Looking for a new apartment can be an exciting time, and when you find a place you love sometimes it’s too easy to sign the lease before anybody else does. But being overanxious can lead to problems – here are ten questions to ask yourself and the landlord before you sing your name on the dotted line and write that check for first, last, and security.
1. ARE PETS ALLOWED?
This may seem an obvious question if you’re planning on bringing Sparky with you to your new abode, but too often prospective tenants forget to ask about this if they don’t have pets. If you love animals, and don’t mind a noisy apartment complex, this may not be an issue. But if you don’t – or just like to live in peace and quiet – and your neighbors have a Doberman that loves to bark at 3 in the morning, you’ll be disappointed that you didn’t think about this sooner. Also, some landlords don’t allow pets, but will make an exception for non-intrusive creatures such as fish, so it’s worth asking about, even if the ad said no pets allowed.
2. WHAT DO THE NEIGHBORS DO?
It’s okay to be nosy – in fact, for your sake, it’s a good idea. Your living environment is not just the apartment you live in, but those surrounding yours. If the answer to your questions is that they play in a rock band, you may want to reconsider the apartment. By the same token, if you’re a college student who likes to have “get-togethers” at your place, it would make life a lot easier if your neighbors were college students, as well.
3. WHAT’S THE PARKING SITUATION?
It’s surprising how many people neglect to ask this basic question. Many apartments come with one parking space – which could pose a problem if you and both of your roommates have cars. Sometimes you can pay extra for another space, or you may even have to pay for the one space you get. If there are no spaces available with the apartment, what is the on-street parking like? If you use your car a lot, or return home late at night from work, will you be able to find convenient spaces?
4. WHICH UTILITIES ARE INCLUDED?
Oftentimes advertisements boast that “utilities are included.” But not every landlord considers the same thing to be utilities. Water, heat, gas, and electric are standard utilities, but some landlords charge for things such as “refuse collection.” Ask very specifically which utilities are meant to be included, and make certain they are enumerated on the lease. If they are not, append the lease to include these specifics.
5. IS THERE AN EARLY-OUT CLAUSE?
There is always a chance you’ll have to break your lease, whether that is because of a job change, a death in the family, or just whim. Even if you don’t anticipate having to leave your apartment before the end of the contract, ask to have a clause put in outlining a procedure in which you could break the lease should you have to, and the exact penalties imposed upon you (be reasonable, and make as many concessions to the landlord as possible).
6. CAN I RE-PAINT OR MAKE OTHER IMPROVEMENTS?
This is one of the trickiest aspects of renting an apartment. Nothing is worse than finding a perfect space only to have the walls painted some hideous color. Some landlords are happy to let you change the color scheme; others aren’t. Any policies regarding the tenants’ abilities to make changes to the physical structure of the house – including painting – should be written into the lease. Many landlords will not allow tenants to make any physical changes to the property whatsoever, others require written consent, and still others care very little. Sometimes, if the work you do is an improvement, you can negotiate it off you rent – for example, if you install a security bolt on your front door, you may be able to get the landlord to agree to let you take the cost of the bolt off your rent.
7. WHERE IS THE LAUNDRY?
This seems like an obvious question but is often overlooked when apartment hunting. Not only should you figure out if there is a laundry in the building (or, ideally, in the apartment itself), but determine how many machines there are, the cost, and the safety of the laundry room. One washing machine for thirty units is going to lead to headaches; a poorly lit laundry room buried in the basement of a high-rise apartment can be dangerous to your personal safety.
8. WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO MY SECURITY DEPOSIT?
The security deposit is the bane of many tenants existence, and often people just figure they won’t get it back, regardless of how well they maintained the place. To protect yourself from having your deposit taken for damages that you don’t think you incurred when you move out, take photographs of the apartment when you move in of any damage which already exists, and fill out a damage report form that you and your landlord can both sign. This way, at the end of the lease, you have proof that the hole in the wall wasn’t your doing.
In some states, landlords are required to hold your security deposit in an escrow account, meaning it will gain interest as the year passes. The landlord is required to notify you which bank and account the money is being held in, and return the deposit plus interest minus damage expenses at the end of the lease. Check with the local housing office to see if this is the case where you live.
9. IS THERE A WORKING FIRE/SECURITY SYSTEM?
Another often overlooked aspect of apartment hunting is determining the relative safety of the building itself. Has the building been inspected? What is the fire system like – do the fire alarms all have batteries? Is there a fire alarm that connects all of the units and any common areas? Does the building have a security system? If you’re concerned about safety then you should look for buildings that have security doors which require a tenant to buzz in a visitor, and apartment doors that have, at the minimum, a security deadbolt. Some smaller, privately-owned units have security systems installed on windows and doors, which can help you sleep better at night.
10. CAN I GET THOSE PROMISES IN WRITING?
This is by far the most important thing to keep in mind when shopping for an apartment. Everybody knows that a landlord can and sometimes does promise you just about anything if they think you’re interested. New appliances, new laundry facilities, re-painting, re-finishing hardwood floors, and a host of other improvements frequently fail to materialize if the tenant didn’t have the foresight to get the landlord to put it in a contract. Similarly, any problems you have with the lease, needs to be changed, in writing, on the lease, before it is signed. Merely having the landlord’s word that a pet “won’t be a problem,” although the lease forbids it can cause a lot of trouble if they change their mind once you’ve locked yourself into a year’s residency.
