What You Should Know Before Signing an Apartment Lease
Whether it's your first apartment ever, or you've been a homeowner before and you have decided to downsize, you might feel a little overwhelmed or confused when it comes to the apartment leasing process.
There are a lot of things to consider with the lease itself, as well as the other aspects of renting an apartment.
Let's look at some of the biggest factors when it comes to signing an apartment lease.
First, make sure that you and your future landlord get along well.
You will hopefully be renting from this person for a long time to come, so you will want to have a good relationship.
Start things off well by being polite when you come to the property for your site tour.
Be sure to ask questions if you have any, and listen to the answers you get.
Does your potential landlord answer the questions, or is he or she evasive? An honest landlord will answer you truthfully and will make you feel welcome.
Next, give your new place an inspection.
Don't be afraid to bring a camera and a notepad with you.
You will be living in this space and you want it to be as clean and safe as possible.
You will also want to ensure that you don't get penalized when you move out for something that was there when you moved in.
As you and the landlord go around the apartment, document everything and hopefully have everything fixed before you move in.
If it can't be fixed, make sure that it gets noted on your lease that it was a pre-existing item.
Then, ask your landlord what is and what is not included in the rent.
Some places add things like your water and electricity bills into each month's rent.
They also offer laundry onsite or a fitness center as part of the package.
Those offerings can definitely affect your budget and it should be clear what you will have to pay for separately.
Be sure to ask what you can and cannot do to the apartment in terms of making changes like painting the walls or even putting nails into the walls for hanging artwork.
Nail holes can count as damage and can reduce the amount you get back from your security deposit.
Painting the walls without permission can also get you in trouble with your landlord, so be sure to ask first.
If you own a pet, you will also need to ask about whether you can bring your pet with you as part of the regular deposit, or if you need to pay for an extra pet deposit.
Some apartment complexes will allow certain pets but not others - it might be a size issue or a species ban, like no reptiles.
Lastly, though you probably don't intend to leave the apartment early, you might have to if life circumstances change.
Be sure to ask what kind of a penalty you might face if you have to break the lease early.
You can also ask about an automatic renewal that kicks in when the contract ends so you don't have to worry about renewing it.
Probably the single factor that is more important than anything else is to be sure to get everything in writing.
You both will want that to guarantee there are no misunderstandings.
There are a lot of things to consider with the lease itself, as well as the other aspects of renting an apartment.
Let's look at some of the biggest factors when it comes to signing an apartment lease.
First, make sure that you and your future landlord get along well.
You will hopefully be renting from this person for a long time to come, so you will want to have a good relationship.
Start things off well by being polite when you come to the property for your site tour.
Be sure to ask questions if you have any, and listen to the answers you get.
Does your potential landlord answer the questions, or is he or she evasive? An honest landlord will answer you truthfully and will make you feel welcome.
Next, give your new place an inspection.
Don't be afraid to bring a camera and a notepad with you.
You will be living in this space and you want it to be as clean and safe as possible.
You will also want to ensure that you don't get penalized when you move out for something that was there when you moved in.
As you and the landlord go around the apartment, document everything and hopefully have everything fixed before you move in.
If it can't be fixed, make sure that it gets noted on your lease that it was a pre-existing item.
Then, ask your landlord what is and what is not included in the rent.
Some places add things like your water and electricity bills into each month's rent.
They also offer laundry onsite or a fitness center as part of the package.
Those offerings can definitely affect your budget and it should be clear what you will have to pay for separately.
Be sure to ask what you can and cannot do to the apartment in terms of making changes like painting the walls or even putting nails into the walls for hanging artwork.
Nail holes can count as damage and can reduce the amount you get back from your security deposit.
Painting the walls without permission can also get you in trouble with your landlord, so be sure to ask first.
If you own a pet, you will also need to ask about whether you can bring your pet with you as part of the regular deposit, or if you need to pay for an extra pet deposit.
Some apartment complexes will allow certain pets but not others - it might be a size issue or a species ban, like no reptiles.
Lastly, though you probably don't intend to leave the apartment early, you might have to if life circumstances change.
Be sure to ask what kind of a penalty you might face if you have to break the lease early.
You can also ask about an automatic renewal that kicks in when the contract ends so you don't have to worry about renewing it.
Probably the single factor that is more important than anything else is to be sure to get everything in writing.
You both will want that to guarantee there are no misunderstandings.