You’ve just graduated from school, congrats! Now, it’s time to move to a new city to start a new life as a student. The first thing you will be looking for is an apartment to rent.
Or you just got married but can’t afford to buy a new house now, so you need somewhere to stay. Again, renting is the solution.
And maybe you have got a new job and you don’t want to buy a new house in a new city just for your career and also a new house just is not affordable for you, so again you come to the conclusion to rent an apartment.
Or you are moving out of your parents’ apartment and now you will have your freedom but with freedom, responsibilities come along. The first one of which is again renting an apartment.
Doesn’t matter what situation you are in, and why you decided to rent an apartment, if you are a first-time renter you need to know some tips.
Renting an apartment isn’t as easy as you may think. You should consider things like needing to be sure to pay rent every month, and also should take care of an apartment as if it was yours.
So, let me help you with this exciting but stressful journey of yours.
Budget is the first step
Before even making up the decision of moving out, or just renting a new apartment you should consider your budget. Do you have a stable job? Can you pay the rent every month? If your income is stable, you can start searching for apartments.
Besides your monthly rent, you have to pay some other costs as well. They can be one-time costs, such as deposits, application fees, moving costs, etc.
And you have to pay monthly for utilities such as electricity, garbage; phone, parking, etc.
As you can see you have to consider a lot of things and calculate before renting an apartment. If you hire real estate agencies, they will help you with choosing the best option for you.
What do you want?
Don’t hurry to rent an apartment before making a list of what you want in that apartment and what you need. When making a list of needs take your house (where you live now) and see what you are using more often, and what you need that you don’t have in your home.
Air conditioning, spacious kitchen, big closet, maybe an apartment with a lot of natural light.
Don’t be shy and ask for a tour of every apartment you like, sometimes apartments are different from their photos, so be careful.
Ask, find out and claim
These are the three important things you should know. First, when you meet your prospective landlord or your real estate agent and they are making a tour for you, ask as many questions as possible, everything should be as clean as possible.
It’s a good idea to write down your questions beforehand as sometimes you forget about some essential things.
Ask your future landlord what is included in the price, whether the apartment is pet-friendly or not, about the whole application process, lease term, etc.
If you can it’s also a good thing to find out who were previous tenants and ask them if they liked renting that apartment and maybe they can also warn you about some problems.
Also, find and read thoroughly about the renter’s rights.
If you know your rights in case of problems you can claim that they are trying to deceive you. And you can protect your rights legally.
To be a first-time tenant is not the easiest thing, but with carefulness and an open mind, you can make it work. Always be sure that you have all the documents and everything is legal. So you can live relaxed and peacefully pay your monthly rent.
The Washington Magazine 