Hey Guys and gals Ive got a favor to ask all of you. My wife and I are getting ready to move into our first apartment and both of us want to make sure we dont fall under the spell of some smooth talking Land lord that casts his/her magic and causes us to become convinced that a run down, one bedroom, no bathroom, no kitchen apartment built in the 60s and right in the middle of ghettoland is somewhere we HAVE to get lol. Anyway so I wanted to ask all you brilliant straight dopers and dopettes out there to do me a favor and put your thinkin skully caps on and come up with some things for me and my wife to consider and questions to ask before committing to any contract/lease agreement. Thanks a lot in advance everybody, Im sure that any advice/info you have will help out a bunch!
Well, the first thing you should do is be fully aware of the landlord/tenant laws in your area. My state has The Landlord/Tenant Handbook (catchy title, hun?) and it details what each party is responsible for in terms of upkeep and living conditions. Check your library (or its website) to see if they have a link to this kind of information.
The look over the area (the complex, or the building) not once, but at 6PM on a weekday evening, and at 10AM on a weekend morning. You’ll see life as it is then, when everyone is home.
And, if a lease is involved, read it before you sign it. Ask questions before you become obligated.
Find what you can regarding the local landlord/tenant law, and what rights, if any, you have. Here is a cite that might help you find such info.
Oh, talk to other tenants too. Ask them where they would move if they were going to move.
Also, if I were you, I’d sit down with wifey, and make a list of things that you are non-negotiable on. Ferinstance, if two bedrooms is a bare minimum for you, if you must have a dining room as opposed to an eat-in kitchen, etc. IOW, know your requirements, and stick to them, no matter what some sweet-talking landlord might tell you. Of course, you have to make sure your requirements are reasonable. If you feel you must have two bedrooms, one and a half-baths, a view, a dining room, dark blue carpeting everywhere but the bedrooms, oak hardwood in the bedrooms, and a rent under $500.00/month, and refuse to pay a security deposit, you’re gonna have a long hard search ahead of ya!
Best of luck!
I would try to find the apartment based on the neighborhood it is in. If the apartment is in a good neighborhood than it will probably be in better shape. That being said, do a search in your local paper, www.apartmentsearch.com and other places to see what is available in your desired price range and desired location.
Ask about the age of the apartment complex, the age of the appliances, whom to call if said appliances break, whose responsibility it is if said appliances break, When was the carpeting replaced, are utilities included, and if there have been any break ins in the past year. As stated by other posters, drive by at night to see what the area looks like, and visit at different times.
You can also check http://www.aptratings.net to see what people who have (or currently do) live in a complex have to say about it. Take them with a grain of salt, sure, because you don’t know the back stories of the people, but if you’re looking at a complex and 19/20 of the reviews are very negative…I’d think again about renting there.
Don’t trust the rates on Rent.net. It’s fine for finding the complexes in the area, but the rents that are posted are nowhere NEAR what the actual rent is, in my experience.
Check it out at various times. 10amish, after everyone’s left for work. 5-6ish, after people start coming back. I’d even go out at 2 or 3am and see what the complex is like that late. Make sure to check it out on a weekend, too. Who’s blaring loud music at 2am? You don’t want to be by them.
Find out the utility policy. We pay $19 for water usage but get hit for $32 for sewer usage.
When you’re doing the tour or walkthrough, pay attention to what the person you’re with is like, since you’ll have to deal with them (if they don’t have seperate leasing/“running the place” staff). The best leasing agents, in my experience, are the ones who just hang out by the front door and answer questions while you explore and poke at things.
Check the ceiling for water stains.
Find out the procedure for getting out of the lease. Ours is pretty restrictive (but we wanted to move more than we wanted to stay with a psycho ex-roommate), something like 60 days notice and all kinds of fees and rent and such. This is fine, since we plan to be here a while, but if you may move soon, you’ll want to know.
Find out about their maitenance staff. Do they have a staff, or is it just one guy wandering around with a wrench? What’re their hours? Who do you call if something breaks after-hours? These may not seem important, but when your toilet stops working, it is.
Alright ladies n’ gents, my wife and I thank you very much for all the helpful advice, a lot of it didnt even cross my mind and knowing me probably wouldnt have until right after I signed the lease :smack: lol so thank you very much I appreciate all the info and suggestions! I already checked into what other people said about the area, they seem to find it satisfactory for the most part. I havent done a walk thru of the actual apartment wed be renting yet but definitely will and will do everything you all suggested. I also gotta drive around at diff times like you guys said so we’ll see what happens with that. The first time I drove thru the neighborhood though I get pulled over by a cop on the side of the main road for not having my front license in a visible spot ( the front of the car ) I dont know whther to be reassured by the fact that the police are a presence in my potential communtiy, or be kind of weary cuz police dont usually tend to hang out where nothing goes down right? Oh well I’ll play it by ear I guess, as long as we dont have to go to sleep to the soothing night time sounds of gunshot every other day I’ll be happy lol. Thanks again for all the advice and keep it coming please if you have any new stuff!
In the apartment, before you sign the lease check:
water pressue (to do this, turn on a bathroom sink and shower at the same time and then flush the toliet–if there is no change in the shower and sink you should be fine)
condition of appliances
condition of carpeting
condition of doors.
After you move in, do an extensive search of the apartment for any damage and give a list detailing any damage you find to the landlord as soon as possible. Without that list in the landlord’s hands, you may be held responsible for the damange when it comes time to get back you security deposit.
Don’t forget about laundry. If it’s not in the unit, find out where it is and what hours it’s available (some complexes close the laundry at 6:00, at others it is open all night).
Find out policies on kids, dogs, etc. and make sure that such policies fit into your future plans.
Check parking availability, overnight guest policies, and utility policies. If you want a satellite dish instead of cable, make sure you can put up a dish.
Remember, this is only your first apartment and most leases are only for a year. If you end up in something you don’t like, you can move in a year and avoid making the same mistake twice.