FAQS

Got ‘Q’s? We’ve got ‘A’s! You probably have a lot of questions, especially if this is your first time renting an apartment. Your parents might have questions, too. This is exactly why we put this list of questions and answers together for you. We don’t want anything about renting to be a mystery for you. If you don’t see an answer here- contact us today!

CAN WE SEE YOUR LEASE BEFORE WE SIGN IT?  

Of course! It is available HERE and at the bottom of this page for you to download. BEWARE- many landlords keep their leases private until signing.  With us, feel free to send this lease to your friends, parents, or S.U. student legal services. The lease has been signed by over 13,000 students to date.​

HOW DO I RESERVE AN APARTMENT?

We will hold an apartment for 24 hours on a verbal request. However, you and your group will be required to meet face to face to sign, or scan/email the signed lease, and pay deposits on the apt by the end of the 24 hour period. If a member of your group is abroad, or unavailable, or can’t get deposits within this 24 hour period, don’t worry, we provide time extensions to work around this. But please remember, on average we will have 2-3 groups vying for each apartment, competing against each other, so it’s important to get your ducks in a row. When you see something you like- TAKE IT! If you don’t, someone else will.

WHAT DO WE PAY AT LEASE SIGNING? 

A security deposit equal to one months rent is due within 5 days of signing.

DO YOU PROVIDE PLOW SERVICE? 

Syracuse gets over 120 inches of snow each winter, and as a result regular dependable plow service is critical to mobility. We contract our own private plow, who is directly responsive to your plow requests. Tenants will be charged $80 for the entire winter’s worth of plowing, regardless of how much it snows.

​CAN WE SUBLET?  ​

Yes. Subletting is your right under NY State law. Semester and summer sublets are common, and signing them onto the lease is easy and painless.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT PETS?

Rent From Ben is super pet friendly. We support the responsible ownership of pets, and rescuing pets.  As such, we will reduce the pet fee by 50% for any dog or cat that is a rescued pet. Refer to lease section 15 for all the details.  

HOW CAN WE PAY OUR DEPOSITS AND RENT?

We have MANY options to pay deposits and rent-

PAPER CHECKS: all mailed checks should be made out to Rentfromben.com, and sent to our west coast office at 11700 W Charleston Blvd #170-685Las Vegas NV 89135. Checks can also be hand delivered to our main Syracuse office at 604 Euclid Ave, 24-7, and placed in the secure lockbox in entrance foyer.  

ZELLE/Quickpay: use the phone number 702-235-6676. Your payment will be credited to Daisy Cutter Management on your statement, which a Rent From Ben account.

COINBASE/BITCOIN: use the account email handle tupper.property.management@gmail.com  

CASH PAYMENTS:  appointments to pay with cash may be made by contacting Ben at ben@rentfromben.com

Paypal: use the account email handle ben@rentfromben.com. If you choose “payment for goods or service”, Paypal will charge a 2.9% fee to Landlord, which will be deducted from tenant security deposit at the end of the lease. If you choose “payment to friend or family”, no fee is assessed by Paypal. 

CREDIT CARDS: pay online by visiting the Payments tab.

JOINT LEASES VS INDIVIDUAL LEASES

Many students and parents ask if they can sign individual leases, as opposed to joint leases.   Some of our competitors offer individual leases, but we at Rent From Ben do not, and here is why:

First off, individual leases for student apartments and housing ARE ILLEGAL in the City of Syracuse.  Landlords who offer this type of lease are breaking the law, and if you have a dispute, that lease can be ruled invalid in a court of law, stripping you of any guarantees and rights that lease offered.   

 If that wasn’t reason enough, individual leases allow a landlord to put ANYONE in your house  to fill a room.   You may be a female student, expecting to live with fellow female students, but if a vacancy arises, you may end up with a middle aged man as a housemate.  

Joint leases provide tenants with MORE protections and rights. Joint leases give you the power to negotiate as a collective group when disputes arise, and the final say  over who you live with (your landlord wont have the power to pick your housemates).     

In the end,  if a landlord is willing to break the law by using an individual lease, what other rules and laws and protections are they going to violate?

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WHAT IS THE REAL COST OF YOUR HOUSING?

If you read other University landlord’s leases, you will see a myriad of fees that add lots to your true monthly costs.  Other landlords may charge you for storage fees, trash service fees, plowing fees, sewer taxes, city taxes, light bulb replacements,  supply restocking, and lawn care and landscaping.  These can add up to $40-$50 per month to your true cost of renting.  Our lease wont give you that level of sticker shock.  While we do have small fees for plowing and weekly curbside trash service, we do NOT charge you one penny for storage, sewer,  city taxes, supplies nor cutting lawns and landscaping. 

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WHAT IF  OUR GROUP IS MISSING PEOPLE TO FILL THE RENTAL?  ​

No problem.  Finding a friend or a replacement is easy. In sixteen years, I’ve never had a group get stuck holding the bag with an empty room. There is a housing shortage in the neighborhood- you will always find a student wanting to join your group.

​WHAT ABOUT UTILITIES?  ​

You will get your utilities through National Grid. They provide gas and electric. Utilities per person vary based on group size. Apartments with 4 or more residents can expect a monthly average of $25-35 per person. Apartments with 2-3 people can expect monthly averages of $35-45, and 1 bedroom apartments have the highest rate of approximately $65-80 per month in utility bills, but remember rentfromben provides free utilities for most of our 1 bedrooms, so this cost is one you won’t incur. Note that in the cases of: 858 Livingston, 525 Euclid, 604 Euclid, and 801 Euclid, rentfromben pays the utilities and you don’t have to worry about it!

I WANT IT. WHAT NOW? 

If you choose to rent one of my apartments, singing is easy! Due to the pandemic, we prefer to do leases online via email and scanning. However, we can do in person signings at our office at 604 Euclid if you want to. Just wear a mask and bring hand sanitizer  😉

If you have ANY questions, please email them to ben@rentfromben.com for a quick answer.