Having had my own flat for a few years, I would not like to have to share again.

□ WRITING

Use the text as a model to write your personal opinion of sharing a flat.

♦ Listening

Phoning a Landlord

I. Pre-listening task

Here are some words you will hear in the recording. Study their pronunciation and meaning.

there’s nothing extra to pay – дополнительная оплата не требуется

deposit (n) – залог, задаток

that sounds fair – это звучит справедливо

the front-door key – ключ от входной двери

tube station – станция метро (в Лондоне)

II. Listening and compehenstion tasks

Angela is a student at a university. She is looking for a room to let. She saw an advertisement and has decided to phone the landlord. Listen to the recording and find out what information Angela Smiley got from the landlord.

III. Follow up activity

Do you think Angela will rent the room or not? Why?

• Speaking

1. Pretend you are a landlord / landlady. Think of the rules you want to have in your house. Then ask another student these questions and decide if you think he / she would be a suitable person to have in the house.

2. Imagine you want to rent a room in a house. Make a list of questions you want to ask. Then ask another student these questions and decide if you would like to live in his / her house.

3. You try to persuade a friend of yours that it’s very enjoyable to share a room with people of your age. Your friend is of a different opinion.

4. You are going to move away from the hostel. You see an advertisement in the local paper and come to have a look at the room and ask a few questions. Say whether you find this variant suitable or not. Your final decision may be:

1. you like it and are going to rent it;

2. you don’t like the room, you are going to look for another one.

Self Check

Exercise 1. Explain the difference between:

1. a landlord and a lodger;

2. a rent and a deposit;

3. a mortgage and a lease;

4. ground floor and first floor;

5. a cottage and a bungalow;

6. a bedsit and a studio;

7. a villa and a time-share.

Exercise 2. Put one of the following words in each space in the sentences below.

1. She wanted a place ____ her own.

2. He’ll move ____ tomorrow.

3. He’ll move ______ his new flat tomorrow.

4. I share the kitchen ________ three other people.

5. The landlord asked the tenant ________ more rent.

6. My flat is ________ the top floor.

7. My flat is ________ a modern block.

8. The house is _________ good condition.

9. I looked _________ advertisements _______ the newspaper.

10. She pays a rent _______ £ 90 a week.

Exercise 3. Put each of the following words or phrases in its correct position in the passage below.

The first thing I had to do in London was to find somewhere to live, if possible a small, one-bedroom (a)__________. I didn’t want to share a kitchen or toilet; I wanted to be independent in my own (b)__________ place. I decided I could pay a (c)__________ of £ 50 a week. I couldn’t find what I wanted in the newspaper (d)__________ so I went to an (e)________. They offered me a nice place. It was in a modern (f)________ on the third floor. I had to pay the agency a (g)_________, and the (h)_________ wanted a big (i)_________ and (j)_________ from my employer and bank manager.

Unit 3 Buying a House Active Vocabulary

an estate agent / estate agency

to charge for one’s services

a giveaway leaflet

to inspect the details of the houses on offer

to make an offer to smb.

a building society

a depositor

to save one’s money with

a savings account

to pay interest

an interest rate

a long-term loan

a mortgage

monthly expenses

the official asking price

the original price of the house

Read the following passage about two types of organizations involved in house buying and selling.

Buying a House

There are two types of organizations which are central to the buying of houses and flats.

The first is the estate agent. An estate agency is, essentially, a shop which arranges for the sale of homes.

Let us imagine that Mr and Mrs Smith want to sell their house. First, they ask one or more local estate agents to visit the house and tell them how much they should be able to sell it for. They will also want to know how much the agent will charge for his services (usually between 1% and 2% of the selling price). If the Smiths are happy with his proposals, the agent will publish details of the house in the form of giveaway leaflets and possibly in the local or even national newspapers. The leaflet will describe the house in detail, describing the position, number and sizes of its rooms, the garden and so on.

Mr and Mrs Smith then wait for prospective buyers to arrive.

Imagine that Mr and Mrs Johnson want to buy a house in the same area. They go to the estate agency and inspect the details of the houses on offer. If they are attracted by the description of the Smiths’ house, they will visit the property to look at it. If they are still interested after seeing the house they may make an offer to the Smiths via the estate agent. Often the offer will be slightly less than the official asking price. If the Smiths agree, the house can be sold.

But the Johnsons probably do not have enough money to pay for the house immediately, so what do they do? They go to the second type of institution involved in house buying and selling – the building society.

A building society’s main function is to lend people like the Johnsons enough money to buy a house. Banks also offer a similar service.

Building societies make their money by borrowing money from some members of the public – their “depositors” – and lending it to others. Many British people have building society savings accounts. They save their money with a building society, which pays them interest. The society then lends this money to people who want to buy a house or flat and charges them a higher interest rate on the amount borrowed. This long-term loan is called a “mortgage”.

So Mr and Mrs Johnson go to a local building society where they will be asked a number of questions – what type of jobs do they have? How much do they earn? What are their monthly expenses? And so on. The society will also inspect the house to see if it is worth the money they are being asked to lend. All being well, it will offer to lend the Johnsons up to about 90 per cent of the price of the house, to be paid back with interest over 25 years, or sometimes less. When all is agreed and the papers signed, the money is paid to the Smiths or to their legal representative – usually a solicitor – and the Johnsons can move in.

Over the 25 years, the Johnsons, because of the interest on the loan, will pay far more than the original price of the house – but since they are paying it in fairly small sums once a month they are, at least, able to afford it.

Comprehension questions:

1. What is an estate agency?

2. If Mr and Mrs Smith want to sell their house, what will they do first?

3. What will they want to know from an estate agent first?

4. What will the agent start his work with?

5. How can Mr and Mrs Johnson know about the houses on offer?

6. Can the price be negotiated?

7. Where can people get money to buy a property?

8. How do building societies function?

9. What is a mortgage?

10. What questions will Mr and Mrs Johnson be asked at a local building society and why?

11. How will the mortgage be paid back?

12. Why do people want to get mortgages?

♦ Listening