What's Actually Included in Your Rent

If you have shopped for an apartment in Peoria, you have run into the same frustration twice: the rent looks reasonable, and then you start adding things up. Water. Sewer. Trash. A separate bill for each, from a separate company, each with its own due date and its own late fee.

Here is what rent covers at The Grove, stated plainly, so you can compare us against anywhere else you are looking.

The $50 flat utility bundle

Water, sewer, and trash are bundled into one flat charge of $50 per month. Not an estimate. Not a number that moves with usage or with the season. Fifty dollars, every month, on the same bill as your rent.

That matters more than it sounds. In a lot of Peoria rentals, those three services are billed separately and vary — a hot August with the sprinklers running is not the same bill as a quiet February.

A flat charge means the number you budget in January is the number you pay in July.

What you pay separately

Electric and gas are yours, billed directly by the provider. Internet and cable are yours as well.

We would rather tell you that up front than have you find out on move-in day. If anyone advertises "all utilities included" on an apartment at this price point in central Illinois, ask exactly which utilities, and ask whether there is a usage cap.

What that makes the real monthly number

Rent plus the flat $50 is the fixed part of your monthly cost:

• One bedroom, 792 sq ft, one bath — from $975/mo, so $1,025 with the bundle
• Two bedroom, 968 sq ft, one and a half baths — from $1,175/mo, so $1,225
• Three bedroom, 1,160 sq ft, two full baths — from $1,475/mo, so $1,525

Electric and gas sit on top of that, and vary with the season and with how you live.

The things people forget to ask about

Parking. Off-street parking is included. Private garages are available separately if you want one.

Laundry. There are three clothing-care centers on site, so you are not driving to a laundromat.

Pets. Cats and dogs are welcome, up to two per home. Ask about the pet deposit when you tour.

Storage. Homes have generous closet space, which is not the same thing as a storage unit, and worth seeing in person rather than taking anyone's word for.

Why we bother writing this down

Most apartment listings are written to get you to call, not to answer your question. The result is that renters spend a week making phone calls to find out basic numbers.

If the flat utility bundle is the thing that makes our number work for you, we would rather you know that from a web page at eleven at night than from a leasing agent on Tuesday.

Renovated one, two, and three-bedroom homes in north Peoria, inside Dunlap CUSD 323. Tours seven days a week — call 309-691-6605 or book at grovepeoria.com.