Though home buying is on the rise, there are still plenty of people in this
country looking to rent houses and apartments. Renting—especially renting
apartments—is an attractive option for those with temporary living
situations—think college students living near campus or professionals whose
career requires extensive travel.
While renting an apartment doesn’t
have to cost you an arm and a leg, you could wind up spending much more than
you’d anticipate if you don’t choose the right place. The problem is that there
are so many factors that determine the price of an apartment: the location of
the place, the presiding landlord, and the time of year all contribute to the
bottom line of your rent and utilities. Fortunately, I have some tips regarding
apartment hunting that could help you save a ton of money and steer you away
from unnecessary stress and hassle. I hope you’ll give them a read. After all,
in this shaky economy, who isn’t looking to save some cash?
Do your own research
I can tell you from personal
experience that you can waste a lot of money by hiring a real estate agent to
look at apartments for you. There’s no reason why you can’t do the bulk of your
apartment hunting on your own—there are tons of online resources that will help
you find the best deals on apartments in your area, no matter where you live.
Some people hire real estate agents or apartment hunters simply because they
don’t feel equipped to search for places on their own, but rest assured that
anyone is capable of finding a quality and affordable apartment.
You just have to be smart about
what places are worth checking out. For example, a listing from a huge
apartment megaplex that only shows stock photos and promises of a “GREAT DEAL”
might not be worth your time. A listing posted by an actual person who is
willing to correspond with you, on the other hand, could have much more
promise.
Inspect potential apartments
thoroughly
Let’s say that you found a potential place to rent that you really like. On paper, everything looks great,
but you haven’t seen the actual place with your own eyes yet. Please do
yourself a huge favour by carefully inspecting the place firsthand before
signing any document. If you don’t, you could wind up spending money you didn’t
anticipate spending on repairs, security features, lighting, and so much more.
I made the grave mistake of
neglecting the inspection process for an apartment that I rented while I was in
college. The place looked nice from the outside, the management seemed
friendly, and the price was right, so I didn’t put too much time into
inspecting my actual apartment once I had the keys. Unfortunately, I didn’t
notice that my windows lacked a proper locking mechanism, meaning that anyone
could slide them open if they were so inclined.
Well, some enterprising burglars took most of
the items from my apartment shortly after I moved in, on a weekend when I was
away from the city. It turned out that they used the unlocked windows as a
means to access my apartment. What followed afterwards was a mess of paperwork
and finger pointing with the landlord and the real estate agent. Let that
anecdote serve as a cautionary tale: don’t make my same mistake.
Don’t compromise on quality
If there’s any advice that sticks
with you in this article, it should be this titbit. It’s easy to find a dirt
cheap rental apartment in any city, but there’s no guarantee that the place
won’t end up costing you a fortune in unexpected expenses. It’s extremely
important that you find a place to rent in a neighbourhood where you feel safe,
and in a complex that isn’t crying out for renovation or demolition.
Moreover, you don’t want to live
in a place that will cause you emotional stress for one reason or another.
Notoriously loud and negligent neighbors, a deadbeat landlord, and high crime
rates: these are just a few red flags that should steer you clear. The nicer
place up the road might just be worth that extra $50 a month in rent if you can
see yourself sleeping more soundly there.
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