Susan:Bob and I looked at several flats last week.
Bob: We looked nearly everywhere: in the city, in the suburbs … and we can’t decide. If we rent a house in the suburbs we’ll have to drive, which is quite expensive nowadays with these petrol prices.
Susan: We looked at every kind of flats: one bedroom, two bedrooms. I can’t even remember all the places we saw. I’m also quite confused, I don’t really understand terms like security deposit, leases, and utilities.
Tim: Wait a minute! Before you start looking at flats, you should decide what kind of property you’d like to rent, and where you’d like to live. If you know what you want, it’ll be much easier to find a place!
Susan: I’d like a small house in the suburbs, three bedrooms, with a dishwasher, air-conditioning, and a swimming pool nearby.
Bob: Sure! And I would like a villa by the seaside. Susan you know that we can’t afford such a big house.
Tim: Did you make a budget? Do you know how much you can afford?
Bob: Well, actually, we didn’t.
Tim: First of all, you have to decide how much you can afford. The rent of a flat and the utilities should cost less than one third of your monthly budget. Then you should decide what kind of flat you want, how many rooms you want, you want it furnished or unfurnished. After you decided everything, you can start looking at places.
Bob: Do you have any idea where we can find out about properties for rent?
Tim: First you should decide where you want to live – in the city or in the suburbs, which neighbourhood you like. Then surf the internet as there are plenty of websites that deal with property rentals and sales. Susan: Is the internet the only way to get information about flats for rent?
Eve: There are other ways to find out about properties. Drive or walk around the neighbourhood you like and look for ’rent signs’. Pop in the local estate agent’s, they generally have a bulletin board with notices about flats for rent. But be careful, if you use rental services, the agency may charge a fee!
Peter: At last, but not least talk to your friends and people at work. They may know about places for rent.

Q: Do you live in a flat or in a house? – Lakásban vagy házban élsz?
A1: I live in a flat. – Lakásban élek.
A2: I live in a house. – Házban élek.

Q: Who do you live with? – Kivel élsz?
A1: I live with my flatmate. We go to the same school, so it’s comfortable for us to live together and share the rent and utilities. – A lakótársammal élek. Ugyanabba az iskolába járunk, így kényelmes, hogy együtt is lakunk és megosztjuk a bérleti díjat és a rezsit. 
A2: I live with my family. – A családommal élek.
A3: I live alone. – Egyedül élek.

Q: Do you share your room with somebody? – Megosztod a szobádat valakivel?
A1: No, I have my own room. – Nem, van saját szobám.
A2: Yes, I have to share my room with my sister, as we live in a small flat. – Igen, meg kell osztanom a szobámat a testvéremmel, mivel egy kis lakásban lakunk.

Q: Do you own or do you rent your home? – Van saját otthonod vagy bérelsz?
A1: I’m renting my home at the moment. – Jelen pillanatban bérleményben lakom.
A2: I own a small flat, I managed to buy it with the help of my parents. – Van egy kis lakásom, sikerült megvennem a szüleim segítségével.
A3: I mortgage my house, so I have to pay the mortgage every month to the bank. – Lakáshitelem van, így a banknak minden hónapban törlesztenem kell. 

Q: If you live in a house: Is it a detached or a semi-detached house? – Ha házban élsz: Családi házban vagy ikerházban laksz?
A1: I live in a detached house in the suburbs. – Családi házban lakom a külvárosban.

Q: If you live in a flat: Do you live in a block of flats or on a housing estate? – Ha lakásban laksz: Társasházban vagy lakótelepen laksz?
A1: Yes, I live in a block of flats, on the second floor. – Igen, társasházban lakom, a második emeleten.

Q: How many stories has the building got? – Hány emelet van az épületben?
A1: There are six stories in my building. – Hatemeletes a házunk.

Q: How big is your home? – Mekkora az otthonod?
A1: My home is seventy square metres. I have five rooms altogether: there are two bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom and a living room. I also have a small hall and a balcony. – Az otthonom 70 négyzetméteres. Összesen öt szobám van: két hálószoba,egy konyha, egy fürdőszoba és egy nappali. Van egy hall és egy erkély is. 

Q: Are you happy in your home? – Boldog vagy az otthonodban?
A1: Yes, I am. My flat is quite central, and I can walk to work. It is also located in a quiet street, close to a park. – Igen. A lakásom a központban van, így gyalog megyek munkába. Egy csendes utcában helyezkedik el, közel egy parkhoz. 
A2: Unfortunately, I am not very happy with my home. It’s in the suburbs, so I have to travel a lot to go to work, and sometimes it is very dangerous to walk home alone on the streets at night in our neighbourhood. – Sajnos, nem vagyok túl boldog az otthonommal. A külvárosban van, így sokat kell utaznom a munkába, és néha nagyon veszélyes haza sétálni egyedül éjszaka a környékünkön. 

Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our …

Our house it has a crowd
There’s always something happening
And it’s usually quite loud
Our mum she’s so house-proud
Nothing ever slows her down
And a mess is not allowed

Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our …

Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our …
(Something tells you that you’ve got to get away from it)

Father gets up late for work
Mother has to iron his shirt
Then she sends the kids to school
Sees them off with a small kiss
She’s the one they’re going to miss
In lots of ways

Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our …

I remember way back then when everything was true and when
We would have such a very good time such a fine time
Such a happy time
And I remember how we’d play simply waste the day away
Then we’d say nothing would come between us two dreamers

Father wears his Sunday best
Mother’s tired she needs a rest
The kids are playing up downstairs
Sister’s sighing in her sleep
Brother’s got a date to keep
He can’t hang around

Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our street

Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our …

Our house, was our castle and our keep
Our house, in the middle of our street

Our house, that was where we used to sleep
Our house, in the middle of our street

Our house …

to need a rest – valakinek szüksége van pihenésre
to sigh – sóhajt, sóhajtozik
to have got a date – találkozója/randija van
to keep – tart, megtart
to hang around – lógni valahol/elütni az időt valahol
crowd – tömeg
house-proud – büszke az otthonára
to slow somebody down – lelassítani valakit, visszavetetni valakivel a tempóból
mess – rendetlenség
not allowed – nem megengedett, tilos
to get away from  – elmenekülni, elszökni
to see somebody off – kikísérni valakit valahova
to waste the day away – elpazarolni a napot semmittevéssel