Looking for rooms in Westlake, Kampar? Here's a few tips on how you should go about it.
Is the location suitable/comfortable for you?
Look around the area, do you feel comfortable with it? Is it too dark? Is it too eerie? Is it too packed? Is it convenient for you to go to campus from there? How about to New Town where you'll most likely have your dinners/lunch there.
Is the rental within your budget?
Different management will offer different room packages at different rates. Some of them will charge you by the number of occupants staying in the room while others will charge you according to the room. Usually it's 2 occupants per room but it may go up to 4 if the room is big enough, the only room that can accommodate 4 persons comfortably in Westlake is the master bed room in the Yale houses - the two storey houses.
How much is the deposit and what's the policy of the management like?
Normally, most of them would have you pay a 1 month deposit but there are cases where up to 4 months of deposit are taken. What are deposits for? In most cases they are used up as your rental for the last month you're gonna stay at that room. This means that you do not need to pay for the last month of your stay there but on one condition, you'll need to inform the management one month in advance before moving out.
Another use of the deposits are for utility bills. It's to prevent people from not paying their bills. If you do not pay your bills, the amount you owed will be deducted from your deposit and at the end of the day you'll used up your deposit. This deposit is a separate deposit from the room deposit.
You'll need to look at their policies too. Do not sign any documents without making sure that you've read and understand everything that is written in it. You'll be binded to the contract once your signature is on it. Got that from Business Law. =p
Do ask the other party (the management or whoever who is going to rent you the room) to clarify any ambiguous terms.
How about utility bills?
Do you still need to pay for utilities every month on top of your rental? Or does your rental cover it as well? Personally, I prefer the pay-for-what-you-use method rather than include it in the rental because it'll encourage you to save both your money and also the world. People tend to have the "since it's in the rental, I'll have to max it out to get the maximum benefit" mentality when it's included in the rental. However after staying in Westlake ever since I came to UTAR, I've heard of bills that suddenly went incredibly high. I have no explanation for this but the only way to get this problem fix is to write a report to TNB or the water consortium company.
Facilities?
What kind of facilities are they providing you? Start off with your room as it's the place you're gonna be for most of your time here in Kampar. Is there a bed? Mattress? Cupboard? Writing table? Ceiling fan? Chair? Power-points? Lights? Window Grills? Then look at the bathroom. Is is a shared one? Does it come with a shower? And do check the water pressure (I have a thing against low water pressure) if you're planning to stay on the third level of the house.
Then look in the common area. Is there a fridge? Dining table? Chairs? Fan? Lights? Sink? Washing machine?
If you're doing your own laundry, try going out and look if there are enough places for you to hang your clothes after washing them.
After that ask about the internet connection. Are you going to be charged extra for the internet line? How can it be accessed? Wireless? LAN cable? How many lines does the house have? How many person is sharing one line? Most of the internet lines here are shared among students as there's not enough telephone poles to support so many lines and one line for each student would be too expensive, unless you're planning to get your own wireless broadband. 5 person to a line would be ideal by my standards, more than that you'll be plucking hairs out of your head in no time. I have to state that the internet connection in Kampar is not very good either, occasionally you'll be disconnected for quite some time even after the modem is restarted a few times. And on many of those occasions it'll be raining. And on very rare occasions, it's because of your tech savvy housemate whose hoarding/blocking the line.
Do take note that there are some unscrupulous management who charge students for their unnecessary things. Here's one example. There's one management who'll charge the student the cost of building a metal clothes hanger (It's a custom made one, not the ones you can buy and DIY). The occupants of the house should not bear the cost even though they are the ones using it. At the end of the day, when they move out are they going to take the clothes hanger apart and distribute it among each other? That wouldn't be possible. It is an asset of the house and the cost should be paid by the house owner or the management.
Is the location suitable/comfortable for you?
Look around the area, do you feel comfortable with it? Is it too dark? Is it too eerie? Is it too packed? Is it convenient for you to go to campus from there? How about to New Town where you'll most likely have your dinners/lunch there.
Is the rental within your budget?
Different management will offer different room packages at different rates. Some of them will charge you by the number of occupants staying in the room while others will charge you according to the room. Usually it's 2 occupants per room but it may go up to 4 if the room is big enough, the only room that can accommodate 4 persons comfortably in Westlake is the master bed room in the Yale houses - the two storey houses.
How much is the deposit and what's the policy of the management like?
Normally, most of them would have you pay a 1 month deposit but there are cases where up to 4 months of deposit are taken. What are deposits for? In most cases they are used up as your rental for the last month you're gonna stay at that room. This means that you do not need to pay for the last month of your stay there but on one condition, you'll need to inform the management one month in advance before moving out.
Another use of the deposits are for utility bills. It's to prevent people from not paying their bills. If you do not pay your bills, the amount you owed will be deducted from your deposit and at the end of the day you'll used up your deposit. This deposit is a separate deposit from the room deposit.
You'll need to look at their policies too. Do not sign any documents without making sure that you've read and understand everything that is written in it. You'll be binded to the contract once your signature is on it. Got that from Business Law. =p
Do ask the other party (the management or whoever who is going to rent you the room) to clarify any ambiguous terms.
How about utility bills?
Do you still need to pay for utilities every month on top of your rental? Or does your rental cover it as well? Personally, I prefer the pay-for-what-you-use method rather than include it in the rental because it'll encourage you to save both your money and also the world. People tend to have the "since it's in the rental, I'll have to max it out to get the maximum benefit" mentality when it's included in the rental. However after staying in Westlake ever since I came to UTAR, I've heard of bills that suddenly went incredibly high. I have no explanation for this but the only way to get this problem fix is to write a report to TNB or the water consortium company.
Facilities?
What kind of facilities are they providing you? Start off with your room as it's the place you're gonna be for most of your time here in Kampar. Is there a bed? Mattress? Cupboard? Writing table? Ceiling fan? Chair? Power-points? Lights? Window Grills? Then look at the bathroom. Is is a shared one? Does it come with a shower? And do check the water pressure (I have a thing against low water pressure) if you're planning to stay on the third level of the house.
Then look in the common area. Is there a fridge? Dining table? Chairs? Fan? Lights? Sink? Washing machine?
If you're doing your own laundry, try going out and look if there are enough places for you to hang your clothes after washing them.
After that ask about the internet connection. Are you going to be charged extra for the internet line? How can it be accessed? Wireless? LAN cable? How many lines does the house have? How many person is sharing one line? Most of the internet lines here are shared among students as there's not enough telephone poles to support so many lines and one line for each student would be too expensive, unless you're planning to get your own wireless broadband. 5 person to a line would be ideal by my standards, more than that you'll be plucking hairs out of your head in no time. I have to state that the internet connection in Kampar is not very good either, occasionally you'll be disconnected for quite some time even after the modem is restarted a few times. And on many of those occasions it'll be raining. And on very rare occasions, it's because of your tech savvy housemate whose hoarding/blocking the line.
Do take note that there are some unscrupulous management who charge students for their unnecessary things. Here's one example. There's one management who'll charge the student the cost of building a metal clothes hanger (It's a custom made one, not the ones you can buy and DIY). The occupants of the house should not bear the cost even though they are the ones using it. At the end of the day, when they move out are they going to take the clothes hanger apart and distribute it among each other? That wouldn't be possible. It is an asset of the house and the cost should be paid by the house owner or the management.
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