The Rules of Apartment Rental
If you’re on the look-out for your next home but don’t know what to look out for or who to ask, you’ve come to the right place.
The Rules of Apartment Rental
Finding a new place can be a stressful experience if you don’t know what you should be looking for. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of a few tricks of the trade that you can look out for to make your home purchase the best one possible.
1. Check reception signals in all areas of the property in case of any blind spots.
2. Check for musty smells or too much air-freshener - these could be signs of water damage or mould that could be expensive to fix in the future.
3. If you’re going to buy an apartment, check if the commune area is insured and the elevator regularly maintained by a technician. If they are, check the split cost agreed on by the commune.
4. Check the water pressure on both hot and cold, and also check how long it takes for the water to get hot.
5. Make sure that all important shops are within walking distance of the property. You don’t want to be taking out the car every time you need some milk and bread.
6. Drive through the specific area of the property during rush-hours to try and gauge how long it will take you to get to and from work every day.
7. Talk to your neighbours, they are likely to be more honest and forthcoming with information than your landlords.
8. Equally important, find out as much as you can about your potential new neighbours. If you’re living in an apartment block, they might make the difference between coming back after work to a haven or a hell on earth.
9. Check how many sockets are in the apartment or house, and if they are in well- placed locations where you’ll actually need them. Additionally, you can test out the sockets to be extra safe.
10. Ask your agent or landlord what the consequences are if you have to break your lease at short-notice. You never know what might happen.
11. If you’re buying a house, find out about the foundations it’s been built on. Beware sinkholes and other mushy ground.
12. Read up on the state’s or country’s laws about home-owning, and make the property you’re about to buy is in compliance with all of them. If it isn’t, make the landlord or owner promise they’ll make the changes necessary in the lease.
13. Check if pizza places, or any other food delivery place, deliver to your area. If they don’t, it could be a sign of high crime rates in that area.
14. If it’s a cold area, check to see if the windows are double-paned. It could save you a lot in heating bills. If it’s a hot area, check that the brick used to build the place isn’t insulating.
15. Finally, make sure you are crystal clear on all the terms of the lease. What utilities will you be paying for? How is payment going to happen? When does payment happen?
We hope that this list will help make your house-hunting experience as easy as possible and that, above all, you find the dream property you’ve always wanted.