If your employees have recently leased an apartment, you will likely discover that added fees have dramatically inflated what the signer thought they were agreeing to.
As a result, it is not unusual for a 2-bedroom base rent of $1,700 to magically increase to $2,100 when the first bill comes due.
For less sophisticated renters, this can create a burden on the employer who extended a job offer to someone who anticipated their lease to be $1,700 instead of the actual rent of $2,100.
New clients we have brought in have mentioned this several times, where, if and when the new hire (after realizing the difference) quickly requested a pay raise to cover the difference.
This can bring havoc on the employer’s payroll budget as well as long-term planning when adding members to their team. Depending on the number of new employees required, this adjustment will quickly disrupt planning, including unanticipated price increases for customers to offset these costs. And that in itself may create other problems.
While I am hopeful that forcing true price transparency on these large complexes will make budget planning easier for both the employees and employers hiring them, it is crucial to be proactive in the initial hiring process.
Questions like:
- If you are moving here and plan to lease an apartment, are you aware of the “hidden fees?” If so, what will be the actual cost that you have considered so that your pay covers this adequately?
- What is the duration of your lease?
- Can you find out what the annual increases might be?
- – and finally, what will be the average weekly cost for your commute (gas, tolls, etc.)?
These few simple questions will help you arrive at the actual budget required for satisfactory compensation.
For over 25 years, John has encouraged his clients to be proactive, rather than reactive. RSG’s comprehensive questionnaire forces this process to the benefit of long-term, business-intellect planning.