When renting an apartment for the first time, it is often hard to know what to look for. The 10 tips below offer advice on what to look for when renting.
1. Safety
Safety is the most important thing when renting. Visit the neighborhood a few times – especially at night. Check out apartment rating websites and see if people complain about safety. You can also call the police department and ask for crime reports.
2. Location
How far is the place from your workplace/college? If you plan to bike there, is it a hilly ride? Is there a bus line that passes through the apartment complex? If you plan to drive your car to your workplace/college everyday, how is the traffic? How far is the apartment complex from places that you frequent often – such as grocery stores, malls, banks, etc.?
3. Price
Price is obviously a very important factor, but cheaper does not automatically equal better. Price should be viewed relative to other factors.
4. Landlord
Is the landlord friendly and welcoming? Is he or she responsive to emails or concerns? The quality of landlord contact now might be a great predictor for contact later.
5. Is the Apartment Old or New?
This is a very important factor. If an apartment is too old, you might find yourself calling the property manager more often than you would like asking to get stuff fixed.
6. Amenities
Does it have a washer and dryer? A gym? Hardwood floors? Ample storage space? Think about all the amenities you care about and make sure they are available.
7. Tenants
Look around the apartment complex and try to find out about the tenants as much as possible – are they loud? Do they leave trash out by their doors? It is also helpful to see how the landlord screens for tenants. If the screening process is too lenient, you might find yourself not being too fond of your neighbors.
8. Utilities
Are you expected to pay for all your utilities? This is an important question to consider, as the answer tends to vary from property manager to property manager. Try to find out how much you are expected to pay for utilities by asking how much previous tenants pay on average and researching the energy company.
9. Lease Terms
Are you expected to get rental insurance? What happens if you break a lease? Can you sign a 9 month lease? What happens if you don’t pay your rent on time? If you have roommates, can each of you get separate leases?
10. Pet Policy
Will they allow your favorite pet to move in with you? How much will they make you pay for it? Even if you do not have a dog/cat now, you might consider it in the future.
Filed under: Renters | Tagged: 10 tips for renting, apartment safety, average utilities, factors for renting an apartment, lease terms, pet policy, top 10
Awesome safety tips. Another thing you can do in your safety check is to look at CrimeReports.com. If the local police department is a subscriber, you’ll be able to see what crimes have recently occurred in the area. I’ve heard of a lot of realtors who are suggesting that their clients look at it before moving to a new area. It’s a great service that gives a great idea of the crime level in any area.
Great ideas! Here are some others, based on horror stories I have heard from our tenants-about their former places, not us
I would suggest checking through your lease carefully. If a tenant asks, I will happily give them a copy of the lease ahead of time to review with someone they trust. Move-in day is just sooo rushed!
If utilities are included, make sure it’s spelled out-example “heat” is included, not “gas” is included. One property in our area advertised “Heat Included”, but the lease said “gas included”. To save money, they took out the old radiators and installed electric base board heating (which the tenant pays for). Gas service was still included in the rent (though the apartment had no gas), so no adjustment was made in the rental rates but now tenants paid for their own heat!
Check to see who is responsible to repair or replace appliances. At our place, we own them and we service them. Unless there is an obvious abuse (shot glass and bottle caps in the disposal), we take care of the repairs, but some leases say that you have to foot the bill if the 10-year-old stove or fridge stops working.
Lastly, makee sure that the unit you see is actually the unit you will live in, The receipt (Earnest money) for your deposit should state a specific address (that you have seen) and should list any changes that will made prior to move in. This should be signed by you, and by the leasor, and you should have a copy. OH, and it’s not a bad idea to take photos on move-in day and make a list of anthing that’s not perfect. this protects your deposit!